"Give me a stick of chalk and a blackboard and let me teach" is what a friend of mine said to me ten years ago while I was teaching in New York City. Today we find ourselves asking for laser discs, CD-ROMS, computers and high speed Internet connections. Have things really changed that much? With all that is being asked of us; new standards, school report cards and new Regents is the Internet the answer to all of our needs? No, it's probably not. The Internet will not make students study or do their homework but it can be a wonderful resource to both students, teachers and parents. The Internet is a tool in the tool box, a power tool!

Like any tool it takes a master craftsman to build a fine piece of artwork and the computer and the Internet is no exception. But even I know how to use a drill and it can make many things easier for me. Not everybody needs to be a master craftsman on the computer to make the Internet a viable tool. In order to make good use of the Internet, or any technology, we need to assess what the real utility is.

What educational value does the Internet have?

• Resources for research and supplemental information. The Internet has a wealth of information ranging from primary source material to statistics on just about everything. Government agencies, museums, colleges, universities as well as noted authors all place information on the net for public access.
• Educational Resources. There are free sites to help students on topics such as writing research papers, dictionaries and on line grammar help are all on the Internet.
• Government Access. The federal government has a wealth of information available on the Internet. Almost every agency and bureau has a web site. Congress has a web site and Bill and Hillary have a web site. (Of course what Bill is watching on the net I'm not quite sure!)
• Great Graphics. The Internet plays host to a wide variety of graphics, charts and diagrams. If you know where to look you can find political cartoons, maps and a just about anything you want!
• Interactive Activities. There are many sites that provide hands on activities for students that can enhance the learning experience. Students can participate in stock market simulations, scavenger hunts and other activities.
• Communication. At its heart the Internet is a tool for communication. Email, chat and the posting of information on teacher and our student produced web sites can all help us to communicate with students and parents.

How can I use the Internet for my classes today?

• Find information to help deliver lessons.
• Have students use the libraries to gain access. They may do research projects and papers using information gained on the net.
• Students may use departmental computers to gain access. Staff may wish to help students research projects.
• Students may gain access at home.
• In the next few years we will have Internet ready labs and classrooms. When this happens we can have guided tours of various web sites, interactive activities, information gathering and teleconferencing.

All web sites are active as of 1/25/98. Site addresses are subject to change and web sites in general are often transient in nature.

Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), a federally-funded national information system that provides a variety of services and products on a broad range of education-related issues.

Teachers Net: http://www.teachers.net/

Lesson plan exchange, networking, pedagogical ideas.

Teachers Edition Online: http://www.teachnet.com/

Articles on education, lesson plan ideas, subject area links. Great site.

Hundreds of links, search tips, online resources, links to other schools and more. A great site.

Kathy Schrock's Gui de for Educators: http://www.capecod.net/schrockguide/

Over 1400 links for teachers divided by content area and links to other information as well.

This site is designed to foster the use of technology in schools.

United States Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov/

Information on grants and other items of interest to education and education policy.

Lots of links and other things from Brown University.

Mamma: http://www.mamma.com

The mother of al search engines. If you can't find it here it's not there!

Search.com: http://search.com

Many search engines all on one site.

Teachers Helping Teachers: http://www.pacificnet.net/~mandel/

This site, produced by a teacher in Southern California lists lesson plans and teaching ideas. Best for the inexperienced teacher.

Social Studies Lesson Plans and Resources:

http://www.csun.edu/~hcedu013/index.html

A great site with so many helpful links I'm jealous!! There is no way I'll put this much work in so I might as well give you the link!!

John Makulowich's Awesome Links

http://www.cais.com/makulow/awesome.html

Social Studies School Service: http://socialstudies.com/

Well worth the visit

Links for Social Studies Teacher

Social Studies Resources: http://wwwlwhs.lkwash.wednet.edu/edu/social_studies/default.html

A great site. Divided by content area.

History/Social Studies Web Site for K-12 Teachers:

http://www.execpc.com/~dboals/boals.html

Another great site divided by content area.

Lesson Plans and Resources for Social Studies:

http://www.csun.edu/~hcedu013/index.html

Great site with loads of links.

Teachers Guide for Political Cartoons: http://www.cagle.com/teacher/

An archive of current political cartoons and how to teach them.

Civnet: http://www.civnet.org/

Designed to teach civics. Good for government classes. Go to the resources section for readings and primary sources that are good for American History.

FedWorld: http://www.fedworld.gov/

Search through all of the federal governments web sites.

THOMAS: http://thomas.loc.gov/

U.S. Congress on the Internet.

The White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/Welcome.html

Bill, Hillary, Chelsea, Socks and Buddy! (You won't find Monica, Linda Tripp, Paula Corbin Jones or Gennifer Flowers here...no not Kenneth Starr either!)

Prof. X.W. Wang - University of Missouri at Columbia

http://www.missouri.edu/~econwang/

Eco professor with a great links page..

Interactive Stock Market simulation.

FDR Cartoon Page:

Editorial Cartoons from the FDR years.

Sociological Subject Areas

Bellingham High School in Washington State

Some great links in all subject areas.

Cornell University Hermes LII

http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/

Text of thousands of Supreme Court decisions

Global Studies Links

http://socialstudies.com/globalstud.html

Social Studies Resource Center

Links and American History notes.

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