pre-2011 web resources

[Anonymous]

Review of website #1: http://members.aol.com/bkdonnclass/Chinalife.html

Called Mrs. Donn’s Ancient China, the website is an introductory look at ancient China, and it is organized by the following sections: introduction, cheat sheet, Chinese philosophies, and finally, additional support. I will provide a brief description of each section, and then a review of the contents.

description of website
The introductory section gives the reader a three paragraph description of important inventions and how to use the cheat sheet that follows.

The cheat sheet section is a table that divides ancient Chinese history by its dynasties. The dynasties are put in chronological order, and next to each one there are quick facts showing what are considered important for that period of time.

Each dynasty name in turn can be clicked, and when done it takes the reader to a portion that provides more in depth information about that particular dynasty.

For example, when the Han Dynasty is clicked it shows the accomplishments made in the arts/sciences, what public schools looked like, a description of life in the cities, and a comparison of how the poor and rich lived during this period.

critique of website
Strengths of site
If the reader needs to gain a quick glimpse of ancient Chinese history then this site will satisfy that goal.

Weaknesses of site
· As I looked over the site I quickly realized that it is virtually devoid of illustrations, and has no pictures. In other words, the site is places way too much emphasis on text and not enough on visuals.
· Also, the site has almost no primary sources for students to access. Aside, from a short poem and an excerpt from a Chinese legend, there are no opportunities for students to view/read documents/artifacts from this period. It would be more meaningful experience if students had a chance to engage in historical investigations by looking of primary sources.

suggestions for using the site·

* have students practice using the web and finding a particular website by going to this site and providing a summary of one particular time period.
* As an extra credit assignment, have students use the information on the site to compare/contrast Confucianism, Toasim, and Buddhism.

[Anonymous]

Review of website #2
http://www.san.beck.org/c&s-contents.html

The site provides information on the Confucius and Socrates schools of thought. I will briefly describe the contents of the website, provide my opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of the site, and finally, how it can be used in the classroom.

description of site
The website is organized with a main page that divides the two thinkers into certain categories based on the categories of biographical information and teachings.

Some of the sections you may find for Confucius are entitled life of Confucius; attitudes of Confucius; how Confucius taught, which is further divided into categories like correct use of language and cogent sayings; and what Confucius taught, which is turn further divided by subcategories like politics and character development and self-improvement. For Socrates, the information is organized in a similar pattern, for example it has how he taught and what he taught sections, with an additional section entitled the Socratic problem.

All sections mentioned are links that take you to a different part of the website that then provides information on what was clicked. Thus, if one clicks the questions and answers section that is found for how Socrates taught they would be able to read approximately three pages worth of information for this topic.

critique of website
strengths of website
The site is easy to navigate – the main page is easy to read and the sections are logically ordered
· All sections are clearly titled – in other words you don’t have to guess where to go if you want to find information on Confucius’ life.
· Information provided is in depth

Weaknesses
· Reading may be too difficult for some students. After reading some of the material on the site it looks to be at a 6 to 8 grade reading level. I teach 6th graders and I know some students would struggle with the text. It is therefore important that the teacher knows the reading level of their students
· While comprehensive, the information provided could be more reader friendly. Each section generally contains 2-3 pages and it is presented as one large piece of information. While this is adequate for adults, middle school students could be benefit from having a more considerate text, like having sections with subtitles, certain vocabulary highlighted and defined, and a summary of the information at the end.

How teachers may use the site
For advanced students this would be a good site to use to find more information on what Confucius and Socrates believed and taught. The history book I currently use in the classroom does not provide the information contained on this site. A teacher could assign students to write an essay that asks students to compare and contrast the two philosophies. Another possible assignment could be to ask students to analyze how important each philosophy was in influencing the governments/social structure for respective civilization.

[Anonymous]

Review of website #3
http://www.chinapage.com/china.html

Titled China the Beautiful the website states it provides information on a wide range of topics such as classical Chinese art, calligraphy, poetry, history, language, painting, and philosophy. After briefly describing the contents of the website, I will give my opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of the site, and how I plan to use it in my classroom.

description of site
In addition to the sections mentioned above, the site offers a wide selection of maps of China, everything from provinces to historical maps, for example, one can see maps of dynasties at the height of their power. The site also provides information on subjects like Chinese festivals and stories and parables. Moreover, the site covers modern day China by offering information on Chinese music, the Chinese language, and satellite photos of China. The site is organized via a main page that divides the information mentioned above by sections. Each section is a link that takes the viewer to that particular topic.

critique of site
Strengths of site
· There is a section titled Stories/Parables that contains excerpts from classical Chinese literature. For example, a viewer can find stories by LieZi, like The Sky is Falling, or those written by ZhuangZi, like Old Man Moves a Mountain. Therefore, a student is actually able to go and read a primary source, and as a follow up at the end of each story there are a couple of questions related to what has just been read.
· This is one of the few sites I have found that is interactive. For example, in the learn Chinese language section students use “flash cards” to learn the language. It works by having the viewer to identify the character shown and then shows English translation after the viewer clicks the icon.
· It provides an opportunity for viewers to see Chinese paintings and examples of calligraphy.
· There are opportunities to access issues facing modern China like AIDS.

Weaknesses of site
· Some of the features of the site do not work properly. For example, the link that supposedly allows the viewer to see paintings and calligraphy as a slide show does not work.
· The links on the main page are not organized logically. For example, the link for achievements in Chinese sciences is right next to the history of Chinese tattoos. It would have made more sense to categorize these topics under relevant headings – for example, have an arts category that contains links to paintings, poetry, etc.

How I intend to use the site
The website is going to supplement my instruction when I cover the history standards for China. Specifically, I will use the maps found on the site to help explain how certain geographic features of China contributed to its isolation and prevented unification of the country. Also, I intend to use the ancient Chinese stories on the site to highlight the key points found in Confucianism and Taoism.

[Anonymous]

Review of website #4
www-chaos.umd.edu/history/toc.html

Titled History of China the website offers an overview of the history of China, from ancient times to reforms made in communist China during the 1980’s. I will outline the information on the site, describe the strengths and weaknesses of the site, and how a teacher may use the site as an instructional tool.

description of contents
The site has a main page that acts as a table of contents. The purpose of the site is to detail major events in Chinese history. To do this the site divides Chinese history into five categories: ancient dynasties, imperial era, emergence of modern China, republican China, and finally, the people’s republic of China. For each category, there are links that the viewer can access to find out more about that particular time period. For example, in the ancient dynasties category a viewer can click and read about the Zhou period.

critique of site
Strengths of the site
· This site fits the criteria for anyone looking to find a very condensed summary covering more than 2000 years of Chinese history.
· The main page is easy to navigate

Weaknesses of site
· there are no visuals – it lacks illustrations, pictures, etc.
· there is a high frequency of academic language that might make comprehension difficult for some students

suggestions for using the site
· have students practice using the web and finding a particular website by going to this site and providing a summary of one particular time period.
· As an extra credit assignment, have students use the timeline on this site to rank dynasties in order of the length of time they ruled.

[Anonymous]

Review of site #5
http://www.historylink101.com/China_history.htm

Review of website: The site is called Ancient China and it divides the contents by offering sections on China daily life, Chinese art, China pictures, China maps, and China research. I will provide a brief description of the site, describe the strengths and weaknesses of the site, and how a teacher may use the site as an instructional tool.

description of contents
Depending what link is selected, the viewer may be taken to another page on the same site or to a different site altogether. For example, when the daily life section is selected one is taken to a new site called Destiny: the culture of China. On the home page each section is listed, and under each section the viewer can see what topics are covered. For example, in the Chinese art section one can see
topics like Chinese painting, calligraphy, and rugs.

critique of site
Strengths of the site
· it has primary sources – translations of the writings of Confucius, Lao-tzu, and Sun Tzu.
· It provides a wide overview of ancient Chinese history, covering everything from music to clothing styles.
· There are a variety of pictures depicting various aspects of Chinese history

Weaknesses of the site
· the home page is cluttered – there is a lot of information on the page which might be somewhat confusing for some
· there are advertisements on the site – this can be distracting
· some of the links are not readily discernable – can’t readily see when there is a link available

teacher use of site
A teacher can supplement their instruction when teaching China by having
· students analyze the writings of Confucius to determine where they find example of his teachings
· students compare/contrast different dynasties, like the Han and Zhou
· Find examples of achievements in the arts, medicine, industry, etc. for a particular dynasty, like the Han.
· Trace the trade routes, aka Silk Road, and how it influenced the growth/trade for a particular dynasty

[Anonymous]

I reviewed this website and it seems that there is a lot of information, links, and even images. The weakness is in the organization of the site and the presentation. It should have an easy to use navigation at the top or bottom of the screen. The links are mostly vertical and makes it so the user has to scroll up and down a lot. The banner ad flashing logos don't help either. When using a background image, I don't like seeing it repeated a 1000 times unless it is an intentional pattern.

[Anonymous]

The (New York) Metropolitan Museum of Art has an interesting collection on Korea
http://www.metmuseum.org

The website for the Korean collection is at http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/Korea/koreaonline/index.htm

The website is very good for High School beginning learners of Korea. There is a map on the website for our notoriously geographically weak students.
The web page features four major categories , "Ceramics," "Metalwork and Decorative Arts," "Buddhist Sculpture," "Painting." The art ranges from 57 BC to 1910. Each category has about 15 to 25 images- each with its own 3 or 4 paragraph description.

There is also a webpage version of a book called "The Arts of Korea: A Resource for Educators"
at http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/publications/korea.htm

As far as use in a classroom, I may use the webpage above. More likely I may do my own group project where student groups tackle art from different areas, and the met's Korean collection could be a great resources.

[Anonymous]

I'm in interested in teaching about cultural history. I try to involve music from different societies in my classes.

This is a web page about Korean music http://www.culture-arts.go.kr/english/contents/con1_1.html

It gives a very detailed explanation of traditional Korean music. The site discusses the different types of music like Court Music, Classical, Military, Confucian Temple music, and Sijo (short lyrical music)

It also gives a lot of information about the different instruments used in Korean music. It explains all the percussion, woodwind and string instruments. The website, however, has one major drawback. That drawback is there is only one picture on the whole website. Fortunately, I quickly found some photos on http://www.seoulsearching.com/entertainment/music.html.

This could be helpful for use in a research project on music. Otherwise, it could add to a teacher's own enrichment.

[Anonymous]

Japan-American Museum
http://www.janm.org/about/depts/education/toolkit.php

Besides the overall web page, which is excellent, they have a teacher’s toolkit on this page. As the web page says it “was designed as a resource for classroom teachers interested in teaching the Japanese American experience to their classes in U.S. History, Civics, Social Studies, Language Arts, and/or Visual Arts. The Tool Kit, packaged in CD-ROM format”
It seems good but its hard to tell based on that limited description. I’m often skeptical of educational tools that are marketed as great for any grade level. That is a pretty big “one size fits all” label.
The webpage also has features on school visits, how to use the museum itself as a teaching tool and the Hirasaki National Resource Center.

[Anonymous]

Hello,

http://www.aems.uiuc.edu/index.las
The Asian Educational Media Service is an enormous web resource from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
It has its own group of reviews of educational materials having to do with Asia-though I don't think it has been updated recently.
Under its "resources" section, it has basic information about Asia, guide to using audio/visual materials and Asia in the news
The part I'm probably going to use the most is the guide to films and audio recordings about Asia. It gives a small, but well explained, list of materials they recommend for teachers. Here is an example http://www.aems.uiuc.edu/HTML/Korea.html
Alan Chalk's guide to Japanese films is also very good. http://www.aems.uiuc.edu/HTML/Chalkguides.html

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I was searching for ways to teach about the boxer rebellion and I ran across this Lesson Plan from Martha Aranda, a student at Arizona State University.
Here it is in Word format http://www.asu.edu/clas/asian/k12/Aranda_1.doc
The lesson plan is well described and well thought out.
Its a group project where 6 students divide into two groups of 3 people. One group takes the side of the British. The other side represents the Chinese side. The two groups debate the Opium Wars, the Taiping Rebellion, and the Boxer Rebellion by writing competing newspapers.
The lesson plan uses this web page for to help student do this group project http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CHING/OPIUM.HTM
I really like this project. I think I will use it. I've seen other teachers use the idea of writing a newspaper to help the students show their knowledge but I've never done it personally. I think it would be pretty helpful and creative.

[Anonymous]

Great websites. I could actually try to incorporate some of this into my field.

[Anonymous]

I checked out its website online at http://www.pacificasiamuseum.org. There, I found the address, cost and most interestingly descriptions of the items in the museum along with the philosophical ideas that go with some of them and the historical setting of the others. There are flash sites for three different themes, Chinese Ceramics, Japanese Paintings and Prints, and Art of Buddhism. There is more than just information available, the flash sites are interesting and entertaining to keep students engaged, however, the wording is a little tougher than I would guess my sixth graders would prefer. They would definitely at least need some teacher assistance to understand the topics. They also have games though as well, which is another useful engagement tool. I think that the Buddhist section is most useful to my and my students. It shows the different kids of Buddhism and the different styles of Buddhas that can be found in the world. I would love to use this with my students. I think it shows the different ways that one idea can be taken, and that religion can and does adapt to the people in various areas. I think it could be used to show not only the benefits of a museum, but also to trace the various different styles of art of Buddha, but that in essence, it’s really the same idea shown in different ways. Also, if a field trip is out of the question, then it gives students the opportunity to look at primary resources visually, and they can compare and contrast. [Edit by="jreynolds on Jul 18, 4:49:45 PM"]Edited for title appropriateness and to insert the link. [/Edit]

[Anonymous]

While I am sure many of you are now very familiar with google images I want you to keep in mind that yahooligans.com is an excellent web resource. Just type in Ancient China or Samurais and see. My students have found many of the websites very engaging. It is nice because students can focus their searches. They are not all over the place wasting time. They are given a nice list of resources specific to topics being researched and they are kid friendly and engaging.

[Anonymous]

This is a great website for you to use. They have a great section on Ancient China with the following topics.History (with timeline)
Environment (with maps)
Religion
Clothing
Economy
Philosophy
Food
People
Art
Architecture
Books about China

Crafts and Projects on China
Teacher's Guides for China
Gifts about China

It is a great resource for student research and teachers.

[Author]

Posts