Best
of Blue Web'n
All the sites below
have been taken from the weekly Blue Web'n Updates email list from
the months of October through December 2003. To join the list or to
visit the complete list of sites featured over the last six years
go to: http://www.kn.sbc.com/wired/bluewebn/updates.html.
Remembering
the Flint
Sit-Down Strike, 1936-1937
http://www.historicalvoices.org/flint/
This site is based on interviews that were conducted between 1978
and 1984 with former participants of the Flint Sit-Down Strike of
1936-37. The oral tapes that resulted provide important primary materials
on American labor history. According to the Introduction: "the
strike itself has remained interesting because it was a classic case
of David versus Goliath. In 1936, General Motors was the richest industrial
corporation in the world ... The strikers, on the other hand, averaged
about a tenth grade education, came from poor families, and consisted
of many Southerners and Eastern European immigrants." Interspersed
with short, interesting audio clips from strike participants.
You
Are the Historian
(Plimoth Plantation)
http://www.plimoth.org/olc/
You Are the Historian: Investigating the First Thanksgiving is the
Plimoth Plantation's new interactive, online learning activity to
explore what might have really happened at the event known as "The
First Thanksgiving." Who was there? How long did it last? What
did they eat? Did they play games? Did Wampanoag and colonial children
play? Users take on the role of a historian in order to investigate
these and other questions. Engaging, interactive activities guide
you through your investigation including use of primary sources. You
Are the Historian is enhanced with rich images, video, and audio from
Plimoth Plantation and requires Flash. (They also recommend the use
of a large 1024 x 768 monitor.) The site has been designed for third
through fifth grade students and their teachers, but everyone will
like it. An online teacher's guide suggests classroom activities that
support the online activities.
Anne
Frank the Writer:
an Unfinished Story
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/af/htmlsite/
Anne's diary, published in 1947 and eventually translated into almost
70 languages, is for many young readers the first encounter with the
history of Nazi Germany. Between the ages of 13 and 15, Anne wrote
short stories, fairy tales, essays, and the beginnings of a novel.
Five notebooks and more than 300 loose pages handwritten during her
two years in hiding survived the war. This website presents an indepth
look at her writings through the use of a narrated exhibition, interviews,
an opportunity for site users to respond, artifacts from the museum,
and links to other recommended sites.
smART
Kids
http://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu/smartkids/index.htm smART Kids helps
students, particularly 7 to 12 year olds, look at art, learn art vocabulary,
explore materials, and find out about historic pieces of art. Students
can visit an artist's studio, create art, and are prompted to use
a journal to record ideas and answer questions about art. Created
by the education staff at The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art,
University of Chicago.
BellSouth's
Digital Storyteller
http://www.knowitall.org/bellsouthdigitalstoryteller
The BellSouth Digital Storyteller project is an opportunity for students
to learn history first hand by interviewing veterans from WWII and
Korea. After selecting a topic from the History Curriculum Standards,
students identify veterans who have actually experienced the event(s)
they are studying. Using video technology, the students interview
the veterans, capture footage, edit the story, and record a living
memory. During this process, the students put learning into practice
while developing communication, research, and technology skills.
Cave
of Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc
http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/chauvet/en/index.html
The Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc cave is exceptional for three reasons: 1) it
is the first time that archaeologists had the opportunity to study
a decorated prehistoric cave; 2) representations on the walls show
an uncommon diversity of animals and demonstrate numerous artistic
innovations; and 3) radiocarbon dating indicates these are perhaps
the oldest paintings ever made dating from around 32000 years before
present. This website provides a unique look at the discovery, research,
preservation, and historic importance as well as providing an opportunity
to "visit" the cave.
