Education
on the Internet
Number
118: 28th April, 2004
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 49,580
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
spartacus@pavilion.co.uk
News
and Articles
Education
Survey: Bliss, the magazine for teenagers, claims it has just
carried out the most comprehensive study to date of teenagers' views
on their own education. Maths teachers were labelled as the "most
evil" with a quarter of all votes, followed by science teachers
(20%) and language teachers (17%). Overall, only three in ten secondary
school pupils think they are getting a "very good" education
while science, maths and languages are singled out as the "worst
taught subjects", according to this survey of 2,000 students.
Schemes
of Work: This the Department for Education and Skills website
has a brand new look. As well as updating the original design that
had been in service since 1999, the DfES have reorganised the content
and improved the way you move around the units and supporting information.
Three new sections have been introduced as well: information on planning
how to use the schemes; examples of adaptations teachers have made
to unit to better suit their particular teaching needs; and information
on combining units practically.
New
Economics Foundation: According to a study carried out by the
New Economics Foundation, primary schoolchildren are a lot happier
than their secondary counterparts. The study looked at two measures
of well-being in more than 1,000 youngsters aged 7 to 19 attending
Nottingham schools. The study claims that the well-being and overall
happiness of young people drops drastically when they switch from
primary to secondary school, with significant effects on their personal
development. It finds that a third of children are so badly affected
by the transition that they become vulnerable to mental illness.
History
Special
Relationship: In this article Charles Wheeler looks at the so-called
special relationship between Britain and the United States. Wheeler
argues that this special relationship has been the foundation of Britain's
foreign policy for over 60 years. Wheeler claims that there have only
been two examples when the British government refused to accept the
policies being pursued by the American government. The first occasion
was in 1954 when the government refused to agree to an Anglo-American
military intervention in Vietnam. The second was in the 1960s when
Harold Wilson repeatedly rejected President Johnson's demand that
he support America's war in Vietnam by sending out a contingent of
ground troops.
Scotlands
People: Containing nearly 40 million records, the Scotlands People
database is one of the world’s largest resources of genealogical
information and one of the largest single information resources on
the Web. It provides a fully searchable index of Scottish births from
1553-1903, marriages from 1553 to 1928 and deaths from 1855 to 1953.
In addition, indexed census data is available from 1881 to 1901. To
respect privacy of living people, internet access has been limited
to birth records over 100 years old, marriage records over 75 years,
and death records over 50 years. From the results of an index search
made on this site you may view, save and print images of many of the
original documents, and order extracts of any register entries of
interest.
English
Ask
a Librarian: Public libraries in the UK run reference and information
services staffed by librarians who are experts at finding information
for you. Public libraries throughout the UK are working together to
provide Ask a Librarian. When you ask a question on the enquiry page
it is automatically routed to one of the participating reference libraries
which receives it as an email message. Using their skill and experience
the librarians will identify the best sources, print or electronic,
for discovering the answer. They will send you an email message as
soon as possible with their response to your enquiry.
ICT
English Survey:
The Fischer Family Trust carries out surveys into ICT use in schools.
Surveys conducted between 2000 and 2003 generated responses from 179
English departments in secondary schools. The report summarises details
of the ICT resources used in English. The most popular websites were
Teach It (21/179), Bytesize (18/179) and Learn (13/179). Other materials
used extensively in English departments include Microsoft Word, Successmaker,
Excel, and Microsoft Publisher.
Science
On
the Edge: This PBS website looks at the stories of the Aids researcher
Dr David Ho; the developers of the polio vaccine, Jonas Salk and Albert
Sabin; the work of the astronomer Jocelyn Bell, and the discovers
of the early tranquilliser chlooropromazine, Henri Laborit and Pierre
Deniker. There are two versions of this material. This includes a
series of colourful cartoons.
Antonine
Education: James Irvine has created a website for Post 16 students
in the following subjects: AS electronics, AS ICT and AS Physics.
It is designed for students doing the AQA syllabuses in these subjects.
The notes are based on Irvine's student handouts, but they also include
interactive questions. The students can attempt the questions, then
click on a hyperlink to get a model answer. The website also includes
some PowerPoint demonstrations.
Politics
CIA
for Kids: The CIA has launched a website for children, guiding
potential future spies through the world of covert operations under
the guidance of a cartoon bear named Ginger. A large section of the
site is dedicated to the war on drugs. It urges its visitors to shun
illegal substances and instead to "get high on intelligence".
It also claims that drug cultivation causes global warming. Potential
recruits are warned that mandatory medical and polygraph tests for
all CIA personnel will root out those who experiment with drugs.
Smart
Mobs: Howard Rheingold is the author of Smart Mobs: The Next Social
Revolution. Rheingold claims that the Smart Mob is a group of people
who use the Internet and/or mobile communications to organize collective
action. Rheingold argues: "I wrote the book to try to educate
people because the people who make the laws listen to the people who
pay them a lot of money to make them. They're not listening to the
citizens. We're not powerless; the more we know, the more influence
we will have. This website allows you to debate the ideas included
in Smart Mobs.
Art
and Design
Royal
Academy. This organization has been involved in the cultural life
in Britain for over 200 years. Its famous Summer Exhibition has been
held every year since 1769. The Royal Academy is governed by the Royal
Academicians, who are all eminent practising painters, printmakers,
sculptors and architects. There are 80 Academicians, who are elected
to one of the following categories: painting, sculpture and architecture.
Its new website is under the creative direction of two notable Royal
Academicians (Tom Phillips and Ian Ritchie) and allows you to look
at the work of its members.
Victorian
and Albert Museum: Which museum can you find graffiti, Medici
and Gucci, stained glass and fibre glass? Where else but the V&A,
the world’s greatest museum of applied and decorative arts. The
V&A is home to amazing artefacts from the world’s richest
cultures, the V&A’s unsurpassable collection has inspired
and informed for over 150 years. The V&A aims to help teachers
to use the Museum independently with their classes. To achieve this,
we offer an annual programme of professional development for teachers,
a range of publications both printed and digital as well as occasional
taught programmes for schools.
Internet
Services
Half-Baked
Software: To celebrate the fifth birthday of the company, Half-baked
Software has decided that for the whole of the month of May 2004,
it will give all the income received from purchases of Hot Potatoes
and Quandary licences directly to charity. Therefore, if you buy a
$50 licence during May, Half-baked Software will give $50 to charity.
So if you've been thinking about buying a licence in the next little
while, May is the time to do it! If you really should have purchased
a licence before, but you just haven't got around to it, do it in
May! If you're a Hot Potatoes user but you haven't yet tried Quandary,
give it a try now!
Factiva:
Mike Davies, senior research analyst at Butler Group, says: "The
free Internet model - back to the idea of the egalitarian, hippy web
- is gone. It's a business environment now. If you want high-value
services, you pay for them." Clare Hart, CEO of the giant news
retrieval service Factiva, agrees: "People are sick of wasting
their time when about 50% of web searches turn up unsatisfactory results...
60% of the information on Factiva is not available for free anywhere
on the web."
Book
Section
Internet
Art:
When the Internet emerged as a mass global communication network in
the mid-1990s, artists immediately recognized the exciting possibilities
for creative innovation that came with it. This groundbreaking book
considers the many diverse forms of Internet art and the tools and
equipment used to create them, while discussing the wider cultural
context and historical importance of the work. The book covers email
art, websites, artist-designed software, and projects that blur the
boundaries between art and design, political activism and communication.
(Rachel Greene, Thames
& Hudson, ISBN 0 500 20376 8, £8.95)
Available
from Amazon Books (order below)
