Today's Front Pages is a web site of the Newseum museum, the world's first interactive museum of the news. Started in 1997, the Newseum, sponsored by the Freedom Forum, has been located in Rosslyn, Virginia across the bridge from the Nation's Capital. However, it is currently in the process of moving to Washington, DC and in the move it has taken the "Today's Front Pages" exhibit to the downtown streets and to the web.
From the About page of "Today's Front Pages":
"Today's Front Pages" is an online version of one of the Newseum's most popular exhibits. Every morning, more than 250 newspapers from around the world submit their front pages to the Newseum via the Internet.
Sixty-eight of the front pages are selected for an outdoor exhibit located at Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street in downtown Washington, D.C., future site of the Newseum. Front pages are chosen to represent each of the 50 states as well as a selection of international newspapers. The electronic files are printed out on large-format printers at the Newseum's offices in Arlington, Va., then are transported to the Pennsylvania Avenue site and mounted inside the 98-foot-long steel and Plexiglas display by 8:30 a.m., seven days a week.
All of the front pages received that morning are then posted on the Newseum's Web site. The full selection of each day's front pages is available on the Web site by 9:30 a.m. daily.
Type of Material:
Newspaper front pages
Recommended Uses:
Current events, area studies, civilization, language and grammar lessons
Technical Requirements:
Pages are available in .pdf format, for which Acrobat Reader is needed
Identify Major Learning Goals:
Foreign language students will learn about current events in the target language and will enhance target language reading proficiency.
Target Student Population:
Front pages can be used at all levels of language learning. Students with limited reading proficiency can work with graphic images. Beginning to intermediate levels can work with headlines. Intermediate to advanced learners can work with full texts.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
Depending on use, reading proficiency in the target language.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
Today's Front pages is a truly novel and excellent feature of the Newseum journalism museum in Washington, DC. It provides an instant snapshot of world news from the perspective of international news sources. For students who tend to evaluate all the world's news from the media of their own country, Today's Front Pages allows them to think critically about how different cultures perceive any given world event differently. It is also always completely current, providing the top stories of that very day. Students reading these front pages will learn the vocabulary they need to discuss world events and will find the pictures that represent that vocabulary.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
This web site lends itself well to the creation of MERLOT learning assignments. Faculty can create their own "who,what,when where,why" worksheets for students to use in their examination of the headline news stories. When clicking on the thumbnail front page, a larger version of the front page appears that can be projected on a screen before the class or printed out in .pdf format. A link is also provided to the online site of the newspaper. Group activities could include discussions around a front page news feature and role plays such as interviews or news briefings. Cross-cultural comparisons of the same news from different countries could also be undertaken.
One of the great strengths of this site is the variety of news sources in a particular language. For example, French teachers will find news not only from France but from Francophone countries around the world. The same is true in Spanish and other languages. Teachers of less commonly-taught languages will be pleased to find a source for authentic materials in their subject area.
Concerns:
Due to copyright concerns, Today's Front Pages does not archive its pages. Teachers who want to reuse material need to research the individual newspaper's archiving policy at the publication web sites. Copyright restrictions vary from publication to publication and it is the responsibility of the user to research these.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The site is extremely easy to use. The front pages are arranged alphabetically in groups of thumbnails. Running the cursor over a thumbnail brings up the newspaper title and its geographic location. Clicking on a thumbnail, brings up a new window with an enlarged version of the page. The user can then access a .pdf or go to the featured newspaper on the web.
One can also use the map view and the page listing to navigate the site. There is an FAQ that explains the availability and lack thereof of certain newspapers. Since the online exhibit mirrors one of the most longstanding and popular exhibits at the actual Newseum, it is likely to have longevity on the web.
Creative Commons:
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