·http://www.epa.gov/students/

Working with students who are eager to know more about the environment? You'll want to make a beeline to the EPA's Students for the Environment site. The helpful site consists of three primary sections: Students K-12; Educators and Parents; and News and Deadlines. In the first section, visitors can look over games and quizzes that tie educational guidelines to thoughtful explorations on water quality, insects, and more. A variety of Homework Resources can also be found in this section, featuring a range of external links and information. Moving on, the Educators and Parents area brings together information about evaluating the "greenness" of schools, along with a raft of lesson plans dealing primarily with environmental science and the like. The last area includes news updates on science education and exciting new resources. [KMG]

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·https://www.flickr.com/photos/tamiment/collections/72157600984900765/

This online exhibition from New York University’s Tamiment Library traces the history of the Communist Party, USA (CPUSA) all the way back to the militant labor struggles of the early twentieth-century. Covering ninety years of rich history, the collection was originally donated by the Communist Party to NYU in 2006. Visitors may wish to view all of the items here as a slideshow, or elect to browse through the photos, handbills, memos, and other items by their original in situ exhibit case arrangements. It's a remarkable collection and one that is worth looking at by folks with an interest in American social and labor history. [KMG]

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·http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/scrc/findingaids/view.php?eadid=ICU.SPCL.OLDUOFC

Before the current University of Chicago, founded by one John D. Rockefeller, there was the old University of Chicago, which was founded by Senator Stephen Douglas and his associates in Illinois. This first iteration was incorporated in 1857 on land donated by the good senator and it closed rather abruptly in 1886 due to several financial difficulties. This guide to the institution's records resides at the University of Chicago Library and the online version contains a raft of digitized documents from this earlier institution. Visitors can scroll around the site to read minutes from Board of Trustees meetings, peruse the courses of study, or learn about literary societies. The Miscellaneous Historical Material series is a gem as it contains a history of the institution written by one W.W. Everts and a rather lovely scrapbook compiled by Edward Goodman documenting institutional events from 1856 to 1890. [KMG]

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·http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18871

First we thought that 3D printing was just a pipe dream, the stuff of science fiction. Now, we know it to be very real with numerous innovations to follow. This recent report from the National Materials and Manufacturing Board's Division of Engineering and Physical Sciences suggests that 3D printing in space will soon be a reality. Published in July 2014, this 100-page report contains a range of findings on the future of additive manufacturing and its potential in space. The basic idea is that scientists in space could manufacture replacement parts and tools while in-orbit. Visitors are welcome to download and read the entire report, which will be of great interest to scientists, engineers, and others fascinated by the future of technological innovation. [KMG]

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·http://digitalprojects.libraries.uc.edu/oesper/

Created as part of the University of Cincinnati's Digital Collections initiative, the Oesper Collections bring together rare and curious items from the long and storied past of chemistry. In the Apparatus Museum area, visitors can look over unique items including flasks, adapters, clamps, condensers, corks, and much more. The Virtual Tour is truly astonishing and visitors can take a variety of 360-degree views among some of the most remarkable items in this archive. Moving on, the Books & Journals area contains wonderful treasures and writings from Sir Humphry Davy, Antoine Lavoisier, and Joseph Priestly. The site is rounded out by a series of Museum Notes, which highlight various personages who have been featured in these collections over the years. [KMG]

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·http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/comparative-media-studies/cms-s60-technopanics-moral-panics-about-technology-spring-2013/

Why is everyone all a-panic about the Internet and the (sometimes) deviant behavior it might seem to enable? This fine OpenCourseWare offering from Professor Marcella Therese Szabiewicz takes a look at a "number of technopanics" of late. The course begins by looking at how similar panics about "old" media (books, films, and the like) set historical precedents for these current fears. Visitors can look over the syllabus, check out the full course calendar, and also download all of the course materials in one fell swoop. A selection of the readings are available online for free and visitors will appreciate the detailed nature that the syllabus offers. [KMG]

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·http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/sites/default/files/pathways/CCP_Assessment_Report_2014.pdf

How do students learn on community college campuses? It's a great question and one that forms the basis of this Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching report. Released in July 2014, this report from Scott Strother and Nicole Sowers looks at how students in community colleges work to complete developmental mathematics courses. The Pathways program created by the Carnegie Foundation is the primary subject of their inquiry and the authors were charged with researching the program's effectiveness. An executive summary along with a host of findings based on rigorous statistical analysis and interviews are featured here. [KMG]

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·http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/SoHECent

The story of the transformation of home economics over the past hundred years is a fascinating one. It involves changing ideas about household work, domestic labor, family structure, and gender roles. This digital collection from the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections brings together photographs and ephemera illustrating aspects of this change at the institution's own School of Human Ecology. Visitors can use the subject groupings here to get started, which include Buildings and Classrooms, Administrators, and Student Extracurricular Activities. The Practice Cottage/Home Management House area is especially fascinating as it chronicles the evolution of the Practice Cottage, where students lived temporarily and practiced their home management skills before receiving their degrees. [KMG]

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·http://www.trainweb.com/

The TrainWeb site is the perfect thing for anyone with a penchant for any and all aspects of railroading. Visitors can check out the What's New tab to get started as it contains resources from other sites, topical updates from freight railroads, and much more. Scrolling down, visitors will find a photo gallery of Railfan trips from the Pacific Coast to the East Coast of Florida. Visitors can also click on Train Party to learn about exciting train-themed parties for the young and old. The Let's Talk Trains! area is another great feature of the site, allowing users to listen to talk radio about trains from all over the world. [KMG]

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·http://www.annefrank.org/en/Subsites/Home/

The Anne Frank House has crafted this interactive tour of Anne Frank's secret hiding place that is altogether moving, profound, and wonderful. First-time visitors should look over the About the house area for an introduction to this very famous domicile. Next, the Who's Who area provides a multimedia introduction to the eight people living together in the secret annex. Visitors can even Enter the 3D House for a first-hand look into this living space, accompanied by audio stories and descriptive excerpts from Anne's diary. Finally, The outcome area contains a number of short video clips, including oral histories with Otto Frank, about the arrests of Anne and those who shared the space with her. [KMG]

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·http://www.massmoca.org/lewitt/

Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective was a product of collaborative efforts between the artist himself and the Yale University Art Gallery. After his death in 2007, the project was moved to Mass MoCA in the Berkshires, where the installation will be going on until 2033. With plenty of time to check it out in person, this inventive and fun site alternatively allows visitors to view the current drawings by grid or by museum layout. The show is rotating all the time, so return visits are encouraged. In the About area, visitors can learn more about this long-running show and the legacy of LeWitt. Visitors can also view time-lapse videos of the installations that have taken place since the show opened in 2008. [KMG]

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·http://digital.library.umsystem.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?page=home;c=show

Come along as the folks at the University of Missouri show you the history of their college days through the Show Me magazine. It's a wonderful collection of college humor published from 1946 to 1963. First-time visitors would do well to read about the magazine's colorful past, courtesy of Jerry Smith. A good place to start is the November 1920 issue (easily found when you browse by date), which contains a number of parody advertisements along with some doggerels poking good natured fun at the football team and an assortment of deans. Also, it's worth noting that visitors can scroll through issues and save them to an online "bookbag" for later use. [KMG]

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·http://www.theguardian.com/cities

The Guardian newspaper has crafted this wonderful site to bring curious urbanologists news from Seoul to San Francisco. Supported in part by the Rockefeller Foundation, the site offers "a forum for debate and the sharing of ideas about the future of cities around the world.” Articles on the homepage might include pieces on investment in Detroit by Chinese corporations or the shifting public art scene in Glasgow. New visitors may wish to start with "An urbanist's tour of South Korea,” which features the musings of Colin Marshall on this dynamic Asian country. Moving along, the Global voices section features an interactive map of the best city blogs around the world. The site also contains the visually stimulating In pictures area and the up-to-the-moment Latest on cities newsfeed. [KMG]

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·http://www.history.org/Almanack/TourTheTown/index.cfm

Are you eager to see Colonial Williamsburg but find yourself many miles from Hampton Roads? You can take a most edifying interactive tour of this most famous site, courtesy of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Visitors just need to Launch Tour the Town and they will be whisked away to the world of 18th century Virginia. It's fun to just click on random buildings (such as the coffeehouse) to get background information for each location. Users can follow suggested tours or create their own along the way, which is quite handy. The site also includes links to additional information about the gardens, clothing, and people that were part of this tightly-knit colonial community. [KMG]

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·http://album.atlantahistorycenter.com/store/Category/438-gay-bolling-shepperson-photographs.aspx

Gay Bolling Shepperson was the administrator of three successive federal relief projects in Georgia: the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), and the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This remarkable collection from the Atlanta History Center brings together images that document the activities of these various entities in the 1930s and 1940s. Visitors will find images of President Franklin Roosevelt, photographs of infrastructure projects in rural and urban Georgia, and images of classes and classrooms created via these projects. Visitors can search the entire collection or they can browse around by date, title, and contributing agency. [KMG]

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·http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/digital_collections/notable/aiseborn_liber_amicorum.html

LA Liber Amicorum, alternately titled Los Angeles Liber Amicorum / Graffiti Black Book / Master Piece Book Project / Getty Black Book, is an experiment from the Getty Museum on presenting artists books, graffiti art, and street art, online in digital format. Overall, the experiment works. The Getty has collected 143 works by "leading Los Angeles graffiti and tattoo artists," bound them into a volume, and digitized the volume. On the wesbite, visitors can cruise through the 143 digital images from the book, including the back and front covers. Navigation is a little difficult, and somehow the presentation - images in alphabetical order - doesn't feel quite "bookish." For those who want to perceive the book as a whole, instead of as a collection of digital images, the Getty provides the bibliographic record, which includes an overall description of the physical book, and a full list of artists whose work appears inside. [DS]

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·http://privatize.io/

The Privatize site is a great place to create tweets with private links that can only be viewed by the people you mention. It's a nice way to share information with only a set few and it's a good way to create discrete offerings. Users simply need to login with their Twitter account to get started. This version is compatible with all operating systems. [KMG]

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·https://www.screenmailer.com/

Want to share video with friends and colleagues around the world? You may want to give Screenmailer a go. This version allows visitors to record up to 15 minutes at one time, send the links out privately via email, and even stream the video at their convenience. Additionally, the videos are made available using a private URL. This version is compatible with and Mac running Mavericks 10.9. [KMG]

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Ideas abound at North Lake Shore Drive revamp meeting
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-07-08/news/chi-north-lake-shore-drive-revamp-20140708_1_north-lake-shore-drive-reconstruction-project-chicago-river

Streeterville Residents Redefine Their Own Bit of Lake Shore Drive
http://chi.streetsblog.org/2014/07/10/streeterville-residents-redefine-their-own-bit-of-lake-shore-drive/

Architect's Montrose Beach plan would sacrifice parking
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-montrose-beach-improvement-plan-20140723,0,1731503.story

Grant Park Skate Park Groundbreaking Kicks Off Faster Construction Timeline
http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140714/south-loop/grant-park-skate-park-groundbreaking-kicks-off-faster-construction-timeline

North Lake Shore Drive: Redefine the Drive
http://www.northlakeshoredrive.org/

The Burnham Plan Centennial
http://burnhamplan100.uchicago.edu/

Chicago does not make any small plans and the legacy of Daniel Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago still looms large when urbanists, planners, and others are looking around for inspiration. In the past few months, a number of broad plans and ideas have been proffered that would change the iconic Lake Shore Drive, Navy Pier, and Montrose Beach. The proposals are complicated, to say the least, and have been discussed all over the media. Chicago Tribune’s transportation reporter, Jon Hilkevitch, recently wrote about a major public meeting on the revamp of North Lake Shore Drive. Suggested at the meeting, were citizen proposals to add buses-only lanes, to create better pedestrian buffer zones, and even to remove the entire roadway altogether. Steve Vance over at StreetsBlog Chicago has also noted that residents in the Streeterville neighborhood commissioned their own plan to "redefine the drive,” using a design from VOA Associations that calls for additional parkland along the shoreline. In another development, further north along the lakefront, Chicago architect ,Matt Nardella, has released his own improvement plan for the very popular Montrose Beach area that calls for a significant reduction in parking and a new bird sanctuary. [KMG]

The first link will take visitors to the aforementioned article by Jon Hilkevitch, complete with additional links to other Lake Shore Drive proposals. The second link will whisk readers away to Steve Vance’s piece from StreetsBlog Chicago on the ambitious new proposal for the Streeterville area. Moving on, the third link will take users to the Chicago Tribune article about the new proposal for Montrose Beach and environs. The fourth link leads to a related article about the new skate park that is being built close to the lake in Grant Park. Visitors will find the official Redefine the Drive homepage via the fifth link, which contains official government documents, citizen suggestions, and much more. The sixth link features the complete text of the original Burnham Plan of 1909, courtesy of the University of Chicago and other institutions.