Directories |
Search Engines | Research Tools
|
Educational Directories |
Kids' Tools | White Pages
| Yellow Pages
News Research |
Listserv Tools |
Newsgroup Tools |
Software Databases |
Computer Articles
Image Searching |
Lists of Tools
Directories
Internet Directories (also called guides and catalogs) are organized lists of sites that are reviewed by humans. They only represent a very small portion of the Internet, but usually contain high quality references. Because they are easy to browse, they are often the best place to start a search. They are also the best for finding information on a general topic, or getting a quick high quality reference.
Many of the search engines also have Internet directories based on the highest ranked sites in their database. Some Internet Directories are built by experts and volunteers
(who aren't paid). The
Open Directory Project relies on a vast army of volunteer editors to update its content. About.com
has a volunteer editor in each of its subcategories.
Using a directory is like browsing the contents of a book.
eLearners Pick:
Open Directory Project
Other Choices: Yahoo!,
Looksmart,
About.com,
Encyclopedia Britannica
Search Engines
Search engines are huge databases of web sites that are organized on massive computers. These search tools send out programs called spiders or robots that read and catalog all (or much of) of the web. These tools allow users to ask questions using various options. Since search engines are so large they excel at answering specific questions. The more specific your question,
the more you need a search engine.
Each of the most popular search engines has its own method for searching the web and its own advantages and disadvantages. There are also specific categories of search engines
including "metasearch engines", ones that allow
"Boolean" searches, and ones that claim to allow the use of "natural language" questions.
Using a search engine is like reading the index of a book. The following engines are the most advanced ones currently available.
eLearners Pick:
Google
Other choices: AlltheWeb,
Teoma, Inktomi,
Vivisimo
Research
Tools
These “virtual reference desk” links
direct you to very select collections of online reference
tools and/or offer you the chance to send questions electronically
to librarians or other experts. Happy hunting!
eLearners Pick: distancelearn.about.com
Educational Directories
The following search tools are basically Internet directories for education. These
have been chosen because they vary in size tremendously. They also have been popular choices of teachers. Links from these
directories are arranged in the eLearners directory to the Internet to give the teacher an organized way to find more quality sites that any one of these directories can provide.
eLearners Picks:
Exploratorium - This science museum in San Francisco
CA is our favorite educational directory. It is small compared to most directories,
but of very high quality. They give out 10 monthly awards to the best
science, art, and education web sites. Their directory is made up of 23 different subjects with a slight emphasis on science.
Kathy
Schrock's Guide for Educators - This site, created by a technology
administrator for the Nauset Public Schools in Cape Cod,
MA, is a categorized list of sites useful for enhancing
curriculum and professional growth. It is updated often
to include the best sites for teaching and learning.
Education World -
Education World is a resource geared toward K-12 educators that includes: a search engine for educational Web sites,
downloadable lesson plans, practical information for educators, information on how to integrate technology in the classroom, and articles written by education
experts. Its size can be a disadvantage because you often end up with a huge list of sites in alphabetical order to sift through.
Homework Central - With over 250,000 sites this site is by far the largest site for educational research. It also includes 64 special education search engines and 50 special education indexes. A great place to go for educational research.
Search Tools for Kids
Several tools have been created to help kids find appropriate information at their level. These tools differ in their approach, but their goals are the
same: fun and safe searching.
eLearners Pick:
Ask Jeeves for Kids
Other choices: Yahooligans!,
KidsClick!
White Pages
A variety of tools exist for finding people, email addresses, phone numbers,
and postal addresses. These tools are also called people locators. While these databases are large, they are far from complete. Often they only list references to people who have made their
contact information available.
eLearners Pick: Yahoo! People Search
Other Choices:
Switchboard, Who Where?,
Bigfoot, WhitePages
Yellow Pages
Many databases exist for finding businesses on the Internet. These tools could also be called business locators.
eLearners Pick:
Switchboard
Other choices: Hoover's
Online, SuperPages,
Yahoo! Yellow Pages
News Research
If your search clearly pertains to news
or current events, then there are many choices of where
to look. Many of the major search engines have
special news searching features. There are also
fee-based news services like Dow
Jones that specialize in business news. Many
print publications and categorical news sites can also
be found in free on-line versions by browsing Yahoo!
News.
eLearners Pick:
Yahoo! News
Other Choices:
Excite News, Google
News
Listserv Tools
If you want to find listservs, there are a few good choices. EdWeb
and Community
Learning Network maintain a good list of educational listservs. In addition to Discussion & Information Lists,
Tile.net allows you to search for Usenet Newsgroups and FTP sites.
eLearners Pick:
Tile.net
Newsgroup Searching
If you want to find Usenet newsgroups, you could begin by looking at
EdWeb's
list of educational newsgroups. You could also use Google
Groups or Tile.net.
Unlike listservs and forums, you can search through all newsgroups for a posting relevant to your topic. Many of the major search engines allow you to search all Usenet newsgroups simultaneously.
eLearners Pick: Google
Groups
Software Databases
In case you haven't heard - you can get tons of free software on the web. There are several major sites to look for your next shareware title. Some software is free for life, but others only work for a trial period (after which you must purchase
it.)
eLearners Pick:
Shareware.com
Other Choices: WinSite,
Stroud's CWSApps, CNET
Download.com
Computer Info
If you are searching for technical information, there are several unique ways you can search. Whenever
we are searching for advice or articles on technical topics,
we search Ziff Davis Publishing. You can also check out the
websites of other major computer publishers.
eLearners Pick:
ZDNet
Other Choices:
Internet.com, CNET.com,
Help2Go
Image Searching
There are a number of tools that allow you
to find images on the World Wide Web. This may mean pictures, graphics,
or other kinds of multimedia.
eLearners Pick:
AltaVista - Image Search
Other Choices: Google
Image Search, Picsearch, Yahoo!
Search for Images
Lists of Search Tools
A database is a searchable collection of information. Thousands of databases exist on the Internet dealing with a wide variety of subjects. If you can find a database on your topic, then it will be worth searching. Several sites simply list links to various searchable databases and engines. If you want to know if a specialized search tool
exists, check one of the reference sites listed below.
eLearners Pick:
Beaucoup
Other Choices: Search.com,
iTools
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Online Search Tool Info
