How Bing can be used in the classroom

Vu Anh Nguyen

Since its inception, the internet has become the ultimate database for human society, containing more information and knowledge than you can ever wrap your head around, all accessible with a click from highly-developed search engines.

Not all of those information are good, however, especially for character-building young students, and so safe searching becomes important for institutions wanting to utilize the power of the web in their academic environment. For those using Microsoft’s Bing in the Classroom, Microsoft has published a new post on the TechNet blog, authored by Microsoft Fellow Helen Gooch, detailing how its search engine can be used for safer and smarter search.

Bing in the Classroom is a special, register-based program from Microsoft for schools in the U.S. to bring search to classrooms, with benefits including advertising-free, safe searching, search tools, Bing points and rewards, lesson plans and an intuitive interface in the form of the Education Carousel.

The Education Carousel, providing educational searches daily, from "Word of the Day" to math problems. Courtesy of Microsoft.
The Education Carousel, providing educational searches daily, from “Word of the Day” to math problems. Courtesy of Microsoft.

Of course, as with any other search engines, Bing has its own tips and tricks for an optimized searching experience, and Gooch has brought together a series of videos and blog posts to discuss how Bing in the Classroom works, both for students, and for teachers to teach K-12 students to search. These range from explaining how search works, the right search terms, how to evaluate search results, and staying safe online.

As mentioned, the program is available for schools in the U.S. and any school can become a “Bing in the Classroom School” absolutely free, by registering at the main site. With the internet becoming ever more ubiquitous, programs like Bing in the Classroom are important to a great academic environment, and we look forward to more institutions using these tools to help their students grow.