By Jackson Gianchetta
As the internet continues to evolve and expand, access to information has never been more widespread. However, the rise of paywalls and the disappearance of content from the internet can make it difficult for high school students to access the information they need. Fortunately, there is a tool that can help: the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.
For those unfamiliar with the Wayback Machine, it is a digital archive of the internet that allows users to access archived snapshots of websites at specific points in time. This means that even if the content on a popular website has been removed or deleted, the Wayback Machine can often provide access to its previous content.
High school students can use the Wayback Machine to access a wealth of information that may not be available on the internet for free. Keeping with Internet Archive’s goal of “Building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in a digital form,” none of the snapshots on the website include paywalls that would generally be present on certain sites. This can be especially useful for students conducting research or working on projects that require access to paywalled newspaper articles or academic journals.
Additionally, the Wayback Machine can provide access to websites and information that may no longer be available on the web. As the internet continues to evolve, old websites are often taken down or replaced, making the information they contain difficult to access. However, the Wayback Machine can provide a glimpse into the past, allowing users to access and learn from information that may otherwise be lost.
To use the Wayback Machine, simply go to the website https://archive.org/web/ and enter the URL of the website you want to access. The Wayback Machine will then provide a list of archived versions of the website, allowing you to access the information you are looking for.
In a world where much of the highest quality academic content is getting more and more difficult to access, the Wayback Machine provides a valuable resource for high school students. By bypassing paywalls and providing access to deleted content the Wayback Machine allows students to broaden the horizons of their research. As such, the Wayback Machine is an essential tool for any high school student looking to access new information.
