Netsurfer Education 02.11

A feast, a groaning, loaded table, a cornucopia, oh the creative word play we must resort to get your attention! In fact those words aptly describe Jurist, the legal education network hosted by the University of Pittsburgh Faculty of Law. But words alone can hardly describe the wonders of this place, if things legal are your business, your joy, or just plain something you're entangled with. Jurist also comes in four flavors to suit your nationality, with links to sister sites JuristUK, JuristCanada and JuristAustralia, each with a common design but national content. To get some feel for what this rich, immense resource offers, we suggest you go first to the Introducing Jurist link in the Starting Points section. The site's major sections comprise Starting Points, Learning and Teaching Law, Columns and Discussion, Highlights, Researching Law, and Current Issues. Of particular interest in the latter is the section on Presidential election law, which provides some clarity on just what is going on there in Florida. Naturally there is a copious FAQ, and a search engine. No surprise here, but please note that Jurist does not provide legal advice. The whole thing is quality-controlled and edited by experts, so represents a safe gateway to reputable, authoritative information and interpretation of things legal. Noncommercial and ad-free, this one's a bargain, Folks, and a gift horse not to be overlooked.
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/index.htm

SOCIAL SCIENCES
History, geography, political science, sociology, law, anthropology, philosophy, and archeology

First Nations House of Learning, The University of British Columbia

Once upon a time, there was a pristine land of mountains and plains, and crystal clear rivers and lakes. For many thousands of years there were people that lived in this pure land. The people were stewards, and because of this the land remained untainted. The people could hunt and work and live, and their vigilant stewardship ensured that the land stayed whole and clean. This is the land we now call the Americas, the stewards were the First Nations, and this place is no longer whole or pristine. When Europeans first came to these fair shores, they commenced to slaughter these stewards. When the physical slaughter had abated a bit, an attempt was made to Europeanize the First Nations, an attempt to slaughter culture. Babes were stolen from their mothers and sent to Indian Schools, to learn the ways of Europe. The wholesale slaughter has stopped, and kidnapping is now illegal, but much damage has been done to the First Nations. As with other cultures, however, the First Nations have two powerful methods of healing at their disposal, namely knowledge and tradition. These two methods are used successfully at the First Nations House of Learning at the University of British Columbia. This attractive Web site showcases this healing. The site is a wonderful tool for First Nations students. It contains descriptions of educational programs, financial aid, scholarships and cultural programs. Remaining true to cultural heritage is a priority here, and a goal of this house of learning is to increase First Nations college enrollment. What's done cannot be undone, but the future belongs to those grounded in education and tradition. As it states in the House of Learning mandate, "We believe that quality education is determined by its relevance to the philosophy and values of First Nations and guided through the 'voices of our ancestors'".
http://www.longhouse.ubc.ca/

Spartacus Educational: Speaking with History

At Spartacus Educational, author John Simkin offers several collections of historical material that cover period and issues in European, American, and world history, ranging for instance from the medieval world to the emancipation of women, parliamentary reform to the American Civil War. Many of these sections overlap; for example, religion and society is a subsection of the Encyclopedia of British History. The various sections differ in their offerings. The slavery unit includes background material supplemented by quotations from slave narratives, while the Vietnam War entry enables users to correspond by e-mail with several veterans and to post questions to a message board monitored by two college professors who specialize in the history and culture of Vietnam. Extensive hyperlinking connects materials in the various sections, and users can search the entire site by keyword.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/

The History Guide

More than 2000 years have passed since Socrates cautioned his students that the unexamined life is not worth living. Steven Kreis describes his philosophy on education with this quote from the man he calls his principal instructor. His Web site reflects this philosophy. Targeted appropriately at high school and undergraduate students, The History Guide also offers content teachers will find helpful. The design is simple and easy to navigate. The Student's Guide to the Study of History offers 22 subjects including the how and why of studying history. Kreis has included nearly 70 lectures with links, in the broad categories of ancient and medieval European history, modern European intellectual history, and 20th-century Europe. Students and teachers of European history will find valuable information and resources here.
http://www.pagesz.net/~stevek/index.html

LANGUAGE ARTS
English studies, grammar, poetry, prose, and second language studies

Interactive Grammar

Grammar - basic, English grammar! In a world of electronic communication, wireless and wired, clear communication is more important than ever. Yet many children emerge from school unable to write complex ideas coherently, and many adults suffer from the same life-long affliction. While this online book by Donald E. Hardy, presented here in its entirety, with 12 chapters and 3 exams, won't change all that, it can help. The first half of the book consists of lessons on syntax, while the rest of it deals with prescriptive errors and their avoidance. Choose a chapter and get to work. Each chapter is subdivided into short sections, and has a navigation bar along the left plus a set of 5 quizzes to grill yourself and determine how you're doing. As you answer the questions, you get immediate feedback, so you know right away if you've got each question right as you proceed, and in the end there's no excuse for not achieving 100%. The exams work the same way, 50 questions long. It's demanding, but the book is effective and clear. Besides, no one ever said mastery of the language was easy - useful, valuable, yes, but it takes work. And no we aren't saying how well we scored. That figure will just have to stay one of those deep secrets hidden in the corporate records management system at Netsurfer World HQ. Meanwhile, it continues to astound and delight us to find treasures such as this book freely available via the Internet.
http://www.engl.niu.edu/dhardy/grammarbook/title.html

The Modern Word

You have to love a guy who proclaims, "Technology has provided me with this opportunity, and I would be crazy not to take it". Or at least you have to check out his Web site, which he describes as "my attempt to apply some sort of quasi-organizational structure to my love of literature". Allen B. Ruch began the site when he couldn't find an existing Web page that offered adequate coverage of his favorite author, James Joyce. He has since expanded his site "to explore twentieth century writers who have pushed the envelope of traditional narrative and structure". The Modern Word now offers extensive coverage of Jorge Luis Borges, Umberto Eco, Gabriel García Márquez, James Joyce, and Thomas Pynchon, with pages under development for Italo Calvino and Carlos Fuentos. And Ruch promises future treatment of other serious modern writers experimenting with literary elements such as surrealism and magical realism.
http://www.themodernword.com/themodword.cfm

FINE ARTS
Visual arts, music, theater, and dance

African Storytelling

The African storytelling page is one small section of this site, designed to support a course in the Culture and Literature of Africa at Central Oregon Community College. It offers more than just the obligatory syllabus, course plan and assignments links. Cora Agatucci has compiled an extensive list of sites on African history and culture as reflected in African oral tradition, literature, and film. The African Timelines link offers descriptions of events in Africa divided into five time periods. In each she describes key events in African literature and provides links to additional resources. Unfortunately, design compromises the site. As rich as its resources are, their volume is confusing, and the layout and background artwork make it difficult to read. Despite these drawbacks, the site is a marvelous resource for anyone interested in studying the literary heritage of Africa.
http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/afrstory.htm

Netsurfer Recommendations

Items our staff likes and you might too. Click on the cover or title to order the item at a hefty discount from Amazon.com and send a few pennies our way as well.

Alien Slime Lab

Educational Insights; ASIN: B00000ISXP

Let's just repeat that name: Alien. Slime. Lab. Is there any part of that name that wouldn't appeal to a kid? Yes, you should supervise use of this 'chemistry' set - and isn't that a great opportunity? Together, you and your youngster over 10 can compare his or her own blood, fingerprints, and skin to alien blood, fingerprints, and skin. (We're suggesting that your kids will probably want to compare your tissue to alien samples, too, ‘cause you just know they suspect you're not entirely human.) The process introduces you and your kids to scientific measures like pH and concepts such as electrical conductivity. The kit includes the necessary safety equipment (goggles and gloves).

MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY
Mathematics, chemistry, physics, astrosciences, computing, technology, biology, and botany

DNA from the Beginning

From Gregor Mendel's famous pea plants to the current mapping of the human genome, our efforts to understand genetics are all here in 41 key concepts presented by the DNA Learning Center of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York. The site uses animation, images, and video interviews to explain the science behind each concept and to demonstrate how scientists pose questions and then perform experiments to answer those questions. The short video clips show scientists discussing their work, and there are also biographies of key investigators in the history of genetics and links to related Web resources. A sidebar on the right of each page hyperlinks to the 41 sections for easy navigation. To experience the site's complete package, you'll need Real Player and the Flash Player from Macromedia, both of which are available as free downloads.
DNA from the Beginning: http://vector.cshl.org/dnaftb/
Flash: http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash
RealPlayer: http://scopes.real.com/real/player/player.html?src=topnav,001204rpchoice_c2&dc=129128127

MicrobeWorld

They're in our bodies, in the air, on the ground, in the soil - microbes are everywhere. To introduce students to "the microbial world that surrounds, inhabits and sustains us all", the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Energy, and the American Society for Microbiology offer MicrobeWorld. The first section, Gateways to the Microbe World, describes the television series Intimate Strangers: Unseen Life on Earth that premiered on PBS in November 1999; there's also information on supplementary material: hands-on activities, a companion book to the TV series, and video and telecourses about the study of microbiology. The second section, The Wonders of Microbes, explains the types of microbes and their actions; there 's also a microbe portrait gallery and a list for further reading. Exploration and Education, the third section, includes materials to help parents, Scout leaders, and other adults become microbe mentors.
http://www.microbeworld.org/mlc/

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Sports and Health

Kids Count

With all the talk about the digital divide, it's easy to forget about the health, wealth, and welfare divide. There are literally millions of children that don't have enough to eat each day, which is perhaps a more urgent issue than whether they have Internet access. Kids Count is a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, "a national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the United States". This is an impressive site, and an equally impressive endeavor. The study looks at key indicators of at-risk youth, and many of the findings are disturbing, to say the least. Each of these indicators, such as living below the poverty level, lack of health insurance, and the like, are damaging in and of themselves, but when two or more factors are present the injurious effects multiply drastically. The Annie E. Casey Foundation is not just about defining these problems; it also funds initiatives and projects that seek to help these distressed kids and their families. It's disturbing to read that one of the most prosperous societies in the world today has 14.7 million children living below the poverty level, but it is heartening to know that foundations such as this are doing their part to rectify this inequity.
http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/

Fire Administration Kids Page

Every year children start nearly 100,000 fires, and more people die in fires than in hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and all other natural disasters combined, says the US Fire Administration. In an effort to reduce these numbers the USFA has created the Kids Page to teach fire safety to preschoolers through third graders. The site uses large, eye-catching graphics and games that will entertain as well as teach youngsters. Kids who work their way through the site and answer at least eight of 10 questions correctly earn a junior fire marshal's certificate that they can print out. But the Fire Administration Kids page isn't just for kids. In the parent-teacher lounge adults will find educational resources, activities, and lesson plans to help them talk to children about fire safety and prevention.
http://www.usfa.fema.gov/kids/

SKILLS FOR LIVING
Domestic sciences, study skills and other day-to-day skills for getting through life

Consumer Education for Teens

Kids are lucrative; just ask Camel Joe. Marketing types know that adults can be a hard sell. After all, they have more experience, and they have bills to pay. So how does one teach teenagers the value of a hard earned dollar? Parents and teachers can try, but, believe it or not, kids sometimes have trouble relating to stories about trudging 15 miles through the snow to return a case of Dr. Pepper bottles for four and a half cents. To answer this very question, the students in the International Baccalaureate InfoTech III/IV class at Mount Rainier High School in Des Moines, Washington produced this site. Developing educated consumers is the main idea here. There are tips about good saving practices, articles about popular scams, and links to sites like the Better Business Bureau. The site was developed for the Washington State Attorney General's Office. A great idea, teens warning other teens about the pitfalls of modeling agency scams and bad tattoos - a sort of reverse peer pressure. The articles are well written and offer advice that even adults should heed, like these words of wisdom from the article about tattoos: "Tattoos can be an attractive addition to your body, but they can also be disastrous. Our recommendation: get yourself a new outfit instead." So, the next time you feel the need to lecture your teenagers about economics, send them to this site instead, and go have a Dr. Pepper. Your kids will thank you, and you get five cents back on a bottle now.
http://www.wa.gov/ago/youth/

RESOURCES
Encyclopedia, libraries, reference resources, and other places to which teachers can turn

Virtual College Tours

At Virtual College Tours, students can check out potential schools that have signed on with iCollege, a company that provides online tools, content, and technology to colleges and universities to supplement their individual Web sites. (Most of the listings currently contain mainly photographs, maps, and text, although iCollege is advertising the availability of streaming video.) Students who want to look at particular schools can choose from an alphabetical list or a state listing. For those still developing a list of potential schools, the site's college finder poses a series of questions, then produces a list of schools that match the searcher's criteria; students who register can save their information between visits. Because Virtual College Tours features only institutions that have signed on with iCollege (and presumably paid their fee), this should not be a student's only stop on the college-planning journey. But it can be a useful visit along the way.
http://www.campustours.com/

I Can, You Can, We All CanLearn

It's a neat trick Canadians have. Put Can in front of something -anything - and swagger about assertively. Examples abound: CANDU reactors, CanJet airlines, and now CanLearn interactive. Billed as Canada's one-stop resource for learning and education information, this portal is brought to you by Human Resources Development Canada, which, despite scolding by the Auditor General for recent financial shenanigans, clearly can do some things right. Among the site's main sections - getting started, the road ahead, and dollars and sense - are gems such as a tuition fees databank, learning opportunities and career databases, a virtual career counselor who promises to answer your questions within 48 hours, and copious information about financial assistance. There's far more here than a single review can possibly indicate. But to the question is this site worth exploring, our unqualified answer is a resounding yes! Like many Canadian government sites, it mainly points rather than delivers, but it's stylishly presented and nicely packaged, with threads for high school and university students, life-long learners, parents, and educators. Our only disappointment is that the cafe, which boasts of discussion groups and chat sessions, was pretty empty when we visited, not having managed
to stir up much buzz yet. http://canlearn.ca/english/eng.cfm

ADMINISTRATION
Education theory, school and board administration, and teaching aids

Plymouth Public Schools in Plymouth, Massachusetts

School administrations everywhere can look to this site as a model. Plymouth Public Schools' Web site clearly demonstrates that the spirit of pioneering innovation lives in Plymouth. It is rich in content and easy to navigate with a clean, crisp, easy to read layout. Nearly anything you want to know about the Plymouth schools is there - test schedules, bus routes, sports schedules. Well, we admit that we couldn't find the lunch menus. Students and parents can access teacher help, classroom activities, assignments, expectations and rules from individual teacher home pages, and/or email addresses. This is an abundant resource for all teachers, not just those in the Plymouth schools. A consistent, omnipresent navigation bar is offered at the top and bottom of every page and you are always reminded of were you are in the left column. The alphabetized site index can be a real time saver. Thousands of links are categorized under 21 primary headings. There are 4 to 24 secondary headings under each primary heading. In the case of the primary heading of Language Arts there are twenty secondary headings. Writing is one of them and it has over 100 URLs.
http://plymouthschools.com/

RESIDUE
A little of this, a little of that

ChildFun.com: A Lot of a Lot

This is a massive collection of parenting advice, preschool activities, and crafts for kids. If you're looking for fun activities for kids or parenting advice, we bet you can find it here. And it won't take all day either. The navigation and organization of this site makes it easy to find information and keep track of where you are. Every page shows exactly how you arrived, starting with the top-level header. Common daycare issues and after school activities organized by theme or holiday are just two of the areas that will inform and entertain. We have to offer a caveat, though: We're generally tolerant of advertising, but ChildFun is positively laden with it, including multiple instances of the justifiably despised pop-up ads. (Close them, quick; they go away.) We suggest, though, that you might find the advertising worth the aggravation if you have preschool children.
http://childfun.com/

TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING
Computing as the medium

Modular Web Teaching Pyramid

The Web is like a vast library that students can access from their desks. This is great news for parents, who in days of yore needed to drop everything to take their kids to the library so they could write the research paper that's due first period tomorrow. The bad news is there are no librarians and the card catalog seems to have been organized by a monkey who's had a few too many banana daiquiris. If teachers expect their students to do real research on the Internet, they're going to have to teach them how to do it. This is all well and good, but there are some teachers that are still working out the intricacies of the copier machine. For the technologically challenged among us, there's the Modular Web Teaching Pyramid. This nifty site takes a hierarchical approach to teaching Web research. Start at the bottom, the base of the pyramid, with an introduction to the Web, and work your way to the top, 'Web research strategies: A synthesis'. The lessons include goals, charts, reproducible materials, exercises, PowerPoint presentations, and relevant links. There are even suggested methods for teaching the material. The pyramid model is a well thought-out approach to teaching the Web, and since the lessons here are ready made, teachers can concentrate on more important things. Like adding toner to the copier. >ED>Judith David
http://www2.widener.edu/Wolfgram-Memorial-Library/pyramid.htm

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CREDITS

Publisher: Arthur Bebak Editor: Contributing Editor: Production Manager: Bill Woodcock Netsurfer Communications, Inc. President: Arthur Bebak Vice President: S.M. Lieu	Writers and Netsurfers: Jon Baum Mary Daniels Brown Michael Aaron Dennis Beth Lewis Michael Luke Elizabeth Rollins Dov Schwartz William Wilder
NETSURFER EDUCATION © 2000 Netsurfer Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. NETSURFER EDUCATION is a trademark of Netsurfer Communications, Inc.