Previews detail the content as well as provide context within the larger subject area. Web sites referenced in Webivore meet Webivore's selection criteria and are found, reviewed, and organized by Webivore's team of Content Experts who include scholars and teachers. Our goal in developing Webivore was to help students, teachers, librarians, and other educators more easily locate and use the rich content available on the web to enhance their educational research and study. As we watched students use the web in classrooms and libraries for research, we saw that many were frustrated and unable to easily find high quality materials. Discussions with teachers, school administrators, librarians, and parents confirmed this high level of frustration.
Learners are often unsure of the quality or accuracy of what they find on the web.
Lack of time is a critical factor as many students and teachers have very limited access to the Internet at school, in the library, or even at home. Learners had difficulty organizing information from the web and then integrating it with information from books, encyclopedias, and other resources. Finally, and all too frequently, many students use web information in their papers or other research work without giving proper credit to their sources. Webivore points people to good, useful content that addresses many learning needs and provides an organizing tool to combine web materials and notes with other research and resources. The Previews also point learners to resources they might not be aware of as well as providing guidance and insight in using such materials.