Education on the Internet
Number 12: 19th December, 2001
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 15,837 subscribers to the newsletter.
John Simkin
Ten Ages of Christmas: The celebrations we associate with Christmas began way before Christianity developed, but by medieval times certain traditions of feasting and drinking had been established. Despite the Puritan ban on Christmas, 'holyday' pleasures survived. But it was during Queen Victoria's reign that customs - such as sending cards, decorating fir trees and mythologising Father Christmas - really took off. This excellent BBC website provides details of how Christmas was celebrated in ten different historical periods: Medieval, Elizabethan, Restoration, Georgian, Early Victorian, Mid Victorian, Late Victorian, Early 20th Century, World War Two and Post-War.
The Christmas Tree: The origin of the first Christmas tree dates back to the Middle Ages in Western Germany. The people during this time period participated in and watched dramatic plays called miracle and mystery plays. These plays were performed to teach the common people about religious truths that were contained in the bible. There were no printed books available, and pictures were scarce during this period of time. During the Christmas season, the Paradise play was presented. This play depicted Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. On stage was an evergreen tree, covered in apples, which showed Adam and Eve's sin and later banishment from the garden. The tree received particular attention because it was the only prop on the stage. See this website for a full history of the Christmas tree.
Many Faces of Santa: The history of Santa Claus began with Saint Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor, in what is now Turkey. Saint Nicholas was know for his charity and wisdom. Legends tell of him coming from a wealthy family and giving all his money to the poor. In Europe during the 12th century Saint Nicholas Day became a day of gift giving and charity. In Germany, France and Holland celebrated December 6th as a religious holiday and gave gifts to children and the poor. See this website to find out how Christmas is celebrated throughout the world.
Christmas Cookbook: This website provides a collection of recipes from all over the world that are associated with the winter holiday. This includes Cranberry Sauce with Walnuts, Mint Cookies, Mushroom Rice, Crunchy Almond-Caramel Brittle, Blueberry Salad, Sweet Kugel, Peachy Bread Pudding, Noodles and Mashed Potatoes and Mailseet Corn Soup.
Christmas Commercialism: The Association for Media Literacy (AML) is a voluntary, non-profit organization, made up of teachers, librarians, consultants, media professionals, parents and cultural workers concerned about the impact of the mass media and popular culture on young people. This lesson on Christmas Commercialism originally appeared in the Media Literary Resource Guide published by the Ontario Ministry of Education.
Educational Web Directories
WWW Virtual Library: The WWW Virtual Library is the oldest directory on the web and is still one of the best for finding educational material on the Internet. Started by Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the web itself, it is run by a collection of volunteers who compile pages of key links for particular areas in which they have expertise. A small number of people at Stanford University administer the main catalogue pages and provide the links to the individual indexes on different servers all over the world. As the directories are being maintained by expert enthusiasts lists tend to be comprehensive and provide links to high quality educational materials.
Education World: The Education World is jointly sponsored by the US National Education Association and the National Vocational Industrial Clubs of America. Education World is an attempt to provide the "educational community with the resources needed to effectively integrate the Internet into American schools". Although the emphasis is on material produced in the United States, Education World does provide a service that could be productively used by teachers in countries.
Learning Websites: David Levin, the Director of the Library Media Centre at Rich Central High School, Olympia Fields, Illinois, has created one of the most useful websites for students and educators on the Internet. The material is organized by departments. As well as the traditional school subject areas there are also categories such as Social Workers' Office, Library Media, Guidance/Counselling, Vocational Technologies, Multicultural Resources, Field Trips and Professional Development. Websites are reviewed and awarded symbols that illustrate the quality and quantity of the educational content.
Needle in a CyberStack: The Needle in a CyberStack is an interesting directory website produced by John Albee, a teacher from Davenport, Iowa. The listed websites cover a wide range of subjects and has been designed to help people find their way around the net. Although most of the websites included on Needle in a CyberStack are based in the United States, Albee attempts to maintain a worldwide perspective and includes many links to useful resources for British students and educators.
Politics
Political Sciences Resources: Richard Kimber of Keele University has produced a magnificent website for all teachers and students of Politics. He has successfully achieved his ambition of offering a gateway to the most significant resources relevant to political science on the Internet. Kimber has organized his material in several different ways. Area Studies gives access to information on individual countries. You can also find information by looking at the topics section such as constitutions, elections or political parties.
British Politics: This site is designed for those studying British politics to an Advanced level. Topics studied in depth include the British electoral system; proportional representation; pressure groups in the UK, the concept and various forms of democracy; political parties; devolution (theory of) and Wales and Scotland; citizenship; politics and rights; party systems; referendums; the reform of the House of Lords; arguments for and against the Euro; constitutional reform.
Marketplace of Political Ideas: Pamela Talene Hale, librarian at the University of Houston, has created this useful directory website for people interested in politics in the US. Political resources have been organized under the following headings: Democratic Party, Republican Party, Libertarian Party, On the Left, On the Right, On the Fringes. There are also sections on Political Theory, International Politics and Political Science Research.
Thomas Paine: The Thomas Paine National Historical Association's website commemorates the life of the man they call "America's greatest revolutionary and journalist". He was also Britain's greatest revolutionary but his ideas were so dangerous he was forced to flee for his life. Although his support for universal suffrage, a free press, child benefit, retirement pensions, etc. don't seem so revolutionary now, his work still has relevance to anyone interested in politics. The website includes an archive of Thomas Paine's work including Common Sense, The Rights of Man and The Age of Reason.
Geography
Cool Planet is Oxfam's award-winning and newly redesigned site for teachers and children. As part of Oxfam's Development Education Programme, Cool Planet offers information and resources to encourage young people's development as global citizens. Visit the site and find exciting and interactive educational pages with global themes for pupils to explore, teachers' pages packed with ideas, information, and useful links to help bring a global perspective to your classroom. There is also an easy-to-follow curriculum information for planning global citizenship activities using our highly regarded 'Teachers Guide to a Curriculum for Global Citizenship'.
Tornado Project: Tornado Project Online is a company that gathers, compiles, and makes tornado information available to weather enthusiasts, the meteorological community and emergency management officials. The company is using its website to share some of this information with the general public. This material appears under several headings including: 'Recent Tornadoes', 'Tornadoes in the Past', 'Storm Chasing', ''Top Tens About Tornadoes', 'Tornado Oddities', 'Tornado Stories', 'Tornado Safety' and 'Myths about Tornado'.
Music Resources
Naxos Learning Zone: The website includes a very comprehensive Glossary of Musical Terms. Other sections include An Introduction to Classical Music, Composers' Biographies, Chinese Music, and Classical Music in Films. As one would expect, the website includes details of the CDs published by Naxos.
Encyclopaedia of Percussion: An encyclopaedia of percussion instruments from all over the world. If you want to find out what a angklung is, this is the place to visit (its an Indonesian instrument consisting of tuned bamboo tubes hung from a frame). The instruments are listed alphabetically and contains descriptions, photographs and links to other relevant websites.
Sony Music: This website has been produced to promote the Sony Music company. However, it includes a wealth of information for anyone teaching or studying music. Visitors will find a complete list of Sony Music artist websites where they can obtain the latest news, sample audio and video clips and communicate with other fans. They can also find information about the recent releases, hear unreleased music by their favourite bands, search the Sony catalogue, and watch the latest music videos.
Art & Design
Art History Resources on the Web: Christ Whitcombe, Professor of Art History at Sweet Briar College, Virginia, has produced a valuable directory of art resources on the Web. Whitcombe lists the resources under the headings: Prehistoric, Ancient, Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, 18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century and Non-European. Lists of museums and galleries for each of the major countries are also included.
Artlex Dictionary of Visual Art: This dictionary of visual art has been created by Michael Delahunt, a teacher of visual arts at Sonoran Sky Elementary School, Scottsdale, AZ. What began as a short lexicon in the spring of 1996 has grown into a massive dictionary. So far Delahunt has produced definitions of 2,600 terms. Entries usually include illustrations, pronunciation notes, quotations and links to other resources on the Web. Delahunt is still working on the project and plans to add lessons and assessments that teachers and students can use.
Art Lover's Guide to Britain and England: An excellent directory that enables the visitor to find paintings being exhibited in 650 museums and art galleries. The Art Guide is organized by artist, by museum and geographical area. The artists are listed in alphabetical order and once you reach their home page, you will be provided with a list of their paintings and the places where they can be seen. Each of the art museums has a list of the main paintings in their collection, contact details and links to other museums in the region.
Do you want to have your website listed in our web directory? If so, send a brief description (about 150 words) and the URL to spartacus@pavilion.co.uk.
