Bilal’s work, Children’s use of the Yahooligans! Web search engine. III. Cognitive and physical behaviors on fully self-generated search tasks, builds upon their previous work which focused on students’ behavior through web-based searching in fully-assigned tasks. This article specifically focused on self-generated search tasks for students and evaluating the impact it had on student cognition and behavior. Students were provided a worksheet to complete and identify information related to a topic of their choosing through the site Yahooligans!. In comparison to the first two studies completed by Bilal in the same vein of cognition and behavior in search tasks, this study found students to be more successful in their tasks. That said while Bilal does not acknowledge that as a causal measure, Bilal concluded that students found less difficulty in self-generated tasks while more Web-based training is needed for students to be successful in identifying appropriate and adequate information on the internet.

Bilal used quantitative and qualitative methods to collect data (Screen Recording software and a worksheet). The study consisted of 22 Middle School science students, consistent with the previous studies that this study was building on. Students were given freedom to choose their topics to search on the site Yahooligans! and were asked to transcribe their search in a worksheet provided. One aspect of this study that I find to be a strength is the authenticity of the limitations. It acknowledges when students were unsuccessful for ‘spelling’ or ‘being undecided’ on a topic. What I appreciate the most is its’ acknowledgement of ‘kids being kids’ which is a common experience for many teachers in a task such as this. Bilal also presents the findings of this survey in a bar graph (Figure 2) which visually presents the methods in a way for the reader to compare and contrast the students’ movements and usage of the site. Bilal (2002)’s study to assess autonomy, truthfully allowed full autonomy to the students to self-generate their topics by even allowing them to change their topic if the first topic yielded poor results. The flexibility of the study to allow that also simulates another aspect of the classroom experience for students and teachers alike.

Bilal (2000, 2001, 2002) is mentioned consistently throughout the Kuiper et. al’s (2005) work referenced in the first annotated bib for this week. However, specifically his 2002 work focuses on students’ behaviors in self-generated search tasks which lends to motivation and inquiry, topics I have a personal interest in. It is consistent in a few of the works discussed so far in that student choice and autonomy seems to be a driving factor in motivation as well as success in a given task. Technology aids this by opening the possibilities for students to explore depths otherwise limited without the internet and technology. This supports inquiry-based learning aided through technology as students are learning to process information as they navigate and think critically about the information. I am not sure where I want to take this idea of inquiry-based assessment and learning into my research. What I do know is this study aligns with my previous thoughts regarding autonomy and how the learning process is engaged when students have the freedom to explore and navigate to their own interests. However this study is limited to a search directory in 2005. I would venture Yahooligans! is not even functioning in the present so I would be curious how far this study could be extended when referencing databases, scholarly sources, etc. It’s something I am thinking about and almost considering, at what point is self-generation a negative? Coupling that with Generative AI, what are the comparisons of motivation considering that aspect of generation? Bilal’s work (2000, 2001, 2002) left me with answers but it also left me with new questions I am looking to answer in my research.

Sources
Bilal, D. (2000). Children’s use of the Yahooligans! search engine. I. Cognitive, physical and affective behaviors on fact-based search tasks. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 51(7), 646–665.

Bilal, D. (2001). Children’s use of the Yahooligans! search engine. II. Cognitive and physical behaviors on research tasks. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 52(2), 118–136.

Bilal, D. (2002). Children’s use of the Yahooligans! Web search engine. III. Cognitive and physical behaviors on fully self-generated tasks. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53(13), 1170–1183.

Kuiper, E., Volman, M., & Terwel, J. (2005). The Web as an information resource in K–12 education: Strategies for supporting students in searching and processing information. Review of Educational Research, 75, 285–328.

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