The purpose of this research was to explore Google's potential for detecting occurrences of word-for-word (1) plagiarism in master's theses. The authors sought answers to these questions:1. Is Google an effective tool for detecting plagiarism in master's theses?2. Is Google an efficient tool for detecting plagiarism in master's theses?The first…

Alternative browsers are gaining significant market share, and both Apple and Microsoft are releasing OS upgrades which portend some interesting changes in Web development. Of particular interest for language learning professionals may be new developments in the area of Web browser based applications, particularly using an approach dubbed "Ajax."…

This study reports on exploratory research that investigated biology teachers' perceptions of their online information seeking practices and how these practices influenced their instructional planning activities. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the results of an online survey and ten in-depth interviews measuring use of specific online…

With vigorous development of the Internet, e-learning system has become more and more popular. Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) 2004 provides the Sequencing and Navigation (SN) Specification to define the course sequencing behavior, control the sequencing, selecting and delivering of course, and organize the content into a…

Discussion of problems that users have with Web searching focuses on a study of undergraduates that investigated three instructional methods (instruction by example, conceptual models without illustrations, and conceptual models with illustrations) to determine differences in knowledge acquisition related to three types of knowledge (declarative,…

Explores current research on indexing and ranking as retrieval functions of search engines on the Web. Highlights include measuring search engine stability; evaluation of Web indexing and retrieval; Web crawlers; hyperlinks for indexing and ranking; ranking for metasearch; document structure; citation indexing; relevance; query evaluation;…

Explores the academic environment of a total information system for school libraries based on the idea of a digital intranet. Discusses safety; customization; the core library collection; curriculum-specific collections; access to short-term resources; Internet access; personalized features; search engines; equity issues; and staffing. (LRW)

Discusses results of a usability study at the University of Illinois Chicago that investigated whether Internet search engines have influenced the way students search library Web sites. Results show students use the Web site's internal search engine rather than navigating through the pages; have difficulty interpreting library terminology; and…

Presents 10 tips librarians and media specialists can use in taking a query-based approach to teaching users how to search the Web. Steps for searching include: defining the nature of the quest; choosing the most useful tool; and constructing the proper search statement. A sidebar lists 17 search tools with their URLs. (AEF)

This study introduces the development of a Web-based assessment system, the Web-based Assessment and Test Analyses (WATA) system, and examines its impacts on teacher education. The WATA system is a follow-on system, which applies the Triple-A Model (assembling, administering, and appraising). Its functions include (1) an engine for teachers to…

An instruction program that covers search tools on the Web should incorporate a user's information need as the basis for teaching these tools. This article lays the theoretical groundwork for such a query-based approach, deriving its argument from the literature published in the early days of databases in libraries. A review of recent literature…

This paper presents a novel concept--a Web search environment as an interactive learning environment for graduation projects. The paper addresses the question of an appropriate learning environment for writing graduation projects in universities: Can it be defined? What should it be? How should it look? How and when should it be used? The premise…

In this study, 30 students in a graduate level social studies methods course used digital historical resources to respond to a single question about the Cuban Missile Crisis: "How was the Cuban Missile Crisis resolved?" The participants were placed in three groups and each group was given a different scaffolding strategy for using online sources…

In this article, an extension of the existing structure of learning objects is described. The solution addresses the problem of the access and discovery of educational resources in the distributed Internet environment. An overview of e-learning standards, reference models, and problems with educational resources delivery is presented. The paper…

While the use of a search engine to find secondary sources is now a commonplace practice among undergraduate writers, recent studies show that students' online searches often lead to materials that are wholly or partially unsuitable for academic purposes. Accordingly, this project set out to determine whether using a more specialized search…