History

= Using The Web For Researching History =

History. The word by itself conjures up images of great edifices and monuments, historical figures, battles, wars, governments, great empires, and the list goes on and on. History's many facets can be viewed from so many different perspectives that it is impossible for the most learned and erudite scholar to completely understand even the simplest historical event. The resources from which we can learn about history are virtually endless as the subject permeates through every expression of human culture. Because our research facilities are limited, it is impossible to access every bit of information from these resources. However, it is very conceivable to access MOST available information on a particular topic in history. Why? Because of the internet of course!!! The internet offers us a connection to vast amounts of information and innumerble databases. Through traditional means, such as reading books or encyclopedias, there is an ever present chance that historical information you are seeking will either not be found or very difficult and time conusuming to find. Using the internet to search for the same information will most likely result in a quicker and more satisfying answer. Try it!!!

When seeking information, one of the first things people do is use search engines. Some of the most popular are: Google, Yahoo, Bing, AltaVista, etc.



If you want to use information found in encyclopedias or hardcopy books, there is a good bet you can find the text found in both, online. Using a search engine search of the word "encyclopedia", instantly several respected encyclopedias are at your finger tips. However, if you want to find books, magazines or newspaper articles, they are a little bit harder to find. For those, you'd either have to go to your local library and search there, or find an institution that facilitates academic search engines like EBSCOhost or LexisNexis. Otherwise, you might have to pay a fee to use internet services. The bottom line with any of the above stated scenarios is that all the information you'd probably need can be found online. For instance, if you need to find an article printed in the Boston Globe on the 5th of May, 1878, there is a good chance that your local library doesn't have a hard copy on hand or even a microfilm. Your best shot would be to use the internet.

The internet can not only be used to find information, but also to organize it. One of the many ways you can group historical information together is to create a timeline. Using a website like, readwritethink.org, you can create and customize your own timeline.



Using the Internet for history, whether to learn or as a teaching tool, can prove invaluable to both classroom learning and knowledge acquisition. The internet can be accessed easily at any time and in many more places that traditional volumes of knowledge can be found or ported. In this modern age of information, the internet is playing a larger and larger role in everyday life and it is irreversibly influencing world development. So, why not use this powerful tool for historical research?