Google’s new search options went live 2 days ago.  Included is a fantastic  “wonder wheel” which gives a visual  representation of your search and allows you to quickly delve deeper into your topic.  Here’s a Geography example.  Click on the  box in bottom righthand corner to view in fullscreen and use the escape button at the end to return to the blog post.

Olympics 2012

Olympics 2012 (Year 9 geography topic)

The main advantage to searching this way is that students can be directed to relevant  search terms and learn not just to click on the first search result that they find!

Timeline 

As well as the “wonder wheel” Google now allows you the opportunity to look at a “timeline” and discover how information about a topic has changed and developed.  The additional search options also enable you to search by media type and within any discussion forum on the topic.