Hibernation Anyone??? A ThinkQuest Website has the Scoop!

Ok, so hibernation time is just around the corner (You're feeling very sleepy...) and in case you were wondering what that's all about take a look at this very good website created by a group of 5th graders for a competition put on by ThinkQuest (see below):

The Deep Sleep
Did you know there are four different ways animals deep sleep? Check it out!     

What is this ThinkQuest I speak of?

ThinkQuest  is a protected, online learning platform that enables teachers to integrate learning projects into their classroom curriculum and students to develop 21st century skills. It is provided as a free service to K-12 schools around the globe by The Oracle Education Foundation.

On the ThinkQuest site you will find the project area (here you can take a tour of ThinkQuest...fyi); a competition space where the technology contests happen and the ThinkQuest Library that houses all the projects and is a pretty nifty learning resource.There is also a professional development program for teachers.

School administrators must enroll their schools to participate in a project or competition but anyone can access the ThinkQuest Library and check out the competition winners.

You can search the library by age group, country, and subject category. There are over 7,000 websites created by students from around the world and they are amazing.  Enjoy!

OpenCourseWare from MIT! Get Your Learning On!

 
Wondering what MIT OpenCourseWare is?

Here's the scoop (from their About page): "MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) is a web-based publication of virtually all MIT course content. OCW is open and available to the world and is a permanent MIT activity.

MIT OpenCourseWare is a free publication of MIT course materials that reflects almost all the undergraduate and graduate subjects taught at MIT.

• OCW is not an MIT education.                                           
  
• OCW does not grant degrees or certificates.
• OCW does not provide access to MIT faculty.
• Materials may not reflect entire content of the course."

 How cool (and educationally generous) is that!?!

There are 1900 courses listed. Some of them are Audio/video courses, some are translated courses. You can search them by several categories. And it's all FREE and no registration required.

There is also a key to what is included in each course. For example: Lecture Notes, Selected Lecture Notes, Assignments & Solutions, Assignments (No Solutions), Projects & Examples, Projects (No Examples), Exams & Solutions, Exams (No Solutions),  Image Gallery,  Online Textbooks, & Multimedia Content, etc.

There is also a newsletter & rss updates to courses you can sign up for.

Kind of puts a whole new spin on Life Long Learning, doesn't it?

Check Out the Most Famous Shipping Disaster in the History of the Great Lakes. . .

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank suddenly on November 10, 1975 in 530 feet of water without sending any distress signals. Her entire crew of 29 was lost.



The sinking of the "Mighty Fitz" became the most famous disaster in the history of the Great Lakes and was the subject of Gordon Lightfoot's hit ballad "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".

Here are some links to a wealth of information on this famous ship and her fate:

The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum  
(Don't miss the tabs at the bottom of the page for more info.)

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
This site has many interesting links to explore, song lyrics, and midi-versions of the song.

Wikipedia's SS Edmund Fitzgerald
This site has a list of the crew as well as some very interesting external links to check out including Google Earth and NOAA.

What's Big & Scaly & First Appeared in Japan in November 1954?

Godzilla (or "Gojira" as he was known at the time) was first seen in Japanese theaters November 3rd, 1954 and has gone on to become a pop-culture icon to the world.

Check out these sites for all the info you could want or need (and then some!) on our favorite gigantic lizard monster:


Godzilla - Wikipedia

Barry's Temple of Godzilla
This site has video clips, sound clips, photos, movie reviews, FAQ's just to get you started. The site is not being updated but should be looked at as more of a Godzilla museum and is well worth a visit.

Days of the Dead. . .

 

Between October 31st and November 3rd many cultures around the globe celebrate remembering the dead in some fashion or another.

Days of the Dead from Boston.com is an interesting photo journal of those celebrations from the White House to Paris to Mexico and beyond.

(It's always fun to see what the neighbors are up to!) Enjoy!

Check Out These Opening Lines. . .

100 Best First Lines of Novels . . .As chosen by the editors of American Book Review and found on the Infoplease.com site.

This is a rather interesting list and it was fun to recognize old favorites.

(Miss Bun's personal favorite is #63.)

Be sure to take a look at #95....it should win an award....or something.

Happy Birthday to . . .

Daniel Boone who was born in Berks County, Pennsylvania in 1734 to Quaker parents.

Find out more about this original American folk hero at:

Daniel Boone - Wikipedia

and

The Daniel Boone Homestead