The world wide web is basically a large number of computers, located around the world, that are connected and that can share the information that is placed on them. Netscape and explorer are “browsers” that help you search and find information.

There are three ways to find information on the web.
If you know the URL(the address that begins with http://) you can enter it into the Location Field. To do this place the cursor in the box, click once, type the address, then press return. If you do not know the exact location of a site you must do a web search by clicking on the search button. The third way to find information on the web is to click on any of the links(the underlined text) provided on the web “search engine.” Here is a list of popular search engines to try:

A search engine is an Internet tool, usually Web based, that helps you find Web sites or topics based on a word or groups of words. Once you are running a browser, you can use a search engine from within the browser to help find sites on specific topics.

How do you find more advanced searches or help in determining the best way to search? Try clicking on “advanced web search,” “help,”  “tips,” or some other similarly named item to find the rules for each search engine.

Student search engines
Anything you type into a search engine can be a dangerous result for students. Teachers are probably safer to use students search engines, which control the sites a student can visit. Be aware that they are not foolproof and some are safer than others.

Sites that take you to students search engines:
www.als.lib.wii.us/childsafe.html
www.fvrl.org/filtersearch.html
www.sterlingkarate.com/kid.html

Best student search sites:
Ask Jeeves for Schools (Grades 2-9)
KidsClick (Grades k-7)
Lightspan Learning (Grades k-12 and teachers)
Yahooligans! (Grades 3-7)

Evaluation Guidelines
We must use imprecise guidelines to judge whether a site is likely to be effective with students. There are standard features of educational Web sites. The foundation is the information, the content. So we ask questions that take the measure of information quality. Does the site provide access to significant, nontrivial, and curriculum-related information? Are the sources of information cited? Is the information current and updated appropriately? We need to know what student can do with this information. Are they are they reading it for a report? Are they sharing it? Are they extending this information thought their own investigations?

Just about anyone can create a web page on just about any topic. It is very important that students and teachers recognize that not everything out there is a viable resource. There are several things to look for when trying to determine if a web page is a viable source.
 
 

The online resource facilitates person to person interactivity and increased understanding though the use of telecommunications.

Student communications and contributions are screened before being posted to the site.

Learners are able to link to additional online resources that provide related information or examples and support the learning objectives of the program.

A reliable authority is cited for all information.

The site is rich in content and  aesthetically pleasing. Text is easy to read and graphics enhance the basic instructional design of the site.

Learners can navigate easily through the web site.

The online resource is will structured. it provides easy access to the content and supports user control through elements such as a searchable index, a site locator map, or help screens.

Program objectives are clearly stated and well implemented, and they are obvious and relevant to teacher and learner.

The online resource accommodates multiple modalities and learning styles.

The online resource  stimulates student creativity and imagination.