Pay Attention, Students: Link, Look and Learn
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.sparknotes.com -- The primary mission of this site from Barnes & Noble is to feature study guides to novels and nonfiction. But it also has free reference guides to other topics such as biology, math and physics.
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
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
www.metmuseum.org/toah -- 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.
witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTHLinks.html -- Extensive links to art periods, artists and museums.
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
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.
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
translation.langenberg.com -- Translates words and phrases in 13 languages.
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.
vos.ucsb.edu/browse.asp?id=3 -- World literature links from UC Santa Barbara.
www.cliffsnotes.com -- The famed Cliffs Notes study guides to hundreds of books can be read on the website for free, although you’ll have to pay to download a print version in a PDF file.
MATH
www.algebrahelp.com -- Algebra practice problems.
www.mathplayground.com/flash
cards.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
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
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
allpsych.com -- A glossary of basic terms, plus numerous other features such as a timeline.
www.psychology.org -- Links to publications and resources.
REFERENCE
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.
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.
