March 2005

Art

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Bellini: Feast of the Gods  http://webexhibits.org/feast/ Around 1512 the Duke of Ferrara commissioned Giovanni Bellini to paint this masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, which now hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington.  Subsequently Dosso Dossi decorated a Gallery for the Duke and 1522 painted over half of Bellini's canvas.  Seven years later Titian repainted the Feast of the Gods again.  What do the earlier versions look like?  How much of the artists work do we see today?  Welcome for investigative web site which looks at uncovering the mysteries surrounding this wonderful piece of work . . . .  in three parts. Ideal for year levels 11-12 RRRRR

Seeking Illumination: Monastic Manuscripts 800-1200  http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/seeking/ From about 800 to 1200 monasteries functioned as the primary guardians of art and scholarship throughout Europe.  Although these religious institutions were physically secluded, their scribes and illuminators created luxurious manuscripts for both the church and the most powerful political leaders of the day.  This site provides excellent background information for any art student focusing on this particular artistic genre. Ideal for year levels 11-12 RRRR

Pigments in Paintings  http://webexhibits.org/pigments/ Paints are something you pick up at the local store; well at least you do now, but in the past an artist had to create their own paints and pigments. This web site investigates how paints and pigments have evolved over the centuries and how artists managed to make sure that their paints did not fade over time. Ideal for year levels 8-12 RRRR

Colour with Uncle Fred  http://www.unclefred.com/   The focus of this web site is to assist students in drawing their first cartoons.  The good thing about drawing cartoons is that it provides a technique for getting proportion and notions of movement embedded in the students art.  Uncle Fred will take students through a step-by-step process through this web site. Ideal for year levels 3-8 RRR

Living with Washi (paper)  http://www.kippo.or.jp/culture_e/washi/ Invented in ancient China, paper made its way to Japan where it became Washi (Japanese paper), adapted by unique materials and new manufacturing methods.  The web site traces the discovery of pare and the development of Washi and the continual improvement in the quality and range of paper products that are available today.  An excellent introduction and background information on paper. Ideal for year levels 8-12 RRR

The Art of Calligraphy in Modern China  http://www.fathom.com/course/21701734/ Calligraphy is a defining feature of China's culture.  It is both a means of communication and a revered form of art, and the dividing line is often vague.  In this online seminar students will be presented an integrated portrait of modern China presenting events within the context of the artists responses and providing a short exegesis of the most intriguing pieces of work.  Ideal for year levels 11-12 RRRR

Rembrandt: Pictorial History  http://cgfa.sunsite.cdk/rembrand/ Rembrandt was a prolific artist and this web site features a collection of thumbnails which can be enlarged to show good quality images of Rembrandt's work.  The site also has a concise biography of the artist. Ideal for year levels 9-12 RRR

Painting the Weather  http://www.bbc.co.uk/paintingtheweather/ This exhibition contains over 100 paintings from 15 different British galleries and in each case the focus of the painting is on the weather.  Students can examine each individual painting and see how the artist has managed to communicate not just the physical weather elements but also the feelings associated with each of the different weather scenarios. Ideal for year levels 4-12 RRRRR

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English Language

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Squigly’s Writing Corner   http://www.squiglysplayhouse.com/WritingCorner/StoryBuilder/index.html Students can enjoy creating their own stories using the unique story builder concept presented at this web site.  Squiggly and his friends have written some stories that students can personalise with your own words.  These are excellent exercises for students building basic language knowledge.  Ideal for year levels 0-4 RRRRR

Mr William Shakespeare  http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/default.htm This site provides a complete annotated guide to the scholarly Shakespeare resources on the Internet a as well as providing a wide range of resources which are "native" to this particular web site.  You can find here an excellent Shakespeare timeline, genealogy and Shakespeare biography quiz as well as many other resources that makes studying the Bard even more fascinating.  Ideal for year levels 7-12 RRRRR

Language Mechanics  http://www.geocities.com/fifth_grade_tpes/lang.html Just as mechanics keep their cars running smoothly this language mechanics site keeps your sentences running smoothly.  The site introduces common areas in language mechanics and then sets about providing a range of resources and exercises to encourage students to avoid pouring engine oil into the fuel tank.  An excellent online resource for teachers and students.  Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRR

Structure of a Sentence  http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/sntstrct.html The structure of a sentence provides the reader with either an efficient and clear understanding of the authors intent or it provides a confused message which is unclear.  The power to provide the former lies an understanding the difference between a simple and compound sentence and this web site provides an excellent collection of background information on how to identify and compose both of these sentences types.  Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRR

Children's Storybooks Online  http://www.magickeys.com/books/index.html You can find here a collection of 34 fantastic, animated online books for children of all ages.  If you are looking to provide students with relevant and engaging reading material in an online environment then you will find this repository of works a tremendous resource.  In order to encourage students to read in the classroom it is suggested that the child pre-reads an online book from this web site and then using the multimedia projector, they read the book to the entire class.  Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRRR

The Pied Piper of Hamelin  http://www.indiana.edu/~librcsd/etext/piper/ This classic book by Robert Browning is illustrated beautifully by Kate Greenaway and presented online as a wonderful book for students to read or for the teacher to read to students using the multimedia projector to project the images.

Poetry: The Online Edition  http://poetrymagazine.org This online poetry magazine was founded in 1912 (not the online version!) and provides an excellent set of archived poetry resources for teachers and students.  There articles dealing with both contemporary and historical poetry with poets featured from around the world.  Ideal for year levels 11-12 RRR

Storyline Online  http://www.bookpals.net/storyline/welcome.html The Screen Actors Guild presents this online storytelling feature which presents an online streaming video program featuring a range the Screen Actors Guild members reading children's books aloud. Each story comes of great graphics and visual elements that reinforce the story, beautifully in some cases. Ideal for year levels 0-5 RRRR

Teaching English: Using Reflective Practices  http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/methodology/reflection.shtml Reflective teaching means looking at what you do in the classroom, thinking about why you do it, and thinking about if it works: a process of self observation and self-evaluation.  This web site encourages teachers to introduce reflective practices in their teaching career in order to maximise and constantly improve their teaching performance. Ideal for teachers RRRRR

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General & Professional Development

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Automatic Bibliography Composer  http://www.easybib.com/ This is an excellent online bibliography composer which, in its simplest form is free.  With so much online content available now it is critically important that students are able to compose a bibliography that reflects the research that they have carried out and allows the teacher a process whereby they can track comments and articles that are quoted.  Ideal for all year levels RRRR

The Quiz Hub  http://quizhub.com/ As well as being a subscription site there is a wide range of quizzes available at no cost covering everything from spelling to geography, mathematics, science, social science and English. For high school quizzes go to http://www.highschoolhub.org  Ideal for teachers  RRR

Google alerts http://www.google.com/alerts Google alerts are e-mail updates of the latest relevant Google results based on your individual choice or query or topic.  You can use these alerts to monitor and developing new story, keeps you current on events around the world, get the latest information on science and technology developments and even keep track of your favourite sports team. Ideal for all year levels RRR

Reach the World  http://reachtheworld.org/ Reach the World is a non-profit educational media developer and a provider of school-based training instructional technologies.  The web site here links schools to real-world expeditions which they can join in and become a part of.  Whether it is explorations of remote areas, science and technology events, Flat Stanleys exploits . . . .  An excellent resource introducing students of the power of the Internet. Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRRR

The Idealist http://www.idealist.org/ Somehow this term has attracted some negative connotations over the past few years whereas in truth much of the world relies on volunteers for day-to-day support. These people are often idealist's who wish to use their skills for little or no monetary gain in order to support the development of Third World countries by increasing the their skill sets in order to make their way independently and interdependently in the world.  This web site provides a wide range of organisations that you can contact in order to use your skills as a teacher or a trainer in a wide variety of exotic and challenging locations throughout the world. Ideal for year levels 10-12 RRRRR

Resources for School Librarians  http://www.sldirectory.com/libsf/reslibs.html In this simple but very effective web site of resources for librarians, there are six resource areas: learning and teaching, information access, program administration, technology, education and employment and continuing education.  Within each of these segments are a range of resources which teachers and librarians can make use of in order to develop a better understanding of each of these particular areas.  Ideal for teachers  RRRR

Kids Tools for Searching the Internet  http://www.rcls.org/ksearch.htm This web site contains a compendium of research and search tools that students can access simply and easily.  The easy to navigate layout and simplicity and make is the perfect place to start the research process.  Ideal for all levels RRRR

The Free Course Database  http://www.thefreecourse.com/ Students and teachers will find here a free courses dealing with themes such as business, competing, languages, sports and sciences.  These free courses are  . . . .free! Ideal for year levels 9-12 RRRRR

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Health & Wellbeing

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The Fitness Centre  http://www.justmove.org/ At the fitness centre you can keep track of your progress online with this excellent fitness tool. There is a collection of links to helpful resources as well as the capability to profile the type of fitness regime you require in order to manage your lifestyle.  Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRR

Go for Your Life  http://goforyourlife.vic.gov.au This excellent presentation by the Victorian government of Australia provides a range of resources on physical exercise and healthy eating accompanied by a promotion for stronger communities. At the same time the site addresses the rising prevalence of obesity and diabetes.  The site is designed to meet the specific needs of different categories of users and provides excellent suggestions, guidelines and alternatives which promote a more active and satisfying life. Ideal for all levels RRRRR

It's Up to You!   http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools/4_11/uptoyou/ Rosie will assist you in doing a project on healthy eating and as part of this you need to help her understand how her body uses food and how you need to eat the right types of foods so they your body can carry out all the different jobs that it needs to do.  An excellent collection of activities based around the good nutrition and balanced eating.  Ideal for year levels 4-6 RRRRR

Tiki the Penguin  http://uk.oneworld.net/penguin/food/home.html Tiki the Penguin will assist you to work out what sorts of foods you need to eat and what sorts of food groups you need to avoid (most of the time).  This is an excellent collection of activities to work through in order to understand how your body uses food and how different types of food contain different types of chemicals minerals and vitamins to carry out all the various jobs your body needs to do and leave you with plenty of energy to power through your day!  Ideal for year levels 2-6 RRRRR

Why Milk?  http://www.whymilk.com Milk is an excellent food containing many of the vitamins and minerals that allow good bone growth and encourage young bodies to develop with plenty of energy and vitality.  This web site uses high-profile basketball players and other celebrities to bring the message of drinking milk rather than lemonade, as a healthy choice that has lots of advantages.  The web site is well produced with plenty of activities and messages to encourage overall healthy eating as well as focusing on the role of milk in keeping healthy.  Ideal for year levels 0-6 RRRRR

Eaten Alive: The Journey of a Biomolecule  http://library.thinkquest.org/12090/main.html In this student created web site you can come and learn about the anatomy of Fred, a humanlike monster, through the eyes of a biomolecule.  You, as the biomolecule, will get to experience a unique journey through the monster's digestive tract first being swallowed and then being absorbed into his small intestine. A clever idea in order to communicate the role of the different parts of the body in processing food.  Ideal for year levels 5-10 RRRRR

Smart Risk  http://www.smartrisk.ca/YouthDefault.aspx?dd=5 Life is all about taking risks and young people tend to take their fair share.  Is not that we should not take risks but it is important that we manage the risks that we take and that we are aware of the possible risks associated with any particular behaviour.  This excellent Canadian initiative looks at encouraging young people to manage the risks that they take. Ideal for year levels 7-12 RRRRR

Poison Prevention  http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/poisonsafe/ This excellent introductory site shows students how to recognise some of the chemicals around the home, school and the students community that need to be avoided.  The site provides teachers with an excellent set of activities for their students to work through in order to increase their understanding.  Ideal for year levels 0-4 RRRRR

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Information & Communication Technology

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Soople: Expert Searching  http://soople.com Google has become the number-one search engine around the world over the last few years.  However there are so many different services offered by Google that are never use to their full potential.  Soople is the solution to this problem.  On one page you are able to use the standard Google search engine, as well as a range of other tools such as translations, searching different languages, searching images, searching news, scholar search, search by topic, searching multiple sites at once . . . . . . Ideal for all year levels RRRRR

The National Education Technology Plan 2004 (United States) http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/index.html “Towards a New Golden Age in American Education” reports on the current status of educational technology, examines how technology and the "no child left behind" law can help improve academic achievement, and makes seven recommendations for further improvement.  This is of a significant document and has great intent, strong vision but unfortunately probably has little chance of success.  In order to make the transition of this magnitude the general culture of education has to be "in the mood for it" and a lot of work needs to be done in order to prepare the political organisations that direct education in United States prior to this paper taking root.  It is an excellent document, succinct and to the point. Ideal for teachers RRRR

Tools for Schools  http://www.nsdc.org/members/tools/tools8-04.pdf Transitioning schools by way of professional development has always been an enormous task.  Information and communication technologies are pivotal elements in almost all the transitions that are presently being targeted as essential within school infrastructures.  In a time when education is making significant fundamental transitions, the capability of administrators to manage change successfully is critical to the overall success of the school.  This paper addresses the various tools and processes day body in professional development and investigate the capability for assisting whole school change.  An excellent paper. Ideal for teachers RRRR

A Guide to Online High School Courses http://www.nea.org/technology/onlinecourseguide.html Increasingly, more and more students are taking online courses to supplement their study.  This is sometimes due to the remote nature of the students location or the inability of a school to justify a particular course for a few students, or a lack of teachers to teach that particular course.  What are the key success criteria for identifying a successful online course?  This paper presents these success criteria and provides additional background information on online courses for high school students.  Ideal for teachersRRRR

New Insights on Technology Adoption in Schools  http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/articleprintversion.cfm?aid=2640 The adoption of information and communication technologies in school environments is fraught with conflicting advice, supposition and myth.  This paper addresses the research background into how teachers can use technology to enrich teaching and learning. Ideal for teachers RRR

Data Management & Interoperability http://www.eschoolnews.com/resources/reports/datamgmtandnclb/index.cfm One the key questions now within schools is how do we ensure that information systems that have evolved over the past ten years can all share information with each other.  Interoperability and data management and now mission critical issues that schools need to address.  This paper provides a background information, which covers issues such as likely systems, effective technology integration, standards driven technology systems . . . . . Ideal for teachers  RRRRR

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Foreign Languages (LOTE)

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French Theme Page http://www.enchantedlearning.com/themes/french.shtml Teachers and students of French will find an excellent collection of introductory French resources available from this location.  There is an English-French as well as a French-English picture dictionary, principal activity books, quizzes and background information. Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRR

Learning Greek as a Foreign Language  http://www.xanthi.ilsp.gr/filog/ If you are learning Greek as a foreign-language then the resource available here will be invaluable.  You will find a complete course in learning Greek language available from this site including excellent background information and instruction as well as sample work and a complete set of exercises.  Ten chapters of extensive language work and all available at no charge. Ideal for year levels 7-12 RRRRR

The French Tutorial  http://www.frenchtutorial.com The French Tutorial is a web based set of step by step lessons covering basics, pronunciation, but also grammar, vocabulary and everyday French.  It offers audio support (200 audio files) for better oral comprehension, a table of contents and an index for faster searching. The web site can be downloaded onto your hard drive and with almost 60,000 users are obviously voting with their feet (well maybe their mouse). Ideal for year levels 5-10 RRRRR

Learn Spanish  http://www.lingolex.com/spanish.htm Available from this web site is an excellent collection of resources for those students studying Spanish.  The resources vary from "word of the month”, hangman games, Spanish proverbs, the weather in Spanish,, and phrases, Spanish tutorials . . . . .  An excellent resource for both teachers and students.  Ideal for year levels 6-12 RRRRR

John McCafferty's French Study Pages  http://gcsefrench.users.btopenworld.com These pages were originally aimed at students taking a GCSE French course in the United Kingdom but the material is useful for anyone learning French at a basic level.  Themes work done here include French and everyday life, the verb in French and interviews in French.  Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRR

Learn Cantonese http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/ This site contains over 200 pages of print friendly Chinese reference sheets, tests and revision aids.  The aim of the web site is to encourage the user to speak, read and write Hong Kong Chinese (Cantonese).  An excellent collection of useful resources for both teachers and students. Ideal for year levels 6-11 RRR

Chinese Character Pronunciations http://www.ocrat.com/ocrat/reaf/ This useful tool allows you to input any Chinese characters and obtain the transliterated pronunciation of each character.  This program can be downloaded and installed on your computer and is available in both Mandarin and Cantonese. Ideal for year levels 7-12 RRRR

Conversational Mandarin Chinese Online  http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/ccol/content.htm The resources available here support conversational Mandarin and come in the form of PDF hardcopy documentation as well as MP3 audio support the each of the 15 units that are available from this location. Ideal for year levels 8-10 RRR

Free Online Dictionaries  http://www.freedict.com At this location you can find free online dictionaries which will translate Afrikaners, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Hungarian, Indonesian, and Italian, Japanese, Latin, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish into English.  Ideal for year levels 8-12 RRR

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Mathematics

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Functions Grapher in Flash  http://www.math.uri.edu/~bkaskosz/flashmo/fungraph/ This excellent Flash animation provides teachers and students with a way of graphing two different functions on the same graphical interface.  This resource allows students to experiment with different variables and see the effects as an interactive graph.  Ideal for year levels 11-12 RRRRR

Mathematics as the Science of Patterns  http://convergence.mathdl.org/convergence/1/?pa=content&sa=viewDocument&nodeId=437 The author of this excellent article brings together two figures from the history of mathematics, one from the ancient world and one from the modern world.  In a sense this paper is more about what it means to be a mathematician as opposed to the pure history of mathematics.  The emphasis here is on using these two mathematicians to show the mathematics is all about investigation of patterns and how those patterns can be described and predicted using the language of mathematics. Ideal for year levels 9-12 RRRRR

Mathematics Lesson Plans  http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary/features/mathematics/lesson_plans/ Teachers will find here a range of mathematics lesson plans designed to meet the needs of students in the first six years of schooling.  This web site provides teachers with an index and links to the publications across this excellent UK web site. Ideal for teachers  RRRR

Teaching Leonardo: An Integrated Approach  http://convergence.mathdl.org/convergence/1/?pa=content&sa=viewDocument&nodeId=477 The history of mathematics readily lends itself to interdisciplinary teaching. Rick Faloon, a mathematics instructor at the Ross School, East Hampton, NY, joined with colleagues of other disciplines to develop a student project dealing with aspects of  the Renaissance. Topics dealt with in this excellent interdisciplinary unit of work include patterning, tessellations, geometry, perspective . . . Ideal for year levels 8-10 RRRRR

MathSphere  http://www.mathsphere.co.uk/Resources/Resource_Worksheets.shtml While you can purchase the CD containing all the activities from but this web site provides anything between four and 24 pages of activities dealing with a wide range of fundamental mathematics activities.  Themes include numbers in the number system, calculation, investigations, data handling, problem solving and measurement.  An excellent collection of free online resources. Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRRR

Count On  http://www.counton.org/ Students and teachers will find a wide range of excellent online multimedia activities for students covering a wide range of mathematical concepts and ideas.  The problem bank hosts a wide range of problems which can be provided to students at an appropriate time and level.  This excellent, thoroughly engaging digital material is invaluable for the mathematics classroom. Ideal for year levels 4-7 RRRR

Mathematics Problems, Games & Articles  http://www.nrich.maths.org/public/index.php These mathematics enrichment activities cover a wide range of contexts and themes and provide students with an interactive multimedia environment where they can practice basic mathematical principles as well as interact and learn the relationship between mathematical concepts as they are presented. Ideal for year levels 3-9 RRRRR

Mathematical Applets  http://www.fi.uu.nl/wiseweb/welcome_en.html Mathematical applets are small computer programs which run automatically over the Internet providing a visual sequence of events which students can engage with an experience what happens as different variables are changed.  The collection here provides some excellent visual presentations of mathematical concepts. Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRRR

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Music & Performance Arts

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The Dramatic Exchange  http://www.dramex.org/ The dramatic exchange is a script exchange site on the web.  It is a place where playwrights can post otherwise unpublished scrips, and where readers and producers can look for plays.  It has been online for over seven years and has 400 plays registered for use.  This may be useful place for students and teachers to come and look for possible material for school productions.  Ideal for teachers RR

The Improv Village  http://members.aol.com/TrencyJ/improv.html Here you will find a wealth of improvisation games, a scene in which you and other characters do not get to talk about it at all to decide what is going to happen!  In pure improv all your dialogue and plot turns have to be created in a heartbeat, right in front of the audience for whoever might be watching.  The skills developed by doing improv are critical skills in developing confidence, good oral capability, spontaneity and simply being good fun people who can be the life of the party at the drop of a hat. Essential skills for all 21st-century human beings. Ideal for all year levels RRRRR

Scenes for High School Drama Students  http://www.geocities.com/thespian_didi/backup/indexreal.html If you have been searching the web looking for a monologue or a scene you can perform in your drama class then you will find an excellent collection here.  The scrips range from very good to excellent and range from recently straightforward to quite difficult.  An excellent resource. Ideal for year levels 8-12 RRR

Drama Workshop: Ideas for Teaching Drama  http://www.dramateachers.co.uk This site contains a collection of ideas that have been used in teaching drama which encourage the development has spoken language skills across a wide variety of ages and ability ranges.  There are a range of dramatic themes including animals, Christmas, communication, humour, machines, space, the sea  . . . As well as ideas for school assemblies and suggestions for teaching drama in the classroom.  Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRRR

Blank Sheet Music Term Plates  http://guitar.about.com/library/weekly/aa041900a.htm?once=true& Anyone who is ever bought staff paper for writing music knows that it can be quite expensive.  The links provided at this site will allow anyone with a printer and some paper to create their own blank sheet music.  There is a range of different formats available here including 10 and 12 stave formats, some that have plenty of room to play around with extensive chords and lyrics and others that are more concise. Ideal for all levels  RRRR

Genres in Music  http://dir.yahoo.com/entertainment/music/genres/ The Yahoo search facility provides a music category entitled music genre.  Within this search facility teachers and students can find web sites dealing with a wide range of musical genre including everything from jazz to march, new age, Caribbean, classical, country, electronic, Middle East and . . . . . Ideal for year levels 4-12 RRRRR

Symphony Orchestra Instruments  http://www.mathcs.duq.edu/~iben/home.htm Students will find here a brief overview of the origin of the Symphony Orchestra along with descriptions of the instruments found in the Symphony Orchestra including sound examples.  The site also provides the classroom musical terms and other unfamiliar words that students may come across when studying music.  Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRR

The Land of Music  http://www.landofmusic.com/ In the Land of Music, musical notes and other symbols and instruments come alive, introducing themselves and explaining how they work in and what they can do.  A wonderful introduction to the study of music. Ideal for year levels 0-6 RRRRR

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Science

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Virtual Skies   http://virtualskies.arc.nasa.gov/ Although this unit of work is science based it is an integrated unit looking at geography, mathematics as well as science.  There are seven content sections that students can work through that will require decision-making and collaborative skills while allowing science and maths concepts to be applied.  As well as applications for flight the  science of sound and meteorology are also investigated.  Each section includes online activities complemented by downloadable print materials.  And if that is not good enough, you can also download the entire web site rather than having to be online.  Ideal for year levels 10-12 RRRRR

Seismic Monitor  http://www.iris.edu/seismon/ This excellent online visual map of the latest earthquakes from around the world provides a wonderfully graphic view of the activity of the earths plate boundaries.  Different colours and sizes of circles are used to refect the locations and magnitude of the earthquakes and the concentration of earthquakes in some regions renders some countries almost invisible!  Ideal for all year levels RRRRR

The Tree of Life  http://tolweb.org/tree/phylogeny.html The Tree of Life is a collaborative effort of biologists from around the world.  The project provides information about the diversity of organisms on earth, their evolutionary history and their characteristics.  This encyclopaedic web site contains information on the interconnectedness of all organisms that live on earth.  Ideal for year levels 10-12 RRRR

Future Flight Design  http://futureflight.arc.nasa.gov/ Future Flight Design is a web based interactive, problem based learning environment where students learn about flight and design air transportation and aircraft systems for the future.  Biographies highlight careers in aeronautics and aerospace engineering.  There is a complete educators kit accompanying this unit of work including exercises for students and background resources for teachers.  You can also download the entire web site rather than having to work online. Ideal for year levels 5-8 RRRRR

Frog Calls  http://www.midwestfrogs.com The global decline in the number of frogs is seen as a barometer of the health of our planet in this present time.  This web site provides an excellent archive of the croaking sounds of many of the American midwest frogs species.  The site also provides background information on what students and schools can do about the declining amphibian populations in their regions. Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRR

The Medieval Science Page  http://members.aol.com/mcnelis/medsci_index.html The intent of this web site is to provide a convenient and comprehensive set of links to the Internet resources which deal with aspects of medieval science, both in western and other cultures.  The site deals with both traditional sciences and also the historical sciences of alchemy, cosmology, horology, cartography and calendars which were very much emerging sciences in years gone by.  An excellent resource page for teachers and students looking at the history and the development of scientific concepts through the ages. Ideal for year levels 8-11 RRR

Robin Whirlybird: On Her Rotorcraft Adventures  http://rotored.arc.nasa.gov/ The web site is actually an online interactive book about one girl's visit with her mother to the Rotorcraft (helicopters and the like) Research Centre where her mother works. While watching her mother work Robin learns about the kind of work being done at NASA and how they are applying flight principles to the design of revolutionary rotary based flying machines.  Ideal for year levels 0-4 RRRRR

The Rosetta Probe http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=13 The Rosetta probe is expected to rendezvous with comet 47 P/Churyumov-Gwerasimenko after receiving 3 gravitational assists from the earth. The journey will take 10 years.  The probe will then take samples from the tail of the comet, and investigate the surface morphology of the comet and determine the chemical, mineralogical make-up of both the comet itself and the volatiles that are exhausted from the comet. This site will follow the progress of the probe and its investigation of the comet. Ideal for year levels 10-12 RRRR

Taking Action on Climate Change (Canada)  http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/endlish/default.asp At this Canadian government website on climate change students can learn about the science of climate change and its impact a variety of species and how individuals, governments, business, industry and communities can take action to halt this by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  There is a wide range are resources here dealing with the science of climate change as well as resources designed specifically for teachers and students. Ideal for year levels 4-12 RRRRR

Alternative Energies Resources  http://www.savetheplanet.co.nz Alternative energies is touted here as being the next Industrial Revolution and so it may come to be.  There is a collection of excellent case studies here dealing with companies, organisations and individuals who have made a difference and how they managed to do this.  There are also thousands of links here to alternative energy resources of almost every description imaginable.  The site also presents an excellent introductory walk-through of the various alternative energies and how they work and why we should consider them.  Finally there is a forum where students and classes can contribute to the discussion and knowledge of alternative energy resources.  Ideal for year levels 3-12 RRRRR

A Natural History of Domesticated Mammals  http://www.fathom.com/course/21701781/index.html Animals have always played their part in human society.  At various times and places in history, some wild animals formed particularly close relationships with human populations resulting in a range of biological and behavioural changes to the process known as domestication.  This online introductory course deals with the process of domestication and the physical behaviour effects of domestication and also tackles the very debatable (?) issue of whether domestic animals are conscious beings. Ideal for year levels 5-8 RRRR

The Science Explorer  http://www.exploratorium.edu/sciece_explorer/index.html Teachers will find here an excellent collection of science experiments which demonstrate scientific principles without the need for extensive resources.  You can recycle a potato chip can into a simple camera, make a sunblock, play with bubbles, make music and enjoy to watch things fly. Ideal for year levels 3-7 RRRR

Fetal Development  http://www.babycenter.com/fetaldevelopment/ The fetal development diagrams show how the baby is changing as it grows.  You can click on the thumbnail illustrations for a more detailed view.  For additional information you can click on the fetal development image for a particular week of the pregnancy and you will go to the fetal size chart to see how big the average baby is from week to week.  This is a wonderful online resource when studying reproduction and the beauty and mystery of how new life develops. Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRRR

Microbe World  http://www.microbeworld.org/ What actually are microbes and want to microbiologists do?  This web site investigates microbiology and looks a contemporary issues and topics.  There is an excellent collection are resources here for teachers as well as for the student.  You also find here an excellent collection of hands-on activities that can be done in the classroom or in some cases at home.  You can even listen to the microbe world radio station!  Ideal for year levels 2-9 RRRRR

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Social Sciences

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The Indian Ocean Tsunami  http://www.nytimes.com/packages/khtml/2004/12/31/international/20041231_TIMELINE_FEATURE.html The tsunami that followed the undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean killed over 250,000 people and devastated an entire region.  Such was the power of the earthquake that created these waves that people were killed thousands of kilometres away from its epicentre.  Tsunamis are, geologically speaking, regular events and with over half of the Earth's coastal regions having no early warning system of the arrival of the tsunami death on this scale is likely to be repeated again.  This web site provides excellent animation of the earthquake in its effects as well as investigation of the play tectonic movement that cause that, before and after satellite photographs and much more.  Ideal for all year levels RRRRR

Indian Ocean Maps http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/indian_ocean.html The tsunami which followed the undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean has provided many requests for maps of the region.  The University of Texas has an excellent collection of maps from all around the world which are available from this location.  An excellent resource for any social science classroom.  Ideal for year levels 4-12 RRRRR

The Tsunami Research Program  http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tsunami/home.html The tsunami research program seeks to mitigate the effects of a tsunami within the Pacific region.  This web site provides background information on deep ocean assessment and reporting buoys, forecasting and modelling, playte tectonic movement and communication systems to help reduce the likelihood of a repeat of the Christmas 2004 event. Ideal for year levels 7-11RRRR

The Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative  http://www.ecai.org/ The Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative is an online resource which attempts not to map geography but rather culture.  This is an excellent initiative and contains a wide range of resources, background information, datasets, photographs and a wide ranging collection of online projects.  An excellent initiative.  Ideal for teachers RRRRR

Andaman & Nicobar Islands http://www.and.nic.in/ Almost unheard of until the devastating Christmas 2004 tsunami, these tiny islands just poking their heads above the Indian Ocean have been almost completely destroyed.  This web site focuses on the post tsunami support as well as background information dealing with local culture, the exquisite beauty of these Islands and the way of life which has been changed forever.  Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRRR

The Weather Station  http://www.sutton.lincs.sch.uk/pages/weather/ If you are studying the weather then this collection of resources provided by a British School will be extremely useful to other teachers and students who are studying the weather. Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRR

Exploring the Mysteries of the Nile  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/egypt/ Explore the pyramids, temples and other monumental architecture of ancient Egypt through riveting 360 degree photographs, discover how these monuments were built, their purpose and using excellence animations discover the interior of the pyramids.  Ideal for year levels 2-10 RRRRR

Waves of Destruction: Tsunamis  http://www.pbs.org/wnet/savageearth/tsunami/ Though it is true that tsunamis are ocean waves, calling them by the same name is the ordinary wind driven variety is a bit like describing firecrackers and atomic warheads both as explosives.  The cataclysmic tsunami which occurred in the Indian Ocean provides us with an insight into the power of this particular type of earthquake driven wave.  This web site provides excellent background information on the forces that provide the impetus for a tsunami and how they manage to travel such vast distances and cause such huge devastation so far from their point of origin.  Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRRR

T e Ara: The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand  http://www.teara.govt.nz/ Te Ara in Maori online means "the pathway" and this web site is an excellent online encyclopaedia dealing with both the history of New Zealand including both its Maori colonisation and subsequent European colonisation.  Students can review famous New Zealanders who have made a difference to both New Zealand and the rest of the world and when fully completed the encyclopaedia would deal with New Zealand's environment, history, culture, economics and government.  Ideal for all year levels RRRRR

Google:Maps http://maps.google.com/ If you live in the United States then the maps available here of each of the States are absolutely fantastic and will provide both geography students and those planning their next holiday an excellent resource. Ideal for year levels 4-12 RRRR

The New Zealand Best Fish Guide  http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/bestfishguide/index.asp No this is not a guide to how to catch fish in New Zealand but rather is a guide that ranks ecological sustainability of seafood within the New Zealand fishing environment.  The world fish stocks have been plundered for many years to the point where many have been wiped out completely.  The aim now is to try and fish these stocks sustainability so that they will be around for years to come.  An excellent introduction to sustainable fisheries management and there are even some recipes. Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRR

Beyond the Fire: Teen Experiences of War  http://www.itvs.org/beyondthefire/ War has killed 2 million children in the last decade alone.  4 million children have become disabled and hundreds of thousands serve as child soldiers.  Nearly half of all refugees worldwide are under 18, and across the globe, an estimated 25 million children have been uprooted from their homes as a result of war.  Beyond the Fire introduces the real-life stories of 15 teenagers now living in United States, who has survived war in seven different war zones.  Above all, what comes out of these interviews is the resilience of teenagers in overcoming their tragic start to life, moving on and contributing back into their new as well as their previous communities.  Ideal for year levels 7-12 RRRRR

Historic Scotland  http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk Historic Scotland safeguards the nations built heritage and promotes its understanding and enjoyment on behalf of Scottish Ministers.  In this web site you will find information on more than 300 properties that the government maintains as well as ancient monuments.  There is a wide range of resources made available to schools as well as details on the technical conservation research behind many of them. Ideal for year levels 4-12 RRRR

World Population to 2300   http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/longrange2/WorldPop2300final.pdf Every two years the United Nations Department of economic and social affairs prepares the official United Nations estimates and projections of world, regional and national population size and growth, and demographic indicators.  This paper covers the period 2003-2004 based on the data collected. Ideal for year levels 10-12 RRRRR

On This Day (UK) http://www.news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/ Viewers (this is the BBC) can find here text, video and audio clips and dealing where happenings from around the world on each particular day of the year as it occurs. Ideal for all year levels RRRRR

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Technology Education

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Way Back When: Internet Archive  http://www.archive.org/ The Internet archive is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artefacts in digital form.  Like a paper library they provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars and the general public.  This web site provides a fantastic tour through cultural changes that have already taken place in our digital age. Ideal for year levels 6-10 RRRR

Technology News http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/default.stm If you are looking to catch up on a gossip as far as technology goes then this is one of the best web site is available.  Your find information here on almost all facets of technology applications from digital cameras through to the best search engines, new LCD television sets and much more. Ideal for all year levels RRRRR

Design & Technology Revision  http://www..bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebytesize/design/electronics/index.shtml Students can come here and carry out a range of revision exercises across the topics of electronics, technology, graphics, resistant materials, systems and control, and textile technology.  Each revision theme contains a range of revision questions dealing with subtopics within each theme.  The exercises are range of interactive, true/false, multichoice and short answer.  Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRRR

Invention Timeline  http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa121599a.htm Using this invention timeline you can track the development of innovations and put them into a better perspective.  Teabags for example were invented in 1904 and the escalator was invented before the radio and crayons were invented before the air-conditioner!  Ideal for year levels 2-12 RRR

The Invention of the Paper Clip  http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blpaperclip.htm For 600 years people used waxed ribbon in order to hold pieces of paper together but it wasn't until 1899 the Norwegian inventor invented the paper clip.  Success in inventing is all about the two variables of volume and cost.  This excellent article highlights the basic principles about successful inventing. Ideal for all year levels RRRR

Bicycle Innovations http://www.giant-bicycle.com/de/055.000.000/055.000.000.asp Giant is a bicycle company sitting on the technological edge of design, development and innovation.  You can track their developments in a range of aspects of bicycle technology at this web site.  The site tracks where the requests come from in terms of design changes and then the process whereby they become reality.  Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRR

Technology: Keeping up with Changing Times http://www.usatoday.com/educate/college/business/casestudies/20040203-Technology.pdf Teachers and students will find here an excellent collection of case studies dealing with businesses that are dealing with innovations and changes demanded by the consumer .  The case studies vary from companies reinventing themselves to new companies just starting out and having to establish their brand. Ideal for year levels 7-12 RRRR

What in the World is that? http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/science/flash.html Throughout history peole had to developed ingenious inventions to solve problems and meet needs/opportunities.  Students can use their observation skills in this matching activity to learn more about some of these wonderful and very strange innovations.  Some of these inventions are quite bizarre and this would be an excellent exercise to introduce the concepts of innovation, design and invention. Ideal for all year levels RRRRR

 

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