Google jockeying search engines in the classroom

Google jockeying search engines in the classroom
The innovative teaching practice called Google jockeying might be an effective tool to help students acquire skills for online research while mimicking their own learning strategies.

Come again?
Are you asking yourself what on earth Google jockeying might be and trying to figure out where horse racing enters into web searching? The answer is not so outlandish:

A Google jockey is someone who takes part in a presentation or class and surfs the Internet for web sites or resources mentioned by the presenter or terms and ideas related to the topic. These searches are displayed along with the presentation and are meant clarify the topic and provide further learning opportunities.


Although this practice takes its name from Google, any search engine will do. The Google jockey will search for definitions, images or multimedia files and other online resources that illuminate the topic.

The practice of Google Jockeying appears to have been started at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California (USC). The idea surfaced while a professor was preparing a lecture in which he would be discussing a wide range of disparate ideas. Colleagues at USC then incorporated the practice into several courses, workshops and conferences.

The activities of the Google jockey might influence the direction of the lecture or the Google jockey might represent a true “back channel,� taking place as a corollary to the primary lecture without affecting it directly.

The pros and cons
This practice is significant because today’s students are Internet natives — they have known this technology since childhood. With the relatively recent addition of broad band Internet access and always-on communication, many students are used to being exposed to multiple sources of input. Some have even come to expect this kind of communication.

Google jockeying mimics a way of working that many students are used to from their work on group assignments. With Google jockeying they benefit both from immediate access to online resources and from the research techniques of the Google jockey.

The success of a practice like this depends on the skill of the Google jockey. If the jockey is not an adept searcher, the benefits of this added activity vanish and it turns into distractions.

Although many students crave the kind of multiple input that Google jockeying provide, others are not comfortable multitasking. They will probably find the practice more distracting than helpful. Because of this, it might be wise to consult students before including this practice in the classroom.

Research skills for students
Google jockeying is described and promoted as a technology supported teaching practice by the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI). In their presentation of Google jockeying ELI describe this important benefit of this teaching innovation:

“Students use and understand the tools and techniques of Google jockeying, but evidence shows that many students lack strong information fluency skills, despite having been raised on technology. Students believe in online research, but many are not adept at conducting Web research efficiently or at discerning reliable online information from material that is suspect. Despite research indicating that using multiple search engines significantly expands the results obtained, many latch on to a single search engine and never stray from it. Google jockeying vividly shows the benefits of diversifying searches and functions as a real-time demonstration of searching for, cross-checking, and evaluating online resources.”

So for student groups that have the right kind of technology know-how, Google jockeying might be a means of fostering research skills while at the same time enriching and expanding a course.

The presentation of Google jockeying is part of the “7 Things You Should Know About…” series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, which provides concise information on emerging learning practices and technologies. Each brief focuses on a single practice or technology and describes what it is, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use “7 Things You Should Know About…” briefs for a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues.