This weekâ??s 19 February 2005 "Earth Science Sites of the Week" feature:
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1) river landscapes
2) volcanoes
3) Google maps
4) snow
5) exploring Yellowstone National Park
6) habits of mind
7) animations: volcanoes
8) teens' attention and the web
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1)RIVER LANDSCAPES, Land and Water Australia, (suggested by Phil
Leinart, Washington Dept. of Ecology), this Australian web site runs
broad and deep. Part of the site uses interactive 3-D diagrams to
explore how rivers and riparian areas function, in scientific,
managerial and social terms. Another portion of the site contains
manuals and guidelines that are "aimed at a more technical audience and
provide detailed information about the science underpinning recommended
best practice in river and riparian management." And, there are
sections dealing with education and training, along with other river
related topics.Discover what the site has to offer by using the menu
on the left, the yellow window at bottom center and the blue
"Understanding River Landscapes" button in the lower right corner.
http://www.rivers.gov.au/
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2)HOW VOLCANOES WORK, San Diego State University, sponsored by NASA,
(suggested by Cheryl Dodes, Port Washington, NY), anything and
everything about volcanoes may be found here at the "How Volcanoes Work"
website. Learn about eruption dynamics, volcanic landforms, types of
eruptions and much more. There is a site index that makes it easy to
find information about a particular volcano or a particular eruption.
Also find excellent illustrations, photographs, and a Quicktime
animation such of how an eruption takes place.
http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/
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3)GOOGLE MAPS (beta), Google,(suggested by Lynn Shirley, University of
South Carolina) there are many map servers for finding directions and
locating points of interest and it was probably only a matter of time
before Google applied its expertise to this arena. A nice feature of
this service is the slider located on the upper left hand side of the
map screen which quickly allows zooming in and out, at speeds that seem
better than other map services. At about the third wrung from the top of
the slider bar, individual street names appear.
http://maps.google.com/
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4)ALL ABOUT SNOW, National Snow and Ice Data Center,(suggested by
Holly Devaul, DLESE), this premier site offers general information about
snow, as well as information on blizzards, ice storms, and avalanches.
http://nsidc.org/snow/index.html
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5) EXPLORING THE YELLOWSTONE GEOECOSYSTEM, SERC, (suggested by John
McDaris, SERC), The Yellowstone collection contains an assortment of
digital resources relevant to the many components of the Yellowstone
Geoecosystem: geology, geophysics, physiography, hydrology, biota (from
microbes to grizzly bears), and human activities and their consequences
in this amazing natural laboratory. This collection contains an
abundance of maps, images, virtual field trips, datasets, technical
papers and general information.
http://serc.carleton.edu/research_education/yellowstone/index.html
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6)SCIENCE FOR ALL AMERICANS, HABITS OF MIND, Project 2061 AAAS,
(suggested by Virginia Malone, Hondo, TX), this site provides the
complete text from the timeless book, Science for All Americans. For
teachers and students lost in a myriad of factoids dictated by
textbooks, the chapter on "Habits of Mind" provides compelling reasons
to teach and learn science. As summarized in the chapter, habits of
mind last a life time, facts tend to evaporate soon after the test.
http://www.project2061.org/tools/sfaaol/chap12.htm
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7)VOLCANO ANIMATIONS, variety of sources, discover fifteen different
animations ranging from views of pyroclastic flows to the formation of
Crater Lake.
http://webs.cmich.edu/resgi/ then click on "earth science animations",
then volcanoes
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8)WHAT WEBSITES DO TO TURN ON TEENS, Nielson Norman Group, reported in
Wired, "If you're designing a website aimed at teenagers, you'd better
not make the text too small. That's not because teens have bad eyes, but
because teenagers tend to lean back in their chairs when they're at
their computers. That advice and much more about how websites for teens
should be different from those for adults can be found in a study
recently completed by Jakob Nielsen, a principal at the Nielsen Norman
Group <http://www.nngroup.com>. Since three-quarters of American teens
are web users, the economic incentive for web designers to get it right
is huge."
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,66514,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_4
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These links are archived at RESOURCES FOR EARTH SCIENCE AND GEOGRAPHY
INSTRUCTION at http://webs.cmich.edu/resgi . The links are organized
around the sequence of topics typically taught in an introductory earth
science or physical geography class. Links are also available for a
variety of animations, environmental science, earth science/geography
education, career opportunities, and more. The sites selected are based
on image quality, ease with which lesson plans can be developed,
organization, authenticity, scope, and format. Please contact me at
Mark.Francek@xxxxxxxxx to remove yourself from the mailing list, add a
new subscriber, or suggest a site to be listed.
Mark Francek
Professor of Geography and Earth Science
Central Michigan University
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859