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The Internet is an international computer network composed of thousands of smaller networks. As K-12 schools connect to the Internet, a new method of communication opens up to educators and their students. This Digest describes some sample services and resources that are available to the K-12 community by electronic mail over the Internet. Readers should be aware that the resources and their Internet addresses below are subject to change. 

QUESTION ANSWERING

The number of services that use electronic mail to deliver information is increasing. Services that teachers will find on the Internet include: 

* AskERIC: AskERIC is the Internet-based education information service of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) system, headquartered at the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology at Syracuse University. Teachers, library media specialists, administrators, and others involved in education can send a message requesting education information to AskERIC. AskERIC information specialists will respond within two working days with ERIC database searches, ERIC Digests, and Internet resources. The benefit of the personalized service is that it allows AskERIC staff to interact with the user and provide relevant education resources tailored to the user's needs. 

E-mail: askeric@askeric.org 

* AskERIC Virtual Library: Lesson plans and resources developed from questions received at AskERIC are archived at the AskERIC Virtual Library: 

http://www.askeric.org/Virtual 

* KidsConnect: KidsConnect is a question-answering, help and referral service for K-12 students on the Internet. The goal of KidsConnect is to help students access and use the information available on the Internet effectively and efficiently. KidsConnect is a component of ICONnect, a technology initiative of AASL (American Association of School Librarians, a division of the American Library Association). Students use e-mail to contact KidsConnect and receive a response from a volunteer library media specialist within two school days. 

E-mail: AskKC@ala.org 

http://www.ala.org/ICONN/kidsconn.html 

* Internet Public Library Ask-A-Question Service: Answers all types of general reference questions. You'll get a brief factual answer if you've asked a specific question, or, if you have a broader topic of interest, you'll get a short list of sources that you can use to explore your topic further. IPL's website also contains an extensive online collection of library resources. 

http://www.ipl.org/ref/QUE/ 

* Ask Dr. Math: "Ask Dr. Math," a service for elementary, middle, and high school students, is administered by students and professors at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA. 

E-mail: dr.math@forum.swarthmore.edu 

http://forum.swarthmore.edu/dr.math/dr-math.html 

* The MAD Scientist Network: The MAD Scientist Network is an "Ask-A-Scientist" service run entirely on the WWW. They answer questions in chemistry, physics, astronomy, earth sciences, the biological sciences and more. More than 500 scientists at institutions around the world provide answers to science questions. 

http://www.madsci.org 

* Ask A+ Locator: The AskA+ Locator is a database of high-quality "AskA" services designed to link students, teachers, parents, and other K-12 community members with experts on the Internet. Profiles of each AskA service include identification information (e.g., publisher, e-mail address, contact person, links to services' home pages), scope, target audience, and a general description of the service. The Ask A+ Locator is searchable by subject, keyword, grade level, or alphabetical list. Ask A+ Locator is part of the Virtual Reference Desk. 

http://www.vrd.org/locator/index.html 

ELECTRONIC DISCUSSION GROUPS:

* ECENET-L: Early childhood education, to age 8. 
To subscribe, address an e-mail message to: 

listserv@postoffice.cso.uiuc.edu 

In the message body type: subscribe ECENET-L your FirstName LastName 

Archives: http://askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives/ECENET-L.html 

http://ericps.crc.uiuc.edu/eece/listserv/ecenet-l.html 

* EDNET: Forum on educational possibilities of the Net. 

To subscribe, address an e-mail message to: 

listproc@lists.umass.edu 

In the message body type: subscribe EDNET your FirstName LastName 

Archives:http://www.askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives/EDNET-Li st.html 

* Edres-L (also called C-EDRES): Educational Resources on the Internet. 

To subscribe, address an e-mail message to: 

listserv@listserv.unb.ca 

In the message body type: subscribe Edres-L your FirstName LastName 

* EDTECH: Educational Technology. 

To subscribe, address an e-mail message to: 

listserv@msu.edu 

In the message body type: subscribe Edtech your FirstName LastName 

Archives: http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~edweb 

http://askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives/EDTECH.html 

* K12ADMIN: K12 educational administration. 

To subscribe, address an e-mail message to: 

listserv@listserv.syr.edu 

In the message body type: subscribe K12 Admin your FirstName LastName 

Archives: 

http://www.askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives/K12ADMIN-List.htm l 

* KIDLINK: Kidlink Society runs several listservs in support of a global dialog for students 10-15 years of age. Subscribe to KIDLINK listserv to receive information about the other lists. 

To subscribe, address an e-mail message to: listserv@listserv.nodak.edu 

In the message body type: subscribe Kidlink your FirstName LastName 

Archives: http://listserv.nodak.edu/archives/kidlink.html 

KIDLINK Home Page: http://www.kidlink.org 

* LM_NET: School library/media services. 

To subscribe, address an e-mail message to: 

listserv@listserv.syr.edu 

In the message body type: subscribe LM_NET your FirstName LastName 

Archives:http://www.askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives/LM_NET.h tml 

Web: http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/ 

* MIDDLE-L: Education of children 10-14 years of age. 

To subscribe, address an e-mail message to: 

listserv@postoffice.cso.uiuc.edu 

In the message body type: subscribe Middle-L your FirstName LastName 

Archives: http://www.askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives/MIDDLE-L.html 

http://ericps.crc.uiuc.edu/eece/listserv/middle-l.html 

* NET-HAPPENINGS: Internet related news and announcements. 

To subscribe, address an e-mail message to: listserv@cs.wisc.edu 

In the message body type: subscribe Net-Happenings your FirstName LastName 

Archives: http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/caservices/net-hap/index.html 

@ SPECED-L: Special education issues discussion. 

To subscribe, address an e-mail message to: listserv@uga.cc.uga.edu 

In the message body type: subscribe SPECED-L your FirstName LastName 

@ TAG-L: General discussion about all topics related to gifted children. 

To subscribe, address an e-mail message to: listserv@listserv.nodak.edu 

In the message body type: subscribe Tag-L your FirstName LastName 

USENET NEWSGROUPS:

* Usenet Newsgroups are an electronic bulletin board system, accessible via the Internet, that consists of discussion forums on literally thousands of topics. Users should contact their system operator for instructions. Some of the Usenet Newsgroups are: 

news: k12.chat.teacher-General discussion between K-12 Teachers 

news: k12.ed.art-Arts and Crafts Education 

news: k12.ed.business-Business Education 

news: k12.ed.comp.literacy-Teaching computer literacy in grades K-12 

news: k12.library-Implementing Info Technologies in school libraries 

news: k12.ed.life-skills-Life Skills Education 

news: k12.ed.math-Mathematics Education 

news: k12.ed.music-Music and Performing Arts 

news: k12.ed.science-Science Education 

news: k12.ed.soc-studies-Social Studies Education 

news: k12.ed.special-Educating students with special needs 

REFERENCES AND READINGS:

Abilock, D. (1996). Integrating e-mail into the curriculum. "Technology Connection," 3(5), 23-25. (EJ 531 026) 

Branch, R.M.; Kim, D. & Koenecke, L. (1999). "Evaluating online educational materials for use in instruction." ERIC Digest. Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology. (ED 430 564) 

Hill, J. A. & Misic, M. M. (1996). Why you should establish a connection to the Internet. "TechTrends," 41(2), 10-16. (EJ 520 228) 

"The Internet roadmap for educators." (1996). Arlington, VA: Educational Research Service. (ED 397 520) 

Junion-Metz, G. (1997). "K-12 Resources on the Internet: An instructional guide." 2nd Edition, Revised and Expanded. Internet workshop series, Number 5. El Dorado Hills, CA: Library Solutions Press. (ISBN-1-882208-22-6). (ED 412 913) 

Lyris Technologies Inc. Tile.net/: The Comprehensive Internet Reference. Internet WWW page, at URL:http://tile.net/ (copyright 1999). 

Milheim, W. D. (1997). Instructional utilization of the Internet in public school settings. "TechTrends," 42(2), 19-23. (EJ 543 253) 

Miller, E. B. (1999). "The Internet resource directory for K-12 teachers and librarians, 1999/2000 edition." Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Inc. (ISBN-1-56308-812-6). (ED 433 028) 

Treadwell, M. (1999). "1001 of the best Internet sites for educators. K-College." Arlington Heights, IL: Skylight Training and Publishing, Inc. (ED 429 560) 

Windschitl, M. (1999). "Using the WWW for teaching and learning in K-12 classrooms: What are the interesting research questions?" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Montreal, Quebec, Canada, April 19-23, 1999). (ED 429 580)