Taking educational dip

This week we look for books, learn Spanish and find out how your
kids’ knowledge of math and science stacks up against students’ from
around the world.

Presidential politics. Last week I read that the Internet
wasn’t a good source for information about the candidates’ views on
various issues. Whoever wrote that obviously hadn’t visited Issues 2000. This site
presents the opinions of not just presidential candidates (George W.
Bush, Al Gore, Ralph Nader, Pat Buchanan, John Hagelin, Harry Browne and
Howard Phillips), but also the V.P. nominees. And not just on a few
hot-button topics, but issues as diverse as China, civil rights and
Kosovo. The site also provides the same info on candidates for the
Senate.

Express yourself. Issues 2000 also links to complementary
sites such as SpeakOut.com, which
invites you to give your opinion on a variety of subjects — from gun
control to Napster. Take part in debates, forums and polls, and start or
sign a petition.

Hasta la vista. It’s always good to know a second (or third)
language, but maybe you didn’t pay as much attention as you should’ve
when you were in school — and now you don’t have time to attend
classes. Learn Spanish is an
excellent resource, offering an extensive free online tutorial,
vocabulary practice, verb drills, oral exercises and useful phrases for
travelers. Even if this isn’t for you, take time to check out the
hilarious top-10 phrases
that don’t translate well. Can you guess what the Spanish phrase
that’s translated “as the burro plays the flute” might mean?

For kids. If the youngsters haven’t gone back to school yet,
choose a day they’re bored to let them head to the website of the Children’s Museum of
Indianapolis, where they can entertain themselves with interactive
fun. They can “dig up” and explore dinosaur fossils, write and produce
an online puppet show, or design a space station and stock it with
equipment.

It won’t be long before kids all across the country are hitting the
books. How does their understanding of science and math compare to what
students in other countries know? Find out at Internet Learning Network.

All the news that’s interesting. Regular Web surfers know
there’s plenty of fascinating info to be found on the Net, but who has
time to sift through it all? Well, Jorn Barger, for one. He maintains a
weblog called Robot Wisdom that
collects all sorts of quirky articles and information that interests
him. At least some of it might delight you, too. Cheek by jowl you’ll
find links to the pictures of the raising of a Civil War ship, a
transcript of an interview with Jules Feiffer and “debunking the secret
‘gay’ gospel of Mark.” Who could resist?

Summer reading. While reading poetry on a computer screen
isn’t bad, trying to get through an entire book the same way leaves
something to be desired. Still, it’s handy to be able to access the
entire searchable text of classic works of literature, reference books,
even popular fiction and short stories. Three of the best places to find
all that — and poetry and drama thrown in — are Bibliomania.com, The One-Line Books Page,
a digital library courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania and Project Gutenberg.

Tiger tips. Golf Digest’s website provides exclusive golfing
tips from Tiger Woods, Tom Watson and David Leadbetter.

Airport delays. If you’ve gotten where you were going on time
this summer, you probably weren’t on a plane. This summer the airlines
have blamed bad weather for their record-breaking delays, and one way to
keep up with what’s happening is the FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command
page, which updates the real-time status of bottlenecks every five
minutes. Don’t head to the airport without checking it first.

Around the world in 200 minutes. Well, even on the Web it’s
going to take longer than that. But if you really want to know more
about the world beyond the borders of the U.S., try WorldSwitch. It devotes more than
1,500 pages to over 200 countries — and not just the dull stuff you
might expect to need for a school report (i.e., what’s the main export
of Nigeria?). These are links that are great for anyone traveling or
just needing to know about sites associated with particular nations.
Select a country and go from there.

Encore. This is in answer to a reader’s request: The site that
answers questions from the serious to the sublimely silly (What are the
words to “Louie, Louie”? What in the universe is a star date? Why do
older men have hair growing in their ears?) is The Straight Dope by Cecil Adams.