Gateways, Portals, and Websites

GEM is a set of metadata standards [explained below] used by Consortium members to organize and improve access to their own educational materials. Sites ‘Powered by GEM’ include: AskERIC, Canadian Heritage Information Network’s Learning with Museums, MCI WorldCom Foundation’s MarcoPolo Project, NASA Space Science Education Resource Directory, and the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Resources for Educational Excellence. S EARCHING the Internet for K-12 educational materials using a multipurpose search engine like Google is a waste of time. The educational materials you are looking for will be all mixed in with millions of noneducational materials. Fortunately, there are better ways. You can use a gateway or portal website designed strictly for educators. I have not found a clear distinction between how people use the terms “gateway” and “portal.” The word “portal” means door or special entrance. My university website, for example, has a special portal page that faculty members use to access class lists, grade rolls, and so forth. I believe that “gateway” usually refers to a website that maintains a database of resources you can search. The distinction here, however, is artificial, since nearly all large websites have their content stored in a “back end” database — i.e., one that you don’t see. Regardless of the term you use, there are two generic ways to give educators access to content. You can either maintain a database of educational materials that can be searched, or you can organize the content in some kind of directory or hierarchical structure — not unlike the outlines you used to give your English teacher. Either of these approaches is far better than using a multipurpose search engine that accesses the entire Web. GEM or Gateway to Educational Materials (www.geminfo.org) is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Education. GEM is currently housed at the Information Institute of Syracuse University. The purpose of this particular gateway is to