http://mathdl.maa.org/mathDL/4/?pa=content&sa=viewDocument&nodeId=1550

The introduction to this intriguing exercise and article begins "If a ball bounces an infinite number of times, it must take an infinite amount of time to finish bouncing!" This piece appeared in The Journal of Online Mathematics and Its Applications in May 2007, and it was authored by Robert Styer and Morgan Besson of Villanova University. This particular article and its accompanying teaching module "explore the time and distance of a bouncing ball and leads to a study of the geometric series." Along with the actual article, this site also includes a video clip and several interactive Flash mathlets. It's a fun way to get students thinking about geometric series, and mathematics educators will definitely want to tell colleagues about the site as well. [KMG]

http://www.see.leeds.ac.uk/structure/learnstructure/index.htm

To some, the terms folds, faults, and shear zones might suggest a type of elaborate and cutting-edge style of origami. Those in the know will think immediately of the field of structural geology, and this site is a fine resource for information within that area of geology. Rob Butler, Martin Casey, Geoff Lloyd, and Andrew McCaig, all of whom work in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Leeds, created these teaching resources. Visitors can start their journey through the site by clicking on the "Basic Principles" section, which contains a nice overview of the patterns of rock organization and how geologists understand the history of rock patterns. The other sections of the site provide basic overviews of shear zones, fault patterns, minor structures, and strain. The site is rounded out by a few virtual field trips, which will be quite helpful for those who can't make it to the Himalayas or the fabled Western Gneiss region of Norway. [KMG]

http://www.imls.gov/news/source.shtm

Most professionals working in a library or museum in the United States will be quite familiar with The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The Institute happens to be the primary source of federal support for both libraries and museums, and their primary mission is "to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas." Given the importance of their work, persons working in these areas will want to take note of their online newsletter, "Primary Source", which is available on this site. Created in 2005, the newsletter is published eleven times a year and it contains a message from the IMLS director, feature pieces, and "The Latest News", which includes information about IMLS grant and funding opportunities and other relevant items. [KMG]

http://arted20.ning.com/

Craig Roland created this site for fellow travelers and art educators in order to help colleagues find out how to use new technologies in their classrooms. First-time visitors will need to start out by signing up for a free account, and after that they are most welcome to participate in forums, groups, blogs, RSS feeds, and photo and video sharing. Some of the groups include "Art Partners", "Students of Art Education 2.0", and "First Year Art Teachers". The forums are quite useful, and recently they have included discussions on summer research opportunities, arts censuses, and the use of streaming video in the classroom. For art educators, this site is quite a find, and others who are interested in art and technology more generally will also find it useful. [KMG]

http://carlyleletters.dukejournals.org/

The nineteenth century satirist, historian, and general man of letters Thomas Carlyle is perhaps best known for his works on the French Revolution and his insightful study of heroes and hero-worship. He also happened to write many thousands of letters, along with his wife, Jane Welsh Carlyle. In 1999, Duke University Press began to think about creating an online database of these letters, and the project recently went online. Currently, the archive contains over 10,000 letters, and visitors can browse these documents by date, recipient, or subject. Additionally, visitors can also sign up to receive email updates when new letters are released to the site, and they can perform advanced searches through the archive if they so desire. [KMG]

http://www3.brookings.edu/metro/pubs/20070904_gleiecosystem.pdf

With good reason, there is a great deal of concern about the future of the Great Lakes. Collectively, these bodies of water account for 90 percent of the United States' and 20 percent of the world's surface fresh water. Beyond that crucial fact, the Great Lakes represent an enormous economic and cultural resource to the region. Recently the Brookings Institution's own John C. Austin, Soren Anderson, Paul N. Courant, and Robert E. Litan crafted this 16-page paper which addresses the benefits of restoring the Great Lakes ecosystem. The report begins by outlining the major elements of the restoration strategy, and it also details the costs of cleaning and preserving the ecosystem. It's a thoughtful and well-laid out report, and policymakers and others will want to take a look at their findings. [KMG]

http://humanrights.ucdavis.edu/projects/the-guantanamo-testimonials-project/index

A number of organizations are interested in exploring the effects of the United States' war on terror, and many of these groups have focused in on the situation at the detention facilities at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. One organization that is intimately involved with documenting the situation is the University of California- Davis Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas (CSHRA) The goal of The Guantanamo Testimonials Project is "to gather testimonials of prisoner abuse in Guantanamo." They have done a fine job, and visitors can examine a wide range of testimonials organized into categories that include prisoners, FBI agents, prosecution lawyers, the Red Cross, and interrogators. It's a very compelling project and website, and for anyone interested in human rights and various aspects of the law, it will certain warrant multiple visits. [KMG]

http://www.oecd.org/document/30/0,3343,en_2649_39263294_39251550_1_1_1_1,00.html

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published the "Education at a Glance" report since 2001, and it presents a wealth of information about the comparative state of education across its member countries. As the introduction to the report notes, "The indicators look at who participates in education, what is spent on it, and how education systems operate and at the results achieved." This site provides users access to the entire 451-page report from 2007, complete with numerous tables and charts. If this "glance" is a bit too much for casual visitors, there is also an executive summary available here. Visitors will also find "Briefing Notes" for each OECD country covered in the report, along with a host of PowerPoint presentations, podcasts, and report summaries twenty different languages. [KMG]