Also, you will find a link to my craft page, Names 'N' More.  Names 'N' More is the way I spend my spare time.  Everyone likes to see their name on something special. With this software, names and their meanings can be displayed in a variety of formats.

Search Engines:  If you use only a few, and learn to use them well, you will be able to find anything you want on the Internet without wasting precious time.  Below I've listed some of those available and tried to explain how they may best be used. Some of the most popular are meta-search engines--they search other search engines. You receive a list of links to various topics and must choose those that will answer your questions.  Meta-search engines are almost always the best place to start. They search all of the big search databases and give you a consolidated report of their findings. Here are a few:
    Google    this search engine is a particular favorite as it always seems to return results which are useful
   Snap.com                   there are many family oriented links here
    Go.network               many places to go, but a really special area for kids (grandparents, parents, & the  nursery               crowd)--find a pen pal, play a game---just click on KIDS in the list on the first page
    Metacrawler.com      this has been around for a while, but is still a good choice

If you are interested in learning more about searching the web try this link:
            http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html
It will provide you with a tutorial on all levels of searching from beginner through advanced.

Other search engines do specific things and some are not search engines, but directories.  Directories are databases maintained by real people rather than computer. They may be more intuitive because people tend to think alike, therefore, more likely to use the same key words that you would use.  Yahoo is an example of a popular directory.  The meta-search engines search these directories, and, in some cases, you can select which ones you would like them to search.
In addition to Yahoo, these may be useful to you:
    Northern Light   this is a relatively small search engine; it uses folders to narrow the search options
    Switchboard   this is a directory of phone numbers, addresses, both e-mail and mail, for indiviuals and businesses

 Use the help menu to learn how to do more complex or more accurate searches. The least efficient way to find a topic on the Internet is to browse. Only if you have plenty of time or no specific goal is browsing the way to go. Remember, when you search, the key words you use are important. Computers can only find what you want if your key words lead them to the right places. Use synonyms -- university AND college AND school;  and phrases (enclosed in quotes if you want the phrase rather than each individual word included in the search).

Education: Since I work in a high school, I would be remiss if I didn't include sites which teachers and students might find useful. Most of the Sites listed below are lists of  bookmarks to lesson plans and suggestions for using the material in a classroom situation. AskERIC's  Virtual Library contains a wealth of lesson plans, projects, resources. and ideas for you to use.   Jan Brett has a page that will appeal especially to Elementary Teachers, with alphabet letters, numbers and wonderful new pictures to accompany them. Learning Train is another site especially for Elementary Students and Teachers.  BlueWeb'N is the newest site here. There are complete lesson plans for many projects in every area of the curriculum.  4Teachers provides 'real classroom' experiences as well as many ideas for using technology in any area of the curriculum, and some step by step lesson plans for using technology in the classroom.