Free and Fee-Based Online SCIENCE Resources for the K-12 Community Presentation By: Robert J. Lackie & Robert J. Congleton, Rider University Libraries

Searching? Question: What is a more efficient, viable alternative to keyword searching in a general purpose search engine? Answer: Searching combinations of superb free Web directories/portals and free/fee- based vendor resources, with an emphasis on quality over quantity.

Which Direction….. Search Via General Search Engine Search Via Specialty Directories & Portal Sites

General Search Engine -Versus - Specialty Directory & Portals General Search Requires a lot of patience and time Difficulty in recognizing a good site from a bad or mediocre one Don’t evaluate or annotate their content Specialty/Portal Allows access to selected, evaluated, and annotated collections Emphasizes quality over quantity

Guide for Evaluating Web Sites 1. Who is responsible for the site’s material? 1. Who is responsible for the site’s material? 2. What is the scope of the site's material? 2. What is the scope of the site's material? 3. What are the sources of the site's material? 3. What are the sources of the site's material? 4. Is copyright information for the material given? 4. Is copyright information for the material given? 5. How easy is it to search & retrieve material? 5. How easy is it to search & retrieve material? 6. How old is the information on the Web site? 6. How old is the information on the Web site?

SCIENCE Resources Specialty Science Directories, Portals, and Sites

General and Specialty Science Directories, Portals, and Sites BUBL Information Service Educator’s Reference Desk ENC Online: Science Topics Eric Weisstein’s World Of Science Exploratorium

General and Specialty Science Directories, Portals, and Sites FirstGov for Kids: Science & Math Internet Public Library PubMed SciCentral Science Teacher’s Resource Center

Interactive Web Sites Covering Specific Branches of Science Automotive Learning On-line Chemistry.org Constellations and Their Stars HealthyNJ http.// Howard Hughes Medical Institute: BioInteractive

Interactive Web Sites Covering Specific Branches of Science Human Genome Project Genome/home.shtml Genome/home.shtml NatureServe Explorer Internet Plasma: Physics Education Experience Neuroscience for Kids html html Virtual Courseware for Earth & Environmental Sci.

Commercial Database Vendors EBSCO: Health Source: Consumer Edition Encyclopedia of Animals Marshall Cavendish Science Reference Center Marshall Cavendish Wildlife Reference Center General Science Collection Auto Repair Reference Center Also offers combo packages: such as Primary Online Package, Middle Online Package, and MAS Ultra (School Edition), and free databases.

Commercial Database Vendors (Continued) ElsevierScirus: ScienceDirect, MEDLINE, and BioMed Central University sites, author home pages, company home pages, government sites, etc.

Commercial Database Vendors (Continued) ProQuest: Wilson General Science Abstracts ProQuest K-12 ProQuest AP Science Professional Education Library SIRSeLibrary

Commercial Database Vendors (Continued) Thomson Corporation BasicBIOSIS BiologyBrowser Science Resource Find-Law

Conclusion Lackie, Robert J. and Robert J. Congleton “Free and Fee-based Online Science Resources for the K-12 Community.” MultiMedia and Schools 11.6 (Nov./Dec. 2004): Lackie, Robert J “Science and Math Web Resources for the Higher Education Community.” ONLINE: The Leading Magazine for Information Professionals 27.6 (Nov./Dec. 2003): Lackie, Robert J “Sci-Math World.” Rider University. Retrieved 4 March