This essay discusses the process of searching for information, the main type of web reading, based on data from a broader survey (VIEIRA, 2007/a) analyzed here from the viewpoints of the reader and the school. The discussion is carried out in the context of the information boom caused by the Internet and of the corresponding school challenges, since the search for information has always been a neglected issue within school environments. Searching for information is analysed according to a typology of reading difficulties on the Web. The data analysis reveals a great discrepancy between the needs or practices of a virtual reader and the most usual teaching proposals, suggesting that, although searching for information on the web is the major problem readers face, it is the the least focused on and performed reading activity at school. Finally, this article questions the way through which searching on the web can be taught, and some strategies are suggested.
Digital literacy; reading on the Web; search for information; critical reading; school survey
