NET-MOM NEWS
June 1, 2000 Volume 4 Number 5
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Once per month, Net-mom News brings you brief reviews of selected Web sites
drawn from the content of my book, The Internet Kids & Family Yellow
Pages--now in its fourth edition. This newsletter is free. To subscribe or
unsubscribe, please see the instructions at the end.
You should preview all recommendations to make sure they are appropriate
for your family.
Contents
1. Net-mom's Picks: Inventions
2. Net-mom's Picks: Baseball
3. Net-mom's Picks: Careers
4. Net-mom's Picks: Pen pals
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Net-mom's Picks
Inventions
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3M Collaborative Invention Unit
http://mustang.coled.umn.edu/inventing/inventing.html
Could you be an inventor? Before you answer, how do you think a product is
invented? Many times, it's not just one person dreaming up a new product.
It's a collaboration of several people, or even teams of people, who bring
a new item to the market. First, a Scout identifies a problem that needs a
solution. Next, a Wizard takes a look at the problem and brainstorms
possible solutions. After that, a Critic examines what the Wizard suggests
and weighs factors like how much the product will cost to make, how much
demand for the product there is, and other factors. Whatever survives this
process is given to the Trailblazer, who balances the Five Ps: product,
price, promotions, publicity, and place (where the product will be
available). This site spells it all out!
A Science Odyssey
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/
Just visit this extremely cool site. You will not be disappointed! Check
out the Shockwave simulations in the You Try It section. In the Technology
at Home area, you can scroll through the twentieth century and see what
happens to the virtual home. Appliances appear and disappear, telephone
equipment changes-what else will you notice? You can mouse over each item
and see some facts about it: what it is, who invented it, and when it came
into vogue or went out of style. Now try the other explorations: human
evolution, radio transmission, probe the brain, atomic structure, and
several more. When you get done with those, read the On the Edge comic
books about various scientists and their discoveries. Did radio astronomer
Jocelyn Bell really think she'd gotten a message from little green men in
outer space? Find out here! Don't miss the hit game show That's My Theory!
Question the three contestants to see which one is the real Einstein, the
real Freud, and the real ENIAC.
Inventions! @ nationalgeographic.com
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/96/inventions/
You'll need Shockwave to play these inventing games, but if you don't have
it, you can use the neat selection of links to other pages on inventions
around the Web. There are five games; one is guessing the purpose of a
wacky patent drawing. Hmm, is it an automatic baby-patting machine or a
mitten stretcher? If you guess right enough times, you'll get a token. Get
five tokens, and you can operate the wackiest machine of them all back at
the Lab: the Action Contraption!
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We are testing the use of one advertising space in Net-mom News.
This first one is provided by Cyber Patrol.
Just visiting the URL below helps me continue to do this newsletter. Please
show your support!
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Even though you can't be with your children all the time, you still need to
know they are safe, especially on line. But how do you let your children
experience the wonders of the World Wide Web while protecting them from
sexually explicit, violent, hate and other inappropriate materials?
Cyber Patrol.
By using the world's trusted Internet filtering software, you decide
what your children can and cannot see. Try it for free! Visit
http://www.cyberpatrol.com/forms/homedemo_bnnr.asp?banner=16 for a FREE trial!
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Net-mom's Picks
Baseball
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The National Baseball Hall of Fame
http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/
Visit the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York! Can't visit in
person? Try their web site. You'll read about Babe Ruth's bat, Mickey
Mantle's locker, and other special baseball memorabilia. Check out the
special web exhibits, like the one on The 3,000 Hit Club. You can also read
about the baseball greats who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame as
well as see pictures of this year's class of inductees. Don't miss the news
about the latest exhibit-" You're In The Hall of Fame, Charlie Brown!"
Who's On First
http://www.city-net.com/abbottandcostellofc/whoscrip.htm
"Who's On First?" is one of the all-time great routines by Bud Abbott and
Lou Costello, a pair of comedians known for their radio show in the 1940s
and 1950s. You can hear their rendition if you visit the Baseball Hall of
Fame in Cooperstown, New York. If you can't get there, you can check out a
text version here.
Exploratorium's Science of Baseball!
http://www.exploratorium.edu/baseball/
Do you think you could hit a 90 mph fastball, coming straight for you? You
can test your reaction time online. There are more activities for you to
try, and don't miss the scientific slugger and his quest for a home run.
There's also a nice history of baseball equipment-then and now-and a look
at women players and baseball in Japan ("besuboru"). Also, did you know
weather conditions can affect your hits?
Official Site of Major League Baseball
http://www.majorleaguebaseball.com/
All the information you'd ever need to settle any baseball argument is
here: all the stats, all the teams, everything but the hot dogs. Find
official information on all the major league, minor, and international
teams. Other features include expanded box scores for all the games, live
audio broadcasts, team addresses, and a great photo gallery! In the Fun &
Games section of the site be sure to look for the virtual ballpark tours:
experience what the players see from home plate, the pitcher's mound, or
other perspectives!
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Net-mom's Picks
Careers
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JobQuest
http://library.thinkquest.org/15111/
Summer jobs aren't far away. Would you like to know how to prepare for a
job interview? Learn the best way to detail your accomplishments and skills
in a resume, and get some tips on finding an internship program. Peer into
the future to discover what types of jobs will be most available; you can
do it all at this site, which was created by students for the ThinkQuest
competition.
IPL Teen Division: Career Pathways
http://www.ipl.org/teen/pathways/
The Internet Public Library offers a useful section on career planning for
teens. You'll find facts about each field, a personal interview with
someone in that profession, and additional links. Don't miss the Career
Preparation section which guides you through crafting a snazzy cover letter
and resume, gives hints on how to nail your job interview, and gives
suggestions on evaluating a job offer.
Independent Means
http://www.anincomeofherown.com/
This site encourages young women to follow their dreams into the career
world, but anyone can take advantage of the great information here. Read
interviews with famous businesswomen such as Lillian Vernon (of mail order
catalog fame) and others. Check out articles to inspire you, and (coming
soon) links to teen business Web pages. There's also something called Camp
$tart-Up which teaches teens business and entrepreneurship skills. It's
held in several places around the country, see the schedule to find out
when it will be near you.
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Net-mom's Picks
Pen Pals
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Study Buddy Pen pal Station
http://studybuddy.com/connect/
Get a free e-pal or "study buddy!" The site doesn't divulge your real
e-mail address. It "remails" your messages under a special address of its
own, so using this system is safe as long as you yourself don't disclose
personal information. There are different sections for 6-12 and 13-17, too.
Pen Pal Box
http://www.ks-connection.org:80/penpal/penpal.html
Choose a pen pal from any of the boxes, there's one for each narrow age
group, including "6 and younger," "7-8," "9-10," "11-12," and "13-16." You
might consider getting a different e-mail address to use for pen pals;
doing so provides an extra layer of security for your privacy.
ePals.com - Global Classroom Exchange
http://www.epals.com/
Would your whole class or home school like to write to another class of
kids on the other side of the world? You can, just ask your teacher or
parent to add information to the database here! Search for other kids by
city, state, country, grade/age, or language.
But for now----
Attention everyone, the Internet is closing! Please go play outside!
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Thank you to John Levine for hosting the Netmom-News-List. John is the
bestselling author of Internet for Dummies and many other fine books on
Windows 98, Unix, and other topics. Buy all of them here
http://net.gurus.com/ or at your favorite "bricks and mortar" bookstore.
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Copyright 2000 Jean Armour Polly. All rights reserved.
Author, The Internet Kids and Family Yellow Pages, FOURTH Edition. Osborne
McGraw-Hill ISBN 0-07-212183-1
828 pages, CD ROM $34.99
Web site: http://www.netmom.com/
Subscribe/unsubscribe here: http://www.netmom.com/news/newsrequest.htm
Net-mom is a registered service mark of Jean Armour Polly.
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