Internet intheclassroom

Internet in the Classroom: First Steps

Global SchoolNet's Internet Project Registry
Global SchoolNet offers a wide range of Internet related projects open to K-12 students. The projects are searchable by age appropriateness, curriculum subject, and technologies used.

Liszt: The Mailing List Directory
Looking for an easy way to track down a mailing list that matches the wants and needs of K-12 staffers? Liszt.com to the rescue!

Gleason Sackmann's Email Lists
Web education expert Gleason Sackmann, the founder and editor of Net-Happenings, the granddaddy of all education lists, brings his email lists to Classroom Connect.

Getting Started on the Internet: The Key to Keypal Success
This article by Gary Hopkins explores the ins and outs of keypal exchanges with lots of tips for making them beneficial to students.

ePALS Classroom Exchange
So you want to correspond with keypals, but you don’t know how to get started? Register your class, then search the database for other classes by language, grade, city, state, province, or country. Get ready for global correspondence!

Virtual Architecture: Designing and Directing Curriculum-Based Telecomputing
Get help creating or implementing your telecomputing projects here.

Web 66 International WWW School Registry
After learning about different countries, take a field trip to anywhere using email. Visit the school Web pages of other countries through this site, and make some keypals!

Intercultural E-Mail Classroom Connections
St. Olaf College in Minnesota hosts a free service to help teachers and classes link with partners in other countries and cultures for email pen pals and project exchanges.

Timber Wolf Multimedia Gallery
Pictures, audio, and video files from the Timber Wolf Information Network.

Guides to Critical Evaluation
Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators has evaluation surveys available for download. Elementary, middle school and secondary levels are provided.

Yahooligans!
This child-friendly search engine was created by the makers of Yahoo. Don't miss the School Bell category. It's loaded with sites that help with homework in all subject areas.

Galaxy
Galaxy is a guide to worldwide information and services and is provided as a public service by America's Health Network.

Argus Clearinghouse
The Argus Clearinghouse provides a central access point for value-added topical guides which identify, describe, and evaluate Internet-based information resources.

HotBot
HotBot provides access to the largest Internet index currently online. It's one of the best search engines around!

WebCrawler
WebCrawler is a powerful, online searching service that helps you find personally relevant information in the sea of Web content.

InfoSeek
Billed as proof of intelligent life on the Net, InfoSeek offers a searchable index to an impressive amount of online content, from Arts and Entertainment sites to Politics and more.

SavvySearch
Enter your keywords, and SavvySearch sends them to a dozen search tools at the same time. Saves time when you're searching the Net!

DejaNews
DejaNews is your gateway to a simple search engine and Web-based reader service for Usenet Newsgroup postings.

Shareware.Com
Links to more than 250,000 free and low-cost programs are just a mouse-click away at Shareware.Com!

Yahoo! People Search
Find phone numbers or email addresses through this site.

Research It!
Here are all kinds of research tools! Language tools include: a rhyming dictionary, thesaurus, pronunciation key. Try the to/from translator. Read biographies and quotations. Locate maps, telephone numbers, facts, and financial tools.

Find It On the Web
PC Magazine tests 82 sites to tell you which ones really help you find what you want.

MetaCrawler
Gather results from the top search engines on the Web. MetaCrawler scores the results and provides the user with a list of relevant sites. Conduct research, access financial information, play exciting games, and participate in the electronic marketplace!

Using Boolean Operators with Search
Using Venn diagrams, this site from Binghamton University explains Boolean terms. It also includes a quick reference guide to the terms.

Yahooligans! Teaching Search Strategies
Teach your students, and yourself, how to search for websites with Yahooligans! Walk through a basic search for some animal Web sites to demonstrate the best way to conduct successful searches.

ED’s Oasis Evaluation Guidelines
This is a very thorough set of guidelines for evaluating Web sites.

Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources
This is a critical evaluation essay from U.C.L.A.

Evaluating Internet Resources
This checklist for evaluation of WWW resources is from the University at Albany Libraries.

Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators
More than just a simple collection of links, this Web site from Internet guru Kathy Schrock provides evaluation tools.

Modern Language Association
Browse through this site that provides a resource for those who want to promote the teaching of language and literature.

Yahooligans! Net Events
Updated weekly, this directory includes a list of live chats and ongoing, education-appropriate events.

Electronic Emissary
This service links classrooms with K-12 specialists from all over the world for interactive, inquiry-based exchanges that continue for the duration of a project. Classes formulate a plan, then search the database for a mentor.

KidProj
Join KIDLINK, a group of teachers and youth group leaders from around the world who plan activities and projects for students to take part. Look at the current and past project lists.

Save the Beaches
Students collect litter from a local beach and track their finds. Data is sent to the project coordinator and after all the data is compiled, it is sent back for analysis. Students develop solutions to the litter problem.

The Earth Day Challenge
Here's an Internet scavenger hunt that challenges students to learn about the environment and ways to help protect it.

KIDPROJ: Midi Music Relay
This project gets students involved in making music by having them add to a composition and then forward it to another student to add to it.

Boulder Valley School District: Acceptable Use
The Boulder Valley School District has two different levels of Internet access to offer to all students. Check out the district's acceptable use, permission, and contract forms.

A Dozen Reasons Why Schools Should Avoid Filtering
This article explains why filtering may not be as good an idea as it seems.

Making Learning Authentic
This article chronicles the authentic learning experiences of one middle school and discusses the technology that makes it possible. This class of students participated in hands-on activities that taught lessons about water quality and the environment.

Math Forum K-12
This online math community has discussion groups, lesson plans and Web units, Ask Dr. Math, resources, newsletter and much more. In the Forum Features area, click on the Web Units and Lessons to access a great selection of math lessons.

Thematic Units for Primary Grades
Students at the University of South Carolina wrote these thematic units based on children’s literature. Choose a unit that would fit into your curriculum and click on the name to view it. There is also a model to use for writing your own units.

Bookmark Wizard
This software utility program will help keep your bookmarks organized. A step-by- step setup wizard creates a Web page out of your bookmarks. To download, scroll down the page and click on Bookmark Wizard. This application is freeware for Windows only.

Filtering Facts
A pro-filtering resource with links to other related sites.

Safe Computing
Reviews the blocking software packages and rates them according to reliability.

Classroom Connect’s Teacher Contacts
Search this site by educator’s name, school name, or age of students. Just fill in an area or select a category and the database will return as many listings as it finds.

Key Pals and Correspondents Exchange
Education Place lists many projects from teachers looking for keypals.

You've Got Mail
Use email to extend kids' learning. This list shows ten ways to integrate electronic mail into the classroom with practical suggestions and cautions for making it work.

Kids on the Net
This site encourages children to write and publishes their works. Have students check into the Monster Motel, a collaborative writing project for kids, and write an instant monster story.

Kidscribe
Kidscribe is a bilingual site for kid authors. Teacher Dianne E. Folkerth created this site to encourage children to write. Students can publish essays, stories, poetry, or jokes. New topics are posted periodically.

The Net: User Guidelines and Netiquette - Index
This guideline was developed to ensure that users understand they are responsible in how they access or transmit information through the Internet.

Microsoft Internet Explorer
Download Microsoft Internet Explorer from this site.

Netscape Navigator Tutorial (Saving and Using Web Pages)
Learn how to save Web pages for use later.

Internet Explorer- History and Favorites
Find out how to track of the sites you or your students have visited.

Get Adobe Acrobat Reader
Follow the steps provided to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Now you will be able to view and print PDF files!

QuickTime
The Internet is home to tens of thousands of video clips. Apple Computer's QuickTime plug-in and player are your keys to viewing this rich content. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Download QuickTime to view a free version.

Shockwave and Flash Player
These plug-ins allow you to view multimedia files on the Internet that were developed with Macromedia Director.

CNET: Browsers
All you need to know about browsers: the latest technology news headlines, a help desk, chat rooms, and up-to-date downloads of your favorite plug-ins.

Year of the Ocean
What is oceanography? How deep is the ocean? The Year of the Ocean has these answers, ocean news, multimedia, related links and much more!

Kid's Search Tools
Kid’s Search Tools includes links to search engines that screen inappropriate material.

Yahooligans! Teaching Internet Literacy
This tutorial will help you and your students learn Internet literacy skills. You will find tips, activities, and forms to help you and your students become savvy Internet critics.

LookSmart
Click on any category for an easy-to-use directory as well as Spotlight sites, News, and Editor’s Picks.

Magellan Internet Guide
Magellan is an online directory of reviewed and rated Internet sites. Perform a search or explore Magellan topics and you'll instantly go to a list of sites in your area of interest.

The WWW Virtual Library
Virtually every subject matter, from Aboriginal Studies to Zoology, is indexed and listed here at this very thorough guide of the different subjects and sources of information that exist online.

Excite
Excite, a well-know Internet searching tool, employs unique concept search technology to search and summarize more than 50 million Web pages.

Lycos
Lycos offers access to a diverse collection of Internet content. From a searchable index to online sites organized by subject to the latest national and international news, Lycos has something for everyone.

What is a Boolean Search?
Read an easy to understand explanation of Boolean search terms. Find out how to use AND, OR, and NOT in your Internet searches.

Dogpile
Dogpile searches the Web: LookSmart, GoTo.com, Thunderstone, Yahoo!, Dogpile Open Directory, About.com, Lycos' Top 5%, InfoSeek, Direct Hit, Lycos, and AltaVista.

Download.com
Find the latest free downloads of multimedia and design tools here. Look for access to QuickTime, Adobe Acrobat Reader, RealPlayer, Shockwave, and more. The “Beginner’s Guide to Downloading” section offers more assistance.

Bigfoot White Pages
The Bigfoot Directories are one of the most accurate white pages on the Web.

Search.Com
The Internet is full of excellent information. Let this easy-to-use C|Net site help you find your needle in the online haystack!

Ask Jeeves
Just type a question and click "Ask!" on this search engine.

Ask Jeeves for Kids
Just type in a question and click Ask! Jeeves might send you to the perfect site, or it offers matches by WebCrawler, Yahoo, Infoseek, Excite, and Altavista.

Comparison of Search Engine User Interface
This is a quick reference guide for effective searching. This table gives the features of all the search engines to help in deciding which tool will be most helpful in your searches.

Welcome to the Web
This Web site has tutorials for kids about searching the Net and other Internet topics.

Blue Web’n Site Evaluation Rubric
This evaluation rubric is used to assess sites before they are added to the Blue Web’n Library. Take time to read these guidelines.

Why We Need To Evaluate What We Find on the Internet
Purdue University Libraries explains why we should evaluate contents of Web sites as well as offering criteria for evaluation.

World Wide Web Evaluation Checklist
This online ebaluation form can be filled in and submitted by email to the students’ teacher.

Classroom Connect: Citing Internet Resources
Just as you must cite books and periodicals to support research, it is important to cite online sources of information. This article from the Classroom Connect Newsletter gives examples for citing all types of Internet sources.

Electronic Referencing
This guide teaches how to reference electronic information in bibliographies.

Quest Interactive Expeditions
Join the Quest team on one of their trips mountain-biking through Asia or sailing through the Galapagos Islands. Learn about the culture, flora, and fauna of these locations. Much of this site is free, you don't need to subscribe for the CU course.

SpaceZone
Discover the universe with live NASA audio and video clips. Find up-to-the-minute news from NASA and other international space agencies, history of space exploration, educational tips, and more.

Harnessing the Web
This Global Schoolhouse site provides tutorials and guides to using the Internet as a learning tool.

The Wild Ones: Project Connection
Visit the Wild Ones site to see student work, learn about endangered animals, and meet the people who work to protect them. Use Project Connection to link to current classroom projects.

Which Pennies Are Still in Circulation?
Participants are asked to examine 100 pennies and tally the number of coins minted in each year. Then students can enter their results on the Web site and compare their results.

Great Paper Airplane Challenge
Students at each school design and fly their airplanes. The best from each class is sent in with complete instructions for building it. A fly off will be held at the end of the project to determine the best airplane.

Electronic United Nations
This site revolves around helping teachers and students develop a classroom country.

Child Safety on the Information Superhighway
The full text of this pamphlet was written for parents by Larry Magid.

Pitsco Acceptable Use Policies
Find examples of Acceptable Use Policies and an electronic handbook that provides links to various sources of information that may be helpful to administrators, teachers, library media specialists, and parents in the development of a local AUP.

Internet Access Raises Issue of Student Privacy
This article explores different views about child safety and privacy on the Internet.

Science Education Gateway
NASA science-based Earth and space science curricula are listed here for your classroom use. The lessons are listed by title. Just click on the title of the ones that interest you. This site also has help for designing your own Web based lessons.

S.C.O.R.E. CyberGuides
Select your grade level and a book that you plan to use with your class from the home page. Click on the literature title, and you will find a corresponding, organized set of ideas that will enrich your students’ experience with the story.

ePALS Internet Safety Tips
ePALs offers some suggestions on the safe use of keypals in your classroom.

Bookmark Tips
Read these tips for keeping track of bookmarks and using the bookmark file as a Web page.

Connecting Schools Is Only a Start
This article focuses on the pedagogical and organizational changes necessary to utilize the Internet to its fullest in the classroom.

Gaps Found in Internet Screening Software
CNN article reviews and rates screening software and finds supervision is still necessary.

More Than Just Key Pals
This Web site addresses tips on finding pen pals, safety issues you need to discuss with your class, and activity ideas you can do with a partner class.

The Smileys and Acronyms Dictionary
A list of smileys and acronyms commonly used in email correspondence. You can add your own to the list.

Camvista.com
From the United Kingdom, this site provides dynamic live content for sporting, government, music, and other events. You'll also find live Webcams throughout the U.K.

KeyPals Club
Log on to the KeyPals club to find keypals from around the globe. You can connect to an individual student, a classroom, or a school with KeyPals’ easy-to-use interface.

Learning Circles on I*EARN
Learning Circles are project-based partnerships among a small number of schools located throughout the world. Each session is 14 weeks. To join a Learning Circle, you must be a member of I*EARN and complete a Learning Circle placement form.

Public Connection: Ask the Scientist Videoconferences
As part of this digital museum, you can participate in "Ask the Scientist" videoconferences. Every week, a scientist is available for an hour over the internet to answer questions about exciting new discoveries.

Changing the Way Teachers Teach
From "Technology Counts," these case studies explore how technology has changed the way teachers teach.

K–5 Cyber Trail
This online presentation is a perfect introduction to the Internet for elementary educators. Follow resident expert, Syd the CyberGuide, as he shows you how innovative elementary schools around the globe are becoming a part of the World Wide Web.

Global Connection
The virtual communities on the Internet can bring people from diverse backgrounds and with different beliefs together in a shared social space. Classrooms can be part of these virtual communities as this international keypal project shows.

A Beginner’s Guide to Effective Email
This is not a document on the mechanics of sending email, but instead focuses on the content of email: how to say what you need to say.

A Collection of Search Engine Reviews
This is a list of articles from Search Engine Watch's monthly newsletter about using search engines.

AltaVista
AltaVista, boasting one of the largest Internet indexes, will help you search the Internet. AltaVista was the first search engine to allow for searches in different languages; and it's still probably the most extensive multilingual engine.

Email Accounts: n2mail
Thanks to n2mail, teachers, students, and parents at K-12 schools can now send and receive free email via the World Wide Web.

Hotmail
Sign up for the world's free Web-based email!

You've Got Mail
Use email to extend kids' learning. This list shows ten ways to integrate electronic mail into the classroom with practical suggestions and cautions for making it work.

Netscape WebMail
Access your email anywhere using this service from Netscape.

Yahoo!
This is an easy-to-use, graphical subject tree of World Wide Web sites geared to educators and older students.

Education World School Directory
This site has a comprehensive World School Directory that is searchable.

The Young Authors' Workshop
Here is a complete guide for young authors which steps them through the writing process. It also has a comprehensive list of sites where students can send in their work to be published.

KidzPage
This site specializes in poems written by kids of all ages.

Netscape Navigator
Visit this Netscape page to download their products.

Internet Explorer Tutorial (Saving Content)
Learn how to save text, graphics, and sound that you find on the Internet.

Netscape-Organizing Bookmarks
Learn how to organize your bookmarks in your Netscape browser.

Organizing Your Links
There are many ways you can make it easier to return to Web pages you’ve previously viewed. Microsoft Product Support Services offers several guides.

Crescendo
This player can be used to play any Standard MIDI file over the Internet.

RealPlayer
With RealPlayer’s audio and video streaming, you can view video clips and listen to sounds over the Internet in real time without waiting for the download.

HyperStudio Plug-In
Students can create projects in HyperStudio and place them on the Web. To view them, use the HyperStudio Player and the Plug-in.

Apple Education: Desktop Movies in Education
Inspire and captivate your students by integrating desktop video into your curriculum. The Apple Education group has brainstormed a few curriculum ideas to get you started.