TECHNOPOLIS
Pay Attention, Students:
Link, Look and Learn
David Colker Times Staff Writer
Los Angeles Times 24 August 2006
It's great to get a new laptop, music player and cellphone for heading
back to school. But here's a tech item you can use free: a list of websites on
a variety of academic topics. Most include links for exploring subjects in
detail. Cut this article out and tape it up in your dorm room, your apartment,
your Mom's basement or wherever you do your studying. First up: a group of
sites you definitely want to bookmark no matter what classes you'll be taking
this year.
ACADEMIC ALL STARS
www.ipl.org
Tough to say enough good about the little known Internet Public
Library site. It was started by the University of Michigan and provides links
to online pages in numerous academic fields. And it will probably get even more
comprehensive because 14 other schools have signed on to join the project.
www.howstuffworks.com
Provides a look at the inner
workings of the mundane (pencil, hair dryer) and complex (brain, atomic clock).
Great for science reports.
www.ask.com
Takes questions in plain
language. Works best with simple queries such as, "When was Benjamin
Franklin born?"
www.google.com
Still the best search engine.
ANATOMY
www.anatomyatlases.org
"Atlas of Human Anatomy" offers fantastic images of human
body parts.
www.bartleby.com/107
This is the 1918 version of the classic Gray's "Anatomy of the
Human Body." Still a handy, basic guide.
www.innerbody.com
Interactive site that's used to identify body parts (not just skeletal
but also digestive, muscular and other systems) and to learn about their
functions.
ARCHEOLOGY
http://archnet.asu.edu/
Arizona State University's list of links to museums and other
resources, organized by geography and topic.
www.cyberpursuits.com/archeo
Assorted links, organized by region.
ART HISTORY
The Metropolitan Museum of
Art's timeline of art history, from Mal'ta carvings in Asia in 20,000 BC to video
installations by Bill Viola that the museum purchased in 2001.
http://witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTHLinks.html
Extensive links to art periods, artists and museums.
www.artchive.com
Not the easiest site to navigate but worth the trouble. The online
guide provides images of works by prominent artists.
BIOLOGY
www.biology.arizona.edu
University of Arizona's site has links organized by topic.
www.mnstate.edu/weibust/internetresbiostu.htm
Minnesota State University Moorhead's list of links, by topic.
CENSUS
www.Factfinder.census.gov
Official U.S. population numbers, by ZIP Code, from the federal Census
Bureau. Breaks information down by race and other factors.
CHEMISTRY
www.chemicalelements.com
Of the many periodic tables of elements sites on the Web, this one's
particularly well designed. It began as an eighth-grader's science project in
1996.
www.chemdex.org
Originating from the University of Sheffield in England, this site
features more than 7,000 links.
http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/index.shtml
Quizzes, glossaries and tutorials from Frostburg State University in
Maryland.
CONVERSION TOOLS
www.sciencemadesimple.com/conversions.html
Metric conversions of distance, area, weight, speed, temperature and
more. Also converts fractions to decimals.
www.xe.com/ucc/full.shtml
Converts more than 180 world currencies. Continuously updated.
LANGUAGES
www.translation.langenberg.com
Translates words and phrases in 13 languages.
http://www.verbix.com/webverbix/index.asp
Conjugates verbs in numerous languages.
www.ethnologue.com
Information on nearly 7,000 living languages.
LITERATURE
www.gutenberg.net
Now in its 35th year, this spectacular collection of 18,000
public-domain books includes all works by Shakespeare, "Moby Dick"
and numerous religious texts. All selections can be downloaded to be read
either on the computer screen or on paper.
http://vos.ucsb.edu/browse.asp?id=3
World literature links from UC Santa Barbara.
MATH
www.algebrahelp.com
Algebra practice problems.
www.mathplayground.com/flashcards.html
Remember flashcards? Here's an online version.
MUSIC
www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources
From Indiana University comes this list of links, organized by music
genre, composer and performer.
www.carolinaclassical.com/links.html
Good set of links, organized by era.
www.classical.net/music
More than 5,000 links, plus thousands of CD reviews and
recommendations.
PHILOSOPHY
http://plato.stanford.edu/contents.html
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a work in progress that
provides short essays on nearly 1,000 names and concepts. All are written by
professionals in the field.
www.epistemelinks.com/index.aspx
These links are organized according to philosophers, eras and topics.
www.philosophypages.com/dy
Dictionary of names and terms, many of which include links to other
resources.
PHYSICS
www.aip.org/history
Interactive exhibits from the American Institute of Physics on
landmark discoveries in the field.
www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/index.pl
An interactive site from the University of Colorado at Boulder
demonstrates physics principles behind microwave ovens, X-rays, lasers and
more.
POLITICAL SCIENCE
www.thomas.loc.gov
The Library of Congress site includes the daily Congressional Record
and updates on pending legislation.
www.psr.keele.ac.uk/official.htm
Links to government websites worldwide.
PSYCHOLOGY
www.allpsych.com
A glossary of basic terms, plus numerous other features such as a
timeline.
www.psychology.org
Links to publications and resources.
REFERENCE
http://dictionary.reference.com/
Enter a word and get a definition from the American Heritage
Dictionary among other sources.
www.encyclopedia.com
Brief entries from the Columbia Encyclopedia.
www.infoplease.com
Almanac of statistics and information on politics, business, sports,
weather and entertainment.
the Internet Public Library
WORLD FACTS
www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook
Not everything the CIA does is secret. The agency's public directory
of countries includes such information as a nation's population, government
type, terrain, agriculture, health systems, languages and broadcast stations.