NEW ON THE NET
John Goldsmith
E-mail: cyberjohn@detools.ca
Blog: http://www.detools.ca
SEARCH ENGINE RENAISSANCE
The Renaissance was a time of rebirth and change. Europeans cast off the shackles of repression and stagnation to embrace concepts, methods and ideas of this new age.
It’s hard to think of the Internet in these terms. After all, the ‘Net is constantly changing. Actually, that’s not entirely true. There is one aspect of the Internet that has changed very little in the past decade or so – the search engine interface. That’s the way humans interact with most popular search engines. Users type a word or two into a text box and get back a series of result pages with a vertical list containing the web page title, URL and brief description. While there may be subtle differences between Google and Yahoo or AltaVista and Ask, the search procedure is more or less the same for all major search engines and it’s been that way for many, many years, but change is coming. There’s a search engine renaissance that has just begun. Over the last year or so, a host of new search tools have emerged with innovative and imaginative designs that take full advantage of the web’s visual and graphic potential.
To give you a taste for what is happening, I’ve chosen a few of the many new search applications to highlight. All are unique in at least one way, and none will ever be mistaken for Google.
BOOLIFY
http://www.boolify.org
In my humble opinion, Google’s main weakness is its inability to do true Boolean searches. As most information professionals will attest, the ability to construct a carefully considered, logically constructed search string connected by Boolean operators is the foundation of an effective search and something every student should learn. While it is possible to piece together a quasi-Boolean search with Google, it’s neither easy nor pretty. Luckily there are alternatives such as Boolify.
Boolify harnesses the power of Boolean Logic in a very visual way. Instead of typing out search terms and Boolean operators in a text/linear fashion, Boolify uses a puzzle piece metaphor. Green puzzle pieces are used for search terms. The green pieces are linked together by other coloured pieces representing Boolean operators; blue for AND, red for NOT and yellow for OR. Because the interface is so visual, even young students and students with limited English ability “get” Boolify.
Boolify itself is not a search engine. Underneath the layers of computer code, it’s really Google that’s doing the search work. Boolify merely acts as a translator, converting Boolean search strings into a format acceptable to Google resulting in the best of both worlds.
The site also has curriculum resources on how to use Boolean operators and how to refine a search. There are also plans to convert Boolify to other languages but those are still underway.
Boolify is a wonderful tool which greatly enhances and improves the searching potential of Google and should be the start page for every school computer in the province.
SORTFIX
http://www.sortfix.com
SortFix, like Boolify is not a search engine but another attempt to improve the user interface of an existing search engine. In this case, it’s a couple of search engines, Google, Yahoo and a third one called DMOZ.
As with Boolify, SortFix is a very visual interface. Users begin by typing a search term in a box just as they would if they were using Google directly. The difference occurs in the results page. While there is the typical list of web sites, at the top of the page you’ll see 4 multi-coloured boxes. The first box, which is grey contains a list of “Power Words”. This is the SortFix magic. When a search term is entered, SortFix will analyse the pages found then identify the main topic or idea. These topics will then be listed in the grey Power Words box.
Using my sample search term salmon, here are the Power Words, SortFix identified, “alder”, “river”, “Idaho”, “Oregon”, etc.
The “Add to Search” box shows the words that are actually sent to the search engine. The words “Remove” are topics that I want excluded. To move words in and out of these boxes, I use a “drag and drop” method. What could be easier?
Here’s my salmon search after I have dragged some the terms into the “Add to Search” box and others into “Remove”.
While I still prefer Boolify for its use of true Boolean searching, SortFix is still a nice visual interface and great for students who are having trouble finding descriptors to broaden or narrow their searches.
SEARCHCLOUD
SEARCHCLOUD is another search engine that experiments with a visual interface for entering search terms. Think of a mind-mapping program grafted on to a search engine and you have a pretty good image of SEARCHCLOUD. Here’s an example using a search string for “Salmon”
Notice how the print size is different. That is how a user would indicate which term is important and which is less significant. This can be determined as each search term is added and changed dynamically as searches are carried out.
This is an interesting idea and one that makes it easy for students to experiment with search term relevance. Unfortunately SearchCloud does not recognize Boolean operators so there is no way to exclude words or terms from the search.
I’m not sure if SEARCHCLOUD uses it’s own search engine or someone else’s like Google, however searches are quick and results good.
SEARCHME
http://www.searchme.com
When Apple/i-Tunes introduced the concept of “Cover Flow” a few years back, it was only a matter of time before it started appearing in other applications. One such example is SearchMe.
SearchMe utilizes a cover flow style display to show web pages on the search results page. Instead of album covers, it’s web pages which are displayed in a horizontal stack that can be browsed through. A slider along the bottom of the screen allows the user to flip back and forth through the stack. Unlike Google, which only shows the web page name and a brief description of the page or site in its search results, SEARCHME shows a miniature version of the whole web page. It’s very neat and innovative and much more visual than traditional search tools.
SearchMe has another nice feature - dynamic subject headings. I’ll try to explain this by using the search term, “Salmon”. The results were to be expected; biological information about the fish, recipes, guide, outfitting and resort information, biographic information on people named Salmon, etc. The row of icons along the top of the results page was very unusual. These included headings such as; “movies”, “biology”, “wildlife”, “baseball”, etc. - all sub-headings of the main search term, Salmon. To narrow my search results, I simply click on one of the subject headings.
Were I to type in another search term, the subject headings along the top of the page would change to suit the new search term. It’s another innovative concept and one I’ve never seen on any other search engine.
To do all these wondrous feats, SEARCHME has built it’s own search engine rather than use Google or some other established service.That means the searches are not as comprehensive or thorough. Nevertheless, SEARCHME is still worth a look, if just for its interface alone.
TAG GALAXY
http://www.taggalaxy.com
Tag Galaxy is a specialized search engine focussing entirely on Flickr image web site. It’s hardly surprising then that a specialized search tool would come up with an entirely different way to display search results and that way would be very visual.
Tag Galaxy uses the graphic metaphor of the solar system. Enter a search term such as “Education” and that term becomes the center of the solar system or the sun. Around the central term swirl associated terms such as “Children”, “Students” “School”, etc. By using the mouse, the solar system can be tilted and rotated.
Each “planet” can be zoomed in on to reveal a ball covered in pictures. The planet/ball can also be tilted and rotated to view an individual picture in detail.
Is Tag Galaxy a better search tool than Flickr’s own search engine? That’s difficult to determine. The results, however, are far superior to a series of pictures on a web page which is how Flickr does it.
VIEWZI
http://www.viewzi.com
Imagine taking all the visual interfaces mentioned so far such as, Cover Flow and Solar Systems, adding a few more like mind maps, tag clouds, global images etc and combining them all into one search tool. That tool would probably look like Viewzi.
Actually, Viewzi is not a search engine but a meta-search engine, utilizing the sleuthing power of Google, Yahoo and other web services to do the actual searching. Viewzi collects the results and presents them in a most unusual way - grouped together by information/media type and displayed in a kind of cover flow format.
Mouse over each “cover” or page and it enlarges. Each “cover” represents a unique grouping of search results, presented in a different way: 3D, Thumbnail, Text, Photo-Album, etc.
Click on the “cover” and the contents are displayed. In the picture below, the search results from Google, Yahoo, Ask and MSN are displayed.
Click on one of the thumbnails and the web page itself is displayed.
Of all the visual presentation styles, my favorite is the 3D Cloud view.
While Viewzi’s search results are presented in a variety of innovative ways, how good is it as a search tool? Good & not so good.
Viewzi is very good at taking search terms and sending them to a wide variety of web services such as Google, Yahoo, Ask, MSN, Flickr, CNN, CNet, Delicious, and several MP3 search sites. As a result, Viewzi casts a wide net when scanning the web.
The results pages however, can be too much of a good thing. While displays like 3D Cloud view, Album view or Celebrity Photo view are very innovative and visually appealing, they can also be optically overwhelming and confusing to those used to the linear simplicity of Google. There’s a lot happening on Viewzi’s results page and it takes some getting used to.
The intense graphics also take their toll on computer speed and performance. Moving from one view to another can often be slow going.
There are also times when all the different views are simply not needed. For example, a search for information on the topic of, “salmon habitat” doesn’t require the Celebrity Photo View or the Google Timeline view but there’s no way to disable or turn these features off.
While Viewzi’s interface may not be perfect, it one more example of the imaginative and innovative ways in which information is presented to the user.
NAVIGAYA
http://www.navigaya.com
Navigaya is a meta search engine meaning it takes a users’ search terms and passes them on to search engines like Google and Yahoo, then collects and displays the results. Not that it really matters because Navigaya is one of the most unusual searching sites on the ‘Net.
Perhaps it’s the YouTube music video playing in the background. Perhaps it’s the “Scope Around’ button or maybe it’s all the other unusual features that fill this site. Whatever the reason, there is no mistaking Navigaya for any other search site on the web. This place is different.
As well as search engines. Navigaya also has links to many other search sites that specialize in music, gossip, sports, etc. so this application should cast a wide net when searching. When I started looking around I got side tracked by the music video playing in the background (I love surfing videos and music) and never did discover how well it searched.
As a fun and entertaining site, NAVIGAYA is tops. As a serious searching site, there are definitely better
.
GOOGLE NEWS
http://news.google.com/archivesearch
What Google lacks in imagination it makes up for in variety of services. Here is one example – Google News, a new feature for searching and exploring historical archives and old news stories.
As with all Google search pages, there’s simple searching (type in a search term and hope) plus advanced features which allow searches to be constrained within a date range, language or source. One nice feature I’ve not seen before is a timeline creator. News archive search can automatically create timelines that show selected results from relevant time periods.
FLICKRBABLE
Flickrbable is an example of another Internet search trend – niche searching. These are applications that search specific sites such as YouTube and Flickr or search for specific types of files such as Adobe Acrobat PDF or graphics files. In this case, Flickrbable is a Flickr specific search engine. Its specialty is the ability to find photos of specific objects in a particular geographic area.
Thanks to a new trend in photography called “GeoTagging” or the encoding of location information with the metadata of a digital image, Flickrbable is able to find pictures based on their location. For example, I might use Flickrbable to locate pictures of a Mazda Miata sports car in Vancouver.
In the end, FLICKRBABLE’s usefulness will depend on your needs. It is however, an interesting way to search.
FLICKRCC
http://flickrcc.trainingo2.net
Flickrcc is another specialized search engine, similar in many ways to Flickrbable. It too, searches only the Flickr site but, rather than looking for geotag information, Flickrcc looks for pictures tagged under the Creative Commons attribute. This means the picture or photograph may be downloaded and used by anyone for non-commercial purposes.
WIDEXPLORER
Widexplorer is a meta-search engine that uses the services of other searching devices such as Google, Yahoo, Microsoft Live Search, Yahoo Buzz, YouTube, DailyMotion and others to do the search work. When a search term is entered, Widexplorer sends it out to other searching services. For general web information, Widexplorer uses Google, Yahoo and Microsoft Live Search. For video it goes to YouTube and LiveMotion. For cool or new links, Digg, Reddit and Yahoo Buzz are used.
When the search results come back, Widexplorer presents them to the user in an interesting way. All the sites with results are displayed in one continuous browser window in a type of “Cover Flow” format similar to the Searchme Engine. It’s very visual and intuitive.
Widexplorer also provides the option to restrict a search to images or video only
While meta search engines are certainly not new, the way in which Widexplorer has developed the concept and presented the results certainly is.
AGA-KIDS
http://www.aga-kids.com
Not all search engines score home runs the first time at bat and here’s one example. It’s a children’s search site called Aga-Kids.
At first glance, Aga-Kids seems great. The search page is very clean, yet visually appealing.
The results page presents the search results in a kind of “Cover Flow” arrangement. Cool!
Once the cool factor wears off, however, some of Aga-Kids flaws become apparent. For example, to move back and forth through the cover flow requires the use of the mouse scroll wheel. I discovered that by accident after fruitless searching for instructions on the results page. The pages displayed in the Cover Flow images are small and very hard to see, making it difficult to determine if they are useful or not.
The search results were also very disappointing. When using the search term “salmon”, Aga-Kids found only 4 web pages. The first was from a conservation site advertising a fish coloring contest. The next two were connected with “Vocabulary.com” and the final page was from an online games site that had no connection at all to my search term.
Gaming seems to be a bit of a theme on this site. There is a link from the results page to a gaming section, and that highlights the split personality of this web site. From the text and graphics, it has the appearance of being developed for young children approximately 4 to 8 years old, however many of the games such as, “Shoot the Kitty” and “Slap the Monkey” are clearly teen focussed and not appropriate for children.
The irony is that no teen would be caught dead on a site with such juvenile graphics, no matter how good the games are (and most on this site aren’t that good.). In trying to satisfy a wide audience, Aga-Kids really has pleased no one .
SSMUNCH
http://www.ssmunch.com
SSMUNCH is a specialized search engine that looks only for music, mp3 and sound files. It also has a free download option that means that any song, mp3 or sound file found by SSMUNCH can be downloaded to your computer for free. I have no idea what the copyright implications are for such an option.
As a music search engine, SSMUNCH is pretty good. Searches for popular artists like the Beatles, Celine Dion or Avril Lavigne return pages of results. Searches for more obscure artists such as the Cape Breton singing group, “The Rankin Family” or the Celtic group, “Iona” yielded good results as well.
Unfortunately SSMUNCH was not as good at finding podcasts and e-books. Music files seem to be it’s focus but that’s not all bad because SSMUNCH does have some interesting options.
For example, instead of searching for song files, SSMUNCH will also search for lyrics and video. In addition to downloading a file, SSMUNCH will also provide the code to embed the song in a web page. Songs can also be rated and added to a playlist provided the user has signed up for a free account.
While the search engine itself works well, the search interface could use some work. Many of the text boxes such as the “NEXT” link at the bottom of the results page are barely visible. Nevertheless, another very interesting search engine.
HITTERY
Hittery calls itself a “search dashboard”. That’s an interesting name for a web page filled with search boxes linked to a wide variety of searching applications.
The search boxes can be moved, added to or deleted. Hittery has links to 130 search engines in all, so building a custom search page is easy. If that’s not enough, more search engines can be added as well. Now there is no excuse for using Google exclusively.
PDFGENI
http://www.pdfgeni.com
PDFGENI is another specialized Search Engine that searches for PDF documents only. As search engines go, PDFGENI looks as if it could have been created by Google. It has the same sort of minimalist looking home page with a text box, a few links and little more. That’s hardly surprising since it’s Google that’s actually doing the searching in the background.
To give PDFGENI a workout, I tried the search term, “Moodle” and got over 2 dozen hits. Some were single, downloadable chapters of books that the author hopes will entice users to buy the whole thing. Others were documents talking about the integration of Moodle with services such as “Turnitin”, “DimDim” or “Wimba” but within the group were a couple of good beginner’s manuals. All the documents were freely available for downloading and viewing.
Obviously, PDFGENI is doing nothing that a skilled Google user couldn’t replicate but the joy of PDFGENI is that it requires no special Google skills, just enter and go.
LIBRARYSPOT
http://www.libraryspot.com
With the advent of Google, libraries, either physical or virtual, like LIBRARYSPOT were supposed to disappear - or so claimed the experts. After all, who needs a library when there are powerful search engines available? Who Indeed! Libraries, like Mark Twain have discovered that rumors of their demise have been greatly exaggerated which is why sites like LibrarySpot continue to exist. They fill a need.
In this case, it provides a wide variety of resource and reference materials. Whether it’s almanacs, dictionaries, directories, encyclopedias or whatever, LibrarySpot has a link to these and much more. It’s a very nice one stop reference shop.
ADDICT-O-MATIC
ADDICT-O-MATIC is a search tool that claims to search the best live sites on the web for the latest news, blog posts, videos and images. In other words, this new kid is not going “toe to toe” with Google. Instead, it’s focusing on the Web 2.0 world of blogs, wikis, media sharing sites and Web 2.0 news sites.
Type in a search term and ADDICT-O-MATIC will scour places like Ask.com, Digg, YouTube, Flickr, Delicious and even Twitter for a match. As a concession to the “unlive” or general use web, ADDICT-O-MATIC also uses Yahoo’s web search facility.
ADDICT-O-MATIC also has a “Page Flake” type RSS news feed aggregation feature linked to it’s main page for folks who just want to keep up with what’s new or hot.
ADDICT-O-MATIC is an interesting mix of RSS aggregation and Web 2.0 searching but, is it what the web has been waiting for?
FACTBITES
http://www.factbites.com
Factbites claims to have a new approach to web searching where the results make sense by offering users meaningful, relevant sentences from every site in the search results. Factbites searches for matches on the basis of your whole topic area, not just your keyword. This means that it can return relevant, informative results on your topic that don’t necessarily mention the word you searched for. It’s an innovative way to think about searching – in a holistic way - but is a computer necessarily the best means to determine this?
ECOCHO
http://www.ecocho.ca
ECOCHO is an eco-friendly search engine. For every 1000 searches a user makes on Ecocho, Ecocho will “offset” a ton of greenhouse gases. Ecocho does this by sponsoring the planting of two trees via advertising on the site. Underneath the “hood”, it’s Yahoo that does the searching which is not bad. Apparently, Google was also in the mix but they blocked Ecocho after the first week.
TOP 25 WEB 2.0 SEARCH ENGINES
http://oedb.org/library/features/top-25-web20-search-engines
If this topic has caught your interest and you’d like to learn more about some of the new and innovative search engines which have recently emerged on the ‘Net take a look at this list of 25 new search engines compiled by the Online Educational Database. Like the previous search utilities listed here, there is no mistaking any of these sites for Google.
THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU COULD DO WITH GOOGLE
http://www.pcworld.ca/news/column/772eb0ec0a01040801dd6a6775b8e019/pg0.htm
Even with the coming of the Renaissance, it’s important to remember that old institutions and structures did not disappear. It’s a good bet that no matter how innovative the new search sites are, Google will be around for a long time yet and continue to be the prime search tool for millions of Internet users. To end this exposition on new search tools I offer an article written by the folks at PC World magazine, “Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do With Google”.
It isn’t ground breaking stuff, just a few simple services that Google offers which many users may be unaware of. These include such things as the Google calculator, Google’s parcel tracking services or Google’s specialized search features. The article even mentions the “Google Cheat Sheet”, a two page PDF document filled with lots of Google shortcuts, services and searching hints.
The article ends with a section on “55 Ways to Have Fun with Google”, a free e-book with Google trivia, games, and nonsense. It’s 228 pages long and packed with fun stuff like, “The Image Quiz”, which asks you to guess the Google search term for a bunch of images or the nifty Google magic trick area.
NEW ON THE NET
EDUCATION:
FREE ONLINE GAME TEACHES STUDENTS ABOUT CHINESE LANGUAGE, CULTURE
This new online role-playing game, designed by a U.S. professor who is a top researcher in Chinese education, aims to help students and adults learn more about the culture and languages of China.
The game is called, “Zon”. As students play and interact with the Zon environment, they learn about the Chinese language and culture. As game creator and Sichuan native Yong Zhao, (now a Michigan State University distinguished professor of educational psychology and technology) commented, "This game offers a vicarious, virtual experience of China." The game is free to use but registration is required.
(Linda Hof, Webbits)
HIGHLIGHTS FOR HIGH SCHOOL
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/hs/home/home/index.htm
“Highlights for High School is a rich resource for teachers and students. It provides free, open-source teaching and learning materials, including video lecture clips, lecture notes, practice problems, exams, and other resources from MIT’s introductory Physics, Biology, and Calculus courses, in addition to high school mini-courses that were developed by MIT students. Students can use the site to study for AP exams in Biology, Calculus, and Physics, apply what they’ve learned to “Build Stuff,” “Write Better,” “Save the World,” view video demonstrations, explore the Labs, or view the competitions. Included is a section on introductory MIT courses where students can see what college courses are like. “ (Education World Site Reviews)
KIDS.GOV
Kids.gov is a family-friendly web site set up by the US Government that links to over 500 web sites from government agencies, schools, and educational organizations, all geared to the learning level and interest of kids. (Site of the Day)
MIXITUP
“Website for this project "supporting student efforts to identify, question and cross social boundaries within their schools and communities." In addition to information about the program and the annual Mix it Up Lunch Day, the site features a large collection of stories from student activists, on issues such as moving past labels and stereotypes, bullying, standardized testing, segregated proms, and wearing a Muslim hijab. From the Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance program.” (Librarians' Internet Index)
ENGLISH
28 RULES FOR ENGLISH SPELLING
http://www.riggsinst.org/28rules.aspx
The Riggs Institute, an educational institution with programs for teaching writing, spelling and reading. Recently, they offered on their web site a free list of the "28 Rules for English Spelling" which can be printed and used in class or at home. (Click Schooling)
KIDS SPELLING, GRAMMAR, AND WRITING GAMES
http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/writing/Kids_Writing.html
This website offers an astounding array of free, multi-media, interactive games and worksheets to help kids learn and gain proficiency in Spelling, Grammar, and Writing. (Click Schooling)
RADICAL REBELS: AN EXHIBITION OF RADICAL CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
http://library.syr.edu/digital/exhibits/r/RadicalChildLit/
"The selection of titles for this exhibition features biographies of radical activists, as well as the Young World Books series issued by International Publishers, an organization of the Communist Party of the United States of America. Also included are children's books with feminist, labor, multicultural, pacifist, and racial themes." Includes many digitized images of book covers. From the Special Collections Research Center of the Syracuse University Library. (Librarians' Internet Index)
SLATE: READING LIST 2008
http://www.slate.com/id/2186941/landing/l/
“This collection of weekly thematic reading lists includes books on soccer, baseball, parenting, communism, Shakespeare, uncluttering, recessions, and other wide-ranging subjects. Some of the lists also include links to articles and websites. From the online magazine, “Slate”. (Librarians' Internet Index)
LEARNING VOCABULARY FUN
“Whether your goal is to score an A on Friday's vocabulary test, or to improve your SAT scores, vocabulary games, word scrambles, and interactive flashcards can make studying vocabulary words fun and improve retention. Each of the eight word games at Learning Vocabulary Fun is customizable with dozens of vocabulary lists and multiple levels of difficulty. Unscramble, for example, has 103 vocabulary lists, arranged alphabetically from "animals" to "write." Other game choices are WordSearch, CrossWords, HangMouse (like Hangman, except you are playing to keep the cat from catching the mouse), Quiz (choose the vocab word that best completes the sentence), Match Game (also known as concentration), Letter Blocks (my favorite!) and Clueless Crossword.” (Surf The Net With Kids)
LIBRARY
ASME'S TOP 40 MAGAZINE COVERS OF THE LAST 40 YEARS
http://www.magazine.org/asme/top_40_covers/
“This presentation, originally presented at the 2005 American Magazine Conference, lists the American Society of Magazine Editor (ASME) picks for the top 40 magazine covers from the previous 40 years. Includes many covers that were controversial at the time of their publication, and covers that have been remembered for their celebrity portraits and for capturing historical events. (Librarians' Internet Index)
CONSISE DICTIONARY OF FIRST NAMES
http://www.askoxford.com/dictionaries/name_dict/?view=get
“Search the Concise Dictionary of First Names to find out what your name really means or to choose the name for your new baby. From Aaron and Abigail to Zinnia and Zola, this dictionary of over 6,000 names, is both a valuable reference resource and a delight to browse.” (Site of the Day)
CONTROVERSIAL CARTOONS
http://cartoonbox.slate.com/static/71.html
“Large presentation of cartoons that address topics in editorial cartooning that have created controversy, including the July 21, 2008, New Yorker magazine's depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama on its cover, and the September 2005 Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten's editorial cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Browse cartoons in chronological order or by cartoonist.” (Librarians' Internet Index)
DICTSEARCH
http://www.foreignword.com/Tools/dictsrch.htm
Dictsearch is a new online searching service that scans through 275 dictionaries on the Internet. It will also translate from 69 source languages into 73 target languages for more then 400 language combinations. (Site of the Day)
EARTH CALENDAR
http://www.earthcalendar.net/index.php
The Earth Calendar is a daybook of holidays and celebrations around the world. For the purpose of this web site a 'holiday' is any day that recognizes a cultural event, and not necessarily a day when businesses are closed. A great resource for schools celebrating multicultural festivals. (Site of the Day)
GOOGLE SEARCHING TIPS
http://search.ccci.org/user_help.html
For those folks who can’t tear themselves away from Google but would like to search more effectively, there’s help. The folks at Google have prepared a document with a number of basic tips to help novice searcher get the most out of their Internet search. (David Dillard)
LIBGIG
LibGig is a professional networking website dedicated to bringing together everyone who accesses, organizes, creates, manages, produces or distributes information for a living. The site features searchable job listings, list of American Library Association accredited schools ("including their specialties, degrees, certificates, doctoral programs, admissions and financial aid contact"), career development resources, and a blog. (Librarians' Internet Index)
THE LIVING LIBRARY
This organization promotes confronting and understanding your prejudices by creating a system in which participants ("readers") may "check-out" individuals for short face-to-face discussions. These individuals represent the "disabled, the Muslim, the HIV infected or the refugee," and others. The site provides a history of the organization (started by the Stop the Violence group in Denmark), details for organizers and potential "living books," and an events list. (Librarians' Internet Index)
THE LIST UNIVERSE
Welcome to the List Universe, the greatest resource online for top 10 lists and more. To view a complete list of all articles, use the navigation tabs at the top of each page. (Site of the Day)
MERCKMEDICUS
http://www.merckmedicul.com/pp/us/hcp/hcp_home.jsp
This web site created by drug maker, Merck calls itself, “one of the most innovative and comprehensive medical resources on the Internet.” The advertising-free medical portal for today's healthcare professional combines breaking medical news, a wide variety of online learning resources, cutting-edge diagnostic tools, and even the patient's perspective on the world of medicine. (Site of the Day)
NEWSFILM ONLINE
http://newsfilm.bufvc.ac.uk/index.php
"Hours of [British] television news and cinema newsreels, taken from the huge collection of the ITN/Reuters archive ... available online in high quality format for teaching, learning and research. Video clips cover 1920s to the present and are searchable or browsable by decade or by topic such as conflicts, disasters, lifestyle, science and technology, sports, and weather. Includes links to related sites. From the British Universities Film & Video Council.” (Librarians' Internet Index)
ONELOOK REVERSE DICTIONARY
http://www.onelook.com/reverse-dictionary.shtml
OneLook's reverse dictionary lets you describe a concept and get back a list of words and phrases related to that concept. Your description can be a few words, a sentence, a question, or even just a single word. Just type it into the box above and hit the 'Find words' button. (Librarians' Internet Index)
PUBLIC RECORDS DIRECTORY
The original, largest, most up-to-date and reliable directory of public records on the Internet. Online since 1997, SearchSystems.net continues to be by far the best resource of business information, corporate filings, property records, deeds, mortgages, criminal and civil court filings, inmates, offenders, births, deaths, marriages, unclaimed property, professional licenses, and much more. (Librarians' Internet Index)
THE PULITZER PRIZE
“Beginning in 1917, and continuing to the present day, the Pulitzer Prize is awarded in 21 different areas of journalism and photography, including published books and music. This site allows the user to search or browse each year's winners using the timeline at the top of each page.” (Site Of The day)
ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER
In 1876 General Henry M. Robert set out to bring the rules of the American Congress to members of ordinary societies with the publication of a Pocket Manual of Rules of Order. It sold half a million copies before this revision in 1915 and made Robert's name synonymous with the orderly rule of reason in deliberative societies. Robert’s Rules of Order are now online and freely available for access. (Site Of The day)
ROGET’S II: THE NEW THESAURUS
The “new” online Roget’s Thesaurus (Copyright 1995) contains 35,000 synonyms and over 250,000 cross-references in an easy-to-use format. This thesaurus features succinct word definitions and an innovative hyperlinked category index. (Site of the Day)
UNDATA
‘This website "brings [United Nations] UN statistical databases within easy reach of users through a single entry point. Users can now search and download a variety of statistical resources of the UN system. Search across all databases, or use advanced search to select specific sources, years, and regions of the world. Includes a glossary. From the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).’ (Librarians' Internet Index)
MATHEMATICS
AUNTY MATH
http://www.dupagechildrensmuseum.org/aunty/index.html
The DuPage Children's Museum sponsors this website where the fictional Aunt Mathilda Mathews or "Aunty Math" presents a dozen math challenges for students in grades K-5. As the website explains, "Each math challenge is presented in the form of a story taken from the life of Aunty Math, her two nephews Barney and Danny, and her niece Gina." There are a variety of methods suggested for solving Aunty Math's challenges which include; drawing a picture, using manipulatives, searching for patterns acting it out, guessing and checking, making a list, chart, or graph and visualizing a solution. (Click Schooling)
MATH IN DAILY LIFE: HOW DO NUMBERS AFFECT EVERYDAY DECISIONS?
Http://www.learner.org/intereactives/dailymath/index.html
When you buy a car, follow a recipe, or decorate your home, you're using math principles. People have been using these same principles for thousands of years across countries and continents. Whether you're sailing a boat off the coast of Japan or building a house in Peru, you're using math to get things done. (Site of the Day)
THE MATH WAREHOUSE
The Math Warehouse is a web site created by Westchester, NY math teacher, Vernon Morris. It contains a “warehouse” full of Math lessons, demonstrations and interactive activities plus an extensive collection of interactive Flash tools to assist students with the learning of math. (The Teacher’s List)
ROOM 108: KID MATH GAMES
http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/Math/math_kids.html
This website provides all kinds of interactive games for learning basic math skills. They include online games for practicing single and multiple digit addition and subtraction, timed math drills, games that teach how to tell time and much more. The site even has worksheet generators that create worksheets for math practice. (Click Schooling)
STUDIO 4 LEARING
“This website offers a free, searchable, video tutorial service covering everything from basic math to SAT test prep classes. It's an ad-supported website that provides on-demand math videos for students from middle school through early college as a way to supplement traditional classroom learning.” (Click Schooling)
SCIENCE
BIRD AND ANIMAL SOUNDS
http://www.naturesound.org/index.html
For over 35 years, Martyn Stewart, a British audio/naturalist specializing in location and field recordings mostly for natural history documentaries has recorded and collected bird and animal sounds. Many of these sounds can be heard on his web site and many more are available on CD’s that can also be purchased from his site. In addition, Martyn also provides advice and suggestions regarding nature recording related topics as well as recording gear information. (Librarians' Internet Index)
COSMIC JOURNEY
http://www.aip.org/history/cosmology/index.htm
American Institute of Physics has created a web site called, “Cosmic Journey”, a fascinating history of scientific cosmology as well as many of the modern tools used to scan the heavens today. The site also has extensive illustrations and photographs plus explanations of how the tools work. (Click Schooling)
ENVIRONMENT CANADA WEATHER PUBLICATIONS
http://www.msc-smc.ec.gc.ca/information_publications_e.html
“The Meteorological Service of Canada is Canada's source for meteorological information. The Service monitors water quantities, provides information and conducts research on climate, atmospheric science, air quality, ice and other environmental issues making it an important source of expertise in these areas. Their Publications page holds a host of resources for classroom use regardless of where you live.” (The Teacher List)
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: AN INTERACTIVE REFERENCE GUIDE
http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/ISSRG/index.htm
“This reference guide begins with a fascinating introduction featuring a docking animation and then moves to Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke explaining the various activities that make up the Station’s mission. The bulk of the material is divided into three sections: How the Crew Lives, How It Works … Included is a link to .PDF files on various topics that can be downloaded. “ (Education World Site Reviews)
NATIONAL SEA GRANT LIBRARY
http://nsgl.gso.uri.edu/libraries/
“This site provides a wealth of information and resources on marine topics. The subject categories include coastal hazards, diving safety, global warming, harmful algae, marine careers, seafood safety/food borne illnesses, and, perhaps most interesting to teachers, the education section. The materials cover a broad range of topics and grade levels. Some of the gems here include a resource guide for environmental and marine science teachers, wetland activities, a resource guide for oceanography, and coastal processes: developed for elementary, middle, and high school teachers” (Education World Site Reviews)
THE PERIODIC TABLE OF COMIC BOOKS
http://www.uky.edu/Projects/Chemcomics/index.html
A couple of chemists took it upon themselves to collect comic strips that mention elements from the Periodic Table and compile them on this website. The result is a "literature" tie-in to the science of chemistry and elements in particular, making them both seem less daunting and more fun. When you get to the site you'll see a brief introduction and a Periodic Table of Elements. Click on any element and a new page opens where you can see the comic strips where the element has been mentioned or featured. (Librarians' Internet Index)
PHOENIX MARS MISSION
http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/
This web site, created by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory contains background information and updates about this NASA Mars mission "designed to study the history of water and habitability potential in the Martian arctic's ice-rich soil." It features press releases, images, background about the mission (which launched in August 2007 and landed on Mars in late May 2008), blogs, podcasts, a section for children, and more. (Librarians' Internet Index)
POPULAR MECHANICS: DRIVE GREEN
http://www.popularmechanics.com/drivegreen
This section of the Popular Mechanics Magazine web site features a compilation of articles, video, and blog entries about energy-efficient driving and alternative fuel vehicles. It also includes features on new technologies; test-drives of new vehicles, analysis, tips, and related material. (Librarians' Internet Index)
TIMELINE OF DISCOVERY
http://www.leakeyfoundation.org/discoveries/timeline.swf
The web site, created by Leakey Foundation contains a timeline with all-important scientific discoveries from 1840 to the present related to early humans. The Timeline is interactive and is a practical tool for students who are investigating our collective past. The Timeline covers events such as gorillas being formally recognized as a separate genus from chimpanzees in 1847, the 1859 publication of "Darwin's groundbreaking and highly controversial book on evolution," and Leakey funded discoveries starting in the 1960s. (Librarians' Internet Index)
TRADITIONS OF THE SUN: ANCIENT ASTRONOMY
http://www.traditionsofthesun.org/
It is difficult to understate the importance of the Sun. Its light and warmth provide energy for growing plants, and ultimately makes life itself possible. Through this site, you are invited to learn about the ancestral Native Americans in New Mexico and the ancient Maya in the Yucatan, while gaining a better understanding of the active Sun, and its importance to them - and, to us. (Site of the Day)
YOUTH SCIENCE FORUM:
http://www.youthscienceforum.ca
The Youth Science Forum is a web site dedicated to encouraging Ontario students to become involved in science. Created by the Algoma University College of Sault Ste. Marie, this site is filled with information and resources such as, “Science in the News”, “Experiments at Home”, “Cool Science Sites” and more.
One aspect of this site that has become very popular is “Why?” an entertaining and engaging podcast created by Dr. Dave Brodbeck. Students submit science related questions to Dr. Dave that are answered in the podcast. (Diane Keith Flynn: Click Schooling)
SOCIAL STUDIES
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT: STATE OF THE WORLD'S HUMAN RIGHTS: ZIMBABWE
http://thereport.amnesty.org/eng/Regions/Africa/Zimbabwe
This site provides the most recent version of an overview of the human rights situation in Zimbabwe. Topics include freedom of assembly and association, women’s human rights defenders, torture and other ill treatment, and abductions. (Librarians' Internet Index)
CALENDARS THROUGH THE AGES
http://webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar.html
“This site explores the fascinating history of the human endeavor to organize our lives in accordance with the sun and stars. Many different calendars have been developed over the millennia to help people organize their lives. According to a recent estimate, there are about forty calendars used in the world today, particularly for determining religious dates. Most modern countries use the Gregorian calendar for their official activities.” (Site of the Day)
EXPOMUSEUM
This site traces the history of world fairs (international expositions) from 1851 to the present, and beyond. Features a timeline with links to sites about most fairs, photos of architecture from selected fairs, and a discussion group. Includes links to future fairs such as 2010 in Shanghai, China; 2012 in Yeosu, South Korea; and 2015 in Milan, Italy. (Librarians' Internet Index)
FACTCHECK.ORG
For Social Studies teachers who plan to follow the upcoming American Presidential Election with their students, here is an interesting resource called, “FactCheck.Org” This group claims to be a nonpartisan, nonprofit, 'consumer advocate' for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. They intend to monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases. (Site of the Day)
GLOBAL INFORMATION AND EARLY WARNING SYSTEM (GIEWS): ON FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
http://www.fao.org/giews/english/index.htm
“The mission of this news service from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is [t]o keep world food supply/demand under continuous review, and provide early warnings of food crises." Find a FAQ about the 2008 food price crisis, relevant periodical publications (such as on crop prospects), photo gallery, region and country reports, satellite imagery of countries in nutritional crisis, and policy recommendations” (Librarians' Internet Index)
HAMAS
http://www.cfr.org/publication/8968/
Hamas is "the largest and most influential Palestinian fundamentalist movement." This article (updated in 2007) covers topics such as the origins of Hamas, leaders, beliefs and goals, and funding. Includes links to related material. From the Council on Foreign Relations, an "independent national membership organization and a nonpartisan center for scholars." (Librarians' Internet Index)
MARIE ANTOINETTE AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
http://www.pbs.org/marieantoinette/
“Companion to a 2006 documentary that describes Marie Antoinette's involvement in events leading to the French Revolution by tracing "her journey from the splendors of her childhood in the palaces of the mighty Austro-Hungarian Empire to her final hours in a squalid French prison cell." Features a timeline, description of her life at the Palace of Versailles (including the Petit Hameau mock farm), background about others involved in the revolution, and more.” (Librarians' Internet Index)
MYMAP
MYMAP is a new feature which Google has added to its very popular Google Maps. With this new feature, users can not only “fly” to any part of the world and zoom in on specific places and features but they can also tag and label these features. When finished, Google saves the tagged map with it’s own specific URL. In typical Google fashion, MYMAPS is very easy to use but does require a free account if maps are to be saved. (Librarians' Internet Index)
NEWSEUM: TODAY'S FRONT PAGES
http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/default.asp
The Newseum displays these daily newspaper front pages in their original, unedited form from over 500 front pages from around the world. A great current events resource. (Site of the Day)
POSTGLOBAL
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/drg/index.html
"PostGlobal is an interactive conversation on global issues moderated by Newsweek International ... [and] The Washington Post." It considers the impact of recent events on the power of governments such as the U.S China, Israel, and Russia. The "Global Power Barometer" "tracks how well global players use power to advance their policy goals. ... The system tracks [and links to] thousands of news media, academic, governmental and other sources." (Librarians' Internet Index)
WHO RUNS YOUR WORLD?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/who_runs_your_world/
‘Website for this British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) series about power: "who has it, who wants it, how it is used and how it is changing across a whole range of human activity." Some of the topics covered include power in Hollywood, "the secretive Bilderberg Group," "beauty and power in Colombia," and former South African president Nelson Mandela. Includes surveys and quizzes.’ (Librarians' Internet Index)
TECHNOLOGY & THE INTERNET
NEW E-SCAMS & WARNINGS
http://www.fbi.gov/cyberinvest/escams.htm
This page, created by the FBI, lists all the alerts concerning scams, malicious software (malware), viruses, phishing, e-mail schemes, threat and extortion e-mail messages, and more. User’s can also get e-mail alerts when new warnings are posted on the page. (Librarians' Internet Index)
RECAPTCHA
"A 'captcha' is a program that can tell whether its user is a human or a computer [such as those with distorted images of letters]." You can use this site to help stop receiving email spam "by asking people to solve a recaptcha before they can view your email address" (if you are running a web application that lists user's email addresses). This process uses unclear images from digitized books. From Carnegie Mellon University.” (Librarians' Internet Index)
SEARCH ENGINE WATCH
Search Engine Watch is a web site that focuses on the happenings and developments in the Internet search engine industry. While its primary mission, (besides reporting the news from various search engine companies) is helping web developers to increase the ranking of their sites on Google and Yahoo, the Search Engine Watch site also provides tips and information about searching the web. (Site of the Day)
STOP CYBERBULLYING
“This site discusses cyberbullying ("when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted" usually by another child, preteen, or teen, via "the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones") and provides prevention tips and action items. Includes details about the roles of parents, teachers, and police in creating a safe online environment. From WiredKids, a charity focused on the prevention of cybercrime and abuse.” (Librarians' Internet Index)
WACKY, WILD AND JUST PLAIN WEIRD
BRAND NAME PENCILS
http://www.brandnamepencils.com/
"This site has been designed to visually introduce to you the incredibly diverse world of brand name pencils. ... [Y]ou will be amazed at the sheer number of pencil brands once produced in the USA and abroad." Browse images of pencils by over 100 brands, or by pencil types (such as copying, long ferrule, over sized ferrule, and WWII-era). (Librarians' Internet Index)
FIVE DECADES OF CHANNEL SURFING: HISTORY OF THE TV REMOTE CONTROL
http://www.zenith.com/sub_about/about_remote.html
This site by Zenith Electronics contains information about the development of remote controls for televisions, covering the "first TV remote control, called 'Lazy Bones,' [which] was developed in 1950 by Zenith Electronics Corporation" and "used a cable that ran from the TV set to the viewer," the 1955 "Flashmatic" wireless remote that used photocells, ultrasonic remotes, and today's infrared remote controls. (Librarians' Internet Index)
INTERNET PINBALL DATABASE
This site (originally compiled as part of the Pinball Pasture site in the mid-1990s) is "a comprehensive, searchable listing of virtually every pinball machine ever commercially made. It is an ad free, popup free, registration free resource. [The site does] not buy or sell games." Listings include details such as the pinball machine's manufacturer, machine type, notable features, images, and user ratings and comments. Also provides a glossary, player guide, and other supplementary material. (Librarians' Internet Index)
ORIGINS OF BINGO
http://www.strangelife.com/bingodoc/bingohist.html
Overview of the history of bingo. Describes how bingo "is a form of lottery and is a direct descendant of 'Lo Giuoco del Lotto d'Italia' [from the 1500s]," how toy salesman Edwin S. Lowe discovered the "Beano" game in 1929, and how a woman called out "bingo" instead of "beano" when she won and that the name of the game was then changed. From the website for a 2000 documentary about bingo. (Librarians' Internet Index)
WEB LINK SOURCES
The above web links were gathered from the following sources that have given their permission to use these resources.
“ClickSchooling”, Diane Flynn Keith. ClickSchooling-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
“Educational Cyberplayground/NetHappenings” http://www.edu-cyberpg.com
“Educator-Gold” David Dillard: Educator-Gold@yahoogroups.com
“EDTECH”, http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~edweb
“Education World Newsletter”, http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml.
“Librarians' Internet Index”, http://lii.org/pub/htdocs/subscribe.htm
“LM_NET” http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
“Neat New Stuff I Found This Week”, Marylaine Block. http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html
“Site of the day”. http://www.refdesk.com
“The Teacher List”, Peter MacKay. pete@resco.ca
“Thinkport”, http://www.thinkport.org/default.tp
“Webbits”, Linda Hof. linda_hof@sfu.ca
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