Library &
Information Science, Course 250: Instructional Strategies.
Dr. David Loertscher
b27.html
II: Question Answering, Listservs, Discussion Groups, Update 1998. ERIC
Digest.
Authors: Morgan, Nancy A.; Batovsky, Steven
ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology, Syracuse, NY.
THIS DIGEST WAS CREATED BY ERIC, THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
CENTER. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ERIC, CONTACT ACCESS ERIC 1-800-LET-ERIC
The Internet is an international computer network composed of thousands of
smaller networks. As K-12 schools connect to the Internet, a new method of
communication opens up to educators and their students. This Digest
describes some sample services and resources that are available to the K-12
community by electronic mail over the Internet.
QUESTION ANSWERING:
The number of services that use electronic mail to deliver information is
increasing. Services that teachers will find on the Internet include:
AskERIC: AskERIC is the Internet-based education information service of the
Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) system, headquartered at the
ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology at Syracuse University.
Teachers, library media specialists, administrators, and others involved in
education can send a message requesting education information to AskERIC.
AskERIC information specialists will respond within 48 hours with ERIC
database searches, ERIC Digests, and Internet resources. The benefit of the
personalized service is that it allows AskERIC staff to interact with the
user, and provide relevant education resources tailored to the user's needs.
--E-mail: askeric@askeric.org
AskERIC Virtual Library: Resources developed from questions received at
AskERIC are archived at the AskERIC Virtual Library: http://www.askeric.org
KidsConnect: KidsConnect is a question-answering, help and referral service
for K-12 students on the Internet. The goal of KidsConnect is to help
students access and use the information available on the Internet
effectively and efficiently. KidsConnect is a component of ICONnect, a
technology initiative of AASL (American Association of School Librarians, a
division of the American Library Association). Students use e-mail to
contact KidsConnect and receive a response from a volunteer library media
specialist within two school days. E-mail: AskKC@ala.org
http://www.ala.org/ICONN/kidsconn.html
Ask a Young Scientist: A question answering service for students in grades
1-6 on scientific topics. Questions are researched and answered by advanced
chemistry students at Christiansburg High School. Students are asked to
limit their questions to five per message, but are encouraged to post as
many times as they wish. E-mail: apscichs@pen.k12.va.us
Ask Dr. Math: "Ask Dr. Math," a service for
elementary, middle, and high school students, is administered by students
and professors at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA. E-mail: dr.math@forum.swarthmore.edu
http://forum.swarthmore.edu/dr.math/dr-math.html
The MAD Scientist Network: The MAD Scientist Network is an "Ask-A-Scientist" service run
entirely on the WWW. They field questions in 25 areas covering chemistry,
physics, astronomy, earth sciences, and the biological sciences. More than
500 scientists at institutions around the world have joined their efforts to
provide answers to science questions. http://www.madsci.org
Ask A+ Locator: The AskA+ Locator is a database of
high-quality "AskA" services designed to link students, teachers, parents
and other K-12 community members with experts on the Internet. Profiles of
each AskA service include identification information (e.g., publisher,
e-mail address, contact person, links to services' home pages), scope,
target audience, and a general description of the service. Searchable by
subject, keyword, grade level, or alphabetical list. Ask A+ Locator is a
part of the Virtual Reference Desk. http://www.vrd.org/locator/index.html
LISTSERVS:
Listservs are automated programs that serve as distribution centers for mail
messages. Listservs focus on a single topic that may be very broad or
extremely narrow. People join a listserv by subscribing, then participate by
reading messages, or actively contribute by sending messages to the
listserv. Below are listservs of special interest to K-12 educators:
ECENET-L: Early childhood education, to age 8. To
subscribe, send a message to: listserv@postoffice.cso.uiuc.edu
Leave the subject line blank.
In the body of the message, write:
subscribe ECENET-L your firstname lastname
Archives:http://www.askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv^Archives
For more information: http://ericps.crc.uiuc.edu/eece/listserv/ecenet-l.html
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EDNET: Internet use in education.
To subscribe, send message to: listproc@lists.umass.edu
Leave the subject line blank.In the body of the message, write:
subscribe EDNET your firstname lastname
Archives:http://www.askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv^Archives
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Edres-L: Educational Resources on the Internet.
To subscribe, send message to: listserv@listserv.unb.ca
Leave the subject line blank.In the body of the message, write:
subscribe Edres-L your firstname lastname
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EdTech: Educational Technology.
To subscribe, send a message to: listserv@msu.edu
Leave the subject line blank. In the body of the message, write:
subscribe Edtech your firstname lastname
Archives: http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~edweb
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K12ADMIN: K-12 educational administration.
To subscribe, send a message to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
Leave the subject line blank. In the body of the message, write:
subscribe K12 Admin your firstname lastname
Archives:http://www.askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv^Archives
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KIDLINK: Kidlink Society runs several listservs in support of a global
dialog for 10-15 year old students. Subscribe to KIDLINK listserv to receive
information about the other lists.
To subscribe, send a message to: listserv@listserv.nodak.edu
Leave the subject line blank. In the body of the message, write:
sub Kidlink your firstname lastname
Archives: http://listserv.nodak.edu/archives/kidlink.html
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LM^NET: School library/media services.
To subscribe, send a message to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
Leave the subject line blank. In the body of the message, write:
subscribe LM^NET your firstname lastname
Archives: http://www.askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv^Archives
For more information: http://ericir.syr.edu/lm^net/
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MIDDLE-L: Education of children 10 to 14 years of age.
To subscribe, send a message to:
listserv@postoffice.cso.uiuc.edu
Leave the subject line blank. In the body of the message, write:
subscribe Middle-L your firstname lastname
Archives:http://www.askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv^Archives/
For more information: http://ericps.crc.uiuc.edu/eece/listserv/middle-l.html
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NET-HAPPENINGS: Internet related news and announcements. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: listserv@cs.wisc.edu
Leave the subject line blank. In the body of the message,
write:
subscribe Net-Happenings your firstname lastname
Archives: http://wwwscout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/net-hap/index.html
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SPECED-L: Special education issues discussion.
To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: listserv@uga.cc.uga.edu
Leave the subject line blank.
In the body of the message, write: subscribe SPECED-L your firstname
lastname
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TAG-L: General discussion about all topics related to gifted children.
To subscribe, send e-mail message to:
listserv@listserv.NODAK.EDU
Leave the subject line blank. In the body of the message, write:
subscribe Tag-L your firstname lastname
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USENET NEWSGROUPS:
Usenet Newsgroups are an electronic bulletin board system, accessible via
the Internet, that consists of discussion forums on literally thousands of
topics. Users should contact their system operator for instructions. Some of
the Usenet Newsgroups are:
--k12.chat.teacher-General discussion between K-12 Teachers
--k12.ed.art-Arts and Crafts Education
--k12.ed.business-Business Education
--k12.ed.life-skills-Life Skills Education
--k12.ed.math-Mathematics Education
--k12.ed.music-Music and Performing Arts
--k12.ed.science-Science Education
--k12.ed.soc-studies-Social Studies Education
--k12.ed.special-Educating students with special needs
--k12.ed.tech-Technology Education
REFERENCES AND READINGS
Abilock, D. (1996). Integrating e-mail into the curriculum. "Technology
Connection," 3(5), 23-25. (EJ 531 026)
Hill, J. A. & Misic, M. M. (1996). Why you should establish a connection to
the Internet. "TechTrends," 41(2), 10-16. (EJ 520 228)
"The Internet roadmap for educators." (1996). Arlington, VA: Educational
Research Service. (ED 397 520)
Junion-Metz, G. (1996). "K-12 Resources on the Internet: An instructional
guide. Internet workshop series, Number 5." San Carlos, CA: Library
Solutions Press. (ISBN-1-882208-14-5). (ED 389 316)
K-12 computer networking.(1995). "The ERIC Review," 4(1) (ED 392 413)
Lankes, R. D. (1996). "Bread and butter of the Internet." ERIC Digest.
Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology. (ED 402 925)
Laughon, S. & Kurshan, B. (1996). A monster of a job! "MultiMedia Schools,"
3(1), 12-18. (EJ 516 636)
Miller, E. B. (1996). "The Internet resource directory for K-12 teachers and
librarians, 95/96 edition." Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Inc.
(ISBN-1-56308-366-3). (ED 389 330)
Tennant, R. (1996). "Internet basics: Update 1996." ERIC Digest. Syracuse,
NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology. (ED 392 466).
Walter Shelby Group Ltd. Tile.net/Lists: The reference to Internet
discussion groups. Internet WWW page, at URL:http://tile.net/ (copyright
1997).
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ERIC Digests are in the public domain and may be freely reproduced and
disseminated. This publication was prepared with funding from the Office of
Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education under
contract no. RR93002009. The opinions expressed in this report do not
necessarily reflect the positions of OERI or ED.