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March 31, 2003
Rainy Day Corner
http://www.rainydaycorner.com
The Rainy Day Corner website is
designed to provide activities and opportunities for children and families
who want to write. The site publishes
a monthly e-zine with stories, poetry, and articles
from children and families that submit their material through the
website. The main menu includes “Young
Writers,” the “Article Corner,” the “Writing Classroom,” the “Idea File,” “Journal
Writing,” the “Writing Family,” and much more. There are links to other writing sites,
writing contests, workshops, and other resources. This website has been listed among the 101
best sites for writers for 2003 by Writers’ Digest magazine.
March 24, 2003
A Visit to Copyright Bay
http://www.stfrancis.edu/cid/copyrightbay/
This is the
most fun educators can have learning about copyright. These thorny, legal
issues are presented in a fun tutorial that lets teachers and other school staff navigate Fair Use Harbor, visit Murky Waters, and crash on
Infringement Reef. Fair Use Harbor includes information about audio-visual
materials, multimedia, single copies, multiple copies, and distance learning.
You and the rest of the staff at your school or library can take a Shakedown
Cruise to test your knowledge. The
site carries a disclaimer, stating that “this site was not prepared by
attorneys, is not to be considered “legal counsel,” and is intended only to
inform and entertain educators about copyright issues in a non-profit
setting.” So – get out your eye-patch
and the skull-and-crossbones flags and set sail for Copyright Bay.
March 17, 2003
The Vocabula Review
http://www.vocabula.com
If you
believe that “society is generally as lax as its language,” you’ll enjoy The Vocabula Review. This website strives to combat abuse, misuse, and the general
degradation of our language. This
website provides insight into contemporary grammar and style issues for
writers and speakers. The English language
has become more precise for some users while becoming more plodding for
others. Not a small part of this new cumbrousness is due to the loss of
distinctions between words, the misuse of words, and other abuses of language. The
Vocabula Review seeks to promote the
richness of our language by emphasizing standard and creative ways to use the
language correctly. In sum, The Vocabula Review battles nonstandard, careless English and
embraces clear, expressive English. This website is a great place to learn more
about the language with which we communicate.
March 10, 2003
Truth or Fiction
http://www.truthorfiction.com
TruthOrFiction.com
is a web site where Internet users can quickly and easily get information
about eRumors, warnings, offers, requests for help,
myths, hoaxes, virus warnings, and humorous or inspirational stories that are
circulated by email. TruthOrFiction.com is designed to be of value to
the ordinary user of the Internet who wants to make sure that an email story
contains information, not misinformation.
The site’s focus tends to be on stories that are the most
widely-circulated on the Internet. Every story on TruthOrFiction.com has either
been researched by the TruthOrFiction.com staff or, in some cases, is known
to be a classic rumor or urban legend that has stood the test of time.
As much as possible, the sources of the given information are included in the
stories. The site lists almost 25
categories of stories – from Animals to War in Iraq. The stories are informational as well as
interesting.
March 3, 2003
Plants in Motion
http://sunflower.bio.indiana.edu/~rhangart//plantmotion/
With few exceptions, plants
grow and change on a time scale that is too slow for us to observe in real
time. Time-lapse photography allows us to see the movements of plants so we
can understand that they are living things and are capable of doing
extraordinary things. This site
contains videos (in QuickTime formats) that let students study the ways
plants adapt to their immediate environment.
Movies are placed into categories related to plant development and
surrounding environment: germination, photomorphogenesis, topisms, nastic movement, circadian responses, general growth,
flowers, and cellular responses. There
are links to instructional projects, and plants in art. The resources on this site will be useful
in biology and botany classes, as well as in life science classes. Parents will find a lot of neat stuff that
is fun to learn and do.
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