EUFlags

Information Resources

European Union Summer Workshop 2008

 

 

Details, details, details...

Above the doors to the Main Library at the University of Illinois are inscribed the words, "The Hope of Democracy Depends Upon the Diffusion of Information and Knowledge." This accurately sums up the attitude of the founding fathers of our federal states. The basic tenets of our form of government require free and easy access to information concerning the workings of our government. It is very important to understand that this belief is not a universal one. Despite the democratic forms of goverment of and in the European Union, the information cultures from which these governments are formed do not universally subscribe to the same beliefs about freedom of access. This is reflected in the access and use policies that surround European Union publications.


Basic Tools for EU Research

Catalogs and General Resources

Online Catalog - The Online Catalog of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign provides access to the physical collection of over 11 million items in our collection. This includes the print versions of the materials we have received as a depository library for the European Union. In addition, this catalog links to over 70 libraries in the State of Illinois. You can use it to request books from your school library or public library if you live in the State of Illinois.

There are over 700 subject headings that relate specifically to the European Union with subheadings from Abbreviations to Yugoslavia.

WorldCat -This is an international database of materials that can be used to discover items, including books, journal titles, and other media. Contact your school or local library to see about arranging for an interlibrary loan or to receive a copy of an article.

The European Library - Search the European national libraries with this resource. It includes special digitized collections as well as books and is the precursor to the European Digital Library that is currently being constructed online.

Digest of Education Statistics - Available both electronically as well as in print, the Digest of Education Statistics is the official U.S. authority for statistics on almost every aspect of education.

ERIC - ERIC is a national education database sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. Presently the largest education database in the world, ERIC contains over 1,000,000 citations covering research documents, journal articles, technical reports, program descriptions and evaluations, and curricular materials in the field of education. In addition to ERIC subject descriptors and extensive abstracts, limited full-text to selected items is available. Covers 1966-present.

Resources from and about the European Union

Europa - The official information gateway of the European Union, this site provides information on "What the European Union Does by Subject; How the European Union Works; Where to Find EU Documents: An Online Library; and Services that include statistics, directories, opinion polls, and more.

For example - Free Movement of Persons, Asylum and Immigration

EU Delegation to the US - This will lead you to the instructional resources provided by the Delegation of the European Union to the United States that include teaching resources for secondary education.

UIUC European Union links - connects you to a wide variety of full-text and statistical resources from and about the European Union and the world.

Eurostats - The mother lode of statistical resources directly from the European Union. Tables, data, and publications are available. Also look at Euroindicators while you are there. The Statistics of the Week include a variety of reports and presentations.

European Press Review - A weekly newsletter that "aims to contribute to the development of a European public sphere."

European Studies Center K-12 Outreach - The University of Pittsburgh site that includes access to several good sites for teachers, although some of the links are not currently working. Take a look at the Play Corner for some fun activities.

Europe is Fun! - One of our all-time favorite sites with games, puzzles, and other challenges to enrich the student's knowledge of the European Union.

 

Classroom Possibilities

 

The Gateway to Educational Materials is also sponsored by the Department of Education and provides access to a large amount of free materials that can be used in the classroom.

Education World was created to provide a "home" for educators on the internet. Lesson plans, research materials, and newletters are a few of the resources included on this site. Searching the term global studies might provide some interesting material.

CPAW -Computer Pals Across the World is a site supported by the University of Southern Florida to provide an avenue for communication and cultural exchange between schools with shared interests and age groups.

Awesome Library   The web site of the Awesome Library covers material from arts to technology. This site provides lesson plans for most subject areas and includes links to other informational sources that can be drawn upon to create original lesson plans. The extensive listings about multicultural holidays and current events are especially useful.

Blue Web'n Learning Sites Library Contains educational sites in twelve subject areas, including the arts,business, foreign languages, science, vocational education, and more. Sites are categorized as web-based tutorials, activities, projects, unit & lesson plans, hotlists (lists of links), reference sources and tools, and other resources. It allows users to browse by subject area or type of site, or to conduct searches by grade level,type of site, subject, Dewey number, or keyword. Sites are rated according to a five-star system and are annotated.

iEARN unites over 6000 schools from 92 countries working on joint classroom projects via Internet (see Projects on their main page)

Caretakers of the Environment International - "A Global Network of Secondary School Teachers and Students Active in Environmental Education."

PlanetEdu - Provides a directory of international projects for high school students.

Marcopolo - Interesting resource for teachers that provides information on a varity of activities. It might require some digging to find materials on the European Union.

GlobalSchoolNet - From the website, " founded in 1984 by teachers who believed that in a connected world students need a global perspective, brings together youth online from 194 countries to explore community, cultural and scientific issues that prepare them for the workforce and help them to become responsible and literate global citizens.   Global SchoolNet's free membership program provides project-based learning support materials, resources, activities, lessons and special offers from Global SchoolNet partners.

UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site - Another site that might take some digging into that provides news releases, images, and more.

Center for European and Eurasian Studies - UCLA - A very rich site that includes access to curriculum materials like the following: