What is modernity? How did philosophy, literature, and art throughout nineteenth century Europe shape notions of modernity? How did these notions of modernity help shape culture and politics? Is our contemporary world best designed as modern or postmodern? This free, online Coursera class from Wesleyan University is designed to facilitate exploration of these questions. Taught by Wesleyan...

The Council on Foreign Relations has created a number of interactive guides that address everything from Africa's conflict zones to the region along Pakistan's Afghan border. This particular interactive feature deals with the ongoing political situation on the Korean Peninsula. After a brief audio and visual introduction, visitors can take in eight chapters that cover the region's historical...

Through the ages, various forms of visual expression have implicitly (and explicitly) drawn on a variety of mathematical principles. The people at the Center for Cultural Design at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are interested in reaching out to a wide range of people through culturally-situated design tools, so they have created this fine site to do just that. The activities offered on the site...

Board of Education may face controversy over new curriculum http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/local/50619491.html Curriculum debate marred by ideologues http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/localnews/columnists/jfloyd/stories/071409dnmetfloyd.3d10b0e.html Texas Education Agency: Social Studies Expert Reviewers...

Utilizing digital and online technologies to teach different disciplines continues to be quite popular, and the Digital History website will be a most welcome find for teachers (and students) of American history. Developed in collaboration with the University of Houston, the Chicago Historical Society, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and several other entities the site includes an online...

Teachers looking for materials to help out in the classroom will find this well-organized site most useful. Created by the folks at Geology.com, the site's materials were compiled by Christy Pratt, and they are organized into nine thematic areas. These areas include "Volcanoes", "Water", "Weather", "Erosion", and "Plate Tectonics". The resources featured within each section are taken from...

Creating interesting and compelling lessons in Economics can present several unique challenges. Fortunately, the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning organization has brought together a number of fine instructional resources for use by educators. These lesson plans and other activities are divided into thematic areas, such as economic decision-making, goods and services, savings,...

The Higher Education Academy has a number of well-developed databases of materials designed for educators, and the Economics Network is one that should not be missed. The homepage includes a brief introduction to the network and an area designed particularly for newcomers to the site. On the right hand side of the homepage, visitors can take in economics podcasts and learn about new case studies,...

Published by the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, Education Next is a journal designed to explore the various issues involved in transforming K-12 education in the United States. As the project's mission statement notes, "Education Next partakes of no program, campaign, or ideology. It goes where the evidence points". With an editorial board that includes such notable educational...

Education World (reported on in the February 22, 2002 _NSDL Scout Report for the Physical Sciences_) is a website that intended to be "a home for educators on the Internet, a place where teachers could gather and share ideas." This section of Education World provides information on grants and awards available for teachers. There are currently a number of web resources listed on scholarship and...