Education on the Internet
Number 107: 11th 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 44,785 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
News and Articles
Value of Homework: At a meeting recently a senior member of staff said that his school was investigating whether setting homework for secondary age students had any real value. An open discussion ensued at which the more negative views voiced included: What is the point if they don't have anywhere quiet to work? Many of the less able don't do the homework anyway, giving teachers extra stress when they have to chase it up. A lot of tasks are set just because homework has to be set - it isn't necessarily of any great educational value? These are some of the questions that these contributors to the International Education Forum debate have tried to answer. If you have views on this subject, register with the International Education Forum and join the debate.
The Web We Want: In this time of globalisation we verify the truth of the Butterfly Effect more and more frequently. In other words, a chain of events can have a crisis point at which tiny changes (such as the fluttering of a butterfly's wings) are liable to grow out of all proportion. This website is open to contributions from students from all over the world. It is being edited and managed by students with the aim of publishing young people's opinions about their situation, interests, problems, hopes and wishes.
Specialist Schools: The new Humanities-based specialism will be based around the key subjects of history, geography or English. Taking one or more of these as core subjects, schools will have the option to add the subjects citizenship, humanities or religious education to make up a full complement of three specialist subjects. Schools will be able to choose one or more core subjects and up to two subsidiary subjects as the target-setting subjects within the specialism. For example: history, religious education and citizenship or geography, history and humanities or English, history and geography. The first Humanities Colleges will begin operating in September 2004.
History
JFK Lancer: The goal of JFK Lancer Productions is to make research materials concerning President John F. Kennedy's assassination easily available to everyone. Our prime concern is the accuracy of history and the true story of the turbulent 1960s. The organization sponsors special events both for the research community and for young people and educators to further this investigation. JFK Lancer gives two Scholarship awards each year, one for a teacher and one for a student, to those who teach and study the assassination and presidency of JFK.
Kid's Castle: The home page has an aerial view of the castle. Clicking on a part of the view takes you to that part of the castle. Students can find out about the people that lived there and what they did. Sometimes there will also be more information about an aspect of castle life, a game to play or puzzle to solve. Subjects covered include different parts of a castle (gatehouse, great tower, royal apartments, great hall, chapel, kitchens, etc.). There is also an interesting section on tournaments.
English
English Distance Course: The University of Kalmar's English Distance Course Portal Page provides the links to the following courses: English 1-10p, English 11-20p, English for Computer Science, Business Writing, Teaching English to Younger Children and Practical English. You are welcome to visit our page and find out about what we do. Please note, though, that some of our courses require you to have a working knowledge of Swedish, and that not all of the courses are offered every term. Kalmar is situated on the south-east coast of Sweden.
SATS: Recently a group of authors published a statement that included: "We think that children’s understanding, empathy, imagination and creativity are developed best by reading whole books, not by doing comprehension exercises on short excerpts and not from ticking boxes or giving one word answers. It is our view that reading for pleasure is being squeezed by the relentless pressure of testing and we are particularly concerned that the SATs and the preparation for them are creating an atmosphere of anxiety around the reading of literature." This website was set up by campaigners against SATs in the NUT and contains facts, figures and arguments about the issue of SATs.
Mathematics
Numeracy: This website has been created by the the Boston branch of the Adult Numeracy Practitioners Network. It provides adult numeracy activities for individuals or for teachers and students in adult education classes. Most of the activities are mathematical in content, not only for improving math skills such as adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing, but also fundamental components of good mathematical thinking such as reasoning, problem-solving, communicating, calculation, estimation and observation.
Mathematics Activity Guides: This section of the Energy Conservation Enhancement Project was originally created for the vocational technical schools in Louisiana. Much of the material contained within is generic in content and may be applied and used by many people throughout the world. Topics include The Pluses and the Minuses, What is Algebra? Algebra: Intergers and Operations, Fractions: The 4 Basic Mathematical Functions, Ratios & Proportions, Perimeter, Volume and Thinking Graphically.
Politics
Watergate: Some 25 years have passed since the bungled break-in at the Watergate hotel, a so-called "third-rate burglary," triggered a first-rate national crisis whose consequences still color the nation's politics. Like many other political scandals, Watergate grew to encompass far more than just the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters. This CNN website provides a collection of articles on Watergate including an attempt to discover the identify of Deep Throat.
Electoral Reform: First-Past-the-Post is not the only voting system. In fact, different systems were used to elect MPs right up until 1950. In recent years we have seen different, often fairer, voting systems being used for elections to the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales, London Assembly, European Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly. The Electoral Reform Society is a membership organisation which campaigns for improvements in democracy, particularly through the use of better voting systems. The website provides information on all the different voting systems used in the world today.
Economics
John Birchall Economist: This website features a section on Sierra Leone, where John Birchall is developing a range of facilities to bridge the digital divide that exists between the rich world and those in developing economies. Another section concentrates on primary health care, which is to feature in teacher training in Sierra Leone. Further sections concentrate on: The European Union, general items and copies of some of the lectures that John Birchall has presented over the last couple of years. His weekly Letter from an Economist also appears as does a discussion forum which will be used for developing an online Current Affairs facility for Sierra Leone.
Tutor2u is a portal site for students of Economics, Business Studies and Politics. The objective of Geoff Riley is to build a comprehensive, user friendly study portal, and to contribute to the study and examination success of all our users. At the heart of Tutor2u lies the Discussion Forums. A widening range of bulletin-board style discussion groups that provide users with a unique opportunity to interact with each other. Tutor2u also includes a range of study materials. The comprehensive collection of revision notes covers the key areas of economics and politics. Tutor2u maintains one of the Web's most comprehensive collections of reviewed study links, carefully categorised and described to help users find the data and support they need.
Music
Music Teacher's Resource Website: This excellent website was created by Rob Jones in 1996. There is a wide range of free music teaching materials for KS3 and KS4 pupils including songs, royalty free sheet music, arrangements and documentation for music teachers. Also, there are sections on reviews of equipment, instruments and software and an on line help desk staffed by various experts in areas of music education. Complete and structured schemes of work, written by top UK music teachers are available on a subscription basis. This represents the largest collection of music teaching resources on the internet which includes all supporting materials, flashcards, pupil worksheets, teacher manuals, audio clips, video clips and interactive pupil interfaces.
8 Notes: This website provides free classical & traditional sheet music, popular and jazz riffs, music lessons and music resources. The material can be accessed by instrument: Guitar (291), Piano (1034), Violin (117), Cello (64), Trumpet (48), Clarinet (76), Saxophone (54), Flute (95), Recorder (47), Oboe (37), Trombone (24). The material is also organized under genres: Classical (1,895), Rock & Pop (113), Film & TV Themes (16), Jazz (24), World (43) and Traditional (201).
Internet Services
HouseCall: Trend Micro is a global leader in antivirus and content security software and services. This free service allows you to give your PC a check-up while you surf the web. HouseCall is a real-life demonstration of the power of the web-based technologies that Trend is developing to make deployment and management of virus protection in corporate settings fast and easy. If this is your first time using HouseCall, expect to wait several minutes while the scanner prepares to check for viruses. This time will vary depending on your modem speed and current Internet traffic, and will be shorter the next time you visit.
Mail2web: Recent research claims that 14% of emails contain viruses or spam. It is therefore sensible to delete offending items on the server. Mail2web is an Internet based email client that allows you to pick up your email from almost any POP3 or IMAP4 email server. You simply enter your email address and password to access your inbox. You can then read, reply and forward your messages. No registration is required to access this application that has been developed, maintained and supported by SoftCom Technology Consulting Incorporated, a global leader in reliable and cost effective Internet based services.
Book Section
Your Child Can Think Like a Genius: In this exciting and highly practical book for parents, Bernadette Tynan explodes the myths about genius. Grounded in cutting edge research, Tynan shows how each child's gifts are as unique to them as their own thumb print, but unless we know what to look for, they can easily be mistaken for behaviour problems, hyperactivity, attitude problems or even boredom at school. Packed with fun activities and practical advice, Tynan gives parents information on how they can identify their child's gifts and help children develop them naturally. (Bernadette Tynan, Thorsons, ISBN 0 00 716073 9, £10.99)
