Major issues prospective teachers confront while using a search engine

Abstract

Internet is an important resource for teacher candidates to meet their need of information. Search engines are among the tools frequently called on by internet users. Previous studies, however, often ignored investigating teacher candidates' experiences with search engines. The purpose of this research is to identify the issues teacher candidates encountered during their use of search engines and their subjective experiences that those issues dwell on. The participants were 328 teacher candidates. Qualitative data gathered by a questionnaire form were analyzed through using content analysis technique. Findings suggest that the teacher candidates using search engines face issues based on the self, medium, and content. Findings demonstrate the need to teach the internet and search engines in order for teacher candidates to use them effectively. It is imperative for teacher education programs to teach search engine commands, nature of the virtual context, and abilities to evaluate web materials.