Search

=Finding Stuff on the Web= toc What you want, what will give you a great tool for free, what will make learning as engaging as possible--it's all out there. But you have to look for it.

There are two ways to get at great tools:

=Search Engine= Use one or more search engines. To make this more effective, be sure you change your search terms to synonyms because what you call something might be different from what the website owner calls it. Find possible synonyms in your search responses for your first query. For example, if you are looking for "dog," your first search might yield pages with "dog" and "canine." You would probably want to add "canine" to your query. With this type of search, you might try being as specific as possible. Instead of searching "math lessons," search "fractions" or some other specific topic.

Use advanced search tools. Some search engines have tools by which you can limit your search. One good limit to consider is asking for search results that are a year or less in age. That way you don't get information from 1998 that is somewhat or completely and totally out of date. Here is some information about how to make your search more specific to what you want: [] Find the "advanced search" options (which are often available). These allow you to be more specific about what you want.

=Happenstance= While searching for one thing, you might find a great resource for another project. Look at that resource briefly to determine if it might help and then bookmark it so you can come back to it later.

There's a web service that allows you to select topics that interest you and then it takes you to a website that is related to your interests. You can't hope for anything specific, but you will land on amazing websites (between occasional junk). Go to [] and sign up for a free account. This service is fun to use.

There are websites that amass information about interesting resources online. Make Use Of ([]) is an example. If you "Like" them on Facebook, you will get notifications of interesting articles which are often annotated compilations of web resources around a topic. If you go to the Make Use Of main page, you can make specific queries in their search box.

Search for "education wiki" because these often contain truly valuable websites.

Finally, if you search something like "cool math websites for teachers" you will find a huge amount of resources.

=$$$$= If you find resources that cost money, rest assured that similar free resources (may not be as slick) are probably available. Keep looking and add "free" to your search. Also "Open Source" if you are thinking about a particular type of software you might need.

=Specialized Search Engines=

Wolfram Alpha ([])
Wolfram Alpha is an enormous database including an amazing array of information, from details about the stars in the sky to etymological origins of words in English. Use this data base for inquiries that require numerical data. Some queries might be: How many words end in tion? [e.g., information, allegation, etc.] School districts in Franklin County, Ohio Torus [topological math] c, d, e, f, g, a, b, c [C major scale] If you hit the "Random" button you'll see some of what Wolfram Alpha can do. The Examples button takes you to a page that has an enormous list of the types of information the engine can handle.