The fall college term has started for most institutions and the incoming class of 2013 is getting its first taste of higher education.

They're also bringing with them a certain mindset, a particular perspective of the world specific to them based on their age.

Mindset is a key element in what is often referred to as the "generation gap." Parents can remember a world before their children existed and can compare "then" with "now." Their children, however, only know the world in which they exist. "Now" is both past and present for them - they have no comparative reference to their parents' "then."

For example, if you're about 40 or older, you can remember a time when the public Internet and Web browsers didn't exist. You can compare that time with the present Internet-saturated world and marvel at the technological changes in your lifetime.

But people about 20 or younger have never known a world without the Internet. To them, it always has been around, so it is a normal part of their lives. There's nothing to marvel at because they haven't experienced a world without the Net.

For the past 12 years, people at Beloit College in Wisconsin have compiled an annual "College Mindset List," which identifies the cultural experiences and social frame of reference that shape the worldview of 18-year-old college freshmen.

It's a revealing list, particularly to those not part of that generation of new college students. It offers a hint of perspective, a bit of insight into how and why young people think and believe and react the way they do.

According to the Mindset List for the class of 2013, for example, it's normal to be able to charge a latte on a cellphone or curl up in a corner to read a textbook on an electronic screen. Few, if any, in the class have ever used a physical card catalog to find a book in a library. There's nothing amazing or unusual about the migration of TV, radio, video and CDs to the home computer - it's always been that way. McDonald's always has been everywhere on the planet and presidents like Reagan and Carter are distant names in history books. To the class of 2013, it's not unusual for them to already know the news before the nightly TV newscasts air or the daily paper is delivered.

You can check out the complete Mindset List at www.beloit.edu/mindset as well as browse through the previous lists going back to 1998. It's an eye opening experience.

The government gets it right

When it comes to examples of usefulness and efficiency, the federal government probably doesn't make the top 10 on anyone's list. But it's a different story on the Internet.

Thanks to sites like USA.gov, finding and accessing information produced by the federal government is relatively easy. And the related Kids.gov site actually does a fine job of providing interesting and relevant information to young people.

Both sites are great resources for quickly navigating the labyrinth of departments, agencies and offices that make up the massive bureaucratic patchwork known as the federal government.

You can browse for government information by topic or conduct searches on specific keywords. An A to Z index list of government agencies allows you to target what you want by a specific service. It's also interesting to browse the list of agencies just to marvel at what exists and what each agency does.

You also can quickly link to sites and resources from state, local and tribal governments.

One handy service: At USA.gov, you can access resources from the navigation bar for kids, parents, teens, seniors and several other specific groups or audiences.

Much of what you can find at government sites can be downloaded as PDF or text files. In many cases, photos, videos and audio files also are available to download for free.

The depth and breadth of these sites is truly amazing and quite useful.

They should be among your core list of favorite sites.

The government is big -but the Internet is bigger and in a perfect position to help people navigate the immense ocean of government data, information and services.

USA.gov

www.usa.gov

Kids.gov

www.kids.gov

USASearch.gov

www.usasearch.gov

(Keith Darnay has worked in the online world for more than a decade, the traditional media world for a few decades more and manages the online department and Web site for the University of Mary. His own site, featuring this column going back to 1995, is at www.darnay.com.iec.)