Education on the Internet
Number 106: 4th February, 2004
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 44,840 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
Teacher Training: In this seminar Andy Walker argues that since the 1980s there has been a noticeable move away teacher training being seen as an at least in part “academic” discipline towards a model akin to that of a plumber’s apprenticeship. Student teachers today “learn on the job”, are immersed in schools, and are “trained” almost exclusively by practising teachers (some of whom trained in exactly the same way). He goes on to claim that " these trends will inevitably have undesirable consequences on the quality and commitment of newly trained teachers and are part of the deskilling of the teaching profession which gathers apace day by day and actually nears completion." If you have views on this subject, register with the History Forum and join the debate.
News and Articles
Inside the Black Box: Raising the standards of learning that are achieved through schooling is an important national priority. In recent years, governments throughout the world have been more and more vigorous in making changes in pursuit of this aim. This has included imposing national standards; target setting; enhanced programs for the external testing of students' performance; initiatives to improve school planning and management; and more frequent and thorough inspection. In this article, Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam, argue: "Learning is driven by what teachers and pupils do in classrooms. Teachers have to manage complicated and demanding situations, channeling the personal, emotional, and social pressures of a group of 30 or more youngsters in order to help them learn immediately and become better learners in the future. Standards can be raised only if teachers can tackle this task more effectively. What is missing from the efforts... is any direct help with this task."
Blended Learning is learning which combines online and face-to-face approaches. Is blended learning a cop out or the best way to offer flexible learning choices to students? Is teaching online different to teaching face to face? Do students really want to learn fully online? Are these questions premature when most teachers don't have access to computers for their classes? These are some of the questions that these contributors to the International Education Forum debate try to answer. If you have views on this subject, register with the International Education Forum and join the debate.
World Wide School: This website is dedicated to the collection, preservation and presentation of educational material. Morrie Wilson started the World Wide School as a way to explore the possibilities of distance learning. He is especially interested in providing a wider range of opportunities to those who have difficulty accessing traditional education. The site has been developed by Bulldog Beach Interactive and the comprehensive, interdisciplinary courses are written by Synapse Learning Design. The World Wide School courses are free but you do need to register in order to access the material.
History
Historical Text Archive: Donald J. Mabry of Mississippi State University established the Historical Text Archive in 1990 as an anonymous FTP site, when the World Wide Web became readily available in the United States it became a website as well. The HTA publishes high quality articles, books, essays, documents, historical photos, and links, screened for content, for a broad range of historical subjects. The site is divided into three sections: articles (618), e-books (62), and links (5,541).
The Cold War: This website provides transcripts of interviews that took place in 1999 with important figures involved in events that made up the Cold War. This includes, James Baker, George Bush, Miklos Nemeth, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Richard Perle, Stansfield Turner, Caspar Weinberger, Yevgeni Yevtushenko, E. Howard Hunt, Paul H. Nitze, Robert McNamara, Condoleezza Rice, John Ehrlichman, Gerald Ford, Henry Kissinger, Melvin Laird, John Negroponte, Jimmy Carter, John F. Sigler, Eugene McCarthy, Bui Diem, Clark Clifford, Roger Hilsman, Theodore Sorensen, McGeorge Bundy, George Kennan, Oleg Troyanovski, Raymond Garthoff, Stefan Heym and Margit Hosseni.
Science
The Why Files: President Bush wants to send people to moon, Mars. Do the scientific goals justify the cost and risk? Could you stay healthy (or sane) on the long journey? Would space radiation fry your brain? The Why Files, funded by the US National Science Foundation, attempts to answer these questions. Science touches our lives in countless ways. Yet people often think science is relevant only to a white-coated, lab-dwelling elite. The Why Files portrays science as a critical human endeavor conducted by ordinary people and uses current events as springboards to explore science, health, environment and technology. Past stories are archived and can be recalled. Written and illustrated in a lively and attractive way, this site is well worth a regular visit.
The Skeptics Dictionary: This website has been created by Robert Carroll, a professor of philosophy and author of the book, 'Becoming a Critical Thinker'. The main objective of this website is to explain mysteries such as UFOs, crop circles and telepathy. We all like mysteries and I suspect that a large number of the 114,000 people who have visited the site would have been disappointed by Carroll's scientific and rational explanations. However, this is an impressive attempt to encourage rational thinking.
Art and Design
Archéire is a collection of web sites focused on architecture in Ireland. It is intended to heighten awareness, and to foster debate both within Ireland and internationally. It is a diverse, growing collection of sites, with emphasis ranging from history and preservation to current architectural developments and issues. In addition the site contains original research and content dealing with the architecture and buildings of Ireland, architects Michael Scott and Kevin Roche, and designer Eileen Gray as well as a wealth of information on architects, awards, Irish architecture sites and competitions. The site is maintained by Paul Clerkin.
Edgar Degas: Produced by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this website is dedicated to the work of Edgar Degas. As well as Degas' own work, the website also provides details of the artist's private collection of paintings. The website also contains a very good Teachers Centre that includes a variety of educational experiences that involve the images of work at the Metropolitan Museum. For younger children there are games and for older students the website has more complex activities.
Politics
Our World Our Say is an organization attempting to give people a voice when politicians circumvent them, particularly over world changing issues. Through reconnecting ordinary citizens with their elected representatives and giving them a voice, it aims to give people power over their own future and invigorate the democratic process. Through a combination of national, regional and local press adverts; direct marketing techniques; a dynamic and interactive website; an in-depth database of elected officials and their voting patterns on crucial issues; media testimonies by high-profile personalities; and the use of innovative devices such as virtual lobbies of Parliament and regular electronic mailings to MPs it hopes to galvanise as many people as possible to pursue simple and practical activities in order to reinvigorate democratic processes in Britain.
Weapons of Misperception: Kenneth Pollack was a military analyst at the CIA and later moved to the National Security Council. He became convinced that Iraq had WMD and in 2002 published the book, The Threatening Storm: The Case for Invading Iraq. Many observers believe the book managed to convince a number of officials to join the call for war. Pollack has now changed his mind and recently published Spies, Lies, and Weapons: What Went Wrong. In this interesting interview in Atlantic Monthly, Pollack explains why he got it wrong. He also explains how George Bush "consistently engaged in creative omission, overstating the imminence of the Iraqi threat, even though it had evidence to the contrary".
Media Studies
Conspiracy Planet: A collection of newspaper and magazine articles that provides an alternative view of the world. Titles include Moon Landing Scam, Princess Diana: Murder-Coverup, New World Order, Anthrax Fear Scam, Suppressed Science, Dyncorp Crimes, Cheney/Halliburton Fraud, CIA Drug Trafficking, Federal Reserve Scam, Globalism, Genetic Engineering, Vote Fraud, Vaccination Scam, Voodoo Science, Solari Action Network, PsyOps, Biowarfare, Chemtrails, Bilderbergers, Media Whores, Military Guinea Pigs and Harvard Hijacked.
History of the BBC: Since it was first formed as a company in 1922, five years before it received its first Royal Charter and became the British Broadcasting Corporation, the BBC has been a world leader in programme production. It has pioneered communications in radio, television and online technologies. The BBC has proved a powerful force in the 20th century - providing entertainment, education and information, and captivating millions of viewers and listeners at home and abroad. This website gives a short history of the BBC, with highlights from radio and television from each decade.
Music
Duke Ellington: By the time he died, Duke Ellington was considered amongst the world’s greatest composers and musicians. The French government honored him with their highest award, the Legion of Honor, while the government of the United States bestowed upon him the highest civil honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. By the end of his 50-year career, he had played over 20,000 performances worldwide. This website is devoted to the life and works of Duke Ellington. The material is divided into seven sections: Biography, Music, Quotes, Achievements, Photos, Library and Orchestra.
Ralph Vaughan Williams Society: This website is dedicated to promoting the music of Vaughan Williams, along with providing a great deal of material about the man and his life. The site offers a brief biography of Vaughan Williams, a timeline, and a complete list of his hundreds of compositions. Another section provides audio clips of his compositions, including The Lark Ascending, Suite for Viola and Small Orchestra, Sea Symphony, London Symphony, Pastoral Symphony, Sinfonia Antartica, Norfolk Rhapsody and English Folk Song Suite.
Book Section
Violence, Terrorism, Genocide, War: A fascinating and timely study of war and violence and the psychology behind them, by renowned German sociologist Wolfgang Sofsky. What makes people act violently, either alone or as part of a mob? Why do the commit atrocities in times of war? Why do gangs, tribes, and even football supporters resort so readily to violence? Wolfgang Sofsky pursues answers these questions in a book highly praised by the German critics for its 'great intellectual power'. He argues that our propensity for violence is a reaction we have evolved as a response to our own mortality, and one which has taken many different forms in the course of human history. His wide-ranging account takes in witch-hunts, gladiatorial combats, and inter-tribal conflict, but his greatest concern is to explore the violence of the modem age. He writes with especial power about the Nazi atrocities of the Third Reich and his book's conclusion amounts to a powerful condemnation of that era's untrammeled brutality.(Wolfgang Sofsky, Granta, ISBN 1 86207 614 6, £17.99)
