Research and Education
Most people know about EDUCAUSE and their work in promoting information technology across higher education, and the EDUCAUSE Live! series fits quite nicely into that mission. Each program in the series consists of an hour-long interactive web seminar, and visitors can interact directly with the host and guests. It is important to register early for each seminar, as they can be quite popular. On the site, visitors can sign up to learn about upcoming programs, and they can also read brief summaries of those events in the near future. In the "Archives" area, visitors can look watch previous programs, such as "Exploring Student Communication Services for the 21st Century" and "IT Governance: Establishing Who Decides". The archives date back to April 2003, and many of the presentations includes slides and other supplementary materials. [KMG]
http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/?pa=content&sa=viewDocument&nodeId=1581
Calculus may seem to be quite dismal to some, but it comes alive through the fine work of Gabriela R. Sanchis. Sanchis wrote this excellent piece on teaching calculus by drawing on the historical evolution of some of its key concepts. With support from the National Science Foundation, she also made sure to include several interactive Java applets which educators can use in the classroom. This piece is part of the Convergence math collection, offered by the Mathematical Association of America. These materials can be used in conjunction with other activities, and visitors may also use an embedded link to send the piece to a colleague. [KMG]
http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/evolution98/contents.html
The National Academy Press has crafted hundreds of resources for science educators, and this online book will be most helpful for those seeking to incorporate discussions of evolution into their classroom. The book contains seven complete chapters and five appendices. The chapter titles include "Why Teach Evolution?", "Evolution and the Nature of Science", and "Major Themes in Evolution". Chapter Six is definitely worth a look as it includes eight separate activities designed to be used in the classroom. They include investigations into natural selection, looking at explanations of fossil footprints, and examining connections between population growth and biological evolution. [KMG]
http://www.pier.org/index.shtml
Established in 1998, the Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research (PIER) is a non-profit organization "dedicated to education and research of the marine environment." From their headquarters in Oceanside, California, their team of scientists continues to work on a variety of studies on thresher sharks, roosterfish, and the giant sea bass. One rather nice highlight of the site is the "Field Notes" area. Here visitors can learn about some of their ongoing research projects, which have included work on the swimming muscle physiology of the common thresher shark and the fine-scale movements of roosterfish. Visitors can also click on the "Publications" section to read the results of some of their scientific endeavors over the years. [KMG]
http://littleshop.physics.colostate.edu/onlineexperiments.htm
Not to be confused with a certain Roger Corman movie that has a rather similar title, this site presents a wide range of very nice physics experiments, all of which can be done online. Dedicated staff members of the physics department at Colorado State University created the Little Shop of Physics site. The site includes the "Amazing Physics" area, which features experiments that will require common household items. There are a number of rather fun experiments offered up, and they include the "Two Ball Bounce", "Straw Flute", and "Vanishing Rods". Moving right along, "Computer Stuff" offers users a clutch of engaging and potentially mind-blowing experiments that require only a computer and just a touch of interest in physics. Teachers can convert physics neophytes with this site, and students who might be suspect of physics may become passionate converts after just a few visits. [KMG]
http://web.library.uiuc.edu/asp/agx/acdc/index.html
Based at the Isaac Funk Family Library at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC) is a fine way to learn about the latest developments throughout the world of agricultural journalism. The ACDC was established by agricultural communications faculty members at UIUC and visitors can read their newsletter and also browse through their archive, which contains over 30,000 items. New visitors may wish to read the most recent edition of their newsletter, and then proceed to the more detailed search engine which is located within the "Search for a Document" section. No piece of agricultural journalism is overlooked here, as topics covered here range from the world of agricultural knowledge frameworks to analyses of pork, beef and poultry advertising. Finally, visitors can also sign up to receive their RSS feeds as well. [KMG]
http://math.whatcom.ctc.edu/content/Links.phtml?cat=3
Located in lovely Bellingham, Washington, Whatcom Community College serves a diverse population from all across the state and beyond. Their math center has developed this rather nice collection of math links that include helpful test-taking hints, online exercises, and resources for teachers looking to find new ways of exploring everything from geometry to measurement. While the site doesn't have a search engine, visitors can browse through the links at their leisure. Some of the topics covered within this site include fractals, developmental math skills, pre-algebra, and applied math. After looking over these sites, visitors can also go to the "Teaching Math" section, which is designed specifically for teachers. [KMG]
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/books/landscapes/index.html
Whether real or virtual, Texas has a great deal of landscape. The people at the library at the University of Texas at Austin know this quite well, and they have put together this delightful online archive of public domain documents that deal with various landscapes throughout the state. As the introductory essay on the site notes, "This suite of public domain documents was selected as a foundation to preserve and to widen access to early writings on the geology of Texas." Visitors can use the online search engine to look for specific materials, or they can peruse them via an alphabetical listing. All told, there are well over sixty full-text documents here, including geological study reports from the late 19th century, drought surveys, and extended treatises on the effectiveness of various road-building materials. [KMG]
