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Hotlinks For 1999 By Date

• Hotlink for 3 January to 10 January, 1999
  GLOBE
  
  Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) is a worldwide network of students, teachers, and scientists working together to study and understand the global environment. Students and teachers from over 6,000 schools in more than 70 countries are working with research scientists to learn more about our planet. GLOBE students make environmental observations at or near their schools and report their data through the Internet. Scientists use the data and report back on the Web.
  
• Hotlink for 10 January to 17 January, 1999
  NOVA Online Library
  
  The complete archive of web pages designed for NOVA to go along with individual shows. Even if you aren't using the specific shows with your students, the pages are great resources of information, help, and links. The archive is sorted by subject: social sciences, physical sciences, life sciences, general, and earth science. One page I particularly like at this site is Nature's Time Machine , a look at the things we can learn from the Ice Caps of The Arctic and Antarctic.
  
• Hotlink for 17 January to 24 January, 1999
  The National Atlas Of The USA
  The is the digital version of the US National Atlas, and contains a powerful online mapping tool as well as digital data available for download in various formats. The U.S. Geological Survey and its partners began work on The National Atlas of the United States of America in 1997. It is designed to promote greater geographic awareness through the development and delivery of products that provide easy to use, map-like views of our natural and socio-cultural landscapes; as an essential reference; as a framework for information discovery; as an instrument of education; as an aid in research; and as an accurate and reliable source for scientific and geographic information.
  
• Hotlink for 24 January to 31 January, 1999
  Geographia
  An impressive smorgasbord of information. The Geographia Web site used to be called InterKnowledge. Each part of this Web site is a complete unit, categorized by continent. The restructuring of the site can be a little confusing, because most of the pages have differing navigation tools and menus. However, navigation within each unit is fairly simple. A few of the sections have sound and movie files. Users will find immense amounts of information on a number of countries and places.
  
• Hotlink for 31 January to 7 February, 1999
  Sounds Of The World's Animals
  Pick an animal, and see what it says in over 30 languages, from Afrikaans to Vietnamese. Frogs say "kva-kva" in Russian, while in Swedish they say "kvack"; in Albanian, dogs say "ham-ham", while in Icelandic they say "voff". Very interesting, and great fun.
  
• Hotlink for 7 to 14 February, 1999
  Six Billion Humans
  A remarkable website, at the "Musee De L'Homme" in Paris. I am very reluctant to list sites that require certain software to enjoy, but this is both a powerful demographic presentation and also an excellent example of how the latest web technology (java, flash, shockwave) can be used to develop informative and interactive websites. The main topic here is population growth, with projections, discussions of related problems, etc.
  
• Hotlink for 14 to 21 February, 1999
  Contemporary Conflicts
  A recent email from Belgium asked me about how many wars there are going on in the world at the moment. In searching for an answer to the query, I found this site. It is at the Canadian Forces College, and uses both maps and text to locate and explain current, on-going conflicts around the world. A huge amount of information on wars, but also a large collection of links to other sources of international information of all kinds.
  
• Hotlink for 21 to 28 February, 1999
  Our Changing Earth
  The mission of Public Science Day is to raise public awareness about the importance of science education. This year's theme: Our Changing Earth. During the 1998-1999 school year, teams across the United States are investigating earth science topics in their communities. Each team consists of an informal science institution, like a science center or museum, and nearby schools. The teams are sharing their ideas and results so that everyone can learn together. The world wide web makes this national collaboration possible. The teams are using the web to access science resources, communicate with scientists and each other, and to work together.
  
• Hotlink for 28 February to 7 March, 1999
  Where The Wild Things Are
  The Librarians at St. Ambrose University have designed a superior website for reference and research. An almost inexhaustible array of links and connections to equally worthy sites.Particularly good links to online reference books and other reference desks may be found here, as well as new site announcement and review services.
  
• Hotlinks for 7 to 14 March, 1999
  Geographic Name Server at MIT
  Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
  Astrological Time Zone and Geographic Server
  Unfortunately, the old telnet-based GNS at MIT died sometime last year; there is now a web-based version of the GNS, but its database hasn't been updated in a while. The Getty GNS is a very powerful and detailed server, that usually gives me a lot more information than I'm looking for; the one at astro.ch is a happy medium (which may be an appropriate phrase when dealing with astrology )!
  
• Hotlink for 14 to 21 March, 1999
  Kids' World At The Peace Corps
  The Peace Corps has launched a new web site for kids as part of this year's Peace Corps Day - a celebration of their 38th birthday. Called "Kids World," the site expands the content of the Peace Corps' current Web site. It's designed for children in middle school, but also features activities for children in elementary school. It has articles, graphics, and games designed to educate and entertain children about world geography and the cultures of other countries. Kids of all ages can send electronic postcards, read folk tales from around the world, download coloring pages, and test their geography savvy with an interactive flash game. In addition, the children's section reinforces the importance of service, and how young people can make a difference in the lives of other people through service and volunteerism.
  
• Hotlink for 21 to 28 March, 1999
  
• There used to be two good sources for speedy, and reasonably reliable, translations between English, French, Chinese, $ just one, google translate; Babelfish is gone, and the link above explains why. You can understand just how limited these translations are by translating a passage from English to Spanish (for instance) and then translating it back. It never works seamlessly, but even so, the translation are passable, and can be understood by native speakers of the other language. My favorite use of these is to translate a website, such as mapping.com, into other languages. Useful, entertaining, fun. (Hint for a few minutes fun: take an old axiom, such as "A penny saved is a penny earned" and translate it into each of the languages available, then back to English, then on to the next language, etc. See what it looks like when it's gone out and back 5 times.)
  
• Hotlink for 28 March to 4 April 1999
  The First Grade Backpack
  A really nice collection of links for lower elementary students; good age-appropiate educational links for young students can be hard to find, but at this geocities site, some effort has been taken to make sure that the sites linked are interesting and useful. There are four main sections: reading, geography, arithmetic, and animals, plus a variety of other links and activities listed as "more cool sites".
  
• Hotlink for 4 to 11 April, 1999
  The Gateway to Educational Materials
  An extensive resource of lesson plans, curriculum materials, and links to other education-related sites. You can link directly to other sites, or you can browse by subject or keyword, find topics of interest, choose a lesson, and then use the retrieved record to link to its original internet source. In mid-March, there were close to 5,000 resources listed and linked.
  
• Hotlink for 11 to 18 April, 1999
  BBC Educational Index
  The BBC has put together a dandy site, with information on their programming and frequency quides, plus all sorts of special-interest areas on News, Education, etc. The education section includes a comprehensive collection of links to useful educational Web sites. The sites are grouped by subject, or you can search for specific keywords. Each site listed includes brief notes on how to integrate it into an educational environment - either in the school or in the home.
  
• Hotlink for 18 to 25 April, 1999
  UT International Network Information Systems
  The objective of International Network Information Systems at the University of Texas is to provide users with access to international academic databases and information services worldwide, and to provide area studies scholars around the world with access to information on and from the regions covered by different Centers. The network includes: The Asian Network Information Center (ASNIC); the Latin American Network Information Center (LANIC); The Middle East Network Information Center (MENIC); and The Russian and East European Network Information Center (REENIC). Each Center provides its own set of very extensive and valuable links.
  
• Hotlink for 25 April to 2 May, 1999
  The Learning Web at the USGS
  The United States Geological Survey has put together a very interesting and useful education area on their web site. There are links, lesson plans, and activity ideas under several main headings including Global Change, Working with Maps, and Earth Science. There are downloadable maps, links to other geography and geology-related sites, and lots of information. The USGS site also provides pages of information about earthquakes, faults, volcanoes, and more K-12 earth science fun
  
• Hotlink for 2 to 9 May, 1999
  3-D Atlas Online
  A site that offers a very rich array of information and links. Topics include a "Countries of the World" index, a Geographic Glossary, links to maps of countries and regions, an "Educators' Area" with links of educational value, and more. For me, the most valuable aspect of this site is "Countries Of The World" -- many of the listed "countries" are not recognized independent states (Wales, Alderney, etc.), but each link provides a paragraphh of general information and then several hyperlinks to resources on the WWW.
  
• Hotlink for 9 to 16 May, 1999
  UK Meteorological Office "Other Sites" page
  From here, you can go "home" to the main UK weather page, or link to dozens of other national and commercial weather sites, including the government weather sites for Australia, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, USA, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
  
• Hotlink for 16 to 23 May, 1999
  Tennessee Bob's Famous French Links
  A remarkable index and guide that links to thousands of Francophone sites: French language sites and French educational sites. Compiled by Bob Peckham of the University of Tennessee at Martin. If you have an interest in anything Francophone, countries, cultures, people, sites, or whatever, you're sure to find something here of interest.
  
• Hotlink for 23 to 30 May, 1999
  Greenland Guide
  Greenland Guide is edited and published on the World Wide Web by Greenland Tourism a/s, the national tourist board of Greenland, and Pegasus Press with the aim of providing an informative and comprehensive source to visiting Greenland. Private companies and public institutions in Greenland or related to Greenland contribute to Greenland Guide with additional information published in sections that clearly differs in layout. Nice photos, useful information.
  
• Hotlink for 30 May to 6 June, 1999
  The "Swimming With Dragons" Site
  This is a lovely site; it is part of the celebration of the Centenary of Suffrage in Western Australia, and has been designed to recognize the achievements of Women in Science in Western Australia and to encourage more young women to take up the challenge of science. There is lots of information about individuals -- you can even search for individuals who match fields you're interested in, or whose personalities are like yours. There are also some very useful links -- to Western Australia Institutions, to National Institutions, and to other interesting sites, such as 4000 years of women in science, the Association for Women in Science, Euroscience, the International Network of Women in Technology, Women in Cable & Telecommunications, and Women of NASA
  
• Hotlink for 6 to 13 June, 1999
  NASA Spacelink
  NASA Educational Products
  EXPRESS
  NASA Spacelink is one of NASA's electronic resources specifically developed for the education community. There are tremendous resources, links, and all sorts of useful information. In particular, you may wish to join the NASA Spacelink EXPRESS mailing list to receive announcements of new NASA materials and opportunities for educators.
  
• Hotlinks for 13 to 20 June, 1999
  World Time World Clock
  Two of the many "world time" sites; the first site, Isbister's World Time Zone Site in Texas, offers a large selection of cities, and some interesting detail; the second, a Norwegian site, has a generalized list of world cities, with the option of selecting detailed lists by continent, or of setting up your own handy clock, or of letting you plan international meetings - enter up to four locations around the world, and it shows you the times in all those places next to one another, letting you plan a meeting that's best for all involved.
  
• Hotlinks for 20 to 27 June, 1999
  Weather
  The Weather Underground
  Two weather sites. The first one, "Weather", is inspired by programs from Planet Earth, a video series in the Annenberg/CPB Multimedia Collection. At this site, students can explore the forces behind the weather, try their hand at tornado chasing, or discover how wind chill works. Hands-on activities include topics such as the atmosphere, the water cycle, ice and snow, and forecasting. The other site is The Weather Underground site, where you can check present, historic, and future weather all over the world, and learn all there is to know about the weather.
  
• Hotlink for 27 June to 4 July, 1999
  Middle School Web
  The Middleweb site is a very comprehensive site about middle-level education. Besides links to other useful sites, and a huge archive of useful tips and ideas from teachers, there are also the following areas: Assessment and evaluation; Curriculum and instruction; The nuts and bolts Parents and the public; Principal professional development; School leadership; Standards-based school reform; Student and school life; Teacher professional development; Teachers at work
  
• Hotlink for 4 to 11 July, 1999
  Lesson Plans Page
  Not the most well-organized site on the web, or the most comprehensive, but a very long and useful list of links related to education -- the links include everything from Kathy Schrock's marvelous index to sites for cheerleaders. You can add your own choices of sites as well. The backlink is an archive of lesson plans in a variety of disciplines.
  
• Hotlink for 11 to 18 July, 1999
  Earthshots
  The USGS has expanded the ebook "Earthshots: Satellite Images of Environmental Change". Earthshots now tells 29 stories of landscape change around the world, based on before-and-after Landsat images from the national Landsat archive, showing recent environmental events and introducing remote sensing. Earthshots comes from the U.S. Geological Survey's EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls S.D., the world's largest archive of earth science data and the official National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive.
  
• Hotlink for 18 to 25 July, 1999
  Journeywoman
  A Canadian quarterly web magazine, with a vast number of tips, some very useful, about traveling. While aimed mainly at the single woman traveler, everybody who travels can find something useful here. The index includes: gal-friendly city sites, go-alone travel tips, love stories, travel classifieds, journey doctor, women's travel tales, what should I wear, letters to the editor, the older adventuress, travel 101, women helping women travel, her spa stop, her ecoadventures, best books, and ms. biz.
  
• Hotlink for 25 July to 1 August, 1999
  PopNet
  PopNet is a resource and gateway for population information. With PopNet, you can search the most comprehensive directory of population-related web sites available--by topic or keyword, by organization, or through PopNet's clickable world map. Most amazing is the 33 pages of links to other population resources around the world. PopNet presents information on population topics such as Demographic Statistics, Economics, Education, Environment, Gender, Policy and Reproductive Health. Its resources include web sites produced by Government and International Organizations, Non-governmental Organizations, University Centers, and Associations and Listserves.
  
• Hotlink for 1 to 8 August, 1999
  UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office
  As with the State Department site in the US, the UK's FCO site provides a wealth of information for travelers, and for anyone interested in the rest of the world. Among other things, there is a list, with links, to all the British diplomatic missions worldwide, and a very, very useful collection of links to international sites.
  
• Hotlink for 8 to 15 August, 1999
  Infonation
  A very useful page, part of the UN CyberSchoolBus site, InfoNation is an easy-to-use, two-step database that allows you to view and compare the most up-to-date statistical data for the Member States of the United Nations. In the first menu, you can select several countries. Then, you can proceed to the data menu where you select statistics and other data fields. Finally, the server will give you comparative data for the countries you've chosen. Compare the populations and area of Ghana and Guatemala in a few key strokes.
  
• Hotlink for 15 to 22 August, 1999
  Geosource
  GEOSOURCE, is a general geography/geoscience directory which offers well maintained listings of over 2550 web resources, among which are over 1000 academic journal sites, almost 400 recent and forthcoming conferences (probably the web's largest and most up to date collection of geo-conferences), hundreds of national and international professional geo-organizations, and a comprehensive listing of national statistical agencies worldwide and much more. This site is developed and maintained by the reference librarian and map curator of the library of the Faculty of Geographical Sciences of Utrecht University, The Netherlands and is updated four times a week.
  
• Hotlink for 22 to 29 August, 1999
  The Hunger Site
  A proprietary website that is also helping the world's hungry. Visitors to the Hunger Site help starving people in the developing world, without it costing them a penny. When you log on to The Hunger Site's website, the first thing you see is a map of the world. Every few seconds, one of the countries lights up to show that someone there has died of hunger. Below the map is a button. Click on it and a donation is made to an aid agency, not by yourself, but by a corporate sponsor. According to the BBC, where I first heard of this site, a man named Alan Martin, who investigates charities for potential fraud, says that "in this case, all the right safeguards are there."
  
• Hotlinks for 29 August to 5 September, 1999
  
  • The Jersey Shore Beachcam
  • Surfcam Australia
  • World Surfcams
  
  It's the peak of Northern-Hemisphere Summer, and so here's a selection of global surfing sites -- primarily here for their "surfcams", which give visitors a view of ocean conditions all over the world. The first link is fun, but the other two provide vast selections of links, allowing "travel" from NJ to Brazil to the UK to Australia and New Zealand. The third site is much more than a library of surfcam sites, though. It has worldwide links for: equipment, magazines, weather, surfer resources (some very useful guides can be found off this page), and lists of other surfing links grouped by geographical location.
  
• Hotlink for 5 to 12 September, 1999
  Subways of the World
  From Adana to Zurich, this site has maps of subways and other public transportation for just about every city you can think of. In addition to maps, there are links to each city's official public transportation page (where available). For example, the link for Boston brings you to the MBTA page. There is also an archives section where you can see what the various systems looked like in yesteryear. Additionally, there are tons of links for general resources from Amtrak to ScotRail.
  
• Hotlink for 12 to 19 September, 1999
  The GeoGame Project
  One section of the splendid global schoolhouse site. First, you register your school to play the GeoGame. To play a GeoGame, you and your students then select one or more of the current games in our databases. Then your students, with help from maps, atlases, and other reference materials, match the description of each location in the game with the name of the corresponding city. After the students have decided the answers to the game, you enter your answers into the form at the top of the game page. If all of your answers are correct a certificate will be presented to print out and post on your bulletin board. Be sure to check the global schoolhouse backlink for more resources and ideas.
  
• Hotlink for 19 to 26 September, 1999
  The "countries information" page at yahoo
  From the Yahoo.com index. A list of 193 countries -- with subdirectories of links for each one. Whatever you want to know about any particular country can probably be found here. Additionally, you'll find links to other web directories, to the Infonation statistical database, to ABCNEWS.com: Country Profiles, to the CIA World Factbook, to the State Department listing of Independent States in the World, to National Geographic's Map Machine with downloadable political and physical maps, and a number of other geographical resources.
  
• Hotlink for 26 September to 3 October, 1999
  GeoStation
  A teacher in British Columbia set up and maintains this site; it is a storehouse of useful and interesting activities and links. There are activities, lesson plans, links to all sorts of geographic sites, and newsletters, for teachers and for students, that highlight and provide links to the weeks top geo-news.
  
• Hotlink for 3 to 10 October, 1999
  World Wildlife Fund
  WWF is one of the world's best-known and most effective conservation organizations; their web site explains their mission in great detail, and also includes information on continuing efforts all over the world, including the Congo Basin rain forests, the Lakes of the Rift Valley, East African marine ecosystems, Madagascar's Dry Forest and Spiny Desert, the eastern Himalayas, the Tibetan plateau,the forests of the lower Mekong, the Mesoamerican Caribbean reef, and many, many more locations. Excellent material and links for teachers and students.
  
• Hotlink for 10 to 17 October, 1999
  Shangri-La Site
  A very detailed and fascinating Himalaya site; you can take a visual tour of the mountains, identify the different peaks, read about the world's highest junkyard, follow links to country information on all the countries of the Himalaya: Burma (Myanmar), India, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet & China, Pakistan and Afghanistan. There are many marvelous photos as well.
  
• Hotlink for 17 to 24 October, 1999
  Polynesian Voyaging Society
  A site dedicated to the voyages of the earliest Pacific Islanders. Follow the route of the Society's latest expedition -- Hokule'a departed from Hilo, Hawai'i, on June 15, 1999, bound for Rapa Nui (formerly Easter Island) via the Marquesas Islands and Mangareva. Or view maps and read about the hypotheses concerning the earliest voyages. There are lesson plans, photos, maps, and tremendous historical resources available.
  
• Hotlink for 24 to 31 October, 1999
  
• Gulf Site at Columbia
  This is a very comprehensive collection of news, background and research data on the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia. The NEWS section contains links to major news sources, there's a thoughtful selection of specialized resources in the REFERENCE section, there are maps, interesting links, and other useful areas of this website.
  
• Hotlink for 31 October to 7 November, 1999
  
• NIMA GeoNET Names Server
  So, you've heard the name of a region of Russia, let's say something like Bashkortostan, and you want to know if its an oblast, a republic, an autonomous okrug, a kray, a city, or an autonomous oblast (Bashkortostan is a republic, by the way). Well, there's only one place to look -- the NIMA GeoNET names server, which lists all the countries recognized by the US (and more), and lists their principal subdivisions. Even if you're not looking up a particular locale, this is a fascinating place to linger and explore.
  
• Hotlink for 7 to 14 November, 1999
  
• http://www.kropla.com/
  A Texan named Steve Kropla maintains this site, which is an incredibly comprehensive listing of worldwide electrical and telephone information; if you're taking your computer to Papua New Guinea, or want to plug in your hair dryer in Mali, this site will tell you how. Also, there is a listing of "handy travel links" that is worth visiting.
  
• Hotlink for 14 to 21 November, 1999
  
• The Holiday and Festival Site
  According to the man in Lebanon who built and maintains this site, "Have you ever travelled, perhaps on business, only to find on arrival that your customers are all on holiday or that instead of five days work, you will, due to National day or religious celebrations, get only two? I have, and it's very frustrating, so I decided to try to put together a page to bring together as much information about National holidays as possible". He has done a comprehensive and informative job.
  
• Hotlink for 21 to 28 November, 1999
  
• About India
  An extensive factual site about India; subdirectories include India's Origin, Heritage and Culture, States and Union Territories, Demographics, Government, and more, including a link to the comprehensive India Darshan News Site which allows you to select from several Indian dailies.
  
• Hotlink for 28 November to 5 December, 1999
  
• The High Point Public Library
  Not the best library site on the WWW, or the most extensive set of links, but an excellent, comprehensive, interesting site with something for everyone -- links for teachers, a safe area for kids, searches for books by author, translations into many languages, etc. Worth a visit.
  
• Hotlink for 5 to 12 December, 1999
  
• Consular Affairs Bureau, Canada
  Like the US State Department http://travel.state.gov/, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs http://www.dfat.gov.au/consular/advice/ and the Foreign And Commonwealth Office in the UK http://www.fco.gov.uk/, the Consular Affairs Bureau of the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) provides country-specific travel reports, warnings, and various other information sheets. If you're planning to travel, it's not a bad idea to check them all.
  
• Hotlink for 12 to 19 December, 1999
  
• The Invisible Web
  Gary Price, of George Washington University, tracks what he calls the "Invisible Web", which is the part of cyberspace that's inaccessible to search engines, but is still searchable - if you know where to find the gateways. See how to access databases that have their own search engines and tools. While general search tools are essential for retrieval of Internet materials, many users do not realize that large amounts of information can not be easily searched via the major search and indexing tools because of their structures or locations.
  
• Hotlink for 19 to 26 December, 1999
  
• The NOAA Photo Collection
  This is the NOAA photograph and image collection, which has been produced to help those interested in studying our natural world learn more about our oceans, the atmosphere, and the history of the pioneers who began the study of our environment in the United States. Presently there are approximately 10,000 digitized images on this site - and this number will continue to grow! There are stunning photos of coastlines, sunrises, all sorts of weather-related events, and more. Also has a very complete index for browsing, and a search routine for finding just the image you want.
  
• Hotlinks for 26 December, 1999 to 2 January,2000
  

• World Time and Calendar Sites

  1. World Time
  2. World Clock
  3. US Naval Observatory Time Site
  4. Worldtime Interactive Atlas
  5. Calendar Home
  6. The Geological Time Machine at UC Berkeley
  
  What could be more appropriate for the Millennial New Year's Weekend than a selection of time and date sites! Check your watch; read about why the year 2000 is a leap year while 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not; figure out who really sees the new millennium first; and, at the Berkeley site, learn about time on a vast scale.

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