http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/homefront-home.html

Close to 1700 veterans of the United States Armed Forces pass away each day, and often many of their stories and experiences are lost before there is time to document them for posterity and future generations. Fortunately, there is the Veterans History Project, which was commissioned by an act of Congress, and which is dedicated to collecting and preserving the experiences of these veterans and those who supported them. This fine online exhibition brings together materials held by the Library of Congress (with an emphasis on those who served in military conflicts during the 20th century), and includes pages from scrapbooks, flags, military papers, and diaries, all in digitized form. The site is well thought out in its organization, and users will want to take a close look at the digitized diaries which contains heartfelt and honest recollections of the wartime experiences of such individuals as Corporate Vincent Cornelius Reed and Lieutenant Colonel Richard Earl Pierson, who served as a combat pilot in Vietnam. The site also contains a nice list of suggested readings, divided up by military conflict. [KMG]

http://www.uneca.org/

Working on creating meaningful and equitable social and economic development in parts of the developing world can be difficult, and often tests the mettle of the most experienced professional in the field. One organization that works in this area is the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), established in 1958 under the administrative direction of the United Nations. As the regional commission of the United Nations in Africa, the ECA "is mandated to support the economic and social development of its 53 member states, foster regional integration, and promote international cooperation for Africa's development". Thematically, the ECA's activities are organized around divisions that include Gender and Development, Trade and Regional Integration, and several other areas. The website provides ample material on these programs, along with important updates about the commission's various initiatives, such as the Science and Technology Network and the African Development Forum. The publications section is also worth a glance, as it features a number of thorough reports on various aspects of development throughout the continent, including a 281-page report released in July 2004 titled "Assessing Regional Integration in Africa". [KMG]

http://www.iste.org/

Increased interest in the use of technology in education has developed extensively across the United States during the past few years, and a number of professional organizations have sprung up in order to provide resources to those policy-makers and educators interested in adapting and utilizing various technologies in their classrooms. Visitors to the site will want to peruse the online educator resources, which include materials thematically organized into sections such as assessment, curriculum, policy, and professional development. A number of the organization's print publications are also available online, including its in-house magazine, "Learning & Leading with Technology". Visitors will also want to read about the Society's work on the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) Project, which is designed to help establish standards for the effective use of information technology in education. [KMG]

http://www.nmafa.si.edu/exhibits/playful/introindex.html

The National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C., has created this online exhibit to bring to young people an enhanced understanding of the many roles that masks play in various African societies and cultures. More specifically, the exhibit addresses the ways in which children in Africa play "dress up and pretend", hence the "playful performers" title of the exhibit. Visitors can start by browsing through the section titled "Exploring the world of play", where they can view photographs of children at play in a variety of settings. The "Masquerade and Imagination" area offers a nice introduction to the different ways in which children (and adults) perform in various masquerades, using a variety of forms of dress and their imaginations. The site is rounded out by a number of blank forms which visitors can download and create their own unique masks, or just take a look at some of the creations submitted by other visitors to the site. [KMG]

http://www.earthscope.org/

Supported by the National Science Foundation, EarthScope is an ambitious undertaking designed "to apply modern observational, analytical and telecommunications technologies to investigate the structure and evolution of the North American continent and the physical processes controlling earthquakes and volcanic eruptions." This is certainly no small task, and as such it is no surprise that some of their various undertakings include drilling into the San Andreas Fault and installing different pieces of scientific equipment at key sites, such as volcanoes, around the continent. A good way to get some sense of the project activities is to take a look at the image base, which features projects "in action" across the continent. While the project's scientific database is not online yet, visitors would do well to take a look at the publications area. Here they will have access to press coverage of project activities, along with some basic fact sheets that outline various project endeavors. [KMG]

http://www.greenbuilder.com/sourcebook/strawbale.html

The Sustainable Building Sourcebook is an online publication in partnership with the City of Austin, Texas, Green Building Program. This section of the Sourcebook provides information and resources on straw bale construction. The article begins with a definition of straw bale construction as a construction that uses "baled straw from wheat, oats, barley, rye, rice and others in walls covered by stucco...." and proceeds to address building considerations, commercial status, and implementation issues. The authors discuss some of the benefits of this "low cost alternative for building highly insulating walls" and consider some of the common concerns such as financing and public acceptance. A variety of resources for anyone interested in building with straw bales are provided and anyone who already has built one is invited to join the international Straw Bale Registry. [VF] This site is also reviewed in the September 24, 2004 NSDL MET Report.

http://www.icisnyu.org/

Located at New York University, the Institute for Civil Infrastructure Systems is dedicated to linking infrastructure professionals with each other, along with providing information to the general public about new insights and interdisciplinary approaches within the complex world of civil infrastructure systems. The site is divided into five sections including those focused on education, information exchange, and research. The education section is a good place to start for first-time visitors as it contains some of the Institute's case studies which have arisen out of various combined meetings with representatives from higher education. The research section contains a number of interdisciplinary reports, including one on environmental health and policy in the South Bronx and another one that addresses the lessons learned from the 9/11 disaster in New York City. [KMG]

http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/

Video games may now have officially reached a new level of cultural and social importance, especially since PBS (and station affiliate KCTS) have seen fit to create this very interactive and informative site to complement their recent television special, "The Video Game Revolution". The television program tells the history of video games, starting all the way back in 1952, and proceeding all the way to the current home systems. Of course, this website offers a great deal of material to delight aficionados of this cultural phenomenon, including an interactive timeline of video game history and Flash-enabled specials on the impact of gaming, and of course the somewhat forgotten (but not totally gone) phenomenon of that old shopping mall standby, the arcade. The arcade that's featured on the site offers users the ability to play an old classic game (Galaga) and a "Name that Game" feature, where visitors must guess the game based on a brief sound clip. Of course, the Scout Report would be remiss if it didn't also mention that there's a Celebrity Game Quiz, which features such questions as "Which member of the Rat Pack appeared in a 1970s commercial for Magnavox?" If you can't wait to get to the site, it was Mr. Ring a Ding Ding himself, Frances Albert Sinatra. [KMG}