Are you a writer or artist?

Prairie Winds Writers Project publishes an online literary and art magazine at www.prairiewindswriter.org. This is a venue for teachers and students to share their work with a wider audience. We update the magazine four times a year and accept work on a rolling basis. Our next due date is July 24th, so if you have a piece of writing or art, you're itching to share, send it my way jmonczunski@tie.net.

New Astronomy Tool: "Truly Transformative"

Microsoft's Worldwide Telescope is free software that incorporates images from Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-Ray Observatory Center and Spitzer Space Telescope. This software allows users the opportunity to explore and create tours. Below are links for downloading the software, a TED video of the makers explaining the product, and a preview of its features.
WorldWide Telescope

TED | Talks | Roy Gould, Curtis Wong: WorldWide Telescope (video)

PC Pro: News: Microsoft releases Google Sky rival

There are also more complex features allowing users to view the locations of planets in the past, present or future. There's also options to view the universe through different wavelengths of light.

"Users can see the X-ray view of the sky, zoom into bright radiation clouds, and then cross-fade into the visible light view and discover the cloud remnants of a supernova explosion from a thousand years ago," says Roy Gould, a researcher at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

As a rival to Google Sky, Microsoft WorlWide Telescope certainly feels slicker than its counterpart boasting richer graphics and animations, though it lacks the ability for users to quickly add layers of information as they can with Google Sky.

Free Online Courses

Lacking in computer knowledge? Here are 40 computer technology courses that can be taken for free online.
http://education-portal.com/articles/5_Sources_for_Free_Computer_Technology_Education_Online.html

Discovery Earth

Are you looking for resources about global warming and our affects on the earth? Discovery Earth offers just that. You can find Earth News that discusses eco-innovations, articles from leading scientists in the field, featured stories highlighting current events and even an interactive globe. When a red or pink dot appears on the globe you click on it and read the latest on global conditions in that area. It's interactive and a one stop source for relavent information.