A Nationwide and Temporal Study of Learning Internet Queries in the United States
Dr. Jun Tsuji

Abstract
The internet is an important source of information for learning. Consequently, web searches for the term “learning” may serve as an indirect indicator of learning. This hypothesis was assessed using 5-years of Google search engine query data for the U.S. population. “Learning” web searches exhibited seasonal patterns of activity that mirrored the academic calendars of U.S. schools and colleges, were markedly greater on days when students were in attendance at school, and were positively correlated with web searches for math-related content areas. Google search engine queries for “learning” were also positively correlated with internet searches for “motivation,” as predicted by the Unified Learning Model and other learning frameworks. These observations suggest that “learning” query data can be a reasonable proxy for monitoring seasonal learning.

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