WHAT IS THE NET GOOD FOR?

FOR TEACHING PURPOSES THE NET IS:

• Web sites.
• A delivery system for conventional learning tools: books, both physical (your online catalogs and WorldCat) and digital (see the Online Books Page below), full-text journal articles in electronic databases, reserve readings scanned in in pdf format, maps, reference books, textbook support pages, and documents.
• A means of communication: you can use e-mail, chat, usenet, or IRC for online discussion, and maintain your own research interests through memberships in listserves and discussion groups.
• A prime source for the following kinds of material:

  A. Pictures.
  B. FAQ files --frequently asked questions files created by experts in the field
  C. Primary sources. See http://library.sau.edu/bestinfo/Majors/History/hisdoc.htm for a guide to some important collections of historical documents, maps, laws, court cases, statistics, public records
  D. Government information.
  E. Searchable files and databases -- you can do key word searching for poetry, plays, laws, court cases, news files, and more.
  F. Interactive files -- virtual patients, "ask an expert" sites, interactive travel mapping, etc.
  G. Sound files: music, broadcasts, interviews, speeches, sound effects...
  H. Reference sources. The Reference Desk on Librarians' Index to the Internet (http://lii.org/), or X-Refer (http://w1.xrefer.com/) can answer many reference questions
  I. Online courses. Faculty and students can see how someone else is teaching the same concept. See World Lecture Hall below.
  J. News. See http://library.sau.edu/bestinfo/Current/curindex.htm for a directory.
  K. the extremely obscure. The net is where people share their private passions

  
  
  
  

  DIRECTORIES OF QUALITY RESOURCES FOR FACULTY

• About.com http://about.com/ -- human guides to over 700 subject areas.
• AskERIC Lesson Plans http://askeric.org/Virtual/Lessons/
• CyberBee http://www.cyberbee.com/ -- Includes k-12 curriculum ideas, research tools, evaluation tools, how-tos, and treasure hunts
• ERIC http://askeric.org/Eric/ -- Search for articles in education journals and education reports
• Global Schoolhouse http://www.gsn.org/ -- a guide to collaborative educational projects on the web
• **Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/ -- separate files for teachers, for kids, and for parents.
• Scout Report Archive http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/archives/index.html -- search through over 10,000 high quality reviewed sites
• SearchIQ http://www.zdnet.com/searchiq/ -- an annotated guide to good topical portals and search engines
• World Lecture Hall http://www.utexas.edu/world/lecture/index.html -- a guide to course syllabi and other course materials on the web
  
  
  

  DIRECTORIES OF QUALITY SITES FOR KIDS

• Ask Jeeves for Kids http://www.ajkids.com/
• Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids http://bensguide.gpo.gov/
• B.J. Pinchbeck's Homework Help http://school.discovery.com/homeworkhelp/bjpinchbeck/ -- recommended sites from a 14 year old internet guru
• Homework Help http://marylaine.com/homework.html -- the outline for a presentation I did on key homework resources
• HomeworkSpot http://homeworkspot.com/
• ICONnect: KidsConnect http://www.ala.org/ICONN/kidsconn.html
• Kids Click http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/KidsClick!/ -- searchable directory of good sites for kids
• KidsKonnect http://www.kidskonnect.com/
• Multnomah County Library Homework Center http://www.multnomah.lib.or.us/lib/homework/index.html
• Searchopolis http://www.searchopolis.com/ -- search or browse by topic and by elementary, middle and high school level.
• Uncle Sam for Kids http://www.win.org/library/matls/govdocs/kids.htm
• Yahooligans http://www.yahooligans.com/
  
  
  

  HOW SEARCH ENGINES CAN HELP STUDENTS THINK

• Ask Jeeves http://askjeeves.com/ -- people with similar questions have found these sites relevant; you may also wish to try these related searches
• Google http://google.com/ -- note both links to the clickable subject headings the topic is filed under and the "similar pages" feature.
• Excite Precision Search http://www.excite.com/search/ -- Use "zoom in" to narrow a broad topic into smaller subject folders, restrict search to the smaller universes it offers, click on related articles.
• MSN Search http://search.msn.com/ -- a broad search topic will yield a list of narrower "Popular Search Topics;" "Ten Most Popular Sites" (Direct Hit)
• Northern Light http://northernlight.com/ -- sorts results into narrower subject folders and, by searching a collection of magazine articles as well, reminds students that the web isn't all there is on this topic.
• Vivisimo http://www.vivisimo.com/ -- sorts results into topical folders, good for narrowing overbroad search
  
  
  

  USING SEARCH ENGINES WELL:

• About.com Search Guide http://websearch.about.com/internet/websearch/
• Advanced Internet Searching http://marylaine.com/ditc1.html -- the other workshop I'm conducting for the Delaware Instructional Technology Conference.
• Choosing the Best Search for Your Information Needs http://NuevaSchool.org/~debbie/library/research/adviceengine.html
• Finding Information on the Internet http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html -- also good info on how to evaluate what you find on the net
• Searching the Invisible Web http://websearch.about.com/internet/websearch/library/searchwiz/bl_invisibleweb_apra.htm -- outline of a presentation by Chris Sherman and Gary Price.
• Search Engine Showdown http://www.searchengineshowdown.com/
• Search Engine Watch http://searchenginewatch.com/
• When and How to Search the Net http://marylaine.com/howto.html
  
  
  

  HOW TO FIND OUT ABOUT NEW STUFF

• Classroom Connect's Net Happenings Page http://listserv.classroom.com/archives/net-happenings.html -- daily updates on k-12 sites
• Kathy Schrock's New Sites http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/newlist.html Librarian's Index to the Internet (click on New This Week)
  http://lii.org/
• Neat New Stuff I Found This Week http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html
• New Electronic Titles from the Government Publication Office
  http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/locators/net/index.html
• Scout Report (with links to specialized Scout Reports for Business, Social Sciences, and Science) http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/sr/current/index.html
  
  
  

  FREE DATABASES

• Database of Award-Winning Children's Literature http://www2.wcoil.com/~ellerbee/childlit.html -- includes complete winner lists of all kinds of awards, a keyword search for subject matter, and a forms search to generate reading lists for specific grade levels, ethnic or gender of protagonists, genre, historical period, or other parameters
• ERIC http://askeric.org/Eric/ -- search abstracts of articles from education journals and education research.
• Fact Monster http://www.factmonster.com/ -- FAQ files on a wide variety of subjects; links to dictionary and encyclopedia entries
• FindArticles.com http://www.findarticles.com/PI/index.jhtml
• MagPortal http://www.MagPortal.com/
• On-Line Books Page http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/ -- searchable index to over 12,000 digitized books
• Polling Report http://pollingreport.com/
• Statistical Resources on the Web http://www.lib.umich.edu/libhome/Documents.center/stats.html
• X-Refer http://w1.xrefer.com/ -- searches through online dictionaries, encyclopedias and quote books
  
  
  

  EVALUATING SITES

  Here are some questions to ask:

  • Sez who? Are the author's credentials or professional affiliation given? If the sponsoring agencies are universities, libraries, museums, hospitals, state and federal governments, or professional associations, they automatically have high credibility.
  • Who's it written for? Kids? Laypersons? Scholars? College students? What is the intellectual level of its language and content?
  • Quality. Is opinion supported by evidence? Does it tell you the source of the evidence? If polling data, does it tell you what the questions are, who the sample was, and how they were asked? If it's a piece of research, is the research method documented and duplicatable? Does it give you footnotes and bibliographies so that you can independently check quotes and facts?
  • Currency. How recent is the information itself? How often is the site updated?
  • Bias. Does the site attempt to be neutral? Is it sponsored by an advocacy organization?
  • Responsiveness Is there a contact person you can e-mail with questions, suggestions, corrections?
  • Has the site won awards? Not a necessary credential, but when you see a Lycos Top 5% of the Net, or a Magellan 5 Star award and such, that is a strong recommendation.

    For an excellent current list of readings, check out Alastair Smith's Guide to Evaluation of Information Sources
    http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~agsmith/evaln/evaln.htm

    A good guide for kids on evaluating sources is available from the Multnomah County Library Homework Center: http://www.multnomah.lib.or.us/lib/homework/webeval.html

  
  
  
  

  TEACHING STUDENTS TO CITE SOURCES AND AVOID PLAGIARISM

• FindSame http://www.findsame.com/
• Interactive Forms for Citing Books, Articles, etc., at Nueva Library Research
  http://NuevaSchool.org/~debbie/library/research/research.html
• Internet Essay Exposer
  http://members.home.net/mclare99/essay/
• Online Writing Lab Handouts, including links to all standard style guides
  http://www.ipl.org/teen/aplus/linkciting.htm
• Plagiary and the Art of Skillful Citation
  http://condor.bcm.tmc.edu/Micro-Immuno/courses/igr/homeric.html
  
  
  

  SOME PRACTICE QUESTIONS

• Some of my 7th graders are getting picked on by school bullies. I'd like to point them to some stories about kids who are bullied.

  HINT: Try the Database of Award-Winning Children's Literature.

• I'd also like to see what other schools are doing in the way of anti-bullying programs.

  HINT: Do an ERIC search with the term "bullying" or "anti-bullying".

• My students always write about the same hot topics -- abortion, school prayer, gun control, etc. Can I point them to some good analysis and objective information?

  HINT: See what Debbie Abilock recommends for Hot Topics at "Choosing the Best Search for Your Information Needs."

• I'd like to find a lesson plan for using maps for a history class to show students how the world used to look.

  HINT: Go to the AskERIC Lesson Plan archive, click on Search archive, and type in history maps. You can refine further by specifying grade level.

• I'd like to find out what new k-12 sites are coming out.

  HINT 1: Visit Classroom Connect's Net Happenings Page regularly, or sign up for their free newsletter.
  HINT 2: Go to Kathy Schrock's site and check out her new sites or sign up for her newsletter.

• I have a lot of immigrants' children in my class and I'd like to explain to them about how you can become an American citizen.

  HINT: Try Ben's Guide, select your age group, and click on Citizenship

• I'd like some good information on holidays -- what they are, how they're celebrated, where the traditions came from, and such -- that my elementary school students can read comfortably.

  HINT: Try Kids' Click and check out the holiday sites there.

• I'd like to find either a good directory of science education sites or a search engine that only searches science sites.

  HINT 1: Try Search IQ and see what it recommends.
  HINT 2: Try Librarians' Internet Index, click on Science, and then either click on specific science disciplines or on General Resources (where you may note with pleasure a resource called "Science and Nature for Kids").

• My students don't understand why or when they have to cite sources, let alone how.

  HINT: Try the Online Writers Guide and check out what they say about citing and plagiarism.

• I'd like my students to use magazine articles or books instead of web sites but I can't get them away from the web.

  HINT 1: Steer them to FindArticles or MagPortal.
  HINT 2: Steer them to the Online Books Page