Finding the Answers Online.

Finding the Answers Online.

 

Where do you go on the internet to find the most reliable help with your homework?

 

Homework. Wait, don't turn the page! Homework is probably a dirty word to you but it is necessary, and there are some great websites that can make your life easier. There's a ton of information online about everything you could possibly imagine and more, but you have to think twice about what sites you're using to research your school projects.

 

Online encyclopedia www.wikipedia.org, for example, is very popular, as well as very heavy on information, with more than 995,000 entries. But can you really trust its content? The beauty of Wikipedia is that anyone can edit an entry, so it benefi ts from constant updating and a wide range of experiences and points of view. But that's also a fl aw. Those people updating entries could include errors or lies. In one instance, the profile of a retired Tennessee newspaper publisher was altered to falsely implicate him in the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy.

 

It's also been alleged that members of the United States Congress have had their biographies on Wikipedia edited by their staff to delete embarrassing and scandalous things about them. So while Wikipedia is a favourite for finding details on, say, pop culture, for serious business it's best to look elsewhere. So how do you know who to trust?

 

It's not always easy. Most sites will have an 'about us' or 'about this site' or even a 'contact us' link somewhere, so check if there is a reputable company behind it. Let's take a look at some homework friendly sites:

 

New Zealand's History Online
www.nzhistory.net.nz
This is an excellent site for anyone researching New Zealand history.
It's run by the History Group of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, and is divided into three categories: culture and society, politics and government, and war and society.
Topics within these categories are varied: immigration, literature, natural disasters, women's suffrage and the Treaty of Waitangi. Entries have an impressive amount of additional material such as photos, sound clips of interviews and radio broadcasts, suggested reading lists and related websites.

 

Freesearch
www.freesearch.co.uk/dictionary
This online dictionary is run by England's Cambridge University Press, so you know it's got to be good. You have to be careful with online dictionaries - you don't want to be caught out with American spellings. Utilized, instead of utilised; neighbors instead of neighbours and traveling instead of travelling are all traps you could fall into, which won't impress your teacher, so make sure you pick a British dictionary. Freesearch has a section where you can search for words by the first few letters, so you don't have to make wild guesses at how to spell whatever word you're looking for.

 

Any Questions
www.anyquestions.co.nz/en/anyQuestions.html
Searched and searched but you're still stuck? Luckily at anyquestions.co.nz, your own personal librarian is on hand to help you find what you're looking for. AnyQuestions is a collaboration between city libraries around the country and the Ministry of Education, providing a live online chat service with a librarian every afternoon during the school year. At the end of your chat session (in English or Maori), you can choose to receive an emailed transcript of your conversation, including links to any websites the librarian suggested to you. The site also has a 'DIY Answers' section, which has links to search engines and databases that the librarians use.

 

Encyclopedia Britannica
www.britannica.com/
Encyclopedia Britannica is very well known and authoritative (the website says Britannica is cited in US Supreme Court cases and that its expert contributors have won Nobel prizes). This site offers both free and members-only information. The free portion is quite comprehensive: my test search on 'gorillas' retrieved a decent pageful of information on gorillas, well-known gorilla sanctuaries, hominids in general and famous US zoologist Dian Fossey. The members-only section includes much longer articles - the general 'gorillas' entry, for example, is five times as long as the free one. Memberships costs US$70 a year, with a free seven-day trial.

 

Factmonster
www.factmonster.com
Want to know the history of the sneaker? This is the place to go. Bright and jam-packed with interesting, fun facts, it's an American site so is pretty US centric (which could be handy if you're researching the States). It's also amazingly full of information - the usual maths, science, sport and people, but also cool stuff and games and quizzes. And while it may have lots of useful references such as an atlas, a dictionary and the periodic table, it's definitely not dry - I stopped to read a long section on inventions and quirky lists like the top 30 pet names and the 20 best countries to live in (yes, New Zealand was in there).

 

Dictionary of New Zealand biography
www.dnzb.govt.nz/DNZB/
This project by the New Zealand Historical Association contains over 3,000 biographies, but only of people who are no longer alive. "So you will not find people like Helen Clark or Sean Fitzpatrick, but you will find people like George Nepia or Michael Joseph Savage," says the site. There is also an Our Land, Our People section, which is basically a collection of 'snapshots' of important moments in New Zealand history that are linked to the biographies.

 

WickED
www.tki.org.nz/r/wick_ed/info_station/index.php
The WickED site is run by the Ministry of Education and is really aimed at seven to 12-year-olds. But the Information Station section is a handy spot to visit, as it has a whole bunch of tools on one page. Under the headings Find It, Map It, Report It, Research It, Spell It and Read It, there are links to online encyclopedias, newspapers, dictionaries, search engines and more.Alongside those links are handy tips. In online newspapers, for example, you are reminded that articles are usually summarised in the first few paragraphs - that will save you reading through every story.

 

Te Ara
www.teara.govt.nz/
Te Ara ('the pathway' in Maori), which calls itself the encyclo- pedia of New Zealand, will eventually have nine themes, including The Bush, Daily Life and Creativity. New themes will be added over the next few years and it should be complete by 2012. In the meantime, one theme is online now: New Zealanders. You can click on numerous topics such as Canoe Navigations, Ideas of Maori Origins, or Refugees, and you can find information on every Maori tribe. The Maori perspective is an important part of the site, and will be included with each theme. Each entry has pages and pages of information, photos and other media, quick facts and further suggestions - and it's all beautifully designed, which makes homework just that little bit more pleasant. Check out the section on the very retro 1966 Encyclopedia of New Zealand for a trip back in time.

 

Team-Up
www.teamup.co.nz/default.htm
One for your parents! Think they just don't understand what you have to go through? Get them to have a look at this site, and they'll be able to help make your life a bit easier. Under the secondary schools section on homework help, the site recommends teenagers be provided with a quiet place to study with all the tools they need, help with managing their daily routines and lots of encouraging feedback. And we can all do with some of that when it comes to homework.

 

Encarta
encarta.msn.com
It's very American, but this Microsoft-run site has a useful Homework section. Encarta Answers is a search engine that will give you quick answers to your questions - no more scrolling through screeds of hits (although they are there if you want them). I asked "What is the lifespan of a gorilla?" and received, in big bold type, the simple answer I needed: "Gorilla: Life Span: About 45 years in captivity; 35 years in the wild." The Homework section also offers help in maths, languages and works of literature, but the best part is the homework starters. Need to write a book report but got writer's block? Don't even know where to start? Follow the step-by-step guide that tells you what you need to do, and exactly how to organise and present your ideas. You need to subscribe to access most of the homework starters (for US$5 a month), but there are a couple of freebies.

 

Study It
www.studyit.org.nz
Another Ministry of Education site, but this one is aimed specifically at NCEA students. It's not a source of study materials, but is a resource to help you cope with NCEA exams. Exam timetables and study tips ("Eat before the exam, but not junk food") will help you feel prepared, and there's a forum where you can get encouragement from other students. On the day I logged in, someone had posted a description of their first day at university. You can email maths and science teachers, check out NCEA subjects and requirements, and there's even an excellent page where you can get step-by-step instructions on how to drive your graphics calculator. Hyperbolic functions, logarithms and integers, anyone?

 

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