One thing is for sure, I applaud
Answers.com for reaching out to the K-12 communuity. They now ever offer a
free poster with search tips.
http://www.teachers.answers.com/main/education_citations.jsp
I've blogged a great deal over a long period of time about how major web
engines need to do more and reach out to the education community.
http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050902-111732
Also, have you seen what Ask Jeeves has been doing for the past 4.5 years. AJ
(soon to be renamed Ask.com) is not the same old company and searh tool
that was nothing more than JUNK in the late 1990's. They currently provide
useful ready-ref "Smart Answers" and direct links at the top of result boxes.
In some cases they even provide an answer mined from well-known databases.
Here are a few examples:
Fort Worth, Texas
http://web.ask.com/web?q=fort+worth+texas&qsrc=1&o=10234 and
Academy Award, Best Actress, 1967
http://web.ask.com/web?q=academy+award+best+Actress+1967&qsrc=1&o=10234
Elephant
http://web.ask.com/web?q=elephant&qsrc=1&o=10234
Prime Minister of Canada
http://web.ask.com/web?q=prime+minister+of+canada&qsrc=1&o=10234
More about Smart Answers here:
http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050822-235720
and here
http://sp.ask.com/docs/about/aj/sitefeatures.htm
and here
http://www.resourceshelf.com/2003/07/ask-jeeves-releases-list-of-smart.html
cheers,
gary
p.s. MS now offers free access to most of the Encarta encyclopedia. It's easy
to set-up. See:
http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050923-160103
Pri
Quoting Shonda Brisco <sbrisco@FWCDS.ORG>:
> It seems to me that Answers.com is a "one-click" reference source, much
> like Wikipedia. The information there is short and concise (usually less
> than one page or 4-5 paragraphs in length) and it includes a lot of
> contemporary events, news items, reference information (from sources I
> don't know) and popular culture information (or perhaps trivia) that
> teenagers would enjoy browsing.
>
> I did an "extreme news search" using the news story from the summer about
> Natalee Holloway and found a lot of information from the summer's headlines
> condensed into a page-long summary of who she is / was and what the story
> contained.
>
> I wouldn't rely on it for research, but for quick reference, it might be a
> source to use to get some clarification before in-depth research begins.
> However, I would weigh the validity of the information as the same as in
> Wikipedia--- if there are no standards for the publication and no editors
> to verify that everything is true, then it's trivia---much like something
> you'd pick up in the National Enquirer. (Some truth with a little
> embellishment to make it flashy and marketable.)
>
> To learn about what they say about themselves, here's a link:
>
> http://www.teachers.answers.com/main/about_us.jsp
>
> Just an opinion....
>
> ~Shonda
>
>
> Shonda Brisco, MLIS
> US / Technology Librarian
> Fort Worth Country Day School
> Fort Worth, TX
> sbrisco@fwcds.org
>
> >>> Suzanne Ng <suzanne@WHATEXIT.COM> 09/30/05 6:59 PM >>>
> I'd like input too. Turns out one of my students' parents is a
> corporate level employee and he stopped by on Back to school night to
> ask if I would ry the site out and let him know what I thought.
> (Apparently he has been doing presentations to schools and libraries
> throughout the area, and his kids asked when he was coming to THEIR
> school!)
>
> On Sep 29, 2005, at 8:52 AM, Claudio Laferla wrote:
>
> > Dear Colleagues,
> >
> > I would like to put to your judgement the following URL.
> > If someone already used this site, does it contain any reliable
> > information?
> >
> > http://www.answers.com/main/flash_demo.jsp
> >
> >
> > TIA
> > Claudio Laferla
> > Malta- Europe
> > claferla@smc.edu.mt
> >
> >
> > ________________________________
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> > www.chsmck.com
> > St Martin's College
> > Swatar Road
> > Swatar. Limits of Msida
> > MSD 13
> > Tel : (00356) 21345170
> > Fax: (00356) 21345146
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> Suzanne Ng, Librarian
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--
Gary D. Price, MLIS
Librarian
Editor, ResourceShelf and DocuTicker
News Editor, Search Engine Watch
Gary Price Library Research and Internet Consulting
Visit ResourceShelf and Docuticker
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