Phyllis' Favorites

Time Magazine’s 50 Best Websites 2009

List
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1918031,00.html
Shortened URL: http://tinyurl.com/mwte7b

Browse with annotations
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1918031_1918016,00.html
Shortened URL: http://tinyurl.com/m43lo9

101 Best Web Sites 2009 – for genealogy research

http://www.familytreemagazine.com/101for2009
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/upload/images/PDF/101sites_2009.pdf

From the site:
“Count on us to point you to genealogy's top digital destinations: 10 standouts in 10 areas (plus one!) add up to the 10th edition of our 101 Best Web Sites.

Sites that are mostly free but where you might still wind up pulling out your credit card for some purchase or other are marked with a $. Subscription-only sites and those where you have to pay for any meaningful results are indicated with $$.”

Source: Family Tree Magazine

[NOTE: Lists from 2007 and 2008 previously posted. - Phyllis ]

Amazon Interactive

http://www.eduweb.com/amazon.html

From the site:
“Explore the geography of the Ecuadorian Amazon through online games and activities. Learn about the rainforest and the Quichua people who call it home. Discover the ways in which the Quichua live off the land. Then try your hand at running a community-based ecotourism project along the Río Napo.”

[NOTE: Educational Web Adventures (Eduweb)
http://www.eduweb.com/portfolio/adventure.php
Search by subject or by grade - Previously posted. - Phyllis ]

Sites found in:


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PBS Teachers Newsletter: September 13-19, 2009

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PBS Teachers LIVE!: Dig into Early Science Instruction with "Dinosaur Train"
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/webinar/
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/dinosaurtrain/


PBS Teachers and Classroom 2.0 are delighted to have PBS producers and curriculum experts join us to showcase PBS KIDS' newest series, Dinosaur Train. This preschool series for students ages 3-6 encourages basic scientific thinking skills as the audience learns about life science, natural history and paleontology. Each of the 40 half-hour episodes features Buddy, an adorable preschool age Tyrannosaurus Rex, and includes two 11-minute animated stories along with brief live action segments hosted by renowned paleontologist Dr. Scott Sampson. Our special guests during the webinar will include: Halle Stanford, Executive Vice-President of Children's Entertainment for The Jim Henson Company; Dr. Scott Sampson, Primary Scientific Consultant and on-air Host of Dinosaur Train; and Jordan D. Brown, Curriculum Consultant for Dinosaur Train. Speakers will introduce preschool and elementary educators to Dinosaur Train, talking about its creation, animation, and series goals; discuss the potential of using Dinosaur Train to teach preschool children about the natural sciences and to help foster a life-long connection with nature; and provide examples of how the series and website can be used in the classroom to teach key science concepts.

The next PBS Teachers LIVE! webinar is, “Dig into Early Science Instruction With "Dinosaur Train"' on Monday, Sept. 21, at 8 p.m. EDT. To learn more, please visit http://www.pbs.org/teachers/webinar.
Jim Henson's 'Dinosaur Train' education resources, including a sneak peak video are now live on PBS Teachers ( http://www.pbs.org/teachers/dinosaurtrain/ ). These resources provide tools to bring Buddy and his pals into classrooms.

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Copyright 2008 PBS Online

PatentStorm

http://www.patentstorm.us/

From the site:
“PatentStorm offers full-text U.S. patents and patent applications from the U.S. Patent Office, providing advanced search capabilities and full image retrieval in handy PDF format. Everything we offer is free.”

Sites found in:

Librarians' Internet Index
Websites you can trust!
NEW THIS WEEK, November 20, 2008
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Read This Online : http://liiwww.ischool.drexel.edu/cs/lii/print/news/172

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The Advertising Century
Online version of a "major project to chronicle the history of the era's advertising industry. The years from 1900 to 1999 were, in fact, when the advertising business came of age." Features an introductory essay, lists of top 100 advertising campaigns (such as Volkswagen's 1959 "Think Small" and the 1955 Marlboro Man), top 100 industry players, and top 10 jingles, slogans, and ad icons. Also includes a timeline back to the 1700s. From Advertising Age.
URL: http://adage.com/century/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/26619
[NOTE: Previously posted. - Phyllis ]

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How Lame Is a Lame-Duck President?
Material about the "incumbent president who's reached the end of his term." On this site, "read about some of the hits (and misses) some lame duck presidents have made in the final days of their terms in this article. But first, read about the Lame Duck Amendment [20th Amendment] to the Constitution," which shortened the lame duck period. Includes links to related material. From HowStuffWorks.
URL: http://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/lame-duck-president.htm
Shortened URL: http://tinyurl.com/6pxaq3
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27191

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Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2004 (74th-108th Congress)
This 2006 Congressional Research Service (CRS) report described the activities of each "lame duck" session of Congress from 1935-2004. "A 'lame duck' session of Congress occurs whenever one Congress meets after its successor is elected, but before the successor's term begins." Also includes material about characteristics of lame duck sessions such as occurrence, timing, and length. Opens directly into a PDF file. Provided by the U.S. Senate.
URL: http://senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL33677.pdf
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27192

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Liberal Pranksters Hand Out Times Spoof
Article about how on November 12, 2008, "[i]n an elaborate hoax, pranksters distributed thousands of free copies of a spoof edition of The New York Times," in New York City and other U.S. cities. This document, dated July 4, 2009, "imagines a liberal utopia of national health care, a rebuilt economy, ... and other goals of progressive politics." Includes links to the hoax paper and to the accompanying website. From The New York Times.
URL: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/pranksters-spoof-the-times/
Shortened URL: http://tinyurl.com/5h3pkd
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27190
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400th Anniversary of the Invention of the Telescope: 1608-2008
This site commemorates the invention of the telescope by Dutch craftsmen Johannes (Hans) Lipperhey and Zacharias Janssen in 1608. The site notes that Galileo is better known because he was one of the first to use the telescope for scientific purposes and his astronomical discoveries were a huge sensation. Includes a FAQ, and articles on the history of the telescope and related subjects. In English and Dutch. From the Philippus Lansbergen Public Observatory.
URL: http://www.inventionofthetelescope.eu/400y_telescope/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/lang,en/
Shortened URL: http://tinyurl.com/ctnnku
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27196

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Librarians' Internet Index
Websites You Can Trust!
http://lii.org/
Copyright 2008 by Librarians' Internet Index.

National Newspaper Week October 4-10, 2009

http://www.crayola.com/calendar/detail.cfm?event_id=192&year=2006

Coloring pages, crafts, e-cards and lesson plans for National Newspaper Week.
Source: Crayola.com

Ideas for National Newspaper Week


Did you know that October 4-10, 2009, is National Newspaper Week? Want to include historic newspapers in your classroom activities? Here are resources from the Library of Congress Web site.

Chronicling America
http://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/

Provides access to pages from several historic American newspapers from 1880-1910 as well as information on American newspapers published between 1690 and the present day.

Stars and Stripes
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/sgphtml/sashtml/sashome.html
Published for members of the armed forces, this collection includes copies of The Stars and Stripes from 1918-1919 that document events from World War I.

Newspaper Pictorials: World War I Rotogravures
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/rotogravures/
A new printing process created in the early 1900s, rotogravure printing produced richly detailed, high quality illustrations and allowed newspapers to create new pictorial sections. This collection includes an illustrated history of World War I selected from newspaper rotogravure sections that graphically documents the people, places, and events important to the war.

Photographs from the Chicago Daily News, 1902-1933
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpcoop/ichihtml/cdnhome.html
A collection of photographs taken by the photographers of the Chicago Daily News.

Publishing the Declaration of Independence
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/journey/declaration.html
This webcast focuses on the role of early American newspapers in distributing the text of the Declaration of Independence and in leading the charge for independence.

Witness and Response
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/911/911-serial.html
See how newspapers documented the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

American Journalism Webcast
http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=3929
Listen to writer W. Joseph Campbell talk about the events of the year 1897 and how they changed the way journalists cover the news.

The People’s Art
http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/peoplesart.html
Watch a webcast featuring Julie Goldsmith, Manager of the Chicago Tribune Historical Collection at Michigan State University, where she discusses how the Chicago Tribune newspaper developed mass production techniques to help bring color and art to their newspaper.
Source: Library of Congress

Awesome Library

http://www.awesomelibrary.org/

From the site:
“Awesome Library organizes the Web with 37,000 carefully reviewed resources”


[NOTE: Previously posted. - Phyllis ]

Constitution Day Resources from the Library of Congress
http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/creatingtheus/Pages/default.aspx


“Looking for resources for Constitution Day activities? The Library of Congress has a variety of sources you can use. Explore the Creating the United States online exhibit and learn more about the impact of the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence on U.S. history. Explore the interactive Constitution where students can learn more about the Constitution and origin of important parts of the Constitution. The Learn More will lead you to links for other exhibits, online resources, webcasts and lessons you can use to help students learn more about the Constitution.”

Source: Library of Congress

[NOTE: Previously posted. - Phyllis ]

Back to School Lists from About.com
[NOTE: Pages contain some advertising – Phyllis ]

The Best Web Resources for Back to School

“Whether you're headed back to school yourself or know kids that are on their way, I've compiled a list of some of the more helpful resources here at About Web Search that will help you go back to school ahead of the class....read more”
http://websearch.about.com/od/referencesearch/tp/backtoschool.htm?nl=1



Back to School Web Toolbox
“If you're looking for a list of the most useful tools on the Web, you've come to the right place. Here are my picks for the best tools on the Web for students and anyone else who is looking to boost their productivity....keep reading”

http://websearch.about.com/od/referencesearch/tp/back_to_school_toolbox.htm?nl=1
Shortened URL: http://tinyurl.com/mmtsyy


The Best Kids Sites on the Web
“There are so many great kids sites out there on the Web; here's a few that I visit with my own kids...keep reading”
http://websearch.about.com/od/safesearch/a/kidsclick.htm?nl=1

Larry Ferlazzo’s “Best of” series

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/about/my-best-of-series/

From the site:

“I’ve separated my “The Best…” lists here by topics. A number of the lists, though, can fit into multiple categories, so it still might be useful to scan all of them.”

Some of the lists:

The Best Science & Math Sites -- 2008
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/11/08/the-best-science-math-websites-2008/
Shortened URL: http://tinyurl.com/5bazz5

The Best Websites To Learn About Veterans Day
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/11/11/the-best-websites-to-learn-about-veterans-day/
Shortened URL: http://tinyurl.com/6hc2mo
The Best Social Studies WebSites — 2008
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/11/02/the-best-social-studies-websites-2008/
Shortened URL: http://tinyurl.com/5v6hgz

Site found in:

NEAT NEW STUFF, February 6, 2009

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Academic Earth - Video Lectures from the World's Top Scholars

http://www.academicearth.org/

Browse by subjects, universities, instructors, or "playlist" collections of lectures. Of particular interest: the six lectures on the financial crisis.

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Neat New Stuff I Found This Week
by Marylaine Block
Copyright 1999.
http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html

Site found in:
NEAT NEW STUFF, January 23, 2009

National Film Board of Canada - Watch Quality Canadian Documentary, Animation and Fiction

http://nfb.ca/

Canada opens its treasure house of film to public access. Searchable and browsable by title and director. You can also explore them by playlists, on topics like Canada's Diverse Cultures, the Second World War, Winter across Canada, etc.

[NOTE: Previously posted. - Phyllis ]

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Neat New Stuff I Found This Week
by Marylaine Block
Copyright 1999.
http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html

Sites found in:


NEAT NEW STUFF, January 16, 2009



The 2008 Edublog Awards

http://edublogawards.com/and-the-2008-winners-are/

Award-winners in categories like Best educational wiki, Best educational use of a virtual world, Best educational tech support blog, Best librarian / library blog, Best class blog, etc. You might want to check out the runners-up as well.

[NOTE: For Best Resource Sharing Blogs:

http://edublogawards.com/2008/best-resource-sharing-blog-2008/ - Phyllis]



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American Social History Online

http://www.dlfaquifer.org/

"Find and use 19th and 20th century primary resources from unique digital collections." Search or browse by subject, place, and time, in collections of historical photographs, broadsides and printed ephemera, posters, first person narratives, cartoons, digitized serials, and more.



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Moving Image Source

http://www.movingimagesource.us/

From Museum of the Moving Image, "Articles by leading critics and scholars, an international Calendar, and a Research Guide to online resources." The resource guide is browsable by types of resource (article search, bibliographies, reference, etc.) as well as by criticism, history & styles, industry, people, and technology & craft.



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Neat New Stuff I Found This Week

by Marylaine Block

Copyright 1999.

http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html

Educational Videos for kids - NeoK12 - Grades 0 to 12


http://www.neok12.com/



Site found on TeachersFirst.com:



“This incredible site is a database of videos on an abundance of topics! They are arranged by topic and very easy to access. The general subjects include physical science, life science, earth and space, social studies, math, English, and the human body. Each of the subjects includes 10+ topics. And each of the topics includes countless videos. You truly have to see this collection to believe it! There are lessons “ready to go” on video: Civil Rights Movement, Ice Age, Allergies, Subtracting Negative Numbers, Electricity, and MANY others.



NOTE: Although the videos are listed on this site, they actually “live” elsewhere on the Internet, so some videos may be blocked in your school (those on YouTube, for example). Always pretest to be sure the video you hope to use is accessible at school!”



Entire review and suggestions for using this site “In the Classroom”:

http://www.teachersfirst.com/single.cfm?id=10185

K-12 Lessons for Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, September 17
http://www.civiced.org/index.php?page=constitution_day

[NOTE: Center for Civic Education
http://www.civiced.org/index.php - previously posted. - Phyllis ]

TeachingAmericanHistory.org

The Constitutional Convention
http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/
From the site:
“This Web Site provides a twelve-step guide to understanding the Constitutional Convention.”

Ratification of the Constitution
http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/ratification/

[NOTE: Home page previously posted. – Phyllis ]

--------Forwarded Message--------

Site of the Day for Monday, September 7, 2009

Cheery Greetings to those observing Labor Day in the U.S. and Labour Day in Canada

The History of Labor Day
http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm

Today's site, from the U.S. Department of Labor, offers an overview on the origins
of the Labor holiday. Gentle Subscribers will find some interesting facts and
acknowledgement of the role of organized labor in the establishment of this end of
summer holiday.

"Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and
is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It
constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the
strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country." - from the website

The presentation takes a look at the 19th century union leaders who were
instrumental in the push to have workers recognized for their efforts in building
America and deserving a special holiday in appreciation, while noting that there is
still no clear evidence as to which labor leader was responsible for the push to
establish the holiday. Additional information briefly reviews the national
legislation that was enacted to bolster the Labor Day observance. Links to the
Department of Labor newsletter provide news on the employment situation in the
country, as well as material on workers' health and safety programs sponsored by
the department.

Stroll over to the site for a little background on the origins of Labor Day at:

http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm

A.M. Holm
view the List archives on the web at:
http://www.freelists.org/archives/sotd

Dutch New York: Rediscover 400 years of history
PBS: Thursday, September 10 at 8pm
In this 400th Anniversary year of Henry Hudson’s exploration of the Hudson River, historian Barry Lewis retraces the voyage and the Dutch settlement of New Netherland.
http://www.thirteen.org/dutchny/

Site includes videos and interactives.

“The year 2009 marks the 400th anniversary of explorer Henry Hudson's voyage to New York State and the river that bears his name. Check out the links below for more information about Dutch New York and happenings in and around the state during New York's quadricentennial:”

Dutch-American Links:

Digital Map of New Amsterdam in 1660
http://www.ekamper.net/gr-misc.htm

Explore NY400
http://exploreny400.com/ThingsToDo/eventscalendar.aspx

Henry Hudson 400
http://www.henryhudson400.com/home.php

Hudson 400 - Celebration of Discovery
http://www.hudson400.com/

New Netherland Museum and the Half Moon
http://www.newnetherland.org/

NY400 - Holland on the Hudson
http://www.ny400.org/

Peter Stuyvesant’s Ghost
http://cityinasoundwalk.org/psg/index.php

The Mannahatta Project
http://themannahattaproject.org/explore/mannahatta-map/

The New Netherland Project
http://www.nnp.org/index.shtml