Learn Hard: Labor (Day) Resources

August 27th, 2010

 Labor Day Parade

Ever wonder why we get the first Monday of September, of every year, off of school?  The occasion is Labor Day, which we’ll celebrate this coming September 6th, 2010.  It’s  more than a prelude to the end of summer or the start of the  football season.  Labor Day is a federal holiday “. . . dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.” (US Dept. of Labor)

In honor of workers everywhere, learn about Labor Day and/or labor history this year!

Books at the MVCC Library

Death in the Haymarket : a story of Chicago, the first labor movement, and the bombing that divided gilded age America

Staley : the fight for a new American labor movement

Working in America : an eyewitness history 

Out to work : a history of wage-earning women in the United States 

The speeches and writings of Mother Jones 

The unmaking of the American working class

Web

The History of Labor Day
The Origins of Labor Day
A Brief History of the Labor Movement
The Labor Movement
Oral History Project in Labor History
Illinois Labor History Society
Encyclopedia of Chicago: Work Culture
US Labor and Industrial History World World Wide Web Audio Archive
Women Working 1870-1930

Seeing the Sun in a New Light

July 20th, 2010

As we enter the heart of summer, I thought it would be appropriate to send along this video from Talk of the Nation’s Science Friday: Seeing A Star In A New Light. This is a pretty cool video from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) that was launched in February.

Summer Fun in the Sun

July 7th, 2010

Nature
It’s summer!  The weather is ripe for camping, hiking, biking, fishing, and other types of outdoor fun.  Take some time to enjoy the natural resources (and otherwise) this state has to offer! Here are some websites to help you play smart!

A Glimpse of 1948 Chicago

June 22nd, 2010

This YouTube video, , is a glimpse into a Chicago of the 1940s. This piece is done by famous director and travel documentary maker James Fitzpatrick.

Free Land Use Database

June 9th, 2010

CLUI, Wendover

Recently, on a trip out west, I visited The Center for Land Use Interpretation (CLUI) at one of their locations in Wendover, Utah.  CLUI is a research/educational organization that investigates how humans interact with terrestrial space and attempt to understand the broader consequences of these interactions.  As they state on their website, “We believe that the manmade landscape is a cultural inscription, that can be read to better understand who we are, and what we are doing.”

CLUI maintains a Land Use Database, which is ” . . . a free public resource, designed to educate and inform the public about the function and form of the national landscape, a terrestrial system that has been altered to accommodate the complex demands of our society.”  The database focuses on the United States and several categories of land use including transportation, water, cultural, industrial, mining, waste, military, nuclear/radioactive, and research & development.  You can browse by state or category or submit a keyword query.

A New Documentary on Studs Terkel

May 21st, 2010

As we end our One Book, One College Program on Studs Terkel’s book Working, I wanted to share the link below about a recent documentary about the life of Studs Terkel:

School’s (Almost) Out For Summer!

May 14th, 2010

Get out and explore the natural and man-made wonders of our state or check out some local events.

General Links:

Enjoy Illinois - Includes links to arts & culture, attractions, nightlife, outdoors & recreation, shopping and sports.

Illinois.Gov - Includes links to all kinds of stuff including parks, forests, historic sites, museums, fairs and festivals.

Chicago Traveler

Outdoor Recreation:

Illinois State Parks

National Parks in Illinois

Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Illinois Campground Directory

Fairs, Festivals, Games and Shows:

Illinois Festivals 2010

Illinois Food, Festivals and Shows

Laws of Illinois Online Resource

May 12th, 2010

The following information was sent to us from the libraries at Western Illinois University:

Through an award from the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) , the Western Illinois University Libraries and Illinois State Library have digitized many volumes of the Laws of Illinois; some of the volumes were digitized through Google’s books digitization project and the Hathi Trust Digital Library.Linda Zellmer, Government Publications & Data Services Librarian, Western Illinois University, has put together a web site with links to this set at:

http://www.wiu.edu/library/govpubs/illinois_laws/

While this is not a complete collection, it is hoped that additional volumes will be added to the online collection over time.

This could be a great resources for students studying Illinois history.

Google, Your Search is Their Business

May 9th, 2010

Over the past decade, Google has morphed into THE superpower technology company. It has become ingrained in our lives. From search, to gmail, to youtube, to advertising, to a whole list of other online tools, Google plays a huge part in our lives and economy. That being said, Google knows a whole lot about you. Google has done a few things in recent years to help promote free speech on the Internet. They are not perfect, but they also are not controlling as they might be.

Well, one interesting site that I wanted to send along is a new site: Google’s Government Trends Request. Google has received 3850 request for data from US government agencies. They have had 123 request for the removal of information by these agencies. You can see how other countries of the world compare. I applaud Google for making this information public. This is the sort of open information that our society needs for a health debate about Internet policy.

Education Student? Bookmark this Link!

May 7th, 2010

If you are studying or working in the field of education, you should know about The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).  This government entity’s website is chocked full of information–reports, data, and statistics– about everything from early childhood to post-secondary and adult education in the U.S. and other nations.

Want to view the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study? Take a gander at the 2009 Teachers’ Use of Educational Technology in U.S. Public Schools report. Check out these fast facts about MVCC.   Find these and many other types of information on NCES!