The Open Directory Project (now called Curlie)

One of the very real issues that early web indexes faced as the size of the web increased exponentially was their inability to keep up with that growth. The cost of continually adding more employees was prohibitive and most of the early web indexes went out of business.

In answer to that dilemma, the Open Directory Project has taken a different approach. This project has recruited volunteer editors to work together to build a non-commercial, open source web index. As I update this page in early August of 2015, the Open Directory Project has over 90 thousand editors who have indexed over 4 million sites into over i million categories.

Recently, the Open Directory Project rebranded itself as Curlie.

Click here to open the Curlie in a new browser window.

The first thing you will notice is the lack of advertising that plagues the commercial web indexes. Resist the urge to enter a topic in the search box and click on the Reference category heading. When the Reference page appears, click on Education. Spend some time exploring topics of interest to you. Remember to add new sites to your Bookmarks/Favorites.

Having done that, move to the top of any page in the directory and enter a keyword or phrase into the search box. Notice that you have the option of searching the entire directory or just the category.

Now, move to the bottom of the page and notice that you can pass your search topic along to a number of external search engines. This can be a very useful feature.

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.

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

Record your comments on this search site in your logbook.

Add relevant resources that you found using this search site to your Bookmarks/Favorites collection.

Next: Other Web Indexes