A Daily Dose of Botany

Just thinking that one way to start the day (and the week) out well is with a little natural beauty. One way to find it is to check out the Botany Photo of the Day site.

Many thanks to the botanical folks at the University of British Columbia for giving us this daily gift of natural beauty.

Lights Camera Action Atmosphere

Although I can't claim to have ever seen the Aurora Borealis in person, I've wondered what those cosmic displays are like ever since I was a kid. How could something so big come all the way from the sun....and how are they formed....and what makes all the colors.

Well, there is a AuroraWatch site that is based on in the UK and sponsored by Lancaster University. You can monitor current aurora activity -- remember there are the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) and Southern Lights (Aurora Australis). They even offer an aurora activity e-mail alert!

I recommend you start with the link to background information and then start looking at the photo displays of past displays. Beautiful and amazing!

Earth Science Treasure Trove

The Geological Society of America has what appears to be an incredible site offering lesson plans and related resources galore for those interested in teaching and learning about earth science. This is a site with many, many curricular resources and stimulating lessons. Not to be missed!

I think the name says it all: Geological Society of America Free Teacher Resources. Can't beat the price or the content!

Sharks -- Myths and Mystery

Thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, there's a place we can go to get the straight skinny on sharks. Ever since the movie Jaws, sharks have raised a bit of a stir in the media and, well, among swimmers, too.

Take a swing by Sharks - Myth and Mystery to find out more about these sometimes gentle and sometimes ravenous beasts.

Star Wars But Not What You Expect

Today marks the opening of the latest -- and final -- installment in the six-part Star Wars saga. We can line up today to see Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.

To mark today's momentus occasion (I can still remember sitting in the great old [and now gone] UA Cinemas 150 in downtown Seattle watching what we now refer to as Episode IV but will always somehow always be the first episode of Star Wars to me) I offer a site to come home to after you've seen the new film, or taken a trip back into episodes 4, 5, 6, 1, or 2.

I offer the Star Wars Blooper Guide for a respectful look at the stuff that someone missed or forgot in filming of this mega-cycle of the film world that transported so many of us into a brand new world.

The Rijksmuseum -- An Online Treasure Trove of Art

Touted to be "the largest collection of art and history in the Netherlands," you must check out the 1250 exhibits here along with the online tours (which use Flash & QuickTime) that, along with a lot more, make up The Rijksmuseum. This is another in a series of online exhibits I've come across that just make my jaw drop in awe.

The paintings seem right "there". Take, for example, the current online show: "The Masterpieces of the Golden Age" which showcases art works and artists in the years 1600-1700. Immediately you are able to select one from among hundreds of paintings, see them in close-up, read the descriptions, and see them placed on a timeline along with the work of the same or other artists and historical events.

A visual feast of the first order!

Forgotten Your Music Theory?

Check out Ricci Adams' MusicTheory.net site. Review key signatures, study chord structures, inversions, play an online keyboard, review transposition, rhythmic reviews, and much more. You can also access free lessons and primers about a range of theory subjects.

Just go to MusicTheory.net!

Teaching That Makes Sense

That, as it happens, is the name of a website that was recommended to me highly by one of my teaching colleagues. Put together by what must be one very talented guy, Steve Peha, this site has many, many teaching tools, wise use of technology in the classroom, and documents galore for the download.

Try Teaching That Makes Sense.

Hungry?

Well, I find my stomach growling way more often than I generally care to admit. As the person who most often does the cooking in our household, you'd think that 1) I'd keep that stomach of mine contented, and 2) that I'd be a big fan of cookbooks.

Dealing with #1 is a conflict with the appetite that says "yes!" and the rational self saying "you don't need those calories!." As far as #2 is concerned, I bet if you asked my family they'd say that the meals they get are fine but there'd probably be more variety if I'd just get some cookbooks....as use them!

Maybe this site is the answer. I've run across a site called Feeding America. It's an online collection of "some of the most important and influential American cookbooks from the late 18th to early 20th century."

Feeding America has been created by the Michigan State Libraries. I guess I don't have any more excuses not to find a new recipe!

Historic Maps In The K-12 Classroom

Developed by the Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography at the Newberry Library, I encourage you to explore the maps and lesson plans available at Historic Maps in the K-12 Classroom.

At the moment there are 18 maps in 6 themes (such as Exploration and Encounter, or Migration and Settlement).

The maps are all viewable online and can also be downloaded in .pdf format. Built-in tools in the online maps allow one to zoom in or out and pan throughout all sections of the map. Lesson plans are offered within suggested grade-level categories.

Though 18 maps may not sound like a great deal, the amount of thought and care that's gone into this site is admirable and, I think, the resources here for using cartography and the study of history using geography are impressive.

Detroit Virtual Museum

Wayne State University has put together a site called WSU Virtual Motor City Collection. What they are doing:

The digitized images in the project represent a small subset of the Detroit News Collection, one of the premier photojournalistic resources freely available from a national-level newspaper and held at the Reuther Library.

In 1997, the Detroit News' outgoing editor and publisher Robert Giles conveyed the paper's original negatives and, significantly, copyright to the Reuther Library at WSU.

The full collection consists of more than 800,000 specially selected glass and nitrate, acetate and polyester film-based negatives. These date from the late 19th century, but the bulk fall between 1900 and 1980. They range in size from 8" x 10" to 35mm in both black and white, and color.

There are powerful search tools and the images are all fully documented. What a great record. Check out, for example, the Motown pictures in the collection. Great!

On This Day

Although maybe not something I think of everyday, I do sometimes wonder: What happened on this date last year....or 5 years ago.....or 50 years ago? The BBC has a site -- On This Day -- that can answer some of those questions, at least as viewed from that side of the Atlantic. One perhaps uncommon aspect of this site is that it includes historical information but also broadcasts, pictures, and other media as it tells the story of the day.

The following is their "About This Site" info to help explain its purpose and scope:

On This Day is a showcase of some of the most significant as well as some of the quirkier stories broadcast by BBC News since 1950 and now including a new World War II section.

We intend to continue adding stories over the coming years so you will always be able to find something fresh on the site.

You will probably enter the site via the front page. This will always be today’s date and will offer a choice of reports drawn from the years 1950-2002 and 1939-45.

Nearly all the stories contain video or audio and are written as if the event had only just occurred, drawing on archive media, old newspapers and historical reference books.

All news reports finish with an "In Context" box. This gives a brief rundown on what happened next and could also reveal details such as what became of personalities who featured in a story long before they became household names.

The timelines are intended to show you where you are within a long-running story and provide links to other related reports.

There are several ways to look round the site - you can search by date, as well as by theme and by correspondent. (Ever wondered what John Humphrys looked like before he began all those early shifts on Radio 4’s Today programme? Take a look at his timeline to find out.)

The Witness section of the site is where you come in! Maybe you can spot yourself in the crowd in one of the old videos featured in the site, or you were at an event featured in a news report. We would like to hear from you so please email us using the form in the Witness section.

While the BBC owns the copyright to nearly all the media on the site, some material has been licensed from other broadcasters as is normal in the world of TV news.

Ask Another Scientist

Back in March, I pointed you toward a site sponsored by Cornell that offers the opportunity to ask questions of science directly to scientists.

Well, I've found another which also looks both interesting and with a lot of potential. This one is courtesy of University of California, Santa Barbara and the National Science Foundation.

Consider taking a look at the wide range of questions already asked and answered, or submit you own.

Check out the UCSB Science Line.

High School Journalism

As someone who works in a school, the importance of having a school newspaper is pretty self-evident. Where else will those kids who have an interest in writing and doing investigative reporting learn the important skills and tricks of the trade?

Go to HighSchoolJournalism.org to find online information, advice, and tips.

File Extensions Explained

Although perhaps a bit on the arcane side of things, working with electronic files can be made a bit more understandable if you know what their file extension is and what the (usually) three letter abbreviation after the "." at the end of the file name means. For example, the extension on this file name ("profoundutterance.doc") is ".doc" (in all cases leaving out the quote marks). It's pretty easy to guess that .doc might be an abbreviation for "document" which would suggest probably word processing which might lead you to guess .doc indicates a Word document. And, indeed, it does.

Another example is ".pdf". That combo doesn't really look like a clue for any pronounceable word. Some file extensions take the first letter from it's name and that's the case here. .pdf comes from "portable document format".

In case you don't know, there are many, many, many file extensions, some more obvious than others. Knowing how to translate an unfamiliar file extension can immediately tell you, for example, if you have the necessary software to access that file. The file extension can also immediately tell you what type of electronic information you're working with....word processing, presentation, image, audio, video, and so on.

Instead of looking for lists of file extensions to memorize, you should consider going to a site like FILExt -- The File Extension Source. It's fascinating in many ways, not the least of which is that some file extensions have multiple applications.

Google Maps

Google has started another service called Google Maps. Type in a street address, city, and state (and country), and you'll be able to switch between a map (geographical style) and photographic view of the entered address from space!

Amazing and kinda neat!

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

May is Asian American Heritage Month and a website devoted to it is sponsored by Girl Power!

Here is the introductory paragraph from the website:

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the achievements of Asian American men and women who've made a difference. Many people think Asian Pacific Americans are one single group, but they are really made up of more than 24 ethnic groups, that speak different languages and have their own rich history. Some of these ethnic groups include the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, Hawaiian, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Filipino people.

Here are some outstanding Asian Pacific American women who definitely have Girl Power!