Thinkfinity search is  easy to use.  Simply type what you are looking for in the keyword box  and you will find many great resources from one of Thinkfinity's  Content Partners.

Below is information that can help you understand how  the Thinkfinity search works and several tips to allow you to become a  more powerful search user.

Search Filters

You can  filter the search results using option boxes available for  Resource  Types, Grade Levels, Subjects, and Partners.  Filter options should be  used when you are searching for results in specific areas as they will  greatly refine you search results.

Include Partner  Reviewed Resources

If your initial search results don't  contain resources that meet your expectations you have the option to  include resources from external sites that have been reviewed by a panel  of experts from our Content Partners.

Phrase search  ("")

By putting double quotes around a set of words, you are searching  the exact words in that exact order without any change. By insisting on  phrase search you might be missing good results accidentally. For  example, a search for [ "President Obama" ] (with quotes) will miss the  pages that refer to President Barack Obama.

Terms  you want to exclude (-)

Attaching a minus sign immediately  before a word indicates that you do not want pages that contain this  word to appear in your results. The minus sign should appear immediately  before the word and should be preceded with a space. You can exclude as  many words as you want by using the - sign in front of all of them, for  example [ poems -shape -diamante ] will return results for poems that  do not include shape or diamante.

The OR operator

The default  behavior is to consider all the words in a search. If you want to  specifically allow either one of several words, you can use the OR  operator (note that you have to type 'OR' in ALL CAPS). For example, [  music classical OR jazz ] will give you music results about either  classical or jazz, whereas [ music classical jazz ] (without the OR)  will show pages that include both classical and jazz on the same page.  The symbol | can be substituted for OR. (The AND operator, by the way,  is the default, so it is not needed.)

Other Search  Tips

• Search is always case  insensitive. A search for [ verizon foundation ] is the same as a search for [ Verizon Foundation ].
• Every word matters. Generally, all  the words you put in the  query will be used. However, words that are  commonly used, like 'the,'  'a,' and 'for,' are usually ignored (these  are called stop words).
• Punctuation  is generally ignored,  including @#$%^&*()=+[]\ and other special  characters.
• Keep it simple.  If you're looking for a particular  concept or lesson, start with its name. Most queries do not require  advanced operators or unusual syntax. Simple is good.
• Describe  what you need with as few terms as possible. The goal of each word in a  query is to focus it further. Since all words are used, each additional  word limits the results. If you limit too much, you will miss a lot of  useful information. The main advantage to starting with fewer keywords  is that, if you don't get what you need, the results will likely give  you a good indication of what additional words are needed to refine your  results on the next search. For example, [ oil spill ] is likely to  give better results than the longer [oil spill in gulf of mexico].