Testing the water before surfing.

One of my students, working to attain licensure as a school library media specialist, spent two weeks in a middle school library media center last summer. The middle school students who visited the center were attending summer school in an effort to catch up academically. Susan, my student, found herself working with student after student who had received instructions to use the World Wide Web to find information for a written report on a particular person or topic.

When the practicum was over, Susan's primary observation had to do with how much time students wasted searching for information. Many students did not have a clue about how to search for specific topics, and had no input into the choice of topic nor interest in it. Consequently, they spent day after day spinning their wheels, or, if unsupervised, searching for Web sites on topics other than those assigned. After several days of looking for information on Abraham Lincoln, for example, it was apparent that one student still did not know who Lincoln was, not even the fact that he had been President. Susan said to me, "I learned a lot. I learned what I'm not going to let happen in my library."

Susan's experience prodded me into thinking about how teachers, school library media specialists and parents can effectively use the World Wide Web as a teaching and learning tool in the classroom and at home. More and more, teachers are expected to integrate technology into their classrooms. They are, I think, particularly expected to use the Internet because it is "free" and increasingly accessible. Yet, it is the exceptional school system that prepares its teachers to use the Internet appropriately. Fortunately, new products and resources are available that facilitate constructive and relatively easy use of the Internet.

Guided Research with Learning Online

Teachers of children grades 4-8 who have little experience navigating the Internet can use the Learning Online series, published by Curriculum Associates, as a way to introduce students to the World Wide Web as a research tool. Learning Online is an Internet/activity book program that became available in the fall of 1997. Three titles are currently available: The Wright Brothers and the Invention of Powered Flight, The Voyage of Apollo 11: Mission to the Moon and Endangered Animals.

One reason I like this series so much is its marriage of print resources with Internet resources. The inexpensive teacher guides and student books are a familiar, unintimidating format for teachers new to the Internet. Clear directions make it easy to connect to the Learning Online home page (www.curriculumassociates.com/Learning Online), where hyperlinks connect students to Web sites that help them answer questions, solve problems and complete activities posed in their books. Student books also contain glossaries that include terms related both to the book's curriculum topic and to technology. Teacher guides provide an overview of the series, notes about online safety and responsibilities, an introduction to the topic, teaching suggestions for each activity, cross-curriculum extension activities, suggested follow-up activities, a list of print resources and reproducible Web site evaluation forms.

Another positive feature about this series is that Web sites already have been selected by the developers of the program, which assures teachers and parents of their relevance and appropriateness, and saves students and teachers time. Examples of Web sites are those sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation for use with Endangered Animals, by the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village for The Wright Brothers, and by NASA for The Voyage of Apollo 11. A novice Internet user might wish to stick to the pre-selected Web sites, while more advanced users may elect to teach students to use search engines in order to expand their research on the Web.

Combining CD-ROMs and the World Wide Web

Another relatively new and painless way to get onto the World Wide Web is through the use of educational software in CD-ROM format. Many software publishers are now releasing CD-ROMs that automatically provide a link to World Wide Web sites on any computer that has Internet access. An example is DK Multimedia's The Jolly Post Office, a CD-ROM title for children ages 4 to 8 based on Janet and Allan Ahlberg's best-selling Jolly Postman books. The software opens with a view of the Post Office Counter, where children may select one of several games or activities, one of which is the World Stamp Book. For this option, children draw their own stamps and "paste" them in their own stamp book. In addition, their stamps may be entered into the World Stamp Book on the World Wide Web, where they may also collect stamps made by other children around the world. Later, young stamp designers may visit The Jolly Postman on the Web by going to www.jollypostman.com to discover if their stamps appear in the World Stamp Book.

DK Multimedia also has released other CD-ROM products that link to the World Wide Web, one of which is Amazing Animals. This software provides facts about animals through text, maps, pictures, sounds and videos, as well as several animal games. Users also have the option of printing and assembling animal masks. The Amazing Animals Internet Console offers access to a corresponding Web site where students can enter contests, find out more information about animals, get Amazing Animal stationery and computer wallpaper, and post messages about animals.

In the case of these CD-ROMs, the Web site is limited to being an extension of the software and a place for publisher promotion, and there are no links to other Web sites. However, there is the opportunity to share messages with other students in an educational context.

CD-ROM and Online Encyclopedias 

Most electronic encyclopedias began as CD-ROM products, later becoming hybrids that linked to pre-selected Web sites by a simple click of the mouse. Now, many publishers of these encyclopedias offer their products online, in addition to packaging them in the CD-ROM format. Subscribing to the online reference may be a way for schools and libraries to bypass time-consuming and frustrating network applications. After paying the subscription price, users are given a password to connect to the encyclopedia on the World Wide Web. Using an encyclopedia with links to the Internet is one way that students can be introduced to using the World Wide Web as a research tool within the familiar context of using an encyclopedia. The major difference between the CD-ROM and the online version is that the CD-ROM format includes video clips, more audio and interactivities.

Recently, I took advantage of a 60-day free trial of the Grolier's Multimedia Encyclopedia Online in order to experiment with its connectivity to the Internet. Online information about the encyclopedia told me that its targeted audience includes upper elementary age children. Finding information on specific topics was easy. By entering words like ballet, drug abuse, acid rain and tiger, and then clicking on the search button, articles covering each topic appeared immediately.

If Web links were available, usually two to five had been selected, and they were nicely presented in a linked page, called the Grolier Internet Index, in the following format:

Article title: acid rain

Frank Potter's Science Gems: Earth Science

Dozens of sites for earth science education are identified by category, subcategory and grade level by physicist and educator Frank Potter and his associates. A treasure trove for teachers, parents, and students. Very easy to navigate. Recommended. Reading level: General

I found the annotation very helpful and liked the fact that some sites were recommended. The reading level is also a useful addition; in my explorations, however, I did not find any specified reading level other than "General." I would have to spend much more time with the encyclopedia before I could count this as a limitation on the part of the Grolier Internet Index, since teachers often complain that the Web generally lacks sites with reading levels suitable for elementary school students. Some selected Web sites had moved or disappeared, as some always do. I also noticed that a few of my favorite sites were not included. Generally, however, my reaction to the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia Online as a gateway to the World Wide Web is favorable, and I recommend it as a way for teachers and students to get their feet wet before surfing the Web.

Products Listed

Learning Online, Curriculum Associates, Inc., North Billerica, MA, 1997.

Three titles are currently available in this series: The Wright Brothers and the Invention of Powered Flight; The Voyage of Apollo 11: Mission to the Moon; Endangered Animals. The program is available in a 10-pack of student books for $14.90. Teacher guides are $1.95. URL: www.curriculumassociates.com, Telephone: [phone]

Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia (CD-ROM) and Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia Online, Grolier Interactive Inc., 1997.

Individuals may receive an annual subscription to the online version for $59.95, plus a $5.00 registration fee. For a multi-user site license, fill in the online quotation form, because pricing depends on the size of an institution. A one-CD-ROM version is $49.95, Windows or Macintosh, for a single user; the 2-disk version is $69.95.

URL: gme.grolier.com Telephone: [phone]

Minimum system requirements. PC: Multimedia PC or compatible with a 486DX/33MHz or higher microprocessor, 8MB or more of memory, double speed CD-ROM drive, sound card and SVGA 256-color monitor, 10MB hard disk space (15MB for online version), Windows 95 or MS DOS operating system 5.0 or later with Windows 3.1 or later, access to Internet. Mac: Apple Macintosh computer or compatible with a 68030/25 MHz (LCIII) or higher microprocessor, at least 5MB of additional memory, double speed CD-ROM drive, 256-color monitor, 10MB hard disk space, Apple Mac OS system software version 7.1 or later, access to Internet.

To use the encyclopedia with the Inter-net, additional memory and hard disk space are also needed. Refer to individual products for specific additional requirements. Netscape Navigator 2.0 or higher or Microsoft Explorer 3.0 or higher.

The Jolly Post Office and Amazing Animals, DK Multimedia, New York, 1997. Price: $39.95 each.

Minimum system requirements. PC: Multimedia PC or compatible with a 486DX/66MHz or higher microprocessor, 8MB or more of memory, (12MB recommended), double speed CD-ROM drive, sound card and SVGA 256-color monitor, Windows 95 or Windows 3.1. Mac: Apple Macintosh computer or compatible with a 68040/25 MHz or higher microprocessor, 8MB or more of memory, double speed CD-ROM drive, 14 inch screen or larger, 256-color monitor, System 7.01 or later.

URL: www.dk.com Telephone: 1-800-DKMM-575.