Get the lowdown on all Boston-based WGBH radio and television, including program information, calendar listings, highlights of upcoming events, and a huge video selection. More importantly, WGBH's Learn section reminds us that public broadcasting is supposed to be about education; inside, you'll find WGBH's learning resources, including materials and information for education providers, families, and lifelong learners, as well as information about the Massachusetts-based WGBH Teacher Center. WGBH invented closed captioning for the hearing impaired, and it's working on other access-related media projects, such as Web site captioning/audio and descriptive videos. This site is a good example of the educational potential and impact of public broadcasting. - Emily Soares
Trees of Mystery? The Oregon Vortex? OK, maybe they didn't make the Great American Landmark list, but don't be discouraged. Using the illustrations of Roxie Monroe (which you can print out and color in!), this site takes you on a tour of U.S. landmarks and offers a brief history of each. For the young--or those with too much time on their hands--there's also a gallery where you can submit your own colored-in American landmark illustrations. Luckily, the site features some lesser-known landmarks in sections that change every few weeks. Check out the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, the Baltimore Shot Tower, Ellicot City Station in Maryland, and many more. - Emily Soares
Founded by Dr. Robert Ballard, who discovered the remains of the RMS Titanic, the Jason Project allows teachers and students from all over the world to take part in global explorations using advanced interactive telecommunications. Check out the upcoming and past expeditions on Florida Keys' sea life, volcanic activity on Hawaii, the rain forest of Belize, and more. The Student Explor-a-zone allows online discussion of the current Jason Project--or anything else that comes to mind. The Teachers Guide outlines all the Jason-related projects that teachers can tap into, as well as a host of other online resources. Get updates and explanations of advanced technology used by the projects, or connect with involved students and teachers in the Global Network. This is an eye-catching intro to an innovative educational program. - Emily Soares
The creators of Mission: Critical state that their goal is to familiarize "users with the basic concepts of critical thinking in a self-paced, interactive environment." You'll need more than critical thinking to navigate this site. While the gobs of information about arguing and persuasion skills may tickle your knowledge bone, the impossibly clunky interface and design will quickly curb any desire to stay around long enough to learn something useful. The Real World Applications links have yet to be developed, so finding a way to use this site outside of academia will tax your critical thinking skills. - Katherine Clary Alward
Neither the content nor design at MusicNet are astounding, but its creators are a wonder. Three high school students created the site to enter a Web site development contest. They won first place honor for their efforts--and they deserved it. The site, devoted to music education, boasts an impressive range of information. Main features include interactive trivia contests, an encyclopedia of music terms, and interviews with music educators. Most impressive, though, is the fact that the MusicNet team produced a well-written site that actually works. How often can you say that about most of what's on the Web? - Katherine Clary Alward
Why, why, why? If you're hearing this all day, I'll bet there's a child in your life who wants to know why the sky is blue, why birds fly, why cats land on their feet.... And if you've got more questions than answers, you should check out How Things Work. Louis A. Bloomfield, a physics professor at the University of Virginia who wrote a book of the same title, decided to bring his oracle of science to the Web. There are already hundreds of questions and answers on this default-gray site, but if you can't find what you're looking for, send a question to the professor. I dare you to try and stump him--from explaining microwave ovens to proving that the Earth is round, this man has an answer for everything. - Katherine Clary Alward
Designed for university faculty interested in developing and publishing interactive, computer-based instructional materials and courseware, the New Media Center also provides multimedia consulting services and support. If you're in the Eugene area, you can attend the center's workshops and presentations. Off-campus visitors will benefit from links to a host of university-wide Web pages, an interdepartmental list of resources and faculty, and resources for Web publishing. The ARTT (Academic Resources for Teaching with Technology) page is a useful stop for teachers of all subjects interested in introducing technology tools into their lesson plans. Strangely, the design of the New Media home page is painfully bare--hardly the best promotion for the center's work. - Emily Soares
Although there is one page of links to help kids find information online, most of this site is geared toward adults. The site focuses on two important issues: (1) how adults can help kids enjoy reading and (2) library advocacy and the importance of libraries in the educational process. Tips for Parents showcases a variety of statistics and articles, including the excellent piece on How to Raise a Reader. The section for educators and librarians includes loads of resources designed to increase financial and popular support for libraries. You'll also find ready-to-use sample speeches, op-ed pieces, quotes, and a whole lot more. - Dorrit Tulane Walsh
This site could be a boon to any young academics out there looking for ideas on how to demonstrate, say, cantilevered equilibrium to their Structures class. Architectonics, as referred to here, is "the science of architecture," meaning it has more to do with structural engineering than it does the aesthetics of architectural design. As the material at the site (produced by a professor from the University of Oregon) is designed primarily as a teaching tool, it may seem impossibly esoteric to anyone outside the discipline--I know it had me a little flummoxed. - Patrick Joseph
Site of the month!!
Let's face it: The trick with this site-review job is to get in and get out, quick. That's not to say I don't pay attention to detail or do my level best in evaluating pages, only that I can't afford to linger. Well, the Science Learning Network (SLN) put a wrench in that routine. Fact is, I got hopelessly distracted at this site and spent an entire afternoon nosing around in it. The SLN is a three-year, $6.5 million project funded by the National Science Foundation and Unisys Corporation. Its goal is to incorporate "inquiry-based teaching approaches; telecomputing; and collaboration among geographically dispersed teachers and classrooms, and Internet/World Wide Web content resources." The network currently consists of six museums and "testbed" schools, all wired with T-1 connections, that form an online community of educators and students to foster the exchange of ideas and information. The Web site grew naturally out of this arrangement, with each museum and school contributing to the project. Upon entering the site, you'll face a deceptively small number of choices: news and links, Q & A sections, resources--the usual table of contents fare. Venture further, however, and you'll find a smorgasbord of information. The main attraction of the site are the online exhibits designed by the participating museums. Here you're guaranteed to find yourself engaged in some odd activity or other: dissecting a cow eyeball; examining images from an electron microscope; or creating your own fountain (as an object lesson in hydraulics). And unlike online exhibits that are designed mainly to lure visitors to the physical museum, the exhibitions at the SLN have been designed specifically for the Internet. To that end, most of the exhibits are interactive, allowing students and other visitors to get hands-on (virtually speaking) experience with the science behind the show. There are also discussions of the science behind the headlines (for example, cloning) as well as Educational Hotlists of resources available on the Web. In the end, the SLN is a top-drawer resource for educators, students, and science buffs alike. Just don't plan on passing through quickly. - Mike Hase
For K-12 educators , this is an implementation of the Internet as a teaching tool which can integrate materials from many sources and connect classrooms from around the world. Thus German and American students, for example, can be studying the same lessons and sharing their discoveries. I sat in on a Greek mythology class, and in the telling of the story of Artemis, it linked to a slew of related Internet sites for supplementary content. Other classes in session or planned include virtual tours of Antarctica, a discussion of the North American Quilt, the Mississippi River, and a study of Urban Architecture. - Steve LeVine