Here is an exciting new educational project - led by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Conner - to increase student's understanding of civics and the courts. The project is developing free games and curriculum. Very cool! Check it out at http://www.ourcourts.org

Retrieved from Elliott Masie's Learning TRENDS Newsletter, March 6, 2009

The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of material associated with Harriet Tubman, including manuscripts, photographs, and books. This guide compiles links to digital materials related to Harriet Tubman that are available throughout the Library of Congress Web site.

Harriet Tubman: Online Resources
Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:08:02 -0600

Want to learn more about ways to use primary sources in differentiated instruction? Read the latest issue of the Teaching with Primary Sources newsletter. Find links to research on differentiated instruction, discover activities you can use with your students, and meet a teacher who uses primary sources in her classroom activities.

Would you like to see back issues of the newsletter? You can access them through Teaching with Primary Sources Web site.

 The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to become a backbone American society.

Main Website: http://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/

Teachers' Website: http://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/teachers.html
Put the power of primary sources to work in the classroom. Browse ready-to-use lesson plans, student activities, collection guides and research aids.

Gwendolyn Brooks: Online Resources
Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:09:16 -0600

This guide compiles links to resources on Gwendolyn Brooks throughout the Library of Congress Web site, as well as links to external Web sites that include features on her life or selections of her work. Brooks, the first African American author to win the Pulitzer Prize, is perhaps best known for her lyrical portraits of African American urban life.

100 Years Ago: "Ground Hog Sees His Shadow and Disappears for Six Weeks," The Winchester News, Feb. 2, 1909

"It's a shame," proclaimed the Winchester News (Winchester, KY) in February 1909. According to the writer, a sudden sunny day sent the weather-sensitive groundhog back into his den and predicted another six weeks of winter. The article also includes background on the celebration of Groundhog Day and its precursors in Europe....Read more about it!

Look what's new!! Library of Congress is running a pilot offering historical photograph collections through Flickr. Doing so gives the Library of Congress a welcome opportunity to share some of our most popular images with a new visual community.

The Library of Congress invites you to tag and comment on the photos, and will also welcome identifying information—many of these old photos came to LoC with scanty descriptions!

To view the photos on Flickr, go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/Library_of_Congress. You do not need a Flickr account to view the images; you would need to sign up for a free account to add comments or tags.

Think about how The 21st Century Classroom - interactive whiteboard, notebook computers, wireless cart, projector, printer and document camera - could extend your teaching power.

Enter once per day for your chance to win one of five Grand Prize packages including a 21st Century Classroom and a $5000 digital media grant from Discovery Education. Plus, over 25 additional technology prizes!

Davis sixth-grader's science experiment breaks new ground

University of California, Davis, scientists are redirecting their research after a professor's son discovered that a major agricultural pest prefers pistachios over other nuts.

The sixth-grader's experiment showed that female navel orangeworms preferred to lay their eggs in pistachios rather than almonds or walnuts, and researchers now are trying to use the information to better control the pests, according to the California Farm Bureau.

Booker T. Washington: Online Resources

The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of material associated with Booker T. Washington, including manuscripts, photographs, and books.

Photograph possibly by Harry Shepherd, Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-119924

From the Library of Congress:

New Science Reference Guide: Presidential Food

This 8-page guide provides references to books, magazine articles, and Internet resources chronicling the history of presidential food and entertaining of the Chief Executive and his family both in and out of the White House.

 Say It Visually! uses engaging animation, world-class scriptwriting, and over 50 years of business experience to translate what you do into a compelling visual explanation. It's like a digital 'elevator speech' to reach users and clients locally and globally.

Three months ago, they released this video on YouTube and it has been viewed over 25,000 times in more than 70 countries. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4Ns4ltUvfw

Co-Founder, Jordan Schaffel <jordan@sayitvisually.com> reports, "We also released it (free of charge) to educational institutions all over the country. Recently, a division of Junior Achievement asked us if they could use it as their main source for their Gov't course."

Museums have been using various display technologies to immerse visitors into their exhibits for a while, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as cool as what’s going on at the Randers Kulturhistoriske Museum located in Denmark. Check it out:

Geeks are living in a golden age - the geeky gadgets we love get smaller, cheaper and more capable by the day! Where did it all begin? Explore the evolution of geek tech through these 10 engaging examples, from classics including refrigerators and boom-boxes and car audio players to contemporary cellular phones, cars, computers, calculators, video games and more.

I am a B-I-G fan of Common Craft videos. Here is another new one.