Why I Love the Web

My mother always claimed (with evident exasperation) that the very first -- and by far most frequent -- word I spoke as a child was "why?" "Why do cows sleep standing up?" "Why do clouds float?" "Why does c-a-t spell cat?" "Why don't hurricanes happen in Idaho?" "Why do I have to...?"

I haven't changed a bit. I still find myself with a million (or so : ) questions a day -- Who...? What...? When...? Where...? Why...? How...? -- on a million (or so) different subjects. What has changed is the opportunity to get immediate 24/7 answers to my questions -- all of my questions -- as long as I'm within easy reach of an Internet connection. Unlike my mother, the Web never tires of providing, not only answers to my questions, but more lovely questions to be answered as well.

It's safe to say, then, that I love the Internet. I love the instant access to information, to socialization; to debate and fraternization; to the important, the interesting, the trivial, and the just-plain-weird. Yes, my name is Linda and I'm an information junkie -- and the Internet is my drug of choice.

In my job, of course, I have many opportunities every day to indulge my craving for informative (and weird) online resources. This morning, for example...

I started with the wonderful -- a brand new site review for Laura Candler's updated Teaching Resources site. We first reviewed Laura's site in 2000, but it's grown substantially since then (both in quantity and quality) and after undergoing a major redesign last summer, the site definitely deserved another look. I hope you'll take another look at Laura's site too. It's a perfect example of the kinds of quality educational resources the Web can offer.

And then I moved to the weird as I read Art Wolinski's blog, Truth, Lies, Rumors, and Rumbles. In Tuesday's entry, Art talked about a new site called chatroulette.com -- and you have to read about it to believe it. I haven't provided a link to chatroulette.com because you really should know what you're getting into before you end up there. So read what Art has to say before visiting. And then consider how much less amusing life would be without the Weird World Web!

Not everything online is weird -- or wildly wonderful -- of course. But if you want some more reasons why I love the Web, check out...

Lifeboat to Mars -- a free online simulation game from PBSKids that makes learning biology fun for kids.

Safe Kids Song -- an Internet safety song for kids in K-4/5 from SafeKids.com.

Sporcle -- a great site for quizzes and trivia games or, as the site puts it, for "mentally stimulating diversions."

Harry's Big Adventure -- bug-related educational resources (lesson plans, games, information, visual aids, more) from Terminex.

Raptors in the City -- a real-time, inquiry-based science and technology program starring peregrine falcons.

Edutopia -- The George Lucas Foundation's success stories for what works in public education.

Looking for more? Browse our Site Review Gallery.

Have a site (or more) you're dying to share? Post A Comment. I'd love to hear from you.

Have a great week!