The purpose of this page is to help Internet newcomers to Surf, Stumble, Search, and Lurch their way to happiness. World Wide Web links are provided under each of these headings with the option for you to paste links you like into little text fields that will then create a personal homepage for you.

1. Move through the sections of this page, trying to find one link that you like in each of the four sections.
2. Look for sites that reflect some part of your personality or might be useful to your teaching.
3. Paste these sites into the little text fields beneath each section.
4. At the end of the page you can add some details then click a button to carve out your own place in Cyberspace. (Would you like to see an example?)

Note: This page is built with a javascript. This means nothing's saved and if your browser freezes, your work's gone. Once you make your page, why not save it to disk? Also, this process is built into Web-and-Flow, an interactive environment for educators.

• Yahoo, the mother of all directories
• About.com, the Net with human intervention (and now ads!)
• Google Directory a browsable view of Google

Seek and ye shall find? Let's get serious. With over 50 million Web pages to sift through, it's easy to get frustrated with the garbage you'll pull up in your Net search. Still, given a little practice, some savvy, and good old perseverance and luck, there's cool stuff to be found. Look for things related to both personal and professional interests.

If you're really new, try using Google as it tends to bring up relevant hits. I'd also offer these basic tips on searching.

If you're little more advanced and have tried out several engines and are curious about which might be better for what purposes, use Debbie Abilock's great page: Choose the Best Search for your Information Need.

A great site is Ask Yahoo! which gives the behind the scenes search strategies on anything you ever wanted to know.

Finally, to appease the curiosity lurking in us all, see what others are searching for on Ask Jeeves Peek (not for those with weak stomachs!).

It's also a good idea to get on at least one or two listservs (try Topica), lurk on a couple newsgroups (try Deja News - Now "Google Groups") and maybe poke about some FAQ files (try Infinite Ink).

You might be getting itchy right about now. How am I going to use this to create instruction for learners? The links below might provide examples, lesson plan ideas, listservs of instructors who share your interest, etc. Take a look through some of these sites until you've found gold.