"ODS covers all types of official United Nations documentation, beginning in 1993. Older UN documents are, however, added to the system on a daily basis. ODS also provides access to the resolutions of the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council from 1946 onwards. "

Not very user-friendly, but if you know what you're looking for you should be able to find it.

Very cool! You can download free audiobooks (and for once not all of them are C19th originals; some are quite recent) in a format that plays through iTunes and on your iPod/iPhone. For those of us who use iTunes to get our podcasts/lectures/etc this is good news indeed!

Digitised images of selected original war diaries recording the daily activities of Australian Army units are available for the following conflicts: * First World War * Second World War * Korean War * South East Asian Conflicts

Only selected war diaries are included.

Long list of links to collections of historical images on Flickr.

Has plenty of primary sources relating to the Restoration.

"WikiArc is intended as an online toolkit for professionals, students and other people interested in the fields of archaeology, classical antiquity, palaeoanthropology, forensic anthropology, cultural heritage studies, and Quaternary sciences."

Has a searchable database of open-access journals to do with archaeology, anthropology and ancient history.

Enormous number of links to portraits in the UK National Portrait Gallery.

Has a few links useful for the social and cultural history of Victoria and Australia more generally.

Has links to images of artefacts and documents and is in clear, correct English.

This is a very interesting and unusual idea. Historians at Stanford have collected very specific and detailed information about historical events within short time frames and then produced graphic representations of these events that you can play over maps. It's very precise and perhaps too detailed for many high school level students to make sense of, however some of them helped show how historical phenomena occurred. Particularly chilling was the graphic showing slave purchases in the Rio slave market in the mid-C19th; you can see individual children being bought at specific times by specific people.

Heaps of links to source sites and other historical materials to do with the Holocaust.

Well-organised portal to primary sources on many aspects of American history. Thanks Yale University Library. You rock.

A collection of resources for teaching history to primary school students.

"The collection's 976 scientific drawings consist of 518 watercolor and/or pencil drawings of fishes and miscellaneous vertebrates and invertebrates, together with the original color drawings ultimately adapted on stone by lithographer A. Sonrel "

A collection of source materials produced by a scientific expedition to Brazil in the mid-nineteenth century.

"History in Focus provides original articles, book reviews, and links to historical resources. The site is provided by the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London. All material has been chosen and edited by our editorial team."

A list of journals which ran from 2001 to 2008 with historical materials.

Might be useful for folk or cultural history. Has some narratives and poetry.

A list of links to sites focussed mainly on Canadian history. Has French bits too. I wish I could speak French.

Has articles and some source material links related to World History. The site (run out of University of Illinois, by the looks) has a strong focus on 'big history.' I hadn't encountered this term before; it seems to mean looking at history not through civilisations but rather periods or regions. If that description is wrong and someone could provide more accuracy on 'big history' that would be cool.

Thanks very much Jeremy. I'll check it out!

I've noticed since I began teaching History in schools that there is a distinct difference between the history I learned at university and read of in books and the subject History as it is taught in schools in Australia, and I suspect across much of the world. This difference has always baffled and troubled me and I thought I might ask about the experiences of all of you given your expertise as History educators and see if there is a problem and if so, how it might be fixed.

When I studied history at uni the emphasis of most of the lecturers was on attention to detail, thorough background knowledge of the period and the evaulation of sources in their historical context. The methodology was empirical and the main purpose of investigation was historical causation. 'What happened and why?' was the main question which hung in the air in my lectures and tutorials. This also has characterised the history books I've read since. The purpose of the study of history was to find out and understand what happened in the past, perhaps better to understand what is happening in the present and what might happen in the future. I remember most of my classically-trained lecturers got uncomfortable at that point; I think too much so.

When I arrived to teach History in high schools, however, the entire approach seemed radically different. What I automatically taught as 'History' was viewed rather unfavourably. It was seen as old-fashioned and perhaps 'conservative'. When I saw the work programs the schools had, the focus of study seemed to me to be historical injustice and identity. The existence and importance of socio-cultural groups was strongly emphasised, and the entire purpose of the subject seemed to be different. Instead of a disinterested investigation of the truth of past events, the purpose seemed to be to inculcate in students an awareness of and sensitivity to injustice and persecution by some groups of other groups. The purpose is not to discover the past but rather to mould the mind of the student to find and condemn evidence of this injustice.

I've struggled over the years to reconcile the two positions yet as time goes on I find more and more that this dominant approach (and it seems to me to be very dominant) just leads to bad history. It trains students to think simplistically and convinces them that they already know the past: it was systematic and constant persecution of the powerless by the powerful. It also breeds what I observe to be a strong cynicism in the students. 'What's the point of studying history if you already know the answers?' is a common mindset I've encountered.

I guess what I was wondering is if any of you have had any similar experiences? Do you agree with my observations or do you think I'm off-base? It's a widespread belief in Australian society that something has gone wrong with education, and I guess I'm quite passionate about trying to figure out how we can fix it. I'd be truly grateful for any input any of you would have about whether you think there is a problem or not or if perhaps you think my perspective is a little incorrect.

Thanks too to all of you who have posted to the group this year. I hear feedback from new members that they love the group and find it useful in their teaching and I know many of them have used the great sites you've found. I'm sure they're grateful. Merry Christmas all of you and best wishes for 2010.

David.