The Footnote site is a rich source of primary source documents and images. The majority of the files are free although some do require a subscription. The collection has an American emphasis yet there is quite useful material for students of history in Australia.

I have found the documents from the Japanese photographic archives recovered after WWII to be particularly interesting since my father was a guest of the Japanese following his capture in Malaya by the Japanese army in January 1942. A number of the photographs in the Japanese category were taken in Singapore. A tip of the hat to Larry Ferlazzo for his post pointing to this site.

Back in 2001 I became aware of the web site, Becoming Human, while I was working as an instructional designer at ICUS in Singapore. I quickly shared this site with the other designers on the team as I felt it was simply an excellent example of graphic design and interactive treatment. I was constantly on the look out for web sites that I felt could inspire and challenge the graphic designers and Flash programmers that were an integral part of the team at ICUS.

The site was created by the brilliant team at Terra Incognita Productions in Austin, Texas for the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University. Terra Incognita Productions have created a superlative suite of web sites since 1998.

The Becoming Human web site features an interactive array of video, flash and audio based content. It includes interactive activities focused upon the evolution of the human species. The photography is rich and the illustrations are highly detailed. It is easily navigated and incorporates a glossary and links to relevant web sites.

This web site is not interactive in the Web 2.0 sense of the term yet it could certainly be enriched if a teacher of history or science links it to a blogging or wiki based activity that allows students to document and share their own observations of the embedded materials. The students could be inspired to create their own explorations of the human race by creating and publishing their own podcasts, vodcasts or Voicethread productions.

The Theban Mapping Project had its beginnings in 1978. Its aim is to develop and build a database of all of the archaeological artefacts of Thebes. Many artefacts were damaged by treasure hunters and inexact excavations in years past and the team of the TMP have been energetically working to catalogue, illustrate and map the ancient heritage of the area before any further damage is inadvertantly caused by climate, tourism or exposure.

As they point out on their web site they believe “that the first and most essential step in preserving this heritage is a detailed map and database of every archaeological, geological, and ethnographic feature in Thebes. Only when these are available can sensible plans be made for tourism, conservation, and further study.”

The team has created a superb web site which has been constantly evoloving as additional maps, images and details are added to the database. It is enriched with video, photographs, interactive maps and dynamic 3D imagery of the tombs. Even a quick exploration of the tomb of Ramesses II and the tomb that he built for his sons is sufficient to reveal how rich this resource is for students of Egyptian history.

The web site also features links to articles, a bibliography, timelines and a glossary. I believe it is one of the richest resourecs for this epoch of Egyptian history. It places the artefacts in a situated context strengthening their value for students of ancient Egyptian history.

The BBC in Wales has created this excellent web site for use both at school and at home and is aimed primarily at children aged 7 to 11, their teachers and their parents. The emphasis is on facilitating experiential learning to help children enter the world of the Iron Age Celts at their level of understanding. It is a beautifully crafted site with engaging activities and delightful graphics.

It can support studies of the Vikings undertaken by students of History in NSW at Stage 4.

The Centre for Teaching History With Technology is a rich online resource for teachers that wish to converge their teaching of history with information technology. The web site features suggestions, activities, lesson plans and quizzes. It also incorporates dedicated pages that describe how blogs, wikis and podcasts can be utilised in the teaching and learning of history.

The Centre also sponsors the excellent Best of History Web Sites.