Posted on 6th January 2009 by Judy Breck in History
archaeology, arctic, canada, european_contact, helluland, history, icelandic
Who were the Europeans who may have been in Arctic Canada as early as the eighth or ninth century? The Helluland Archaeology Project is working on finding the answer. The project is an ongoing research initiative of the Canadian Museum of Civilization which maintains an online exhibit called Strangers, Partners, Neighbors? about this archaeological work.
We tend to think of the internet’s ability to provide the latest science and world affairs information as a value to educational resources that tend to lag behind the latest news. But even in matters relating to history of a thousand years, online updating is important. How long will it be before schoolbooks teach youngsters that there may have been Europeans in Canada before the time of the famed Norse led by Eirik the Red? Spelling his name Eirik here is not a typo. I got it from the experts at this museum website.
Posted on 1st July 2007 by Judy Breck in Subject Sampler
ancient, city, history, literature, rome, theater, translation
On Bill Thayer’s Web Site he explains that “LacusCurtius: Into the Roman World” which is his creation is: “a major site on Roman antiquity, including a photogazetteer of Roman and Etruscan cities and monuments (with a very large site on the city of Rome of course); a site for teaching yourself to read Latin inscriptions; the complete Latin texts of [major authors, and much more].”
One way people find LacusCurtius is through MIT Open Courseware (“OCR”) where the collection is recommended on the Ancient World: Rome course for: “More ancient sources in translation; useful collections of photos of Latin inscriptions and theatres inter alia; a few old secondary works on ancient Rome.”
Posted on 14th November 2006 by Judy Breck in Subject Sampler
declaration_of_independence, freedom, history, liberty, williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg’s online exhibit here is an excellent place to learn about the Declaration of Independence: a hundred and ten words fatally undermined the political basis of the old order and proclaimed a new era in which free peoples would henceforth govern themselves. Government
Posted on 24th August 2006 by Judy Breck in Subject Sampler
alan.machine, computation, history, turing
For an introduction and an interactive visualization of Alan Turing’s famous computational machine visit MIT here. Technology
Posted on 18th July 2006 by Judy Breck in Subject Sampler
agriculture, egyptian, explorers, garden, history, plants
The website here gathers the history of the discovery of plants. For ancient Egypt it reports:
The first plant hunting expedition recorded in history was on the orders of Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt, when she dispatched five ships to gather valuable plants, animals and precious goods from the Land of Punt. It was in the tenth year of Ma’at-ka-Ra Hatshepsut’s reign, during the 18th dynasty of ancient Egypt. This would date the expedition to some time around 1500 BCE. The ships returned some months later,
“Laden with the costly products of the Land of Punt and with its many valuable woods, with very much sweet-smelling resin and frankincense, with quantities of ebony and ivory . . .”
Agriculture
Posted on 9th July 2006 by Judy Breck in Subject Sampler
dow_jones, history, market, stocks
The interactive history here traces the timeline of the famed New York Stock Exchange Dow Jones market average, with dates, facts and trivia. History
Posted on 11th June 2006 by Judy Breck in Subject Sampler
history, jazz, kansas_city
Rock the digital cradle hear of real Kansas City jazz history here. The pages load slowly but their gifts are worth the wait. This look and listen into the past is absolutely impossible to convey in the sterility of generalized education resources. Arts
Posted on 23rd May 2006 by Judy Breck in Subject Sampler
dioramas, history, natural
In a wonderful leap of imagination and artistry, the American Museum of Natural History has showcased its gorgeous ecological dioramas online here. The work of some of the greatest artists of nature from bygone centuries is now viewable online for new generations. Some of the ecology captured long ago in the museum’s dioramas no longer exists in nature! Ecology
Posted on 7th April 2006 by Judy Breck in Emerging Online Knowledge
ball, golf, history
While the academic sector spends important energy creating resources for general knowledge subjects, others now have a way to make available their own niches of expert knowledge. Here is the history of the golfball, which would have been a difficult bit of knowledge for a student to find before the Internet came along. Golfball history may not be in any test standard – but it is an interesting subject which could stir the latent curiousity of students bored by test standard fare. Varied industries
Posted on 21st March 2006 by Judy Breck in Subject Sampler
american, culture, history, literature, south, southern
The University Library of the University of North Carolina opens its virtual doors here to many of its primary resources for the study of Southern United States history, literature and culture. The riches of the Internet to be browsed include from the Southern past books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral histories and songs open for your virtual visit. Literature
Posted on 16th February 2006 by Judy Breck in Subject Sampler
grassland, history, wyoming
One of the wonders of knowledge to learn on the Internet is that it grows from the grassroots up. The website here about Wyoming history is based at Western Wyoming College. You get close to the land and close to the past by plowing through the abundant information tended here. History
Posted on 12th February 2006 by Judy Breck in Subject Sampler
ancient, history, skiing
The page here from Skiing Heritage is a graceful jump by a print magazine into the online learning venue. From the print version, which requires a paid subscription, the editors generously provide, for example, six excellent articles open on their website as a knowledgeable introduction to skiing history and practice. There is much more to learn about skiing heritage in this collection, including an account here of Pope John Paul II’s devotion to the sport. The illustration above, from one the articles, A Short History of Alpine Skiing, is a cave drawing from Eastern Russia dated 5000-7000 BC. History
Posted on 22nd January 2006 by Judy Breck in Subject Sampler
history, kansas, territory
ThisVirtual Repository for Territorial Kansas History provides multiple entries to massive materials. Kansas was a US territory from 1854-1861, and then became a state. There are various virtual routes into the collection which is hosted by the Kansas State Historical Society. The entry page here is an interactive county map. A senior historian, a sixth-grader doing homework, or anyone else can click on a county to see, read, and learn from handsomely displayed virtual objects that once were part of the goings-on in that county of the territory. History
Posted on 4th January 2006 by Judy Breck in Subject Sampler
desert, history, oregon
The gorgeous image shown above is from the introductory page here of High Desert History of the Oregon History Project. Hosted by the Oregon Historical Society, the project is a rich network of subjects, accounts, images, and objects that present the history of Oregon in ways that are both understandable and intimate. Experts of today and individual people from Oregon’s past are heard from. History
