CASLS+Newsletter+Vol.2+N.+11


 * DECEMBER 6, 2011**

** RONDA'S CORNER** // **" 'Tis the season to be jolly - Fa la la la la la la la la"** // **Ever have one of those songs you can't get out of your mind? You might now. : )**

**My misfit book for this week is:**

"T his is a book for those who really feel they need to know what happened to Jews in Nazi Europe during the Holocaust. It is written by one of the very few who survived a term in the death camp Auschwitz. Her story is told in the form of the memoir of Elli Friedmann, who was thirteen years old in March 1944 when the Nazis invaded her homeland, Hungary. It is a truly shocking read, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't read it. It can be quite difficult to pick up a book like this and start to read because you fear the nightmares, so I'll try and tell you what to expect. The first part of the book deals with the invasion and occupation of Hungary. Slowly, and in calculated detail, the Nazis strip the Jews of all their status in society, and their possessions. For Elli, this means having to take her brand new birthday bicycle down to the Town Hall to hand over to the German authorities. It means having to wear a yellow star of David sewn onto her jacket. It means having to hand in all spare clothing. But worse is to come. In due course Jews are deprived of their freedom. They are summoned and herded together in ghettos, enclosed and overcrowded camps, running out of food, watched over by armed guards, waiting and wondering what will happen next. This is distressing because you know something that the characters don't know, which is where it is all going to end. In fact, during the Holocaust something like six million Jews were murdered. Elli and her family know they are being humiliated for being Jewish, but never in their wildest dreams do they contemplate 'the Final Solution'. There is only one way out of the ghetto, and that is into a labour camp. Elli's father is called first. Separated from the rest of the family, she never sees him again. The second part of the book takes Elli, with her mother and brother and Aunt Serena, to the dreaded concentration camp, Auschwitz. At the gates, they are sorted: Aunt Serena goes to the gas chamber. Elli's brother, Bubi, goes off with the men. Elli and her mother are put to work:
 * //I Have Lived a Thousand Years// by Livia Bitton-Jackson **

"At the moment of her liberation, Elli is approached by a local German woman: 'We didn't know anything. We had no idea. You must believe me. Did you have to work hard also?'

'Yes' I whisper.

'At your age, it must've been difficult.'

At my age. What does she mean? 'We didn't get enough to eat. Because of starvation. Not because of my age.'

'I meant, it must have been harder for the older people.'

For older people? 'How old do you think I am?'

She looks at me uncertainly. 'Sixty? Sixty-two?'

'Sixty? I am fourteen. Fourteen years old.'

She gives a little shriek and makes the sign of the cross. In horror and disbelief she walks away, and joins the crowd of German civilians near the station house.

So this is liberation. It's come.

I am fourteen years old, and I have lived a thousand years." Passage and review taken from:
 * //www.readingmatters.co.uk//**

**MARY ANN'S MEANDERINGS**

**VENDOR FAIR AND MARC ARONSON - DECEMBER 14, 2011 -**
 * SIGN UP TODAY!!!**

**TEACHING AND ILLUSTRATING THE VALUE OF WEBSITE EVALUATION**


 * Hoax websites**

[|www.thedogisland.com]

[] (from Mark Aaron Polger: “about a new development, a new airport in the middle of Manhattan [destroying part of Central Park]”)

[] (Roxane BenVau : “My favorite hoax website has always been [|RYT Hospital], especially for the nursing students. There's information on the site about male pregnancy, nanodocs, and a researcher that created a mouse with human intelligence.”)

[] (Dan Ream: “Spaghetti Harvest video … It apparently was actually broadcast on the BBC, but the air date is significant--April 1, 1957. Interesting also that a reputable source is involved in this case.”

[]

[] (Holger Lenz: “It takes on pharmaceutical advertisement, but is a complete hoax [not harmful though – you can’t order anything]“)

[] (Minnesota Coconut Growers)

[] (Dawna Turcotte: “Most folks haven’t a clue that this is H2O”)

[] The Ova Prima Foundation: “It is the Foundation's primary objective to continue to build a body of scientific evidence that will shed light on the egg-and-chicken controversy, that most basic of conundrums.”

[] The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus

[]

[] (a spoof about anti-depressants)

[] Bonsai Kitty

[] Baby Cages


 * Directories of hoax websites:**

[]

[]

[]


 * Article mills/content farms**

[], [], [] (Lori Ferguson: “These sites can look very slick, but anyone can sign up to write and no one checks their articles for correctness.”)

[], [], [] , [] (Jeffery Karleson: “Find an article—best is on health/science topics—show how the information generally looks ok, then click on the author’s name to find that s/he has also written 1000 or more other articles on assorted wacky topics.” Also see “Nice article on the topic at []” )


 * Provocative websites**

[] Institute for Historical Review: Holocaust denial

[] European Union Times online (from Daniel Liestman: “anti-immigration site masquerading with legitimacy. A Whois search reveals the site is actually in Canada! [] “)

[]

[] and [] (demonstrate: evaluate author bias)

Demonstrate importance of timeliness: Google search for “endangered species” early result is [|www.endangeredspecie.com], last updated in 2002. Google search for Detroit history, [|www.detroithistory.com], last updated in 2001. (Lori Mills)

“[] contrasted to [] for example, to show bias on both sides” (Janice Hovis)

[]

David McKusker: “I have students Google gay marriage and then discuss Wikipedia and [] (usually the second or third hit). I've had science students Google Bisphenol A and then discuss Wikipeida and [] (the second hit).”


 * Websites that purport to have information, but exist to sell something**

[|www.southisland.org] (Valerie Greene-Moss: “I contrast [|www.southisland.org] with [|www.southisland.org.nz] They are both about travel in New Zealand’s South Island. That’s where the similarities end. The first one is one of hundreds of sites set up by a man who makes his living from the Google ads he hosts.”)

[] (Eileen Kramer: “It's not the subject matter that's a problem, but there are better sites to learn about homeopathy or natural medicine. This one is just about 100% advertising.”)

[|www.thegreencar.com] (from Jessica McLuckie: “I’ve been using this to illustrate how we tell between real articles vs. ads, how to evaluate the quality of information we’re being given and the purpose behind it.”)


 * Tools for evaluation:**

[|http://whois.domaintools.com/] To determine a website domain’s current ownership and contact information as well as historical information about the domain.

[] (Daniel Liestman: “It can be a good indicator of the type of people who visit a site based on both demographics and reviews as well as the clickstream. Their information is gathered from people who use the Alexa toolbar so it may not be a precise indicator, but it is interesting and it is a freebie!”)


 * Guides to Evaluating Websites:**

[]

[]

[] (Kelly Frost: “I do a mix in my presentation of the real and the hoax in my Who, What, When, Where, Why presentation.”)

Michele Van Hoeck: “I favor using “real” sites as well, having formerly used only hoax sites. I was inspired to switch by this article:”[]