Friday, May 09, 2008

New Links on our web for the week of May 9, 2008 Black History and African American Resources Black History Daily "promoting Black History 365 days of the year" Muskegon Links Muskegon City Business Directory Teen Sites American Red Cross: Babysitter's Training Course "The American Red Cross offers babysitting training through their local chapters. To find a class in your town, follow the local chapter link, and enter your zip code in the search box. Although the class is not offered online, the American Red Cross site does provide eight valuable printables, such as a three-page Babysitter's Report Record (an easy way to communicate successes, problems and telephone messages with parents) and a one-page Family Information Card (important data and phone numbers for parents to leave for a sitter.)" Googolplex: From Babies to Bucks "Googolplex is an online magazine for teens, from University Credit Union, with an emphasis on making money. This page deals with treating your babysitting as a business. Visit to learn about creating a business plan (How often do you want to babysit?), finding investors (who will pay for a first-aid class?) and advertising. Click on any of the brown-highlighted phrases to view more details in a popover window." (STW) Kids' Turn Central: Babysitting '"A good babysitter is: mature, trustworthy, patience, safety-consciousness, organized, prepared, fun and punctual. If you feel you have these qualities you may be cut out to babysit." The Kids' Turn Central introduces babysitting with five pages about finding jobs, safety, and keeping the kids busy. Best clicks are the five printable checklists that should be filled out before you sit. They include General Information, Children's Information, Safety Information, Emergency Numbers, and About You (a place for the sitter to leave phone numbers and other contact data for the parents.)' (STW) 11:41:50 AM

Thursday, May 01, 2008

New Links on our web for the week of May 1, 2008 Leisure Recycling Center "literally anything and everything you could want to know about recycling including green shopping links, home recycling options, nearby recycling centers, and links for a few key recycling web resources." (LIB) Muskegon Links Third & Western photo slideshow Flickr slideshow of the changes along Western Ave. Teacher Resources Math Gateway of the Mathematical Association of America "Created through a partnership with the National Science Digital Library (NSDL), the Math Gateway was developed by the Mathematical Association of America. The site provides a veritable cornucopia of information for educators and those who are curious about anything from algebra to the history of mathematics. Visitors can start their exploration through the site by using the search engine at the top-left hand corner, or they look at the "Content Highlights" displayed prominently here. Some of these highlights include tips for writing an interactive mathematics text, using statistical samples from a real estate database, and so on. The site also encourages visitors to register for membership, which will allow them to create their own personalized library of resources. Rounding out the site is a selection of tips for searching the materials here and a fun "This Day in Mathematics" feature." (SR) Alice "Alice is a teaching tool designed as a revolutionary approach to teaching and learning introductory programming concepts. The Alice team has developed instructional materials to support students and teachers in using this new approach. Resources include textbooks, lessons, sample syllabuses, test banks, and more. Other authors have generously joined our efforts, creating additional textbooks." (LIB) Web Tools 4 U 2 Use "A wiki for school library media specialists to learn about cool new web tools, see how they can be used in school library media programs, and share ideas and success stories." (WILT) 3:15:59 PM

Friday, April 25, 2008

New Links on our web for the week of April 24, 2008 RSS Feed for this page What's RSS? Books and Reading Fictionarium "Fictionarium.com was created to link authors, not alphabetically, but by likeness. If you enjoyed one author, you can just click their genre and find a new author with similar qualities! You can also add new authors to help others find new books. Check out the "featured author" for something different! This site allows people to find something new to read, while basically guaranteeing a book you?ll like." (SR) JustFreeBooks "JustFreeBooks search the content of more than 450 web sites, including gutenberg.org, wikibooks.org and archive.org. With JustFreeBooks you can find public domain texts, open books, free audio books, ad-supported books and more." (IRN) Computers and Internet In Pictures: Computer Tutorials Based on Pictures "Collection of free, easy-to follow illustrated tutorials for software and computer subjects such as Microsoft Office, Dreamweaver, Photoshop Elements, HTML and CSS, My SQL, PHP, and Perl. Originally developed as part of a U.S.. Department of Education study to help people with learning disabilities to learn computer skills. From Visibooks." (LII) Government, Elections, and Law Congressional Tutorials Home Page ""These tutorials show you how to find Congressional materials in the Library and on the Internet." Topics of these Flash videos include finding recent bills (1989-present), hearings, and Congressional debates. Also includes a tutorial on how to contact your Congressional representatives. Note: Includes links to some sites that require a fee to use. From Jesse Silva and Karen Munro, librarians at the University of California, Berkeley." (LII) Homework American Immigration Overview "This set of modules provides an overview of U.S. immigration using pictures, timelines, and voice-over narration. Special events such as the Irish Potato Famine, Asian Immigration, Immigration in Cities and Town, as well as a discussion of the "melting pot." Personal Histories provide an opportunity at the end to stop and review what has been read and heard in form of short quizzes. From National Heritage Academies." (BWN) Leisure American Community Gardening Association: Learn "Background about community gardens, "[a]ny piece of land gardened by a group of people." Features profiles of U.S. community gardens (browsable by geographic location), a guide to starting a community garden, audio of gardening teleconferences, a best practices series covering topics such as children's gardening and saving seeds, a FAQ, and other related publications and links. From the American Community Gardening Association." (LII) Reference Desk The Visual Dictionary "Have you ever wondered what the various parts of a guitar are called? Perhaps you need a refresher on the various types of dresses? The Visual Dictionary website covers both topics in copious detail, along with offering up information on transportation, biology, and the human body. Essentially, the site offers annotated images that identify each part of a given item, such as an automobile or a musical instrument. Visitors can search the site by using the embedded search engine or they can look over a list of topics. The coverage is quite broad, as users will find everything from the detailed anatomy of a turtle to an exploration of a car's engine. One can imagine that these materials might work well in a classroom setting, as well as for those who are just generally curious about the world around them." (LII) Quotations Book "e have 40,000+ quotes by 7,000+ people with hundreds added each day!" (LIB) 12:53:09 PM

Thursday, April 17, 2008

New Links on our web for the week of April 17, 2008 Books and Reading JuiceSpot "a website where book lovers can get a better read on what to read next, by sharing and comparing short recommendations (i.e. the juice) on books." Homework Earth Revealed "What goes on during an earthquake? Who came up with the theory of plate tectonics? What can the fossil record tell us about the evolution of life on Earth? These are all fine questions, and students and educators with a thirst for geological knowledge will find the answers to these (and many more) questions in the "Earth Revealed" television series. Offered as part of the Annenberg Media website, the 26-part series includes such episodes as "Geologic Time", "Mountain Building", and "The Birth of a Theory". As with many of the Annenberg Media offerings, visitors can view entire episodes here, and they can also take a look at a list of additional resources." (SR) 11:24:27 AM

Thursday, April 03, 2008

New Links on our web for the week of April 3, 2008 Arts and Humanities OperaGlass "If you can't remember a particular aria from Gounod's "Faust" or a certain detail from the song contest at Wartburg, this site dedicated to opera may be just the ticket. Created and maintained by Rick Bogart, a research scientist at Stanford, the site provides access to libretti, source texts, performance histories, synopses, discographies, and so on. The site also contains an opera information directory, which features an opera composer index containing 4800 entries. Moving on, those who might be new to the wonders of opera will appreciate the "Opera For Everyone" CD's, which are offered here at no charge. Visitors can use the music here to learn about four classic operas, including "La Traviata" and "Madama Butterfly". The site is rounded out by a list of operas requiring six or fewer singers and a calendar of operatic commemorations." (SR) Health Quick Information For Your Health "The following titles represent easy-to-read health information available in both English and Spanish. Some titles are available as printable PDFs and as printed brochures for ordering." "Brochure topics include diabetes, arthritis treatments, giving medicine to children, volunteering for clinical trials and medical treatments, and using medicine safely. From the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)." (LII) Leisure National Register Travel Itineraries "It's a long and winding road from Indianapolis to Little Rock (and all the stops between), but if one is hoping to learn about the very diverse cultural traditions and history across the United States, the National Register Travel Itineraries are a stellar way to do so. Currently, the site contains over three dozen itineraries which highlight different geographic regions or important themes in American history. Visitors can browse the itineraries alphabetically or by state. Each tour contains a list of the sites covered, accompanied by a map, photographs, and usually a list of additional external sites and readings. While all of the itineraries are well-done, visitors should definitely start by looking over the Indian Mounds of Mississippi tour and the tour of World War II sites in the San Francisco Bay area." (SR) SelecTree: A Tree Selection Guide "With information on more than 1,400 trees, this tree selection guide features options for searching, browsing by common and scientific names, and generating a list of trees that match a set of attributes (such as height, fragrance, and water and soil requirements). Tree profiles include photographs, growth habit, pest and disease problems, and more. From the Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute, based at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly)." Reference Desk Ibiblio "Operating under the motto of "Trust Us", ibiblio is a collaboration of the School of Information and Library Science and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Ibiblio is billed as one of the largest "collections of collections" on the Internet, as it contains links to sites that deal with arts and recreation, geography, history, natural science, and philosophy, along with other subjects. First-time visitors can look over their FAQ section, read their collection policy, and then take a look at their "Recent Additions" area. Moving on, visitors can also look at their collection criteria, and even submit a collection for their consideration. Along with their very impressive collections, they also have a wide range of RSS feeds which users can sign up for." (SR) 12:48:47 PM

Thursday, March 27, 2008

New Links on our web for the week of March 27, 2008 Health Health Butler "information on screenings, immunizations, and healthy habits in addition to e-mail reminders and health tracking tools." The Body Explained "BioEdOnline from the Baylor College of Medicine has been producing high-quality educational resources for a number of years, so it's nice to learn about their rather fun and informative "The Body Explained" resource. Narrated and hosted by Cassius Bordelon, PhD, this video production answers a number of common questions about how the body works. The segments are quite brief, and they may just spark a new interest in a curious student. Currently, there are around a dozen or so segments offered on the site, and they cover topics such as why our ears pop, why we sneeze, and what causes hiccups. Interested parties can also download the short segments for use in their classroom." (SR) Reference Desk Reverso free on-line translation service that also helps conjugate verbs. (DS) Teacher Resources Classroom Learning 2.0 "Description: Explore the online tutorials or take the free course on Web2.0 tools and classroom integration. There are 23 activities to be done over a 9 week period. Created by the California School Library Association." (BWN) Second Life Education Wiki "The Second Life Education Wiki is part of SimTeach. It consists of a Second Life (SL) FAQ, information about educators already working in SL, programs for educators, up to date list of educational institutions and organization in SL, SL presentations and articles, conferences, events calendar link, information about collaborative groups, research, K-12 education, costs, classroom management, lesson plans, teaching jobs, scripts, lists of educational places, and more. This is a great place to start your SL adventures and a great place to go back to for updates. SimTeach is a resource with information and collaboration for educators using M.U.V.E.'s (Multi-User Virtual Environments. SimTeach is created and maintained by Jeremy Kemp, San Jose State University, and consists of a blog, wiki, machinima, and links to virtual worlds where you can get started." (BWN) Listing of educational widgets "A gallery of widgets, web services, and web applications of interest to educators." (IRN) 12:04:10 PM

Thursday, March 20, 2008

New Links on our web for the week of March 20, 2008 Books and Reading Book Lamp "a system for matching readers to books through an analysis of writing styles, similar to the way that Pandora.com matches music lovers to new music." (WILT) Health Mesothelioma Information and Resource Group "aimed at providing comprehensive information to victims of mesothelioma and their families." Homework Language Learning Library Portal for learning a variety of different languages. Leisure Test Seek "a product review search engine where consumers can see which products the experts have rated highest." Truth about Cars "a comprehensive resource center featuring car reviews on over 40 different makes of cars and includes a price comparison." Reference Desk Disaster Recovery Assistance "As one might imagine, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)'s Disaster Recovery Assistance office works closely with other federal agencies, such as the Small Business Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. On their homepage, visitors can learn about their programs in various states, or they may wish to start by viewing some of their latest press releases. The site contains a great deal of specific information on their work rebuilding New Orleans through the Disaster Housing Assistance Program and the Disaster Vouching Program. Users of the site will also be glad to learn that many of the materials are available in Spanish. The site is rounded out by a section on their work addressing disasters in Southern California." (SR) Daily Maps from National Geographic "Browse through history using our daily maps of historical news events and milestones. Navigate the map using our zoom tool." (FGI) 11:54:54 AM

© Copyright 2008 Jocelyn Shaw. Last update: 5/9/2008; 11:42:36 AM. Photo curtesy of Marjorie O'Brien