I've had the opportunity to preview several websites, but I'd have to say the Asia for Educators / Columbia University (afe.easia.columbia.edu/) is one of my favorites. The website contains an abundance of information on Asian culture, geography, art, and literature. Most of the information is conveniently blocked by time periods, which makes it a lot more accessible to students. It also has a convenient search feature that allows you to pull up information related to a particular topic quickly. This site is extremely visual and from that perspective I believe students will be intrigued once that get on it. I plan to use this website with my unit on China's Trade With the U.S. and The West. Students will be searching for primary and/or secondary source documents related to the opium trade in China. They will also be looking for maps of China with ports that were controlled by foreign powers around the time of the Open Door Policy. This website also offers simulcast presentations, online courses, and a rich volume of primary and secondary source Chinese-language documents that have been translated into English. I would highly recommend this site.
edited by straylor on 1/23/2012