http://www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/

Since the events of September 11, 2001, Americans have done a great deal of soul-searching about what the future role the United States will play in international affairs. In many ways, any response to such an inquiry will contain many different layers and ideas. In April 2007, PBS began their investigations into this complex area by showing the first episode of “America at a Crossroads”. Through eleven independently produced documentaries, the series hopes to explore topics such as the experience of American troops stationed abroad and global perspectives on America’s role overseas. On the series’ website, visitors can view clips from the various documentaries, take a look at some video diaries, and explore an interactive timeline that covers such topics as “The War in Iraq” and “Middle East Modern History”. The site is rounded out by a discussion guide which serves as a jumping-off point for groups who which to discuss the issues raised by these programs. [KMG]

http://www.history.com/civilwar/shermansmarch/

Watching this site load up is quite a treat, as visitors are presented with a brief audio clip of a brass band playing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”. It’s an appropriate introduction to this site, which offers an exploration of General William Tecumseh Sherman’s well-known “March to the Sea”, which cut across Georgia in the 1864, leaving a trial of destruction and a good deal of scorched earth in its wake. After reading a brief overview of Sherman’s military endeavors, visitors can explore interactive sections within the site that provide detailed information about his various campaigns, including those that took place within the Carolinas and Savannah. Within each section, visitors can click on different sites of interest, and in doing so, they will be presented with various historical photographs and other items of interest. [KMG]

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/emigration/index.html

Scotland has given the world a great many things, and during the 19th century, many Scots set sail to seek their fortune in other parts of the world. Social historians and others will be glad to know that the University of Aberdeen’s Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies has created this online database of Scottish emigrants. Currently, visitors can examine the records of over 21,000 passengers who embarked at Glasgow and Greenock for other ports. While the database only covers a small time period, the database is well-designed for general use. First-time visitors should take a look at the “User Guide”, which includes details about the different fields used in each record, such as “occupation”, “urban district/village”, and “destination port”. [KMG]

http://sechtl-vosecek.ucw.cz/en/

The Sechtl family has been in the photography business for over 150 years, and they have been working on digitizing their extensive archive for use by the general public. Of course, visitors can also visit their museum in the Czech Republic, but this website functions as a great entry point for learning about their body of work. Visitors may wish to start their journey by reading some of the family biographies offered here, and then moving on to the actual archive. Using the archive can be a bit tricky, so new visitors may wish to start by browsing through categories like “castles”, “tableauxs”, and “sport”. The archive provides a number of visual insights into the history of the Czech people, urban life, and the culture of this very diverse region. [KMG]

http://mtl.math.uiuc.edu/classroom_resources.htm

Over the past several years, the Math Teachers Link initiative at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has created a number of online math courses for teachers at the secondary level, along with offering additional workshops and seminars. They have also researched and compiled a set of online resources that will be of interest to those teaching mathematics and related subjects at the high school and college level. The links are divided thematically into sections that include geometry, algebra, calculus, and a special section titled “Integrating Internet Projects In Your Classroom”. [KMG]

http://math.rice.edu/%7Elanius/Lessons/

To the unconverted, the words “fun” and “mathematics” might not seem to be words that should be that close together in any one sentence or phrase. Educator and mathematics guru Cynthia Lanius proves any potential naysayers wrong as she offers up over two dozen interesting and engaging math exercises for educators to use in their classrooms on this site. She’s served as a consultant for the Math Forum@Drexel and other educational websites, and her work here includes some great examples of sound educational pedagogy. While some of the activities are geared towards young children, some of the activities (such as “Mathematics of Cartography” and “Online Geometry”) will work well with older students who might be enrolled in a developmental math course at the high school or community college level. One other nice feature of this site is that some of the activities are also available in Spanish. [KMG]

http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/financial-institution/fin-education/resources/credit.shtml

The people at the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Financial Education know a bit about interest rates, mortgages, and other related matter, so it’s good to learn that they have developed a good set of educational resources designed for teachers. The site includes materials developed by organizations within the U.S. Treasury, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and others. The materials here include “Money Smart”, which is a curriculum designed to help adults understand basic financial services and “Building Wealth”, which presents an overview of such important strategies as creating a household budget and managing debt. These various tools could potentially be used in applied economics and mathematics courses, and teachers will appreciate the flexibility of these different resources. [KMG]

http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/2007/serra/
Richard Serra’s work has usually involved very large sculptures, and many of them have tested the limits of museum display techniques. Recently, the Museum of Modern Art mounted a forty-year survey of Serra’s work, and for those who can’t make it to New York, this online collection is a nice way to look at some of the pieces featured at the museum. [KMG]