Answers.com

Are you looking for a student-safe information engine? Then Answers.com may be your answer! Answers.com calls itself “the world’s largest encyclodictionalmanacapedia.” It has over 3 million answers from brand-name publishers, as well as their own editorial staff answers. The site offers useful answers in a variety of categories like health, business, history, science and many more.

Each search comes up with a dictionary facts, definitions and translations. Dictionaries, thesauruses, encyclopedia listings, and external links are among the resources that Answers.com provides on a search. In addition, there is a citation generator so students (and teachers!) can correctly cite their resources.

Answers.com also has a feature – 1-Click Answers – which can be downloaded. It allows any word in any program to be clicked for a pop-up window with an answer tip. There is also a teacher center where they offer a movie and lesson plans called Mission Possible: Successful Online Research.

On the deluxe homepage there is 4 tabs – Highlights; In the News; On This Day; and Say What? The Highlights section has a birthday – whether it be a person; movie, book, etc. The In the News section has today’s news headlines. On This Day lists historic events –with links – and birthdays. The Say What? tab has an unusual word that people have been looking up on Answers.com. Below the tabs is a blufr and spelling bee where they have an unusual question and you guess whether it is true or a bluff – then once you enter your guess the correct answer pops up. The spelling bee is a multiple choice of a vocabulary word and proper spelling.

Answers.com allows teachers and students to have the most up to date information on a subject. In addition, there is a French version of Answers.com – where everything is done in French and there is also the ability to translate all search results into 14 different languages.

While I was at NECC, I visited the Answers.com booth in the Exhibit Hall. I was very impressed with their material and they said that since the content is pre-selected it is a safe search. If something inappropriate does get through, notify Answers.com and it will be resolved as quickly as possible. I highly recommend Answers.com as a safe search engine for students.