Web Indexes: Yahoo!

There are hundreds of web indexes available on the web. These sites offer access to huge collections of webpages that have been reviewed before being included in the web index.

Yahoo!, the most widely used web index has been around since the early days of the world wide web and offers an excellent collection of relevant educational resources resources.

Click here to open the Yahoo! Directory in a new browser window.

Note: The web indexes/directories require a different approach than the search engines. Seeing a search box on the screen often confuses the casual user. The real value of the indexes/directories lies in the categories not in the search box.

Web indexes/directories work best when we use hierarchical searching behaviors (similar to browsing the stacks in a physical library or bookstore). This is quite different than the analytical searching that is used by the search engines (similar to using the card catalog in a physical library). Just as we often find related books when we get in the vicinity of the books that we set out to find in a library or bookstore, we can find related subcategories in the web indexes/directories.

Resist the urge to enter a topic in the search box for the time being and look around on the Yahoo! Directory page until you see the Education category. Open that category and look for the K-12 section. Click on K-12 to open Yahoo!'s K-12 resource collection which has, in April of 2010, over 50,000 entries.

You will see that there are dozens of subcategories. Select one that is of interest to you and spend some time exploring. You will notice that each click takes you deeper into the Yahoo! web index.
It is easy to get "lost" while drilling down into the directory. You will see that you can backtrack using the navigation links near the top of every page.

It is also possible to enter your specific topic into the search box found near the top of every Yahoo! page. Notice that you have the option of searching the web or just this category. Selecting the web passes your search along to a third-party search engine. Selecting Directory or This Category focuses your search within the confines of the Yahoo! index itself.

Don't overlook the usefulness of searching Yahoo! for appropriate curriculum resources. At the same time, keep in mind that if you only use the Yahoo! web index to conduct your online searches, you may not be seeing all the available web resources.

Next: The Open Directory Project