Volume 5, No.2
20 August, 2005
[To view this newsletter on line:
http://www.emck.net/eline/05_08_20.htm]
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"Why did I receive this?"
This newsletter is sent to all past attendees of
the Kentucky Summer Teacher Academies (and other educators) as a free service of
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The Internet as Universal Access to Intellectual Property
 Very
recently, Google put on hold its highly-publicized book scanning project -
taking books from several major libraries and scanning them in for inclusion
in Google's search capabilities. (See
this story in the Washington Post,
and Google's own
posted response to these concerns.) The libraries withdrew their support -
and access to their shelves - to protect the rights of the publishers and
original authors.
This incredibly aggressive and potentially exciting process fell victim to the
ragged boundary between the desire for universal access to the history and
development of ideas, and the desire of owners of those ideas, and the
documents in which they live, to protect their rights. The Internet provides
incredible speed and ease in the of copying and reuse of materials, and, as a
result, copyright and the Internet have always had a difficult relationship
(music and video downloading are further symptoms of this problem).
Regardless of your opinion of what should be "Googled," and what should
not be (or what you think Google's motivations are in pursuing this),
a lot of this sort of work is already done. We reviewed
Project Gutenberg - offering free
online versions of 16,000 pieces of fine literature already in the public
domain - in our July 11, 2003
edition. Below, the Internet Archive provides access to a wide range of
resources. But mostly, The E-Line, and many resources like it, thrive on the
"spirit of the Internet," where people give of themselves, their ideas, their
writing, and other creations, without desire or interest in maintaining
"ownership." To that end...thanks to all who contribute!
(If you have something to contribute, we'd love
to hear from you! Just respond to this email!) |
| On-line
Resources |
 The
Internet Archive
http://www.archive.org/
Completely non-profit, the Internet Archive serves as a
repository for digital resources of all kinds. Especially fun is its
"Way Back Machine," which archives old versions of websites. Put your
school or district URL in there, and see what it looked like 10 years
ago! (Not surprisingly, since websites stored this way provide an
end-run around content filtering software, most districts block this
capability, so you'll have to look at it at home.) But there are lots of
other resources there, including movie clips, music recordings, and
other resources. |
| Content Area
Resources |
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Health/ Practical Living |
 Oral-B
Teaching Tools
http://www.oralb.com/learningcenter/teaching/
Like a lot of health-related
companies, Oral-B has provided educational materials associated with
the purpose of its products. This collection of K-5 lessons on oral
hygiene and dental care are aligned with national science and health
standards, and include black-line masters for duplicating free for
download from the site.
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| Mathematics/
Social Studies
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 Lesson
Plans from NationMaster
http://www.nationmaster.com/lps/intro.php If
you've never been to NationMaster, you're in for a treat! This very
active site produces graphs and other visions, and lots of resources on
the wonderful world of statistics! There are masses of information
you can easily use in your own lesson plans. But the site also includes this
collection of prepared plans offered by grade level. |
| Reading |
 R.E.A.D.'s
Road to Reading
http://www.roadtoreading.org
R.E.A.D., a non-profit organized by Oregon parents in
1993, offers this well-reviewed reading enhancement tutorial. It
integrates 6 reading exercises complete with printable guide and
integrated oral instructions, all delivered for free on a computer CD
you can order from the site.
The goal of the tutorial is to improve reading speed and comprehension,
and it assumes basic reading ability as a prerequisite. Since it is
free, it would make an excellent resource for students concerned about
keeping up in their high school electives and AP course, as well as
those intending to attend college. |
| Science |
 Court
TV's Forensics in the Classroom
http://www.courttv.com/forensics_curriculum/
The cable channel offers free curriculum units on crime
forensics, designed in partnership with the American Academy of Forensic
Sciences. Aimed at middle and high school classes, the units include
extensive documentation including alignment with national standards,
lists of materials, and experiment designs. Access to the units requires
registration, which is free. (See the grant opportunity below!)
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Writing (and reading too!) |
Lesson Plans from MysteryNet
http://www.mysterynet.com/learn/lessonplans/
From Austin, Texas, comes MysteryNet, "For everyone
who enjoys a good mystery." There are complete books online, access
to games, puzzles, and other activities, and this collection of
quick lesson plans on mysteries for use in your classroom. The
lesson plans are primarily aimed at analyzing existing stories, but
the site also includes a mystery writing exercise. Most resources
are not in handy printable form, but are at least copy/paste-able
for your own purposes...including the stories on which many of the plans are
based. |
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Grants |
 Court
TV's Forensics in the Classroom Grant
http://www.courttv.com/forensics_curriculum/grant.html
Registration and use of Court TV's curriculum materials
(see Science above), plus a simple online application process, makes you
eligible for one of Court TV's $1,000 grants! It seems a bit more like a
simple contest, but since the free materials look high quality, what do
you have to lose! |
| Professional
Sources |
 Kentucky
Educational Television's EncycloMedia
http://www.ket.org/education/encyclomedia.htm
KET has graciously purchased access to the entire United
Streaming catalog, added dozens of resources from its own library, and
offered the results in a simple-to-use, Kentucky Core Content-aligned,
locally-supported web delivery format, with thousands of videos and video
excerpts for use in your classroom! Contact KET for direct support of
this initiative in your district, school, or classroom. |
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