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| PBS TeacherSource |
| Segregation and Black Military History |
| Unbearably Cool |
| Virtual Library of Anglo-American Culture |
| Copyright in Education and on the Net |
| That's Some Catch, That Catch-22 |
| Eyes on Art |
| Netsurfer Recommendations |
| Orkin Insect Zoo |
| Exploring Gravity |
| Earth and Sky |
| Delve into Your KidsHealth |
| Student Activism and Student Rights |
| Living with Parents |
| How and Why Everyone's Vote Counts |
| React.com: Where Teens Make News |
| Internet For Kids! |
| International Perspectives on Truancy |
| Grief and Death of a Child |
| The Thinking Fountain |
| Annual Calendar |
| Learning with Peers |
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TEACHER'S PET
Editor's favorite
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/
SOCIAL SCIENCES
History, geography, political science, sociology, law, anthropology, philosophy, and archeology
Segregation and Black Military History
African-Americans in Army History, an image and text site from the US Army's Center for Military History, is most notable for its picture galleries of 'Buffalo Soldiers' on the eve of and early in World War II. Since most of the history of Black servicemen in the US Army is within the framework of 'colored' units, there are the regimental histories of segregated Black units (such as the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments, the 92nd and 93rd Divisions in World War I and the 2nd Cavalry Division in World War II) and the actions of Black units in the Spanish American War and the War of 1812. For a better understanding of the problems and methods of the end of military segregation, we draw the reader's attention to the text-only article, Integration of the Armed Forces 1940-1965, linked to the home page. While it's unfortunate that the Internet version lacks the original's illustrations, it does give a thorough treatment of the subject, including the social attitudes that allowed segregation or the restriction of Black servicemen to menial tasks, up through the performance of segregated units in World War II, the order for integration under the Truman administration, and the effect of the civil rights movement on the armed forces.History: http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/topics/afam/afam-USA.htm
Integration: http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/integration/IAF-fm.htm
With a title like "Unbearably Cool" and sporting the symbol of a polar bear wearing sunglasses, this may seem an unsuitable place for anyone older than their teens. But, if any place is entitled to call itself cool surely it's Canada's North West Territories. School Tools has all kinds of information organized into subjects about the NWT, its animals, people, maps, and so forth. Great for projects! 'I'm Bored' gives examples of things to do in the north. 'Legend and Myth' has stories. 'Your Future' has jobs, education and health information and 'Cool Colouring' (heh, heh, get to keep the 'u' in colour this time!) has some pages to print to color. It's not as big as the land, but big enough.
http://www.gov.nt.ca/kids/kidshome.htm
Virtual Library of Anglo-American Culture
The scholars and librarians at the State and University Library at Gottingen, Germany have constructed a Web site that combines traditional print media and electronic resources on the history and literature of English-speaking nations. While the site is still a work in progress (both history and literature subject searches are under construction) and many of the print resources are in German, both sections feature excellent annotated directories of sites in English language countries that are especially good for sources of scholarly material, resources, journals, and virtual libraries. The history section has a source-type catalogue of reference, bibliographic and literary-based sources, while the literature section has a huge document and image database. Just click on 'Internet' in either section. This looks like an excellent research tool for the student of history or literature. Readers who'd like to take advantage of the German resources should keep in mind the online translation services of Babelfish and Transparent's FreeTranslation.Library: http://www.sub.uni-goettingen.de/vlib/
Babelfish: http://babelfish.altavista.digital.com/
FreeTranslation: http://www.freetranslation.com/
LANGUAGE ARTS
English studies, grammar, poetry, prose, and second language studies
Copyright in Education and on the Net
In the days of VCRs and MP3, 'copyright' sounds like such a quaint notion and 'plagiarism' seems remote. But, one of our reviews in this issue had to raise the matter of copyright. We acknowledge that pretty much everywhere copyright is one of the hardest legal issues to codify reasonably and enforce effectively. The problems associated with it, though, don't mean that teachers, students, or Webmasters can dismiss it. Readers should take a look at these next few resources. Copyright varies internationally, so we can't be comprehensive for you. Still, most of these pages address broad issues that inform the particulars of most copyright law. Readers won't need a law degree to sort out the information, but each of the pages is written with a particular audience in mind.Fair use for students, people with disabilities: http://www.une.edu.au/its/copystud.htm
For graduate and thesis work: http://www.umi.com/hp/Support/DExplorer/copyrght/
Comprehensive for educators: http://www.nmjc.cc.nm.us/copyrightbay/coprbay.htm
Copyright, the Web: http://www.newcastle.edu.au/services/iesd/copyright/guidelines.html
Effective summary: http://pubs.acs.org/copyright/learning_module/module.html
ThinkQuest for student Web writers: http://www.thinkquest.org/help/copyfaq.shtml
That's Some Catch, That Catch-22
Joseph Heller's recent death has renewed interest in his seminal and timeless novel, "Catch-22". Brutal, terrifying, and hilarious, Heller's tale of Yossarian's confrontation with the abomination of war and bureaucracy has been the focus of a host of Web sites, covering a spectrum from simple study guides to sophisticated reviews and essays. The "Catch 22 Study Guide" is a collection of information that will help younger readers keep track of characters and concepts in the text, and the site's listing of themes and key issues should stimulate discussion. Far more interesting and sophisticated are two other sites that address the novel's complexity as a work of literature rather than another educational exercise. Robert Brustein's essay, available on the New Republic site, is a reprint of his original 1961 review of the novel that captures what contemporaries found so refreshing and subversive in Heller's debut. Finally, Robert Young's "Deadly Unconscious Logics" provides older students with a reading of the novel in ostensibly Kleinian psychoanalytic terms - but don't be deterred by that description. Young is a gifted reader who brings out the importance of horror and experience in the text while appreciating the amazing nature of Yossarian's survival.Study guide: http://www.bellmore-merrick.k12.ny.us/catch22.html
Logic of survival: http://www.thenewrepublic.com/archive/brustein111361.html
Unconscious logics: http://www.human-nature.com/rmyoung/papers/heller.html
FINE ARTS
Visual arts, music, theater, and dance
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/art2/index.html
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Walking with DinosaursMATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY
Mathematics, chemistry, physics, astrosciences, computing, technology, biology, and botany
http://www.naturalpartners.org/InsectZoo/Students/index.html
We are pleased to present this excellent and easy to use tutorial on gravity from Curtin University of Technology in Australia for high school seniors and first-year physics students. The work pages (divided into introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels) clearly explain the concepts involved, use images and animations to illustrate the principles, and have interactive problems that help students internalize the various formulae. From centrifugal forces to black holes, every aspect is covered; all this, combined with a site design which is user- and eye-friendly, makes these lessons diverting as well as instructional. There is also a two-part section on the history of the theories of gravity, based on thumbnail biographies of classic and modern physicists and astronomers, as well as a teachers' section and a bibliography.
http://www.curtin.edu.au/curtin/dept/phys-sci/gravity/
"Earth and Sky" is a popular show heard on 950 public and commercial radio stations across the country. In amusing, yet informative short segments the two interlocutors - Deborah Byrd and Joel Block - provide brief commentaries on topics ranging from elements discovered by nuclear pioneer Glenn Seaborg to an illustration of Fermat's last theorem. Their Web site is a useful adjunct to the daily radio show and contains a host of links for each individual show as well as a Teacher's Lounge with connections to an array of Web resources on popular science. Students and teachers will find this a great resource for making the most of the brief radio segments.
http://www.earthsky.com
HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Sports and Health
http://kidshealth.org/index2.html
SKILLS FOR LIVING
Domestic sciences, study skills and other day-to-day skills for getting through life
Student Activism and Student Rights
BRAT is "a youth and young adult activist zine and organization" whose goal is to promote social awareness about and among youth and to encourage community activism. BRAT - also available in a print version - encourages students to submit relevant articles but emphasizes that only well reasoned, well written submissions will be printed. True to its editorial word, BRAT presents cogent, thought-provoking content. Articles from a recent issue include A Lesson in School 'Democracy', by a student who challenged his middle school's student council election system; Dialogue Will Not Be Tolerated, detailing a conflict over office space at Kent State University; They Lied to You about Welfare, a refutation of the stereotype of welfare recipients by a student whose mother was forced onto the welfare rolls when divorce made her a single parent; an article protesting a new weapon design under development for the US Army; and a couple of articles decrying society's tendency to categorize all youth as potential troublemakers. Over at the Student Rights page, Matt Tentler is more single-minded. He collects and discusses everything that he perceives as a violation of student rights, including school dress codes and suppression of free speech. We have reservations, though, about a site that touts individuals' rights but presents - with no indication of the required permission - articles from the "Los Angeles Times" and the "New York Times". The best feature of this site is its list of links.BRAT Online: http://www.brat.org/
Student Rights: http://www.tentler.com/StudentsRights.htm
We see so much material aimed at parents lamenting the problems of living with adolescents that it's refreshing to see the tables turned. At this interactive site presented by Family and Children's Services of Western Australia, teenagers can explore the perplexing problem of understanding parents ('the oldies'). Through quizzes, FAQs, and hypothetical situations, adolescents gain insight into why parents act as they do ("one of the main reasons they're afraid you'll make mistakes is because they probably did"). There's also a list of books for both adolescents and parents. Even the oldies could benefit from the information here - just don't tell the young'uns we said so!
http://www.fcs.wa.gov.au/parenting/lwp/
How and Why Everyone's Vote Counts
Civics classes have gone out of fashion in many school districts. Project Vote Smart is a Web-based civics class for those wondering how legislation becomes law or how political campaigns are financed in the US. This site is clearly written and engaging for students - as well as their parents. Special attention should be given to the site's ability to identify congressional delegations based on zip codes. Given that 2000 is a presidential and congressional election year in the US, this site will be helpful in explaining to individuals why their votes count in a democratic polity. Furthermore, the site encourages voter registration and provides links to individual state registration forms.http://www.vote-smart.org/reference/primer/
RESOURCES
Encyclopedia, libraries, reference resources, and other places to which teachers can turn
React.com: Where Teens Make News
Parade Publications, the company that produces the "Parade" magazine included in many weekend newspapers, also produces "React", a magazine for teenagers, and its online version, React.com. Aimed primarily at teens ages 12 to 17, React.com "supports and celebrates teens' involvement in every aspect of their world". With sections called entertainment, news and sports, take action, games and contests, and shopping, this zine should appeal to just about everyone. A recent edition included a prom guide ("Prom-Pilot") and a quiz to help the college-bound decide on a major. Students who'd prefer the print version can check the Web site to see if their local newspaper offers it.http://www.react.com/
Internet for Kids is fun, interactive site for children, more than just a links list (as we first supposed). It's full of hints and services. There's help for Web site design, domain hosting, and free e-mail along with search tips, online clubs of kids' pages, and a parents' and teachers' page with safe surfing tips and resources. Based on their books (which are available from the site, if you're so inclined), the pages are updated weekly, so the kids will want to come back often. It's all served up in a bright and easy to use layout.
http://www.internet4kids.com/
ADMINISTRATION
Education theory, school and board administration, and teaching aids
International Perspectives on Truancy
Films, television and popular culture romanticize truancy. Witness the spectacular success of the film, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". Nonetheless, this is a serious problem with important social dimensions. What's striking about these two sites is the difference in national styles of understanding truancy. The British site is an interesting discussion of the social science literature on the problem of truancy with particular attention to its causes and measurement. For British researchers, attendance is not a simple Boolean proposition of present or absent, but a question of serious or selective absence rooted in class and learning issues. Rather than assume that the truant is a criminal in training, the British researchers argue that truancy is a problem because it represents a waste of government resources. Monies are allocated on the basis of school populations; if truancy reduces classroom populations, public funds are wasted. Money is never even a factor in the US Dept of Education "Manual to Combat Truancy". Instead, it describes different local programs. In the American context, family involvement is central to controlling the problem and in some programs parents face prosecution if a child continues his or her truant behavior. Central to evaluating the success of each US program is a decline in residential burglary rates. While the British report makes use of family, the role of the state is far more pronounced. The 'era of big government' may be over in the US, but the socialized state is alive and well in Britain.UK: http://freespace.virgin.net/old.whig/truancy.htm
US: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Truancy/
EXCHANGE
A web that's world wide
http://compassionatefriends.org/
The Thinking Fountain is a project at the Minnesota Science Museum that encourages children to forge their own sets of connections related to a specific theme or idea. Currently, the topic of interest is mold; students start with their own piece of moldy bread and can blaze a trail to sites on antibiotics and fungi. The fountain has other themes, including geometric shapes and environmental issues in which students can create their own discovery paths. What's interesting is the idea of leaving trails behind so that others can follow them, a twist on Vannevar Bush's famous use of the trails metaphor in his imaginary device, the memex, often seen as a precursor to the Web itself. Other resources at the site provide teachers with illustrations of how to turn simple everyday items into interesting demonstration devices.
http://www.smm.org/sln/tf/nav/thinkingfountain.html
Now you can help combat the insularity that characterizes so many American youngsters with this cool and interactive calendar of Japanese holidays and festivals for middle-school pupils. Either the days marked on the calendar or the accompanying list opens an illustrated page that explains the history, customs and cultural aspects of the holiday. The current month will open on the homepage, although all months are available for study. This is all part of a fine site for kids from the Japan Information Network, with sections on Japanese culture, language, school life, and cooking. There's a page of Shockwave games, a picture gallery, and more. It's the World Wide Web, isn't it?
http://www.jinjapan.org/kidsweb/calendar/calendar.html
Peer-led learning involves university-level students helping classmates grasp the elements of chemistry and other sciences. The innovative program was developed through the cooperation of several universities with support from the National Science Foundation. Tapping the talents of students who have done well seems to lower barriers to learning and helps students fathom difficult concepts more effectively. Unfortunately, this place needs some peer-led learning of its own in Communications 101. We bring it to you because the concept is important, but the site's flaws are unfortunate. Although there's a description and contents page for suggested material, they are not available online and there's no indication how to purchase them. As well, the communication center reliably was unavailable, the site itself often so. However there is a list of contacts for various aspects of the program, which may provide answer to practical questions. Much is left for individual follow-up, perhaps as it should be. >ED>Judith David
http://www.sci.ccny.cuny.edu/~chemwksp/