A "Best Of 2004" Educational Site List

Education World continues its annual series of "best of" educational site lists with Education World Best of 2004.

Many fascinating and useful links here. Definitely worth multiple visits!

Celebrating The Not-So-Good

As the year winds down, and before I take a look at a "best of" site tomorrow, I thought I'd squeeze in a site the celebrates one of the manifestations of raspberries in our world. Raspberries? No, not the fruit. These raspberries are the inept, incompetent, and plain dumb movies (and not-so-great acting).

I think they're beginning to collect nominations for Razzies for 2004! Check out Razzies.com

Interested In Exploring?

Try the Exploratorium! Just about any subject area that interests you is represented here. Enjoy!

Relief Agencies For Tsunami Victims

In light of the horrendous loss of life and destruction caused by the tsunami in the Indian Ocean the day after Christmas, I urge you to click here to access a list of agencies dedicated to offering aid and assistance to those who are suffering.

Signs Of The Times -- Then And Now

Take a tour at the American Sign Museum. All kinds of signs -- neons, painted, you name it. This site has been created to honor and record the "history of the sign industry and its significant contribution to commerce and the American landscape."

Some of those signs do bring back the memories. Swing by if you have a sec.

Crush That Carbon!

Maybe 'cause my birthstone is the diamond, I've always had a little more than passing interest in that precious stone.

What I've never quite understood is how diamonds get formed. I mean I've known that the are formed by carbon that is compressed mightily for a long time, but the details of the process have been a mystery.

The PBS series Nature has a Flash-animated series on diamond formation. Click here for the scoop!

Wind Power

I can still remember the day I was driving in California, came up the crest of a hill, and came upon a clutch of modern windmills all over the mountainside. Since that day I've been intrigued with using the wind to create power, particularly to generate electricity.

Somewhat to my surprise, I've come across an organization whose missions it is to promote the use of wind....."a clean and renewable source of energy..."

Find all the "blow by blow" details at the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)!

Fight Hate And Promote Tolerance

That is the principle on which Tolerance.Org sets its sights.

There hardly seems a better sentiment and goal at this time of the year for all of us to strive for. A project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, this is an organization with information and resources for all of us.

There is little doubt that everyone can use regular reminders to "fight hate and promote tolerance" in all of our actions, in all of our lives.

The Incredible Internet Guy (I guess there's another one)

"Ken Leebow has been in the computer business for more than 20 years. He has helped thousands of individuals and businesses understand and utilize the vast resources of the Internet."

I guess Ken has given himself this moniker. I've just come across his website so I'm unsure whether the title is deserved or not. His site is called: Incredible Internet Guy

Each week Ken picks a topic of interest (to him, I assume) and gathers resources that fit the theme. The week I first stopped by it was "digital photography."

In addition to an archive of previous topics, there are resources for teachers.

I'm going to have to make a lot more visits before I can figure out if Ken is indeed incredibly knowledgeable about things Internet, or simply not really very modest.

ECAI

The Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative (ECAI) seems to have some similiarities to the GIS work of ESRI (see my posts from the ESRI convention I attended last summer in San Diego). To quote their home page:

ECAI uses time and space to enhance understanding
and preservation of human culture.

This resource looks like another one well worth detailed exploration.

A Blogger's Code of Ethics

From CyberJournalist.net -- sponsored by the Media Center of the American Press Institute -- comes a blogger's "code of ethics".

Click here to view.

Learning A Foreign Language

Online resources are becoming more and more varied in what they offer. From the BBC, of all places, comes a website devoted to providing lessons in speaking a group of European languages (French, Spanish, German, Italian, and a smattering of Portugese and Greek).

The lessons seems simple enough and effectively presented. Whether or not you really can learning to speak one of those in three months or not, I don't know.

But if you're interested, visit BBC Languages.

An Hourly Snapshot of History

A fairly new website called "10 X 10" seeks to record history by displaying a collage of 100 pictures (10 X 10=100) that sum up what's happened in that previous hour.

You can click on any one of those hundred pictures and see an enlarged version of the photo plus related headlines that give details relevant to the event the photo records.

As the website says, sometimes these collages are serious and sometimes frivolous....but always fascinating. Start by going to 10 X 10: This is Now and the launch 10 X 10.

More Of Enlivening Our Past

Although I hope not an obsessive thread through my humble posts, but I bring to you another example of how the Internet is giving us greater and greater access to the past. The exciting thing, to me, is that what we're seeing more and more of are sites that not only retell history in words but bring that history to life with pictures, full-text of newspapers and other periodicals, and original documents.

A project of the Library of Congress called "Primary Documents in American History" is just one more example of this type of site. Although there will be future updates, at this writing this site offers us the ability to see original documents (in digitized form) of documents that take us back to watershed (or less earth-shaking) events in our history.

To quote the introduction of the site itself:

The Library of Congress is home to many of the most important documents in American history. This Web site provides links to materials digitized from the collections of the Library of Congress that supplement and enhance the study of these crucial documents.

The links at right highlight eras of American History. Each of these sections link to a list of important documents from that era. For each item...... there is a page with background information about the document, a list of links to digital materials concerning that document from the Library's site and elsewhere, and bibliographies both for general readers and for younger readers.

The initial release of this Web site contains documents from the years 1763 to 1877. Updates will be made on a regular basis, including the addition of documents from the 20th Century.

I spent some time reading the original Emancipation Declaration. It's impossible not to feel that sense of history in the making, even these many years afterward.

As a sample, you can also view the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson's Secret Message Regarding the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Gettysburg Address, and many more.

Traveling From The Past

The Smithsonian has another terrific exhibit, this one covering the role of transportion. Visit America On The Move for great insights, photos, and historical records that show how we Americans got ourselves around our towns, our cities, and our nation. You'll enjoy the many historical view of the past and marvel at how much our modes of transport have changed.

Smelling Sensibly

Our sense of smell is often relegated to the backseat because humans tend to rely so much on their eyes. But we probably all realize that our sense of smell is crucially important, too. Things would taste extraordinarily bland without our sense of smell (just harken back to the last time your cold plugged you up -- not only was nose-breathing impossible but mealtimes were pretty boring because everything tasted the same: bland).

Believe it or not, there is a Sense of Smell Institute dedicated to disseminating information about our sense of smell and toward research. Don't forget that two Nobel winners this year were doing research on our "odorant receptors" and just how our olfactory sense works.

Well worth a visit.

A Glimpse Of The Past

The wonders of digitizing items from our history brings us many treasures. One site that helps us get a glimpse of how it was to live in the 1800-1900s is the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1841-1902. Although I grew up on the other coast, being able to view newspaper articles from those years -- 150 years back! -- is amazing. It's one way to try and "time travel" and see what daily life was like in our country in a time that has long gone.

Free Stuff Galore!

Check out TheFreeSite for a raft of items that are supposedly free for the asking. I've haven't taken a long look yet to see if there are any catches, but I wanted to make sure I had this as a resource.

I'm all for free stuff!

One Way To Recycle Those No-Longer-Needed Books

First begun as an elective course at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Building With Books has come a long way. They've garnered sponsors and receive donations of "disused" books from various groups in the Boston and/or MIT area.

If you've ever wondered what to do after you've weeded out all those long-unread (and/or the ones you're never going to get around to read in the first place) from your home library, this group of artists have a bunch of ideas that might inspire you.

I Want One Of Those, Dad!

The prospect of coming up with a holiday gift that will make the recipient bring both happiness and fun is daunting for all parents. One also hopes that it would be possible to find a gift that brings more than a "fun factor", as in providing stimulus to the imagination and, well, learning.

One struggle is to find the type of gift that is appropriate to the age of the child who will unwrap it. An article at StorkNet.com tries to help us out with this challenge.

Take a look at Mark A. Brandenburg's article, "Age-Appropriate Toys For Children" for a lot of useful tips.

World AIDS Day -- 2004

The headline at the World AIDS Day website about sums it up -- HIV Hasn't Gone Away. We cannot forget.