MSN Learning & Research
The free MSN Learning & Research site features more than 4,500 articles pooled from Encarta, the award-winning electronic reference library, and comes with dictionaries, maps, fast facts, interactive quizzes, handy homework tools and more.

Refdesk
Since 1995, Refdesk.com, which stands for "reference desk," has served as a one-click springboard to many of the web's top dictionaries, encyclopaedias, calculators, atlases, news headlines and search engines. The site also includes a handy "homework helper" section that provides help in all subjects to students in every grade.

HowStuffWorks
Ever wanted to know why earthquakes happen? How CD burners work? What the sun is made of? These questions, and a large amount of others related to computers/electronics, automobiles, science, entertainment and people, are all answered at this award-winning website. Simply type a query into the search window or peruse the topics by category. Extras include free newsletters, surveys and printable versions of all answers.

Canada's SchoolNet
Established by the Canadian government, SchoolNet provides English or French links to other educational sites and learning resources. The "@SchoolNet Today" section serves as a handy news source covering the latest educational material, information, websites, projects and contests.

Download.com
Consider Download.com the ultimate file repository that links to literally tens of thousands of downloadable free or shareware programs. This includes utilities for Windows, Macintosh and Linux, Internet tools, desktop dictionaries and language translators, Pocket PC and Palm applications, and of course, computer games. Visitors can search by typing in a keyword or by perusing the many sections. You can also download educational software and books.

Novelguide.com
The web's answer to those black- and yellow-striped Coles Notes is Novelguide.com, a reliable and free source for literary analysis of classic and contemporary books such as Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn and Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Notes from the Underground. The site offers character profiles, metaphor and theme analysis, and author biographies.

Math.com
This site provides help in a number of mathematics-related subjects, including basic grade-school math, calculus, algebra, geometry, trigonometry and statistics. Practice exercises are automatically graded, plus this free site also features a glossary, calculators, homework tips, math games and lesson plans for teachers.

FreeTranslation
Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Perfect for language studies, this handy website automatically converts text from one language into another, such as English to Simplified Chinese or French to English. Simply type and paste up to 10,000 characters, about 1,800 words, into the search window and then select the desired language. Alternatively, users can cut and paste a web URL to convert the entire site.

Shakespeare Online 
This website can be filed in the "where was this when I was a kid?" category. On the aptly named Shakespeare Online site, visitors can read every play or poem from the world's most celebrated writer and, more importantly, make some sense of his works with free analysis, Old English language translations and famous quotes.

Science Made Simple
Science classes — including the ubiquitous science project — aren't as easy for some to grasp than for others. At Science Made Simple, kids of all ages can get detailed answers to many of science's questions, read current news articles related to science, get ideas on school projects and take advantage of unit conversion tables. You can also find out if your school's textbooks pass the test.