Supporting the Social Transfer of Web Search Expertise

The ability to effectively search the Internet is an increasingly critical skill. In this position paper we discuss how researchers can improve the manner in which students learn to search the Internet. We propose that social factors can play a large role in transferring expertise between parties and that existing tools for instruction and communication do not adequately support social learning. We use cognitive apprenticeship as a theoretical framework to motivate new studies and tools for the communication of search practices.