For this module activity, I chose to compare Google and Dogpile to find out information about the concept of sustainability.
The page display of results from Google were clean and simple. The top chunk of information was a definition of the concept, followed by a list of potential questions to further hone results. This was accompanied by two sample graphics. Top suggested websites included academic (university) websites, academic journals as well as a (VIC) government website. They were all quite authoritative in nature. Wikipedia did appear in second rank. YouTube video suggestions, as well as sustainability-related news items were also displayed on this first page of results.
By comparison, Dogpile was quite lack-lustre. The top five results were ads – yes, linked to sustainability, but not relevant for teaching and learning purposes. Furthermore, an additional four ads appeared at the bottom of the page (of which, three were a repeat of ads in the top five positions). Wikipedia was the top non-ad result, with some similar results in the list to Google, with the inclusion of a few additional sites that also had relevance. Dogpile also had a list of potential questions to further refine results. The website list was lengthier for Dogpile than Google, but this was because Google broke it up with visuals and video suggests also, making it overall a lot more visually appealing and easier to navigate.
Winner: Google