After the baby boomers, it was Generation X, then Generation Y and now Generation Net. In just a few short years, the Internet has become just as indispensable to today’s students as books, pencils and paper used to be. Already an invaluable lifeline for keeping in touch with family and friends, it has emerged as the most important research tool. This month’s column presents a back-to-school list of reference and information sites, you (or, your kids) won’t want to leave home without.
Just like a public library...
www.ipl.org was initiated at a graduate seminar held at the University of Michigan’s School of Information and Library Studies in 1995 — for the purpose of assessing library interconnections within the distribution network environment. The Internet Public Library is structured much as a “physical” library with paneled bookcases and research booths. You can consult newspapers, periodicals and specialized publications the world over, and also review lists of books and texts in a variety of categories: reference sources, arts & humanities... business economics, social services, science & technology... law, government & politics... many of which are freely available on the Net.
Reference books
Most schools book lists are long enough as they are. So, instead of hauling off the encyclopedia or dictionary, consider www.britannica.com. Their free pages provide snippets of info on the subject you are researching taken from the famous encyclopedia, plus further hyperlinks. You can look up definitions from the Merriam Webster Collegiate dictionary and thesaurus as well as book listings. Moreover, a subscription to the premium services which costs five dollars per month ($50 annually), allows you to access any of the 80,000 in-depth articles presented in multimedia form.
Math support
Don’t suffer needlessly on account of your math classes, log onto
www.Langara.bc.ca/mathstats/resource/onWeb.
This portal has links to lots of educational assistance sites to help you through the thorniest of mathematical problems. In addition, there are tools freely available for performing calculations and graphing (which actually can act as substitutes for a graphing calculator or even a full-fledged computer algebra system), complemented by tables of values and formulas which can be useful for reference.
Help with art history
The brainstorm of art history professor, Chris Witcomb, www.witcombe.sbc.edu features listings of art movements and schools from prehistoric times right up to the 20th century. Consult the table of events presented in chart form and then click on the artist’s period for a bibliography, as well as samples of artwork or commentaries.
CliffsNotes
Remember them? Each CliffsNotes literature manual examines an author’s life, and the era during which a given book was written, going on to summarize its plot, describe its characters, and explore its various themes and symbols. Those indispensable guides that helped save our skins in literature classes now exist in cyberspace (www.cliffsnotes.com). Along with original articles, quizzes, links and an “Author of the Month” feature, this site provides a searchable catalog of CliffsNotes’ entire content, most of which is downloadable. There’s also information to help students with practical issues such as time management, writing papers and the like.
