6.+Online+Resources

** ﻿﻿ ** **On ****line and Digital Resources **

 * Websites: **some of these websites may not have all the information you need. Remember to have your purpose in mind, which is the specific information you are looking for. The description below each link will help you decide on the value of a site.

__ **Introduction to Antarctica ﻿** __
[] This site will help you appreciate the uniqueness of Antarctica and lead to an understanding of how different a place it is from Australia or any other continent, and why this is. The activities focus on the study of significant environmental and social issues from a global perspective and show the important roles of Australians in Antarctica. While exploring this site and the interactives it is important to think critically about the key issues currently facing Antarctica - climate change, tourism, whaling, fishing, mineral exploitation, resource management and the impact of humans on the environment. Click on the link to __Understanding Antarctica__ as an appreciation of the past history will help when considering the future.


 * __Human Impact__ **

[]

People have had an impact on the natural environment of Antarctica through activities like fishing and hunting. Seal populations were almost wiped out by hunters, but have now recovered. Waste disposal has had a negative impact on the Antarctic environment. The melting of ice caps, caused by the greenhouse effect, is having a global impact. A basic introduction to human impact and best used as a basis for further investigation into issues raised.

[] Although one of the harshest environments on the planet, Antarctica is also one of the most vulnerable. This site asks the question: What do tourists; fisherman and scientists have in common? They have a history of human impact on a very fragile environment. This site examines the past and planned future protection of Antarctica. It provides links to treaty documents established and signed by Australia and other parties concerned with protection of the Antarctic environment. An excellent source of information for Task 3 when researching information on current treaties and Antarctica's future prospects.

[] This site will draw your attention to the scientific debate about Global Warming and the resulting political argument. If Global Warming is the result of man's activities: How do we stop it? Whose responsibility is it to stop it? Can we stop it? As Global Warming is taking place, regardless of the cause: How do we deal with its effects? In raising your awareness, this is a great site to reflect on your current learning and the information provided, as Antarctica is an important laboratory for research into how the industrialized world is impacting on the globe. It also includes a link to a summary of the Antarctica Treaty.

** DVDs, Podcasts & Videos ** Climate Change: In the Antarctica. (DVD, Macmillian Digital Library) This DVD provides case studies showing the impact of climate change, including a diagram explaining the greenhouse effect and a table summarising the possible effects of global warming. Creating diagrams and tables showing human activities and impact is a great way of presenting the information you have selected. Click on the model link for ideas on presenting information using web 2:0 tools. [|Information research model & Web 2.0 tools.]

10 - Let it be! (Laura Leaf) This podcast delivers a strong personal view of what Antarctica should be like in the future. Listen to and compare the arguments made with reference to the data you have accumulated. As a group, using your knowledge of the Antarctica Treaty, human activities and environmental issues studied critical evaluate the reliability of this argument and its value in completing Task 3. Click on the following link for help in this evaluation. []

[|www.antarcticimages.com] › [|Antarctica] When accessing this site click on Antarctica Video Clips and view, A Year on Ice. This is a time-lapse video filmed in Antarctica, in and around McMurdo station and Scott Base. It shows human interaction with the environment and amazing scenery including shots of auroras and the very rare polar stratospheric nacreous clouds, which formed when __ozone depleting gases crystallize__ in the upper atmosphere in the intense cold.

Search engines are an internet tool which will search for sites containing the words that you designate as a search term. Search engines search their own databases for information. If you are having difficulty finding information - try a different search engine.
 * Search Engines. **

[|Boolify - visual boolean search] This is a jigsaw game that will teach you the effect of "and," "or" and "not" on Internet search results. To see the effect of the words on searching, drag and drop the words into the jigsaw puzzle. Try different search combinations and save the best ones. The following link will explain the logic behind the boolean process used in the above search engine and I suggest you apply similar techniques when using and selecting search engine for further research. [|www.internettutorials.net/boolean.asp]

Click on the links below to find many more search engines. [|Noodletools - choose the best search engine for your research] [|Google study search - google search engine designed for school students] [|Alta Vista - Australian search engine] <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 150%;">[|Ask.com - allows questions to be asked] <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 150%;">[|Yippy - sorts results into categories]