Lectures online

Sent by esteemed colleague Gary Hartzell and looks like it might be worth a look:
http://www.researchchannel.org/
                                                                                                                                
 It’s quite a hike to listen to a lecture at Princeton and then take a long plane ride (or an even longer journey on a cruise ship) over to the University of Hawaii to hear a talk on globalization in the Pacific Rim. Never fear, gentle reader, as the Research Channel website is here.

The Research Channel organization has been in existence since 1996, and with over 70 participating members, they have created this website to provide access to a prodigious array of talks, conferences, lectures, and so on.

Visitors to the site can go ahead and get their feet wet by just joining their programming in progress at the “Now Playing” link, or they can look over some of their 3000 titles currently available for viewing.

If all of this seems a bit overwhelming, one can just take a look at some of their newer programs, which have included presentations from Texas A&M University on using general chemistry principles and a talk by the Nigerian ambassador to the United States on oil production and drug trafficking.

Finally, visitors can also sign up to receive their monthly electronic, “Think Forward!”

Kids or congress - who knows more about the Internet

A recent poll by Zogby International revealed some interesting opinions held by Americans. Some snippets:

• Kids are more Internet-savvy than Congressmen.  An overwhelming majority – 83 percent -- believes that a typical 12-year-old knows more about the Internet than their member of Congress.
• Internet vs. the printing press.  While the Web is roughly 550 years younger than the printing press, one-third (32 percent) of all Americans believe that the Internet is a greater invention. 
• Internet everywhere.  Two-thirds of Americans believe that soon there will be no place in the world where we won’t be able to access the Internet. 
• We are voyeurs. Sixty-seven percent agreed that new camera and Internet technologies are turning us into a nation of voyeurs and paparazzis.
• And the next Bill Gates? Half of all Americans (49 percent) believe that the next great technology leader will come from either China or Japan.

 So why aren't more Americans incensed about the lack of 21st century skills being taught in schools? Oh, and could we get some student input on the revision on NCLB?

People finding tools

A teacher in our district recently asked for help finding online tools that could assist him in locating his  estranged half-sister. (Their father had recently died.) Not having conducted such a search myself, I turned to LM_Net and MEMO-L library lists for expert guidance.

Below is a compilation of suggestions list members sent me. Thanks to everyone who responded. I will update this entry if I hear that our teacher finds his sister:

People locators:

• http://www.searchbug.com
• http://whowhere.com
• http://www.infospace.com>
• http://classmates.com
• http://dexonline.com
• http://www.argali.com
• http://people.yahoo.com
• http://www.411.com
• http://www.emailaddresses.com/email_find.htm
• http://www.theemailfinder.com
• http://www.privateeye.com/
• http://switchboard.com
• http://www.virtualchase.com/people/
• http://qwestdex.com
• http://zabasearch.com
• http://www.daplus.us
• http://www.metacrawler.com/
• http://find.intelius.com (search public records)
• http://www.referenceusa.com/ (Reference USA"subscription database)
• http://www.ancestry.com (subscription database)

Other observations and hints:

• He may need to pay for a search if his half-sister has an unlisted phone number.
• I would try the Google phone book as explained below.......

To find listings for a US residence, type any of the following combinations into the Google search box:
first name (or first initial), last name, city (state is optional)
 first name (or first initial), last name, state
 first name (or first initial), last name, area code
 first name (or first initial), last name, zip code
 phone number, including area code
 last name, city, state
 last name, zip code

• How about the places that you can go for family tree help?
• I have heard of people being found by the organization of their profession--e.g.. teacher's associations, etc.  
• College or high school alumni records are sometimes useful (class reunions and all tha).
  

Thanks again to all who responded. The collective wisdom of this profession is amazing.