General Interest
http://www.stopchildpoverty.org/
A number of international organizations are committed to helping end child poverty, and one of the best known of their number is the Global Volunteer Network. Through their advocacy work and the Stop Child Poverty campaign, they are dedicated to the proposition that child poverty can be completed eradicated. Through sections titled "Learn It", "Live It", and "Pass it On", visitors to this site will learn about the "big picture" of child poverty and how they can become directly involved in any number of volunteer projects. The "Pass It On" area is quite fine in this regard, as visitors can look over a message board where they can discuss the campaign, and then use a zip-code search engine to find volunteer opportunities in their area. [KMG]
http://www.masshist.org/jqadiaries/
Certainly there are many individuals who start journaling at age 12, but how many of them continue doing so until age 78? John Quincy Adams did just that, and the talented folks at the Massachusetts Historical Society have digitized images from his 51-volume diary and placed them online. The "Getting Started" section is, well, a good place to get started, as visitors will learn about the scope of this online collection, and how they can utilize these unique materials. While the site doesn't offer searchable transcriptions of the diary pages, a detailed timeline does give users information that will help them search for items of interest, such as Adams' recollections of the Treaty of Ghent or his time as minister to the Netherlands. Of course, the "Selected Pages" section affords users the opportunity to look at entries on the Monroe Doctrine, Napoleon, and his beloved mother, Abigail Adams. [KMG]
http://www.metmuseum.org/special/Americans_in_Paris/index.asp
Several decades before Ernest Hemingway came to Paris to spend some quality time with Gertrude Stein near the Jardin de Luxembourg; there were a multitude of other American artists inspired by the City of Lights. Paris was, without a doubt, the art capital of the 19th century, and as Henry James remarked in 1887 "when to-day we look for 'American art' we find it mainly in Paris." Staff members at The Metropolitan Museum of Art feel the same way, and they have organized this lovely online exhibit to complement a fine in situ exhibit on the visual arts produced by artists such as Mary Cassatt, Thomas Eakins, and John Singer Sargent during their time there. Visitors can make their way through all eight galleries, and they can also use a zoom feature to pick up on various levels of detail within each work. [KMG]
Despite the abundance of foodstuffs in the United States, many individuals and families go hungry on a regular basis. There are a number of public and private organizations working to address this problem, and the USDA’s Food & Nutrition Service is just such an organization. Their website allows persons working in this area to learn about their various nutrition assistance programs through their online newsroom, their specific program areas, and their "Spotlights" features. For a brief introduction to their current initiatives and work, interested parties should browse on over to the newsroom, where they can learn about recent grant awards, state food stamp participation rates, and disaster assistance. After that, visitors may wish to look at the multimedia materials within the "Eat Smart. Play Hard" feature designed for young people. Here they can learn about the food pyramid and how to eat balanced meals everyday. [KMG]
http://international.loc.gov/intldl/apochtml/apochome.html
As part of its developing Global Gateway (a group of various digital materials of international interest) the Library of Congress presents this collection of 355 Arabic calligraphy sheets, ranging from the 9th to the 19th centuries, that includes many examples of calligraphic art: illuminated panels, albums, and poems, as well as Qur'anic calligraphic fragments. Even those who cannot understand the text of these manuscripts will appreciate their beauty when displayed on a computer screen. Visitors are invited to browse the collection by calligrapher, title or subject. In addition, several in-depth essays are provided that are especially helpful to those unfamiliar with this body of work. For example, "Calligraphers of the Persian Tradition" describes the work of a handful of prominent calligraphers, while the “Noteworthy Items” essay highlights particularly important or unique items in the collection. [DS]
Any effort to provide high-quality news coverage of events around the world must include a crack team of international correspondents drawn from some of the world's most prominent news organizations. Fortunately, Public Radio International's well-regarded program, The World, draws on correspondents from the BBC and other respected news agencies. On their well-organized site, visitors can listen to each program in its entirety, or move through a number of online-only special reports, which include features on Afghanistan and ethnic conflicts in Africa. The World's site also offers three different podcasts and RSS feeds. Another fine feature of the site is the section where reporters for their program offer journals from their recent investigative excursions to Israel, Mexico, China, and Northern Ireland. Overall, the site is a fine way to stay up to date with current events of importance from Ghana to Goa. [KMG]
http://www2.ups.edu/community/tofu/home.htm
For the past seven years, Professor John Woodward and his colleagues at the University of Puget Sound have been creating materials for this unique site. Designed as a way to bring together resources to assist mathematics teachers at a variety of skill levels, the site is divided into four primary sections. The first stop for first-time users should definitely be the "Math Concepts" area. Here, educators can learn about how to introduce spreadsheets and data tables into the curriculum. Additionally, there are subsections within this area that provide detail-oriented plans on how to integrate prime numbers, functions, and fractions into lesson plans. Perhaps the true gem on this site is the section that discusses how math teachers can use journaling to get students thinking in different and creative ways about understanding various aspects of mathematics. [KMG]
George G. Scott, Jr. has been an auto mechanic for over thirty years, and he has also found time in his busy schedule to create this website dedicated to providing both the average person and future auto mechanics with information about car and truck repair. While the site does contain some banner advertisements, there is plenty of fine free material here as well. Visitors can begin their journey by looking into areas titled "How Your Car Works". After that, they can look over an alphabetical list that includes sage advice on everything from alternators to water pump repair. The site is rounded out by a fun collection of sounds of cars in "trouble", including a bad motor mount of 1994 Saturn and the valve train tapping of a 1993 Isuzu Rodeo. [KMG]
