Mathematics & NSA: A Long Term Partnership [pdf]
http://www.nsa.gov/programs/mepp/lu.html
The National Security Agency (NSA) is said to be "the largest employer of mathematicians in the United States and perhaps the world." Therefore, it works to foster education and interest in mathematics for students at an early age. This page of the NSA Web site has several learning units for elementary, middle, and high school students. The learning units should probably be printed out for students to follow, since many of the exercises are accompanied by graphs or charts that need to be completed. Instructor guidance is not required, but could be useful to introduce each activity. [CL]
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The ASEE EngineeringK12 Center [pdf]
http://www.engineeringk12.org/
Developed by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), the EngineeringK12 Center provides resources for grade school students, parents, and teachers that promote the discipline. Most of the site's content is found in the Readings section, where users can browse articles from the ASEE Prism magazine and the Journal of Engineering Education, as well as papers presented at the ASEE Annual Conference. The remainder of the site offers links to engineering lesson plans, professional societies, and much more. [CL]
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The Technology Site
http://www.technologypupil.com/index.htm
This diverse site contains a wide range of educational materials about design technology. Nearly twenty sections describe topics such as electronics, computer control, structures, and graphics techniques, to name a few. Each topic is introduced in a way that draws the readers in and enhances their understanding. This is accomplished with a series of questions, which are not difficult but they effectively reinforce key ideas. Images and figures are included to illustrate various concepts. [CL]
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Robert B. Ash -- Online Algebra Textbooks [pdf]
http://www.math.uiuc.edu/~r-ash/
Robert Ash, a mathematics professor from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, offers two graduate level textbooks on his homepage. The first is an introduction to abstract algebra. Roughly 400 pages in length, the book is divided into individual chapters so readers can download only what interests them. The second book, which was released in 2003, covers algebraic number theory. While significantly shorter, it incorporates many of the principles introduced in the abstract algebra book. Solutions to the sample questions scattered throughout each book are given in appendices. [CL]
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Dialog for Kids: Spy Technology [RealOne Player]
http://www.idahoptv.org/dialogue4kids/season4/spy/
Dialog for Kids is a series on Idaho Public Television that lets children "phone, fax or e-mail questions to leading scientists to be answered live, on-air." The May 20, 2003 episode, which can be viewed in its entirety online, addressed various forms of spy technology. This Web site has educational material that complement the episode. Children can learn about the basics of espionage, cryptographic ciphers, and spy tools. A small glossary of terms is also included. After perusing the episode's Web site, users can visit other informative sites via a collection of links to the Central Intelligence Agency and other organizations. [CL]
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Linux/UNIX Tutorial Site
http://www.ctssn.com/
Anyone who needs to become familiar with a UNIX-based operating system will find this Web site very valuable. Through a series of ten key lessons, the user will learn the basics of logging in and browsing the directory structure as well as more advanced concepts such as networking utilities and system administration. Following step-by-step procedures, users can practice fundamental operations without worrying about getting lost. At the end of each lesson, an assignment is given to let users try a similar exercise on their own. A bulletin board is available for people to exchange advice and ideas with other UNIX users. [CL]
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Mathematics: Essays on Mathematical Topics
http://www.krysstal.com/maths.html
High school and college students are the target audience of this outstanding math site. The main topics addressed in the nine essays are trigonometry, algebra, and basic calculus. The author does a good job of introducing new concepts and working through examples; however, statements are occasionally made without much justification. Students at the intended level probably do not need detailed proofs for these rare instances, and for the most part, the material is presented in a very organized and comprehensive matter. [CL]
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Pointers
http://www.augustcouncil.com/~tgibson/tutorial/ptr.html
In many programming languages, pointers are often a topic of much confusion for beginning and intermediate programmers. Rather than holding a specific value like other variable types, pointers hold a memory address that "points" to where a specific value is stored. This comprehensive discussion highlights proper uses of pointers in C and C++, as well as noting the differences in pointer representation between the two languages. Snippets of example code are given for both cases, which can be useful for novices or people with knowledge of only one of the two languages. The author also maintains tutorials on references and objects, array representation, and input/output tips. [CL]
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