Maps Make Fun August 5, 2009
Posted by Wendy Wolfe in Educational Resources, Games & Simulations, Web resources.Tags: geography, Interactive, maps
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Interactive maps are a great way to help students learn and explore information.
Show is an engaging website that allows visitors to explore the US and the World comparing states and countries through statistics and demographics and displays the information visually. The data is so up-to-date that the US maps show a comparison for stimulus and stimulus impact. When you are finished creating your map, you can download the data as an Excel file, save your maps as image files, and/or embed your image in other sites. While data can always be presented in different ways, Show is a great starting point for discussion and demographic study.
Show would be a great starting point for sociology, geography, history, government and math courses.
Learning about Chocolate August 2, 2009
Posted by Wendy Wolfe in Web resources.Tags: Chocolate, Economics, Environment, FACS, Interactive
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Maybe it is because it is dinner time, but this entry is a fun tribute to chocolate. Whether it is for an interdisciplinary middle school unit or a foods class, economics, ecology, there are some really fun resources about chocolate out there. The Field Museum has a great 
chocolate exhibition which explores the history of chocolate, the chocolate production process, and a just for kids section which includes trivia, crossword puzzles, recipes and more. There is also a great educator resource kit which includes 12 lesson plans for environment and culture which address economics, ecology, botany and culture and includes lists of resources, facts, recipes, and more.
To support its chocolate exhibition, The Field Museum also has three “interactives” focusing on chocolate: 
1. Manufacturing Chocolate From Seed to Sweet. Explore a virtual cacao harvest and processing of the cacao, fun and informative. A learning log might be useful for students to journal about what they learn.
2. The Chocolate Challenge. A trivia game of sorts that travels the history and international reach of chocolate.
3. The Cacao Farm. Explores the relationships between plants and animals in the rain forest and the growth of the cacao plant.
And who doesn’t think of Hershey’s when talking about chocolate? The Hershey’s website has a virtual factory tour, a large number of recipes, and the Hershey Communiy Archives guides the visitor through the chocolate creating endeavors of Milton and Catherine Hershey. From photos to patents to online exhibits about candy wrappers, this site holds a wealth of primary source resources relating to an historic “American” endeavor.
It would be easier now…part 3: Titanic July 10, 2009
Posted by Wendy Wolfe in Educational Resources, Games & Simulations, Web resources.Tags: History, Interactive, Science, Titanic, Water
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Ahhh, the Titanic. We studied it before Kate and Leonardo were all the craze and it was interesting but with the resources available to us now would be so much easier to create an engaging learning experience! Of course the History channel would have an amazing resource. History’s main Titanic site connects visitors with video, the ship’s manifest, and an image gallery. There is also a link to an excellent interactive time line with links to a tour and images from before the disaster, an exploration of the most likely scenario showing how the Titanic hit the iceberg, and an introduction to the lives of survivors.
If looking at the voyage of Titanic, Discovery’s “On Board the Titanic” is a great next stop. Virtually follow the journey of one of five passengers on the Titanic. The site is not really interactive (you see images and video clips with their story in words on screen-some of the language is authentic…) but presents the stories of each passenger.
National Geographic also has resources, primarily focused on Robert Ballard’s expeditions to Titanic. Their “Titanic: The Real Deal in 3-D” allows for an exploration through video clips from a 1998 3-D filming of Titanic. The site, “Return To Titanic” is also interesting. It has video and images of the shipwreck Titanic and an interactive feature allowing visitors in virtually explore the shipwreck. With National Geographic does have a lesson plan focusing on shipwreck exploration in general inspired by Robert Ballard, though some of the links in the lesson are broken.
The BBC’s “Titanic Journey” would be another great place to explore. With a combination of video clips and quizzes, visitors learn about the science and history behind the creation and sinking of Titanic. There is even a “Ships Log” so if you are using the site with students, they can save video clips and notes relevant to their research while they investigate the site. Interestingly, this website follows the explorations by the Keldysh, the same research ship featured in the Science Museum of Minnesota’s current Titanic exhibit.
Finally, Snag Films has put online National Geographic’s Secrets of the Titanic. (the video I showed my students on VHS!) The video is interesting, and Martin Sheen is a great narrator.
