Education on the Internet
Number 101: 17th December, 2003
Introduction
Introduction
Education on the Internet is published by Spartacus Educational every week. The newsletter includes news, reviews of websites and articles on using ICT in the classroom. Members of the mailing list are invited to submit information for inclusion in future newsletters. In this way we hope to create a community of people involved in using the Internet in education. Currently there are 42,415 subscribers to the newsletter.
All reviews are added to our web directory. There are sections on Internet Services, Online Seminars, Primary Education, English, Mathematics, Science, Modern Languages, History, Geography, Design & Technology, Business Studies, Special Needs, Media Studies, ICT, Sociology, Music, Politics, Economics, Photography, Art & Design, Theatre Studies, Physical Education and Religious Studies.
John Simkin
Online Seminars
Learning Styles: All teachers are aware of the fact that students learn in a variety of different ways, and that even the same information given to a class by the teacher is received by the students in a number of different ways. Therefore all teachers need to ensure that they develop their lessons to tap into the varied learning styles of their students. This seminar sets out a number of approaches for doing this and explains how to ensure that the lessons you prepare are fit for the students in your school. Many different methods of ensuring success in planning are suggested such as the use of work scrutinies to find out what type of learning students are having success with, interviews with pupils to find out what teaching and learning styles work for them, departmental discussions with colleagues as the planning process continues to share ideas. The seminar is aimed at those at the start of their teaching careers looking for a way to tackle this crucial and complex challenge, as well as at more experienced teachers looking for ideas or inspiration on how to plan to meet the needs of the full range of their students by using a diversity of teaching and learning styles. If you have views on this subject, register with the History Forum and join the debate.
News and Articles
eLearning News: A central resource for eLearning news, product reviews, case studies, conferences, exhibitions, employment opportunities and lots more; submitted by eLearning companies and specialists around the world. eLearning News will preserve your most valuable asset - time! Trawling the web for the latest information on eLearning can take hours - even with a helping hand from Google! eLearning News allows companies and specialists to submit their news, reviews and information to its central library free of charge. Visitors can browse or search this wealth of information to quickly find what they are looking for.
Comenius: Schools are currently looking for partners in the following topics: Emigration and Tolerance (Spain), Europe Through the Year: Festivals, Fairs, Holidays (Lithuania), Science Project (Italy), Curriculum Development in Vocational Colleges (Germany), Prevent Violence at School (Germany), How Migration Has Shaped our European Culture (Germany), Tourism and Agriculture (Portugal) Europe in the Wings of History (Portugal), Arts and Traditions (Netherlands), Environment Protection (Romania) and School Development, Tomorrow's School Today (Lithuania).
Searchlight: The Guardian newspaper reports today that the home secretary, David Blunkett, is under pressure to shut down an extreme rightwing website that has a secret hit-list of targets - including teachers, social workers, journalists and politicians. Many of those featured on the this website have already suffered threats, intimidation and physical assaults. A spokesman for the anti-fascist organization, Searchlight, said: "This email network is a very sinister development. There are explicit threats against people who have stood up to the far right and this is nothing more than political intimidation and classic fascism."
History
Martin Luther King Jr: Few have had as much impact upon the American consciousness as the late civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In recognition and support of his ideals of quality and fairness for all, The Seattle Times created a Web site in 1995 that celebrates this important historical figure. Since then, educators from throughout the United States and the world have used the site as a teaching tool. The site includes stories culled from The Seattle Times over the past decade, as well as archival information such as a photo gallery and audio clips of King's speeches. There's also a quiz and civil rights timeline. One of the most fascinating features of the site is its message board, which contains heartfelt tributes to King from people of all ages all over the world.
The American Experience: This beautifully designed website provides the most comprehensive account of the Vietnam War on the Internet. The website was produced by the US Public Broadcasting Service to accompany their award-winning television series: Vietnam: A Television History. The website includes an interactive timeline of the war, basic statistics, maps, a glossary of terms and acronyms, texts of key U.S. government war documents, weapons used during the war and forty-two biographical portraits of key personalities in the war, including six from North Vietnam and a bibliography for further study. The website also contains Reflections on War, a collection of twelve first-hand accounts of the conflict and transcripts of all the television programmes.
English
Future of the Book: RMIT University's International Centre for Graphic Technology is organizing the Second International Conference on the Future of the Book in Beijing, China, 29-31 August 2004. Following the success of our 2003 conference, held in Cairns, Australia, the Book Conference 2004 will provide a forum for participants academics, educators, librarians, researchers and teachers from around the world to discuss the future of the book. It will also provide a window to the past and the future of the book in China. The conference will include a mix of keynote address, paper, workshop and colloquium sessions, with speakers discussing topics as varied as: the effects of print on demand and ebooks; written text in the context in the new communications environment; the future of the book from a library perspective; computers in education and e-learning; reading, books and the Internet; teaching and learning literacy in school and at home; and trends in the publishing industry.
English Teaching Staffroom: This important website allows you to share ideas, ask questions, air your views... anything really, as long as it's to do with English, Drama or Media teaching, abides by our terms and conditions and isn't libellous or illegal! To read and/or reply to a message thread, simply click on the topic. If you are looking for something particular, like a video, you need to add your email address to your message text for colleagues to contact you directly. Recent subjects discussed in the English Teaching Staffroom includes SATs Marking, Behaviour Strategies for Set 13 Boys, Christmas Reading for Teachers, Media Studies A Level (WJEC), Videos for School Library, Media Studies GCSE, Poems from Different Cultures, Griffin Pirate Reading Scheme, Using Interactive Whiteboards in English, Novels with a Sports Theme, Reading Passports and Launching a School Magazine.
Geography
GeoInteractive: A new website for Geography teachers has just been created. It is called GeoInteractive and as the name suggests, it is a focus for interactive teaching materials in Geography. It contains two main sections: The first section is designed for teachers to contribute a minimum of two resources (Powerpoint presentation, Word worksheet, etc.) and then they get a password to access all the resources that other teachers have sent in. This collection will evolve and grow over time. There will be a minimum 50 resources available when the website officially goes live on January 1st 2004. The second section is available by low-cost subscription only and contains resources produced by the author David Rayner, a Head of Geography working in Kent. This section contains Powerpoint presentations, drag and drop exercises, flash animations, worksheets with hyperlinks, quizzes and puzzles, etc. plus a large photo gallery and tutorials on producing your own interactive resources.
Pupilvision is a 600 page website full of resources for pupils and teachers of geography. Built by Keith Phipps who is Head of geography and Head of Year at King Edward VI Camp Hill school for Boys in Birmingham, the site was originally built to support his pupils. Over the two years of development the site has become a major resource. It was given a Royal Geographical Association Award in December 2000. Keith Phipps uses the site in all his lessons and the integration of Internet into his teaching has led to him winning the national award of 'Teacher of the Year' for the most creative use of ICT. The website is easy to navigate and is well designed. It enables pupils to view lesson plans, homework and syllabuses; support revision; provide guidance from pupils on how to improve grades; access geography careers advice; submit homework and e-mail questions relating to homework; access a plethora of geography websites by links.
Science
Alberto Santos-Dumont: It is 100 years ago today that the Wright brothers made history at Kitty Hawk. However, some people have claimed that this is just another example of Yankee imperialism and that the first person to fly machine through the air by its own means of propulsion was Alberto Santos-Dumont, a Brazilian who made this record breaking flight in Paris. It is claimed that he committed suicide in 1932 because he was wracked with guilt by being involved in creating a machine for military purposes.
EuroTurtle: Europe's first website devoted to the conservation of European Sea Turtles. The website is divided into two sections - one for Education and the other for Conservation. The Education section has masses of excellent games and projects, many linked directly to the National Curriculum (Keys stage2/3/4 and A level). It aims to create awareness about some of the main threats to sea turtles, especially in the Mediterranean. The website also creates awareness about wider issues of sustainability. The website has won a number of important awards and is constantly being updated and new areas added.
Design and Technology
Bridge Builder: This is a freeware program that allows you to design, build and test bridge structures. You can download it from Andy Jones' excellent Design and Technology website. Then check out the sequel. You can download the demo which has loads of levels. The sequel allows you to choose different materials, such as cable and steel frames. You can even ride a train across the bridge as it crumbles around you! Both programs are very easy to use. Don't panic if you don't have broadband, the program files are tiny.
Design Technology Department: An experienced British teacher has created the Design Technology Department in order to provide free educational materials for schools and colleges. The site is continually growing and will eventually offer teachers and pupils, materials for all of the Key Stages. The website contains quizzes, GCSE and A level revision materials, handouts, GCSE Resistant Materials, AS and A level materials, schemes of work, packaging, famous kite designers, structures, examples of pupils work, furniture design, inventions, department policies and links to educational and commercial websites.
Modern Languages
Language Plus: Francois Debargue teaches French in Australia. His website provides a full set of interactive activities for French teachers and learners, featuring more than 150 exercises. Activities are classified by topic, there are 18 topics, then for each topic students can choose between reading, writing and listening tasks. There are also some basic grammar tasks. student's results are stored in a database and consequently students can compete against each other all around the world.
Virtual French Literature: An excellent resource for all teachers and students of French literature. Virtual French Literature is a large database of out of copyright classics in French. Writers featured include Appollinaire, Balzac, Colette, Maupassant, Racine, Rambaud, Fanon, Flaubert, Gide, Zola, Hugo, Rousseau, Stendhal, Verne and Voltaire. The website also contains a comprehensive collection of biographies of French writers.
Book Section
Forgotten Voices: In 1972 a team of academics and archivists from the Imperial War Museum set about the momentous task of tracing ordinary men and women who had lived through one of the most harrowing periods of modern history, the First World War. Veterans from Britain, Germany, America, Australia and Canada were interviewed in detail about their day-to-day experiences on and off the front. The archive has grown to be one of the most important of its kind in the world and provides a unique account of life during the Great War. (Max Arthur, Edbury Press, ISBN 0 009 188 887 5, £7.99)
