CongressLink

Citation

McMullen, S. (2001), "CongressLink", Online Information Review, Vol. 25 No. 2, pp. 131-141. https://doi.org/10.1108/oir.2001.25.2.131.9

CongressLink, developed by The Dirksen Congressional Center, provides an online service to teachers and students of civics, politics, government and history. Primarily geared to a US audience, this education resource seeks to enhance student learning and provide curriculum support using a technology‐based approach to instruction. Students will find quick information about their legislators, learn how the US Congress functions and how laws are made, access full‐text historical documents, and link to related Internet sites. Educators will find curriculum support through online lesson plans and research activities for secondary school students involved in the study of government. In addition to providing a growing library of complete lesson plans, there are additional resources for teachers to use in creating lesson plans. Some of these resources include primary sources, historical documents, photographs and narrative descriptions. Lesson plans include How a Bill Becomes a Law; The Case of Civil Rights Act of 1964; A Mock Constitutional Convention; Using Political Propaganda during Elections, and many more.

From the CongressLink home page the Congressional Information Center provides quick links to factual information, such as where to write to one’s member of Congress, current legislation and members’ voting records, candidates for election, and up‐to‐date schedules for the House and Senate. The CongressLink Highlights section offers links to featured Internet Web sites, lesson plans and experts online. There are over 100 additional Web sites, categorised into eight broad subject areas, which have been evaluated and annotated by the developers at the Dirksen Center.

Experts Online is a unique feature offering teachers and students the ability to consult various scholars, teachers, journalists, Congressional staff members, and former members of Congress. Educators, students and experts can interact in the Communications area of the Web site. The CongressLink Message Board offers users an opportunity to set up online conferences, bulletin boards and chat rooms.

Overall, CongressLink is an excellent online curriculum resource for teachers and students. Although its primary focus is to service US educators, it is a useful site for non‐US audiences, who want to learn more about the workings of the US Congress and the US federal government. It uses technology and cutting‐edge services to expose users to both primary sources and a community of experts. The interface is very attractive, clean, and easy to navigate. In addition to linking to information from the table of contents, users may also search the site by keyword. The Dirksen Congressional Center is currently doing a fine job of offering Internet users a new way to learn about Congress. The Center anticipates future development of its site in the areas of teacher professional development and in the creation of broad‐based learning communities.