Learn easier paths to better searching and more reliable information on Google Search

Location: Lakmahal Community Library

Everyday, we use the internet to find information or answers to our questions. Some websites, however, unintentionally, or purposefully, contain inaccurate information – and navigating the web, and sorting through the wide array of websites online, can be very challenging.

On the 4th of April, Ruha Devanesan, a Google employee who works closely with the Google Information Literacy team, delivered a workshop to a group of patrons at the Lakmahal Community Library. In it, Ruha shared the SIFT framework for evaluating the information you see online, and a few tools from Google Search that help make that evaluation a bit easier, including About This Result and About This Image, two recently launched features by Google’s Information Literacy team on Google Search.

To kick off the workshop, Ruha asked the audience, “who here thinks they’re pretty good at online searching?” Just one or two raised their hands. She then asked “who uses social media regularly? Who uses whatsapp to share news and information with friends and family? Who’s on gaming platforms like Roblox or Minecraft? How about reading digital or physical newspapers or magazines?”  Every person in the room raised their hands.  “Then this workshop is for you,” she said. The tools Ruha described are not necessarily groundbreaking – they are commonsense mechanisms for spotting good quality information from bad.  What’s new, she said, is learning to apply these tools in the digital world, and practicing them regularly, despite the temptation to move fast and not think critically about the information we consume.

The Lakmahal Community Library is a nonprofit institution centred on creative writing and storytelling. Lakmahal is committed to developing as a common public space that cultivates creativity and inspires diverse and critical ways of thinking, through an array of affordable educational, cultural, recreational programmes and a diverse collection of books. Visit their website to learn about other upcoming events.