Some connections involve curriculum, but many do not. What is clear is that adults are sharing talent and expertise with young people in growing numbers. And that, through e-mail, adults have found a new way to perform good without a major investment of time. Mentoring and volunteering can occur very informally. I have often been impressed by the generosity of the experts who maintain Web pages.
Students now have incredible human resources at their fingertips.
On the simplest of levels, my students are encouraged to improve their research by corresponding with the experts who maintain the Web pages they visit. Our recent connections included an art professor, an economist and an Apollo 11 team member. These students included quotes from actual interviews in their projects, adding a special personal and authoritative dimension. As a participant myself, I am proud to brag about the volunteer librarians who man the KidsConnect service, an initiative of the American Association of School Librarians. E-mail reference questions are answered within two school days by highly trained professionals who really know how to answer reference questions.