Do you have children who struggle to find information to complete projects and homework assignments? Do you look for appropriate websites to educate and entertain? Check out the Halton District School Board's Student Internet Tools.

Created by a group of Halton Teacher-Librarians and Library Technicians, two distinctive websites offer a one-stop shopping source for material:

Elementary students can find material at http://www.hdsb.ca/library/pages/elementaryinternettools.asp, and secondary students at, http://www.hdsb.ca/library/pages/secondaryinternettools.asp

School computers automatically open to these pages, making them recognizable for students. By adding these sites to your "favourites" menu on a home computer, the resources can be easily accessed by students when they're needed.

The elementary school page includes links to selected websites matching various curriculum areas plus access to the most commonly used online databases covering a wide range of topics. For example, this page provides access to online encyclopedias so students can find information. With information broken down into grades, students and parents can find all sorts of curriculum-based material to help learn more about subjects like math, which comes with its own  “math dictionary” to explain terminology.

The secondary school page includes access to a multitude of online databases, like math homework help, and resources in English and French. In most cases, the student’s library barcode – provided at the beginning the year – is all that is required for access to the databases if they’re using a computer at home.

For high school students, the page also features a news feed, recreational reading recommendations – even letting you know if the desired book is available – research tools and citation guides, and email access to “Ask A Teacher-Librarian”.

School library staff have selected websites that provide young students with an engaging online environment to learn key concepts.  "Students really enjoy using the Internet in this type of guided setting for their research," says Lynn Wisniewski, Halton District School Board’s Manager of Instructional Media, Library Services.