Internet news you can use
June 1997

Surfing in a bottle

One way to ensure that children don't accidentally sail into inappropriate content on the Internet is to build a web site that limits their travels to pre-approved routes. That's the idea behind Bonus, a sponsor-supported safe haven for younger kids that offers age-appropriate interactive content packaged inside a custom browser window. Kids will find more than 500 activities here -- including games, coloring books, puzzles, and photo galleries -- many of which have been drawn from other web sites deemed safe by Bonus' editors. The ads are a drawback, and the content leans heavily toward the entertainment end of the "edutainment" spectrum, but at least you won't have to worry too much about unsuitable material on this site. (Required browser gadgets: JavaScript or ActiveX.)

They have Liftoff

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center has put together an impressive collection of space-related material for students. Called Liftoff to Space Exploration, this site contains a wealth of media-rich material, including animated stories and activities, 360-degree virtual-reality walkthroughs of several spacecraft, and a Java-based application that tracks the current location of the Hubble space telescope and the Mir space station. Even if you can't take advantage of the latest rocket-science web gadgetry, this site has lots of up-to-date space information to feed your students' interest in science. (Recommended browser gadgets: FutureSplash and QuickTimeVR plug-ins, Java.)

A sure sign

How do you say the word "ladybug" in American Sign Language? The ASL Browser from Michigan State University's Communication Technology Laboratory has the answer: This amazing site allows your students to click on an entry and watch a short video clip that demonstrates how to sign the word or phrase in ASL. Thousands of video clips are available -- from "a lot" to "zoom" -- and each one is accompanied by a brief written explanation of the sign. (Required browser gadgets: QuickTime plug-in, frames.)

Physics on target

Who says you need an expensive laboratory to teach hands-on physics? The University of Oregon's Virtual Laboratory offers more than a dozen Java-based interactive virtual experiments that teach concepts from thermodynamic equilibrium to the inverse square law. One entertaining experiment has students exploring gravity, kinetic energy, potential energy, and atmospheric drag by aiming a cannon at a target. The experiments run as Java applets in the browser window, complete with lab instructions. Designed for physics non-majors at the university level, these experiments are appropriate for advanced high-school students, too. Fun and instructive, this site offers a glimpse at the future of instructional content delivery. (Required browser gadgets: Java, frames.)