pre-2011 web resources

[Anonymous]

In trying to locate information about anime, I found that there are number of risque and undesirable websites that are pornographic or as close to it as can be. One website that helped understand anime is http://www.anime.about.com -- this website offered a clear definition for me and my students during our project.

[Anonymous]

Looking for myths from East Asia? Try http://www.pantheon.org -- this website had traditional, classical Greek and Roman, but also Asian myths. Another good website is http://dir.yahoo.com/society_and_culture/mythology_and_folklore/ -- These will help you find appropriate stories to share with your students.

[Anonymous]

I went to Mr. Donn's website at the following place:

http://members.aol.com/donnclass/3Teachings.html#Top

On this page, there is a comparison between Winnie the Pooh and Taoism. Of course you can read the direct source of this by reading the book The Tao of Pooh.

I think that this similarity should be investigated when discussing the Tao. I did not understand the point of Taoism and the uncarved block at first. After reading about Winnie the Pooh and seeing how he is in fact a representation (albeit perhaps not qite) of the uncarved block. Even thouh rabbit is smart, he runs around, completely busy and stressed out, and telling other people what to do. Thus rabbit does not reflect harmony in society.

Owl, on the other hand may be wise, but he hoots and gives advice which no one is interested in.

Tiggers do not no their place in society. They are fun, but they have limitations and need to find out what their limitations are.

Anyway, please check out the website to see how Pooh represents the uncarved block. I think a comparison with students can help them to understand Taoism in a modern sense.

[Anonymous]

I found a vast resource about Asia Today. This is almost like a newspaper of various articles that are goingon in Asia. It conglomerats articles by the BBC, Japan Times, Taipei Times and many other papers.

In a website regarding Asia it would be superb as a resrouce. Students could also use it to find and report on current events which are going on in Asia. It is updated daily and it has a news archive as well.

Asia Today

[Anonymous]

I was very interested in learning about Marco Polo's journey to China... especially after I learned that he may have never been there in the first place. I found two websites which give information about this perhaps being fabricated and I thought I would post them here.
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/polo.html

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/doubleissue/mysteries/marco.htm

They both stem from a book that was written by Frances Wood, "Did Marco Polo Go to china"

I think this would be an interesting debate to run with kids and I believe that students would get into it. They of course would be expected to have researched the information first.

[Anonymous]

I believe that a web resource regarding sumo wrestling would be valuable was to raach the diverse interests of students. It is interesting that a Japanese sport is now international in scope.

Since the 1960's Hawaiians have been among the top Sumos (though it wasn't until the 90's that a Hawaiian had the top title)

Today the Mongolians are a strong force. Even the russians and people from the country of Georgia are becoming a forsce to be recognized.

Information about the international arena of the sport can be found at:

http://web-japan.org/trends/sports/spo040204.html

The official Sumo league even has a webitein English. The following site has alist of dates of competition, a record book, a who's who section along with other sections.

http://www.sumo.or.jp/eng/index.html

I found this article particulary interesting. They have a sumo wrestling league here in the United States For an article on it...

http://www.sumo.or.jp/eng/index.html

[Anonymous]

I looked up the following link about the Geisha.

http://www.sumo.or.jp/eng/index.html

This toic inherently is quite interesting. Ifelt this site was easy to navigate and interesting. Sometimes the author of the site was oto wrapped around backgrounds and moving pictures which are distracting to the site.

From ths site, we could easily make a webquest in order for our students to learn about the Geisha. It's mostly basic information, but if students would like to research further, of course, by all means, let them!

another site to use, which has excellent graphics is:

http://www.whatever.net.au/~amaya/geisha/

[Anonymous]

I found a great site that gives all sorts of different asian art information and pictures. It was created for Asian art Appreciation. It discuses calligraphy, Chinese embroidery, Thai coffee painting, Khmer ceramics, Vietnamese woodblock print, the Japanese art of Tea ceremony, Indonesian Batik, along with other forms of Asian art. It has links to artists and to galleries as well.

http://www.asia-art.net/

We could use this tool in our classrooms, along with a guided webquest so students can get a feel for the variances of the art. They could make comparisons from the varoius Asian paintings.

I think the site is an excellent resource.[Edit by="kmilton on May 6, 6:30:50 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

The museum's website can be found at: http://www.npm.gov.tw/index.htm

The website for the National Palace Museum in Taipei is really a fantastic website and meets the Museum’s goal of global resource sharing. The home page is nicely done but typical of most home pages in that it has its menu with different listings. However when one clicks on one of the options the connecting pages are quite nice. You can even purchase items from the museum gift store such as books and prints.

For instance, “about us” actually lists each museum department with a link and the name of the curator for that department. The museum is currently undergoing a makeover and you can link on that option and link to the history of the museum, but also information and diagrams of how they plan to change the dimensions.
The “exhibitions” option takes one to a page that allows you to choose photos of paintings by dynasty, calligraphy, tapestry, and rare books housed at the museum. The museum is in process of converting all the holdings in the collection to high-resolution digital format so they can be viewed easily on the World Wide Web. Obviously this makes their collection accessible to all.

The “explore and learn” button was the best part of the website. The linking pages were accompanied by music and really nice graphics. One can click on different topics in the collection such as glazing. This will link you to a photo of a piece of ceramics then you can read about the glazing process with subsequent links to words a novice might not understand or would like more information on.

The website is ascetically pleasing to the eye with the first pages on any given link having a really nice motioning cube design of collection pieces, blending old with modern. It was easy to navigate around the website. The interactive “explore and learn” would be something that students would enjoy and would probably be most suitable for an art history type of class.

[Anonymous]

I am definitely going to give this topic more time during the summer and see what else I can dig up about the debate between those who support Polo's findings, and those who argue he might be just be a perfect example of a person who became famous through his own delivery of the stories told by others.

Whatever the case might be, it's too bad more records weren't kept on this historical figure, but I don't know how people can assume or generalize, he never mentioned tea. As we discussed in our meeting, maybe he just didn't care for it. I don't know whether tea has addictive properties like coffee or cigarretes, but that might be a reason he didn't find it appealing. Personally, I don't find tea to be an exciting drink, but that's a matter of taste.

While looking at the two links presented by kmilton, I did see the references to paper money and coal. Now, those two make perfect sense for a person whose living depends on the exchange of goods for money. This would have immediately been relevant to Marco Polo. I have to also add, a bit sarcastically, that the bit about coals couldn't have gone unnoticed, especially when you're freezing in the middle of Mongolia or the nothern parts of China.

Let's see what else I can find on that mysterious man. For one, I am glad he brought pasta back to Italy.

[Anonymous]

The website you mention is Amazing! I think I will be using it as a great source of reference and in my lesson plan. Thanks

[clay dube]

Here's a link to a resource page -- it would be terrific if teachers would visit these sites and write reviews of them:

Select Web Resources on Modern Japan

[Anonymous]

This website is amazing! I don't teach Social Studies, but teaching it has several similarities to teaching Language Arts. We do a lot of referencing to history, social background, and many times we go deep into the history of a particular type of individuals. This website will allow me to shape my lesson plans differently, so that I can give my students more opportunities to understand and learn from different cultures in both contemporary and ancient settings. I like the fact that the website itself deals with so many different aspects of each country's society. The glossary and bibliography are essential to show my students how documentation works. Even for some of us, using the Internet as a source of information and properly documenting has been a bit challenging.

I like the website's organization, content, and variety of disciplines it covers.

[Anonymous]

Clayton,

Thanks for introducing us to these resources. I have always been fascinated by statistics, and looking at the Library of Congress made me remember days when as a kid, I used to look at Almanacs and learned facts about countries all over the world. Students nowadays have it so much easier with the accessability provided by the Internet, and how some of these sources are updated more often.

The Smithsonian Website is an even more pleasant surprise because it has so many choices for both adults and children. I was quite impressed by its link Sites for Students.
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/students/

Three of my favorite sections include: "History and Culture" and "People and Places". Both of which are subdivided into so many welcome surprises. Where else can we find both "Julia Child" and "a Biography for famous people link". Great resource.

[Anonymous]

Considering that we are a lot closer to East Asia, you would think, Los Angeles Museums would have more impressive exhibits and resources about Asian Art. In the near future, I want to visit the Asian Museum in Pasadena and the new exhibit by LACMA, but while looking at the museum resources in the in the UCLA Asia Institute Forum, I ran into this amazing section of the website put together by the Metropolitan Museum in N.Y.

http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/department.asp?dep=6

1) It's magnificiently designed, very well organized and easier to move around.
2) Some of the links listed lead to superb sources of information on the historical background of the pieces and art periods exhibited in the museum.
3) Within the Features and Exhibition page, there are even more links that give more insightful information on the works of art.
4) Check the Publications page for more literary resources on published works.

I feel like packing my bags and taken a real trip to New York and have a look at some of the pieces in their exhibits.

[Author]

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