An Introduction to Internet Resources for K-12 Educators. Part I: Information Resources. ERIC Digest.

The Internet is an international computer network consisting of thousands of smaller interconnected computer networks. In the field of education, colleges and universities have been connected to the Internet for several years. Recently, state and regional education networks for the K-12 community have been springing up all over the United States, making the vast resources of the Internet readily available to classroom teachers. This digest outlines some of the rich resources that are available without cost to K-12 educators over the Internet computer network.

Readers should be aware that the Internet is an ever changing entity, and that the resources and their Internet addresses below are subject to change.

GUIDES TO INTERNET RESOURCES:

Clearinghouse of Subject-Oriented Internet Resource Guides: A large collection of guides to Internet resources categorized by topic. Address: gopher una.hh.lib.umich.edu

LESSON PLANS:

The AskERIC Virtual Library contains hundreds of lesson plans, including, but not limited to, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science. Also included are the electronic versions of CNN Newsroom Classroom Guides and Discovery Education Online. Address: gopher ericir.syr.edu; or telnet ericir.syr.edu, login as "gopher"

KEYPALS AND PENPALS:

Students can learn about other cultures, geographic regions, and current events from their peers by corresponding with them by electronic mail. For instance, students studying a foreign language can correspond directly with students from another country over the Internet, practicing their written and reading language skills, while obtaining information about the culture and everyday lives directly from their peers in the other country.

* The Oklahoma Geological Survey Observatory gopher has a large collection of messages from K-12 students looking for keypals. Address: gopher wealaka.okgeosurvey1.gov

IECC - Intercultural Email Classroom Connections maintains three listservs that serve to facilitate international and cross-cultural classroom exchanges via email over the Internet.

1. IECC@STOLAF.EDU: is a listserv which serves as a "meeting place" for classroom partners to connect for international and cross-cultural exchange. It is not intended for individuals seeking penpals.

To subscribe: send a message containing the word "subscribe" to iecc-request@stolaf.edu

2. IECC-PROJECTS@STOLAF.EDU: is a listserv where people may announce projects or request help with projects that involve international or cross-cultural email exchanges.

To subscribe: send a message containing the word "subscribe" to iecc-projects-request@stolaf.edu

3. IECC-DISCUSSION@STOLAF.EDU: is a listserv for general discussion of questions, issues, and observations of the Intercultural Email Classroom Exchange.

To subscribe: send a message containing the word "subscribe" to iecc-discussion-request@stolaf.edu

ACCEPTABLE USE POLICIES:

Appropriate use of the Internet by teachers and students is a concern of many educators. Conduct on the part of the user, such as the use of abusive language or profanity, respect for copyright and licensing agreements, or the use of the network by minors for the purpose of obtaining pornography, for example, may not be considered acceptable use of the Internet.

Samples of agreements and policies outlining the responsibilities and privileges of users have been collected at Armadillo: The Texas Studies Gopher. Address: gopher riceinfo.rice.edu 1170

The National Center for Technology Planning collects technology plans submitted by schools and makes them freely available over the Internet. Other documents that are available include planning aids such as checklists, planning forms, and electronic monographs. Address: gopher ra.msstate.edu; or ftp ra.msstate.edu; directory is /pub/archives/nctp

INTERNET PROJECTS FOR THE CLASSROOM:

A question that many teachers have is: How can use of the Internet be incorporated in the classroom? Examples of telecommunication projects can be found on the:

* CICNet K-12 Gopher: This gopher has a collection of classroom projects that incorporate use of the Internet into the classroom. Address: gopher gopher.cic.net 3005

* Umass K-12 Gopher: Several telecommunication projects are listed, including guidelines from the Global SchoolNet to help teachers plan a successful project. Address: gopher k12.ucs.umass.edu

GRANT INFORMATION:

U.S. Department of Education: A Teacher's Guide to the U.S. Department of Education, found on the U.S. Department of Education gopher, describes programs, services, and publications, including educational grants provided by the U.S. Department of Education. This guide briefly describes the grant programs that are relevant to teachers and the offices that manage them. It also lists telephone numbers you can call with specific questions in these areas. Address: gopher gopher.ed.gov

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION:

The number of Internet sites that provide federal government documents and resources is continually increasing. Two examples are:

* Library of Congress Marvel: Includes Congressional, White House, and State Department information and documents and more. Address: gopher marvel.loc.gov

* Internet Wiretap: White House Press Releases (updated daily), laws, treaties, and other assorted legal and historical documents. Address: gopher wiretap.spies.com

STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS:

* Michigan Department of Education: Provides direct access to several K-12 gophers, State Board of Education approved curriculum goals and objectives, and links to several free-nets. Address: gopher.mde.state.mi.us

* California Department of Education: Provides up to date information, including selective legislative and California State Board of Education information, education conferences, a technology planning guide for California schools, and the Bilingual Education Network (BiEN). Address: gopher goldmine.cde.ca.gov

* New York State Education Department: Provides up to date Internet and telecommunication news that is of interest to the K-12 community. Address: gopher unix5.nysed.gov

ELECTRONIC BOOKS:

Project Gutenberg: Classic, religious and children's books, poetry, and historical documents in full text. Address: gopher joeboy.micro.umn.edu; or ftp deneva.sdd.trw.com (then cd pub/etext), login as "anonymous", password is your Internet address.

REFERENCE RESOURCES:

Florida Tech Education Gopher: Access to a nice collection of reference sources including the American English Dictionary, Roget's Thesaurus, the U.S. Zip Code Directory, telephone area code directories for the United States and foreign countries, and 1990 U.S. Census Information. Also included is the CIA World Fact Book, which contains geographic, climatic, economic, and political information about every country and territory in the world. Address: gopher sci-ed.fit.edu 70

LIBRARY CATALOGS:

Yale University provides easy access to worldwide library catalogs. Users can browse through a geographic listing, or search by institution, library name or city. Helpful instructions, organized by catalog vendor, are also provided. Address: gopher yaleinfo.yale.edu 7000

Library of Congress Information System: Provides access, not only to the holdings of the Library of Congress, but also to U.S. government copyright files, federal legislation, and foreign law. Address: telnet locis.loc.gov

WORLD WIDE WEB SITES:

The World Wide Web (WWW) provides access to Internet documents in hypertext and multimedia by using advanced WWW clients such as NCSA's Mosaic. Some WWW sites with information especially useful for educators are:

OTHER RESOURCES:

Hundreds of resources covering almost every subject imaginable exist on the Internet. Here are some additional ones that would be of special interest to K-12 educators:

* Consortium for School Networking (CoSN): Provides access to information about several education projects on the Internet and Internet training materials. Address: gopher cosn.org 70; telnet cosn.org, login as "gopher" (no password)

* Empire State Schoolhouse: Specially designed for the novice user, the Empire State Schoolhouse provides many resources of interest to the K-12 educator. Reference resources, Internet projects, and information on school reform and technology planning are some of the resources that are available. Address: gopher nysernet.org 70; login as "empire" (no password)

* ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation: Information on assessment for all levels of education. Also provides several access points to the ERIC database. Address: gopher vmsgopher.cua.edu

* ERIC Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education: Information for math and science educators. Address: gopher gopher.ericse.ohio-state.edu

* NASA Spacelink: Information about NASA, including the space shuttle program, science curriculum activities. Address: telnet spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov, login as "newuser", password "newuser"

* Ohio Education Computer Network: This gopher is designed for use by K-12 students. Address: gopher nwoca.7.nwoca.ohio.gov

REFERENCES AND READINGS

Abbott, T. (Ed.). (1994). INTERNET WORLD'S ON INTERNET94: AN INTERNATIONAL GUIDE TO ELECTRONIC JOURNALS, NEWSLETTERS, TEXTS, DISCUSSION LISTS, AND OTHER RESOURCES ON THE INTERNET. Westport, CT: Mecklermedia. (ISBN:0-887360929-4)

Freda, K.,(Comp.). (1992). ELECTRONIC RESOURCES IN EDUCATION: AN ANNOTATED GUIDE TO RESOURCES IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION. (ED 354 859)

Harris, J. (1993). Mining the Internet: Using Internet know-how to plan how students will know. COMPUTING TEACHER, 20(8), 35-40.

Honey, M. & Andres, H. (1993). TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND K-12 EDUCATORS: FINDINGS FROM A NATIONAL SURVEY. New York, NY: Center for Technology in Education. (ED 359 923)

Krol, E. (1992). THE WHOLE INTERNET: USER'S GUIDE & CATALOG. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly. (ISBN: 1-56592-025-2).

Polly, J. A. (1992). Surfing the Internet: An introduction. WILSON LIBRARY BULLETIN, 66(10), 38-42.

Roempler, K. S. & Warren, C. R. (1993). COMPUTER NETWORKS FOR SCIENCE TEACHERS. ERIC CSMEE DIGEST. Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education. (ED 395 044)

Tennant, R. 1992). INTERNET BASICS. ERIC DIGEST. Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information Resources. (ED 348 054)

Valauskas, E. J. (1993). Education online: Interactive K-12 computing. ONLINE, 17(4), 89-91.