----

##  Uncovering the Hidden Web, Part II: Resources for Your Classroom.               ERIC Digest.                                                                 

The majority of teens in America say that they have used the                    Internet as a major resource for a school project or                            report (Lenhart, Simon, and Graziano, 2001). Yet, directing these               heavy Internet users to locate information with traditional Web                 search tools is often inadequate; too often, search engines don't               see and directories can overlook clearinghouses, digital libraries,             full-text databases, and learning objects. In contrast, the hidden              Web is rich with these high quality and cutting-edge learning                   materials. By integrating resources from the hidden Web into the                classroom, educators extend their instruction in new and valuable               directions 
But how does an educator make practical use of this                wealth of information and make it accessible to students? This                  Digest article will help teachers find key resources-for themselves             and their students-and develop techniques for keeping track of the              treasures they unearth on the hidden Web so that they can be                    accessed quickly and easily every                                               time. CLEARINGHOUSESClearinghouses are focused web                        directories. That is, editors select sites to populate                          hierarchically arranged categories. Directories attempt to cover all            topics; clearinghouses focus on a single topic in depth. Many                   teachers are familiar with K-12 clearinghouses such as Kathy                    Schrock's Guide for                                                             Educators (http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/), but sites                such as the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse (ENC), Michigan                   Teacher Network, and The Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM), may            be less well known. 
The Eisenhower National                                   Clearinghouse (ENC) (http://www.enc.org/) is a Collection of                    exemplary K-12 science and math teaching and learning resources                 supported by the U.S. Department of Education. The collection                   includes ENC's "Digital Dozen," a selection of particularly                     outstanding resources. Michigan Teacher                                         Network (http://mtn.merit.edu) is a collection of sites for teachers            selected by practicing media specialists in accordance with a                   thorough collection policy. Where appropriate, resources are                    connected with specific Michigan Curriculum Framework standards and             benchmarks. Since teachers often have to align their classroom                  activities with state mandated curricula, clearinghouses like                   Michigan Teacher Network are setting the standard for relevance and             applicability for K-12 educators (Pittsley, 2001). 
At the Gateway             to Educational Materials (GEM) (http://www.thegateway.org), teachers            can quickly search for high quality educational materials from the              sites of 420 GEM Consortium members, including the ENC, Michigan                Teacher Network, American Association of School Librarians, PBS                 Online, NASA Office of Space Science, National Education                        Association, Smithsonian Office of Education, to name just a few.               GEM's more than 23,000 resources provide educators with quick and               easy access to the substantial, but un-cataloged, collections of                educational materials found on various federal, state, university,              non-profit, and commercial Internet sites. Teachers can search by               subject, keyword, grade, or education level to link to high-quality             lesson plans, activities, and projects. Each resource is directly               accessible from this one Web site. VIRTUAL LIBRARIES 
Virtual                  libraries extend upon the clearinghouse concept to include elements             Of traditional libraries like digitized books, databases,                       newspapers, bibliographies, and multimedia. Virtual libraries can               also include mailing lists and archives, educational software,                  electronic newsletters, datasets, links to key organizations, and               bibliographies (Bradley, 1999).Where appropriate, actual items are              included in the collection rather than just as links to the items'              Web sites. Another feature of virtual libraries is that they have               mechanisms for users to contribute to the collection; that is, users            can rate and review resources as well as recommend items for                    inclusion.  The ability to participate in the review of a resource              as well as provide possible use applications is truly the power of              searching beyond the open Web. 
Infomine Scholarly Internet                    Resource Collection (http://infomine.ucr.edu/) is a reviewed and                annotated group of resources arranged by topic. Infomine is                     comprised of ten collections ranging from government information to             K-12 instructional resources and from maps to Geographical                      Information System (GIS) data. The collection is searchable and                 browsable. The Multimedia Education Resource for Learning and Online            Teaching (MERLOT) (http://www.merlot.org) uses peer review and user             feedback to help establish ratings and profiles of items in its                 collection. MERLOT covers all instructional areas and is designed               for undergraduate educators, but middle school and high school                  teachers can find a wealth of good resources here as well. 
An                 advantage of virtual libraries and clearinghouses is that it is                 possible to invest a lot of confidence in the material. Experts                 check each item in the collection, and a description or summary is              made available so that it is easy to gauge appropriateness at a                 glance. This level of trust is very important since anyone can write            almost anything they wish to and publish it on the Internet (Mardis,            2001). It is very useful to have an independent and authoritative               view of a site and the data provided. FULL-TEXT                               RESOURCESQuality is often an issue on the Web. The hidden Web is            able to offer Enhanced quality through topic-specific search tools              and dedicated databases. With clear author, date, and publication,              full text databases offer quality that often surpasses that of Web              pages and can be an effective supplement to a meager periodicals                collection. MagPortal (http://www.magportal.com) allows users access            to free full-text articles and news feeds.                                      FindArticles (http://www.findarticles.com) is an archive of free                published articles from more than 300 magazines and journals. The               database, which is continuously updated, contains articles on topics            such as business, health, society, entertainment, and sports.                   Newspaper archives can be searched in full text with                            NewsDirectory (http://www.ecola.com/archive/press/). 
Many                     reference and literary works are available online as well. Project              Bartleby (http://www.bartleby.com) is a large collection of complete            reference, verse, fiction, and nonfiction works in English.                     LiTgloss (http://wings.buffalo.edu/litgloss) is a collection of                 literatures in languages other than English annotated for English               speakers. Users can click on a phrase in the full text and receive              an immediate translation LEARNING OBJECTSOne of the Web's                 strengths is that it allows users to go beyond text to bring various            media types into the classroom. Although some solutions have been               wrought to deal with locating audio and video, the Web is rich with             online tools that help teach complex concepts in authentic ways. Due            to the limitations of popular search tools, learning objects can be             difficult to locate and thus reside in the hidden Web. 
A new way              of thinking about learning content, learning objects are small units            of learning, with lengths of use ranging from minutes to a class                period. Each learning object can be taken independently and can be              used in multiple contexts for multiple purposes (Wiley, 2000). They             often work from within browser, but occasionally, they require                  browser plug-ins. Examples of learning objects are Java applets,                interactive simulations, short video and audio segments, printable              course supplements, and Web-based tutorials and                                 assessments. 
Teachers may already be familiar with a popular                  web-based learning object,                                                      Filamentality (http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/). Filamentality             is a fill-in-the-blank interactive Web site that guides teachers and            students through picking a topic, searching the Web, gathering good             sites, and transforming collected resources into learning                       activities.  The site offers helpful development tips throughout the            process as well as helps users share their completed                            activities. 
The National Institutes of Health's Office of Science             Education (http://science-education.nih.gov/homepage.nsf) offers a              variety of science-related learning objects. Modeling And Simulation            Tools for Education Reform (MASTER)                                             Tools (http://www.shodor.org/master/) is a collection of interactive            tools and simulation environments that facilitates observation,                 conjecture, and modeling activities. Activities include physics,                chemistry, medicine, biosciences, and environmental science. The                Apple Learning Interchange (ALI) also contains a wealth of applets              in their searchable                                                             database (http://ali.apple.com/ali/resources.shtml). MANAGING                 HIDDEN WEB FINDSGood bookmarking skills are an important part of            every teacher's Internet toolkit.  The ability to add, delete,                  organize, and transfer bookmarks can maximize a browser's                       usefulness. Although some bookmark management commands are obvious              in the browser's menus, some skills are less obvious. Good bookmark             files can also form the basis for Web site hotlists on a particular             topic. InfoPeople (http://www.infopeople.org/howto) has excellent               handouts and helpers on bookmark management. The limitations of                 bookmark files, however, are that they are easy to alter and they               reside on a single computer. And, not all schools allow teachers to             upload hotlists to their servers. 
Web logging combines the best of            bookmarking with the best of Web page creation in a single easy,                Web-accessible step. Sign up with a free Web log service, cruise the            hidden Web, and with one click, save and annotate a site to a                   publicly accessible Web page. Blogspot (http://www.blogspot.com)                offers free Web logs and Web page hosting. Web logs can even be file            transferred to another server. 
The hidden Web has a wealth of                 resources and information for the K-12 classroom. By taking                     advantage of these unusual finds, teachers can enrich their                     instruction.  Since the hidden Web thrives on user participation,               educators have the ability to contribute to the review and use of               learning resources. Learning objects allow teachers to go beyond                text to communicate concepts in effective and new ways. By adopting             effective management techniques, these sites can be quickly and                 easily integrated into Classroom                                                activities. REFERENCESBradley, P. (1999). Virtual libraries               and Internet searching. "Online & CD-ROM Review," 23,                           353-355. 
Lenhart, A., Simon, M., & Graziano, M. (2001). "The                  Internet and education: Findings of the Pew Internet & American Life            Project." Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life                          Project. 
Mardis, M. (2001, Winter). Accessing the deep Web:                   Finding what the search engines don't. "Media Spectrum,"                        11-15. 
Pittsley, K. (2001, Winter). Michigan Teacher Network                  expands. "Media Spectrum," 6-8. 
Wiley, D. (2000). "Connecting                 learning objects to instructional design theory: A definition, a                metaphor, and a taxonomy." Logan, UT: Digital Learning Environments             Research Group,The Edumetrics Institute. 
About the Author 
Marcia            Mardis, MILS, a former K-12 media specialist, is Program Coordinator            and Internet Media Specialist at the Center to Support Technology in            Education at Merit Network, Inc. She presents on Web searching                  issues at conferences around the country and writes frequently on               K-12 use of the Internet. 
----- 
ERIC Digests are in the public              domain and may be freely reproduced and disseminated. 
----- 
ERIC            Clearinghouse on Information & Technology, Syracuse University, 621             Skytop Road, Suite 160, Syracuse, NY 13244-5290; 800-464-9107;                  315-443-3640 ; Fax: 315-443-5448; e-mail: [email protected]; URL:                 http://www.ericit.org. 
----- 
This publication is funded in part             with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education under                  contract number ED-99-CO-0005. The content of this publication does             not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department            of Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial products,              or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. government. Please               visit the Education Department's Web site at http://www.ed.gov               **Title:** Uncovering the Hidden Web, Part II: Resources for Your Classroom.               ERIC Digest.                                                                 **Note:** For part I, see IR 058 325.                                                  **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 & Technology, Syracuse University,            621 Skytop Rd., Suite 160, Syracuse, NY 13244-5290. Tel:                        315-443-3640; Tel: 800-464-9107 (Toll Free); Fax: 315-443-5448;                 e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://ericit.org/ithome.                 **Descriptors:** Access to Information, Databases,  Educational Resources,                        Information Retrieval, Information Sources, Instructional                      Materials,  Online Searching,  Search Strategies,  World Wide Web            **Identifiers:** Search Engines                                                               
###
[Return to ERIC Digest Search Page]