----

##  An Introduction to Internet Resources for K-12 Educators. Part II:              Question Answering, Listservs, Discussion Groups, Update 1998. ERIC             Digest.                                                                      

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. 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 48 hours 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:                                       [email protected]
AskERIC Virtual Library: Resources developed              from questions received at AskERIC are archived at the AskERIC                  Virtual Library: 
--http://www.askeric.org 
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:                                                               [email protected]
--http://www.ala.org/ICONN/kidsconn.html 
Ask a                Young Scientist: A question answering service for students in grades            1-6 on scientific topics. Questions are researched and answered by              advanced chemistry students at Christiansburg High School. Students             are asked to limit their questions to five per message, but are                 encouraged to post as many times as they wish. 
--E-mail:                      [email protected] 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:                                                                 [email protected]
--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 field questions in 25 areas               covering chemistry, physics, astronomy, earth sciences, and the                 biological sciences. More than 500 scientists at institutions around            the world have joined their efforts to 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. Searchable by subject,                    keyword, grade level, or alphabetical list. Ask A+ Locator is a part            of the Virtual Reference                                                        Desk. 
--http://www.vrd.org/locator/index.html                                 LISTSERVS:Listservs are automated programs that serve as                  distribution centers for mail messages. Listservs focus on a single             topic that may be very broad or extremely narrow. People join a                 listserv by subscribing, then participate by reading messages, or               actively contribute by sending messages to the listserv. Below are              listservs of special interest to K-12 educators: 
ECENET-L: Early              childhood education, to age 8. 
--To subscribe, send a message to:             [email protected]
Leave the subject line                       blank. 
In the body of the message, write:subscribe ECENET-L your              firstname                                                                       lastname                                                                        
--Archives:http://www.askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives 
--For           more information:                                                               http://ericps.crc.uiuc.edu/eece/listserv/ecenet-l.html 
-----                  
EDNET: Internet use in education. 
--To subscribe, send message              to: [email protected]
Leave the subject line blank. 
In               the body of the message, write: subscribe EDNET your firstname                  lastname                                                                        
--Archives:http://www.askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives 
-----           
Edres-L: Educational Resources on the Internet. 
--To subscribe,             send message to: [email protected]
Leave the subject line              blank. 
In the body of the message, write: subscribe Edres-L your              firstname lastname 
----- 
EdTech: Educational Technology. 
--To             subscribe, send a message to: [email protected]
Leave the subject              line blank. 
 In the body of the message, write: subscribe Edtech              your firstname lastname 
--Archives:                                           http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~edweb 
----- 
K12ADMIN: K-12 educational            administration. 
--To subscribe, send a message to:                            [email protected]
Leave the subject line blank. 
In the              body of the message, write: subscribe K12 Admin your firstname                  lastname                                                                        
--Archives:http://www.askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives 
-----           
KIDLINK: Kidlink Society runs several listservs in support of a               global dialog for 10-15 year old students. Subscribe to KIDLINK                 listserv to receive information about the other lists. 
--To                   subscribe, send a message to: [email protected]
Leave               the subject line blank. 
In the body of the message, write: sub                Kidlink your firstname lastname 
--Archives:                                   http://listserv.nodak.edu/archives/kidlink.html 
----- 
LM_NET:               School library/media services. 
--To subscribe, send a message to:             [email protected]
Leave the subject line blank. 
In the              body of the message, write: subscribe LM_NET your firstname                     lastname 
--Archives:                                                          http://www.askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives 
--For more                   information: http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/ 
----- 
MIDDLE-L:                  Education of children 10 to 14 years of age. 
--To subscribe, send             a message to: [email protected]
Leave the subject              line blank. 
In the body of the message, write:subscribe Middle-L              your firstname                                                                  lastname                                                                        
--Archives:http://www.askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives/                  
--For more information:                                                       http://ericps.crc.uiuc.edu/eece/listserv/middle-l.html 
-----                  
NET-HAPPENINGS: Internet related news and announcements. To                   subscribe, send an e-mail message to: [email protected]
Leave              the subject line blank. 
In the body of the message, write:                    subscribe Net-Happenings your firstname lastname 
--Archives:                  http://wwwscout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/net-hap/index.html 
-----                    
SPECED-L: Special education issues discussion. 
--To subscribe,              send an e-mail message to: [email protected] Leave the subject            line blank. 
In the body of the message, write: subscribe SPECED-L             your firstname lastname 
----- 
TAG-L: General discussion about               all topics related to gifted children. 
--To subscribe, send e-mail            message to: [email protected]
Leave the subject line                blank. 
In the body of the message, write: 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: 
--k12.chat.teacher-General discussion between K-12                       Teachers 
--k12.ed.art-Arts and Crafts                                         Education 
--k12.ed.business-Business                                          Education 
--k12.ed.life-skills-Life Skills                                    Education 
--k12.ed.math-Mathematics                                           Education 
--k12.ed.music-Music and Performing                                 Arts 
--k12.ed.science-Science                                                 Education 
--k12.ed.soc-studies-Social Studies                                 Education 
--k12.ed.special-Educating students with special                    needs 
--k12.ed.tech-Technology Education REFERENCES AND                     READINGSAbilock, D. (1996). Integrating e-mail into the                     curriculum. "Technology Connection," 3(5), 23-25. (EJ 531                       026) 
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. (1996). "K-12 Resources on the Internet: An instructional guide.             Internet workshop series, Number 5." San Carlos, CA: Library                    Solutions Press. (ISBN-1-882208-14-5). (ED 389 316) 
K-12 computer             networking.(1995). "The ERIC Review," 4(1) (ED 392 413) 
Lankes, R.            D. (1996). "Bread and butter of the Internet." ERIC Digest.                     Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology. (ED               402 925) 
Laughon, S. & Kurshan, B. (1996). A monster of a                     job! "MultiMedia Schools," 3(1), 12-18. (EJ 516 636) 
Miller, E.               B. (1996). "The Internet resource directory for K-12 teachers and               librarians, 95/96 edition." Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited,                 Inc. (ISBN-1-56308-366-3). (ED 389 330) 
Tennant,                              R. (1996). "Internet basics: Update 1996." ERIC Digest. Syracuse,               NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology. (ED 392                     466). 
Walter Shelby Group Ltd. Tile.net/Lists: The reference to               Internet discussion groups. Internet WWW page, at                               URL:http://tile.net/ (copyright 1997). 
--- 
ERIC Digests are in              the public domain and may be freely reproduced and disseminated.                This publication was prepared with funding from the Office of                   Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education              under contract no. RR93002009. The opinions expressed in this report            do not necessarily reflect the positions of OERI or ED.                      **Title:** An Introduction to Internet Resources for K-12 Educators. Part II:              Question Answering, Listservs, Discussion Groups, Update 1998. ERIC             Digest.                                                                      **Note:** For Part I, see IR 018 926.                                                  **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology, 4-194 Center for              Science and Technology, Syracuse, NY 13244-4100 (free while supply              lasts).                                                                      **Descriptors:**  Computer Mediated Communication, Computer Uses in Education,                    Educational Resources,  Electronic Mail, Elementary Secondary                  Education, Information Networks,  Information Services, Information             Sources,  Internet, Listservs                                                **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests, Question Answering, USENET                                     
###
[Return to ERIC Digest Search Page]