For many students, school is now back in full-swing and assignments are starting to pile up. If you (or someone you know) recently returned to school, DMOZ can be a great resource to use as a starting point for projects or research papers for students of all ages.

Elementary School through High School
As we've mentioned in the past, the Kids & Teens directory contains a wealth of hand-selected information for children ranging in age from pre-school to high school. School age children can use the directory to find homework help, access virtual exhibits at leading museums, and find learning enrichment activities in areas such as science and reading.
Older students can find homework help and reference tools in the Kids & Teens directory as well, but there is also additional content specific to career choices, higher education opportunities and organizations & activities to help teens explore career paths and options for additional education.
Want to give it a try? Check out some of these categories:

• Homework Help
Pages and sites created specifically to assist children and teenagers with homework free of charge.
http://www.dmoz.org/Kids_and_Teens/School_Time/Homework_Help/

• Reference Tools
Free online reference tools including dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedias and almanacs.
http://www.dmoz.org/Kids_and_Teens/School_Time/Reference_Tools/

• Future Planning & Careers
Pages and sites about careers and the skills and academic knowledge needed for them.
http://www.dmoz.org/Kids_and_Teens/People_and_Society/Careers/

You can also find resources for specific academic subject areas and content in a variety of languages.

College & Beyond
For university students, the directory can prove to be an invaluable resource as a starting point for research. I know this first-hand as my own introduction to DMOZ was conducting research for an undergraduate term paper.

As we've pointed out in the past, DMOZ is an excellent place to locate general information on topics ranging from world affairs to social sciences to scientific research journals. It's also an excellent place to find trade groups and information on local businesses that may be able to assist by providing interviews or site visits.

To use an example from my own experience, I was conducting research on architectural trends in Chicago. I began with an overview of urban and regional planning and then moved on to find sites that focused on an overview of periods and styles of architecture & historic buildings in Chicago before delving into trade associations to help me find architects (and examples of their work) in the Chicago area. I also checked out the category on architectural photography to find out if there were any local photographers who might have images that would be helpful to my research.

After that, I had enough information to help me begin a more focused search using additional resources.

Many of our editors are experts in their fields and have compiled categories that reflect their passion for and knowledge of these topics. If you find that your area of academic interest isn't well-represented in the directory why not join us as an editor & help build it out?