The Internet is fast becoming the one-stop-shopping headquarters for student research. Information on almost any topic can be found with the stroke of a key.

This abundance of information requires teachers to set guidelines on effective Internet use, keeping safety and relevance in mind.

Kate Messner, a member of the Plattsburgh Teachers Association, uses the Internet often. "As an English teacher, one of my jobs is to teach students how to find the information they need for classes and for life," Messner said.

Before starting research projects, Messner gives her seventh-graders a lesson on evaluating Web sites. The first thing to look for, Messner said, is the author. Determine who put the information on the Internet and why.

"The Internet is a different medium from the library," Messner explained. "It's important for students to look at the material and recognize that the people behind the sites have agendas."

Chris Chandler uses the same philosophy in his ninth- and 10th-grade English classes at Saranac High School.

"I don't rely on sites that don't take some credit or responsibility for what they're doing," said Chandler, who is a member of the Saranac TA in the Adirondacks.

Messner used last year's elections as an example for her middle school students. "If you search for election sites, you will find pages from the candidate, impartial pages and pages by people who don't like the candidate," she said.

"There are many teachers and librarians doing a splendid job of incorporating technology into the classroom and encouraging students' love of learning," said Antonia Cortese, first vice president of New York State United Teachers.

Both Messner and Chandler have found that doing the grunt work ahead of time is the best option to maximize student output and minimize wasting time (see article below).

"We work with teachers to help them make Web pages with links to only teacher-approved sites," Messner said. "That is especially effective with younger students who are not able to search effectively on their own yet and get sidetracked by the amount of information on the Internet."

Chandler provides his students with sites in advance. "Preview and screen as much as possible," Chandler suggests. "It can take away too much time if (the students) do their own searches."

Here are a few other helpful tips:

• Know when it is appropriate to use the Internet. In a health class, for example, students doing a report on drugs will find many inappropriate Internet sites, Messner said. "In that situation, it is much wiser for a teacher to have sites pre-selected."

• Be familiar with the site and its links. Links that don't work or are outdated give insight into the "freshness" of the site.

• Know your equipment.

• Be prepared if the Internet connection fails. "I have five stations in my room," Chandler said. "So if one goes down, the students can always double up on another unit."

"There is so much information available that students can be influenced by quantity and not quality," Chandler said. "The Internet is a good starting point."

- Clarisse Butler

A handy itinerary for Web site-seeing

If using the Internet in a Syracuse classroom seems a daunting task, computer teacher Mike Riposo can help.

"There are a tremendous number of resources on the World Wide Web for teachers to use on any subject," said Riposo, a member of the Syracuse Teachers Association. "We may be approaching a billion Web pages, but only a tiny percentage are relevant."

So Riposo, with the help of other Clary Middle School teachers, developed a bibliographic list of useful Web sites for teachers and students. He also informally counsels fellow Clary colleagues on classroom Internet use and teaches in-service courses.

The teacher must find the good Web sites and show kids how to use them at school and home, Riposo said.

Consider the librarian, Riposo suggests. "A librarian will have a cart - or three or four," said Riposo. "She'll stack that cart with resources on a subject." In the classroom, Riposo said, teachers must find Internet resources ahead of time, put them in order, and present them in convenient and sensible ways.

In addition to useful sites, Riposo's bibliographic list has lesson plans and information on an Internet inservice class at http://clarymsm.scsd.k12.ny.us /teachers_room.html. "Mike has helped a lot of teachers understand how to use the Internet as a resource," said Syracuse TA President Kate McKenna.

- Lance Howland and Clarisse Butler

For more information

Looking for useful Web sites, free lesson plans and help deciding whether a site is worthwhile? Plattsburgh teacher Kate Messner suggests a visit to http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide.