Education on the Internet
Number 113: 24th March, 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 47,245 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 Debates
European Debates: Richard Jones-Nerzic of the International School of Toulouse is celebrating Spring Europe by creating a series of debates for junior students (11-14). Subjects include: European Union, European School Curriculum, Nationality, Languages, European Military Force and Widening of the European Union, If you want your students to contribute to these discussions please email Richard Jones-Nerzic.
News and Articles
Becta Extra: Becta's regular online magazine with a mix of news and features to keep readers up-to-date with Becta's activities. The March edition includes information on the Becta Seminars at the Education Show, Becta's Digital Video Awards 2004, Demonstrating Transformation, Beyond the Fringe: Online Debate on E-learning and the Effective Use of ICT in Subject Teaching (Primary).
Whole-School Issues: Some issues and topics such as health and safety, behaviour and child protection affect the entire school community. TeacherNet has launched a new section of this site bringing these issues into one place, so that they can be tackled in an integrated and inclusive manner to achieve valuable benefits for the whole school. The material is designed for teachers, support staff, managers and governors to pupils, parents and the wider community.
Talking Teaching: Where do you go to share thoughts, problems and suggestions on issues facing you as a teacher? Where do you draw your inspiration or hear from colleagues facing similar challenges and finding solutions? Maybe within your school staffroom or from the headteacher, but we believe that there is an opportunity for teachers to create an online support system for teachers outside the single school community. Moreover, we believe that you’ll want to be part of it. A partnership of the Teaching Awards Trust, Learn and BT has come together to provide the stimulus, tools and infrastructure for this online community for UK teachers.
Geography
National Geographic: Since its inception in July 1996, National Geographic magazine’s award-winning online edition has provided visitors with exciting exclusives that bring the intriguing stories of National Geographic magazine right to your desktop. Each online feature includes a Web-exclusive photo gallery and a full bibliography and list of related Web sites provided by the National Geographic Research Division. The “On Assignment” features allow visitors to step into the world of National Geographic writers and photographers as they share their best, worst and quirkiest adventures encountered in the field. Multi-media “Sights & Sounds” presentations, animation, video, audio clips, photo galleries and exclusive printable maps allow visitors to go even deeper into the story. Online forums invite users to speak their minds on hot topics and global issues plucked from the pages of the magazine. The National Geographic magazine collectors’ editions also include educational, interactive features such as a hieroglyphic translator in the “Treasures of Egypt” site and an “Exploring Space” trivia game. Archives of the past eight years of the online edition and “Flashback” vintage images are also available.
Global Witness: In 2002 Global Witness was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The organization campaigns to achieve real change by challenging established thinking on seemingly intractable global issues. We work to highlight the link between the exploitation of natural resources and human rights abuses, particularly where the resources such as timber, diamonds and oil are used to fund and perpetuate conflict and corruption. There are a wide range of reports available on the website including Time For Transparency (coming clean on oil, mining and gas revenues), A Conflict Of Interest (an uncertain future of Burma's forests), For a Few Dollars More (how al Qaeda moved into the diamond trade), The Usual Suspects (how the Liberian Government supports arms trafficking and mercenary activities in west Africa), Logging Off (how the Liberian timber industry fuels Liberia's humanitarian disaster and threatens Sierra Leone), All the Presidents Men (the devastating story of oil and banking in Angola's privatised war) and Deforestation Without Limits (how the Cambodian government failed to tackle the untouchables).
Science
Butterfly and Insect World: Based in Lasswade, Scotland, Butterfly and Insect World allows you to take an exciting journey through a tropical rainforest, experience the life and learn about the creatures. See exotic butterflies and tropical birds flying free, handle snakes and spiders, see poisonous frogs and scorpions, leaf cutter ants and much much more. At any one time, 30 to 40 species can be seen, from the brilliant blue of the South American Morpho butterfly, to the tiny transparent Glasswing butterfly, to the scarlet, yellow and black Postman butterfly. During the course of a year, it has over 300 species, so there is always a new species to see. At regular intervals throughout the day, handling sessions are held, an opportunity for visitors to get to grips with some of the larger animals. Regular stars appearing are Milly the millipede, Monty the royal python, Jemima the jungle nymph (a stick insect) and a cameo performance by Abby-Sue, a tarantula (or her stunt double!)
Natural History Museum: With over 70 million specimens and over 350 collections-based curators and researchers the NHM represents the national centre for the study of taxonomy and systematics. The material is organized under the headings: Botany, Entomology, Mineralogy, Palaeontology, Zoology and Biodiversity. There is also a lively and stimulating programme of exhibitions and events about nature. The Darwin Centre is a major new development at the Natural History Museum. It provides world-class storage facilities for precious collections, new laboratories, and access behind the scenes for visitors. Whereas the Life Galleries contain details of dinosaurs, insects, ecology, human biology, mammals, primates, minerals and origin of species.
Politics
Your Party is an online political party where members set the policies. Its a party which starts with no bias about the best way forward in the future, but seeks to find common ground between citizens from all political persuasions. Your Party is not in opposition to any other party. It is a new platform for engagement, working in co-operation with any other organisation that wants to take part. Your Party wants to make full use of the Internet to create a new way for people to engage in the decision-making process – a way that allows full participation at every level on an issue-by-issue basis.
MoveOn: This new American organization is trying to bring ordinary people back into politics. The website claims: "With a system that today revolves around big money and big media, most citizens are left out. When it becomes clear that our "representatives" don't represent the public, the foundations of democracy are in peril. MoveOn is a catalyst for a new kind of grassroots involvement, supporting busy but concerned citizens in finding their political voice. Our nationwide network of more than 1,700,000 online activists is one of the most effective and responsive outlets for democratic participation available today."
Sociology
Crime Statistics: This website uses data from 'Crime in England and Wales 2002/2003' Published on 17 July 2003, it brings together police recorded crime figures with data collected by the British Crime Survey (BCS) to provide a comprehensive account of the latest patterns and trends in the main high-volume crimes. The recorded crime data is provided by the 43 police forces throughout England & Wales, who are required to supply the Home Office with monthly figures for all of the Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) in their police force area. You can also access long-term data from the British Crime Survey - the most reliable indicator of long-term crime trends.
GlobLog: Johan Norberg is head of political ideas at the free-market think tank Timbro in Stockholm. He is the author of the award-winning book In Defence of Global Capitalism (2001). On his website he explains: "I believe that we should have individual rights and liberties because man needs to live by his individual reason and strive for self-realisation. I am passionate about the Enlightenment ideals of reason, secularisation, education and liberty, and the adulation of science, technology and progress." On his website Norberg shares his latest thoughts and explains what he is doing to promote global capitalism.
Modern Languages
Association for Language Learning is the UK's major subject association for teachers of foreign languages. The association is committed to the professional development of teachers of languages and the promotion of language learning and teaching. The Association for Language Learning covers the teaching of Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese.
Speech Accent Archive: Everyone who speaks a language, speaks it with an accent. A particular accent essentially reflects a person's linguistic background. This website has been established to uniformly exhibit a large set of speech accents from a variety of language backgrounds. The archive is constructed as a teaching tool and as a research tool. It is meant to be used by linguists as well as other people who simply wish to listen to and compare the accents of different English speakers. It allows users to compare the demographic and linguistic backgrounds of the speakers in order to determine which variables are key predictors of each accent.
Internet Services
Computer Viruses: This useful article by Graham Davies of Camsoft provides an introduction to the essential security measures you need to take in order to protect your computer against viruses and other intrusions. There are sections on Antivirus Software, Hoax Viruses, Attachments, Holes in Windows, Firewall Software, Antivirus Software, Known Viruses, Recent Virus Threats, Spam, Adware and Spyware. There is also information on useful articles on Internet security.
Policy Patrol is a comprehensive email filtering tool and offers anti-spam, anti-virus, keyword filtering, attachment blocking, compression, disclaimers, signatures and many more email management features. The product is easy to install and configure, and its powerful rules wizard allows you to create customized user-based rules by specifying conditions, exceptions and actions. Its main defence is its Bayesian database. It builds its information from words and phrases in legitimate emails and spam as a comparison table to detect and remove unwanted messages.
Book Section
Murder in Dealey Plaza: We now know vastly more about the killing of John F. Kennedy than was known 20 or 30 years ago, and the new evidence is accumulating almost every day. This new evidence is being uncovered by the bold application of scientific and technological expertise to the assassination records, including the film, photographic, and autopsy records. Murder in Dealey Plaza presents the latest and best of the new assassination research. As a result of these freshly uncovered findings, it is possible to say with moral certainly and considerable scientific authority with the murder of President Kennedy was committed by a meticulously executed conspiracy which was then obscured by an extensive cover-up. (Edited by James H. Fetzer, Catfeet, ISBN 0 8126 9422 8, £9.85)
