Education on the Internet
Number 129: 7th July, 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 52,000 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
Online History Simulations: In their book Simulation in the Classroom, John Taylor and Rex Walford argued that an educational simulation has three main components: (1) Students take roles which are representative of the real world and involve them making decisions in response to their assessment of the situation that they have been placed in. (2) Students experience simulated consequences which relate to their decisions and their general performance in the simulation. (3) Students monitor the results of their actions and are encouraged to reflect upon the relationship between their own decisions and the resulting consequences of their actions. In this seminar, John Simkin looks at why history teachers should use simulations in the classroom. If you have views on this subject, register with the History Forum and join the debate.
News and Articles
Five Year Plan: Last week Charles announced details of the government's new Five Year Plan. Clarke argues that the the "five key principles of reform will underpin our drive for a step change in children's services, education and training: Greater personalisation and choice, with children, parents and learners centre-stage; Opening up services to new and different providers; Freedom and independence for frontline headteachers and managers with more secure streamlined funding arrangements; A major commitment to staff development with high quality support and training. The full speech can be found on the Education Forum. If you have views on this subject, register with the Education Forum and join the debate.
Hidden Agenda: Roy Hattersley is one of those who has grave doubts about the government's new Five Year Plan. "Do not despair. Comprehensive education is still alive, if not in the best of health. The notion that it was killed off last Thursday - a suggestion which was encouraged by a corrupt Downing Street briefing - is disproved by the Five-Year Strategy itself. Item one of education secretary Charles Clarke's helpful table of "dividing lines between the parties" is explicit: "No extension of selection by ability." In his warm-up to the House of Commons statement, the prime minister went even further. There will be "no return to selection". There will - 10% of pupils chosen by something called "aptitude" in the additions to the ranks of specialist schools."
National Tests in Wales: The gap between the testing regime in schools in England and the lighter approach in the rest of the UK widened yesterday after tests for 11 and 14-year-olds were scrapped in Wales. While pupils in England continue to take national tests in English, maths and science at seven, 11 and 14, pupils in Wales will sit a new skills test at 10, backed up by teacher assessments. The changes, announced by Wales's education minister, Jane Davidson, and welcomed by unions, are broadly in line with recommendations made by a team led by Richard Daugherty of Aberystwyth University, which reported in May.
History
British Empire: Schools spend "insufficient time" teaching about the British Empire, education watchdog Ofsted has warned. Time given over to teaching 11 to 16-year-olds the "significant subject" could be just a few lessons in five years, inspectors found. Some schools devoted lessons to the question of what history was instead of teaching the subject's actual content. Teachers were also urged to raise awareness of the Empire's "controversial legacy". An Ofsted spokesman said that, in the "limited time available", selected content should "be significant". "The British Empire is given as an example of a significant subject that currently receives insufficient time in many schools", she said. "Pupils should know about the Empire and that it has been interpreted by historians and others in different ways."
Transport Archive: This website tells the story of Britain's transport system since the eighteenth century. Using several thousand images, it shows how waterways, railways and aviation have changed our lives. Recent material includes: Bridging the Years (describes the impact of the North West's waterways upon local, national and global society), The Last Main Line (examines the Great Central Railway's 'London Extension' from construction to closure and rebirth) and Aviation Heritage (illustrates the huge contribution the people of South Gloucestershire have made to aviation). The site also includes a timeline and maps show how transport networks evolve and grow.
Science
The Evolutionary Tales: A rhymed-verse parody of The Canterbury Tales, this site produced by Ronald L. Ecker, deals engagingly with the overwhelming evidence for evolution and the pseudoscientific nature of "creation science” or “intelligent design theory." Ten experts (eight scientists, a philosopher, and a Bible scholar), on their way to a creationist "Back to Genesis" seminar, tell ten "tales" - lively verse essays in their fields of specialization - about evolutionary theory and the fallacies of creationism. The Bible scholar, who has the last word, makes the point that evolution and creation - shorn of fundamentalist biblical literalism - need not be incompatible concepts. With extensive notes, bibliography, and index, the site is continuously updated to include the latest discoveries and perspectives.
Bubonic Plague: Throughout the 20th century it was universally believed that bubonic plague – a bacterial disease spread by rodents – was responsible for the plagues that ravaged Europe for over 300 years after the Black Death appeared in 1347. Yet the evidence, from witness accounts and records of preventative measures, suggests outbreaks of an infectious disease spread person-to-person, which could be checked by an effective quarantine period. This was, in fact, the orthodox medical view up to around 1900. Now, two researchers at the Liverpool University have shown, by applying modern techniques of epidemiology, molecular biology and computer modelling to the detailed analysis of historical records, that the causative agent was not a bacterium at all, but a virus with unusual epidemiological characteristics.
Politics
Saudi Textbooks: Fifteen of the 9/11 hijackers were educated in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Institute, a Washington-based pro-reform group, has recently written a report on textbooks produced by the education ministry. One of these textbooks urged students not to befriend Christians or Jews: "Emulation of the infidels leads to loving them, glorifying them and raising their status in the eyes of the Muslim, and that is forbidden." In another textbook for primary children it claims that "all religions other than Islam are false." The main author of these textbooks is Sheikh Saleh al-Fawazan, a Wahhabi extremist who believes democratic elections are un-Islamic.
Education Spending: World military spending in 2003 increased by about 11 per cent in real terms. This is a remarkable rate of increase, even more so given that it was preceded by an increase of 6.5 per cent in 2002. Over two years world military spending increased by 18 per cent in real terms, to reach $956 billion (in current dollars) in 2003. High-income countries account for about 75 per cent of world military spending but only 16 per cent of world population. What impact is this having on education spending? This table provides information on how much different countries spend on education compared to the money they spend on the military. Here are some examples: USA (4.8 - 3.4), France (5.8 - 2.5), UK (4.5 - 2.4), Austria (5.8 - 0.8), Finland (6.1 - 1.2) and Spain (4.5 - 1.2).
Economics
Military Spending and the World Economy: Global military expenditure and arms trade form the largest spending in the world at over $950 billion in annual expenditure, as noted by the prestigious Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SPIRI), for 2003. According to this report: "The combined military spending of these countries was slightly higher than the aggregate foreign debt of all low-income countries and 10 times higher than their combined levels of official development assistance in 2001... There is a large gap between what countries are prepared to allocate for military means to provide security and maintain their global and regional power status, on the one hand, and to alleviate poverty and promote economic development, on the other. The main reason for the increase in world military spending is the massive increase in the United States, which accounts for almost half of the world total."
UN Financial Crisis: The United Nations and all its agencies and funds spend about $10 billion each year, or about $1.70 for each of the world's inhabitants. This is a very small sum compared to most government budgets and it is just a tiny fraction of the world's military spending. Yet for over a decade, the UN has faced a debilitating financial crisis and it has been forced to cut back on important programs in all areas. Many member states have not paid their full dues and have cut their donations to the UN's voluntary funds. At the end of December 2003, members owed the UN $1,602 billion, of which the United States alone owed $762 million (48% in total and 73% of the regular budget).
Home Education
Home Education Advisory Service: HEAS is a national home education charity based in the United Kingdom. It is dedicated to the provision of advice and practical support for families who wish to educate their children at home in preference to sending them to school. Interest in home education is increasing and HEAS recognises that reliable information should be available for everyone. HEAS offers information for home educators including advice about educational materials, resources, GCSE examinations, special educational needs, information technology, legal matters and curriculum design. HEAS produces a range of leaflets and the Home Education Handbook. In addition HEAS subscribers receive the quarterly HEAS Bulletin, access to the Advice Line, contacts with other subscribers and the HEAS registration card (for home educating families) which gives free or reduced rates of admission to certain museums and sites of interest.
Home Education: Since 1870 the state has increasingly usurped parents rights and responsibilities as educators of our 5 to 16 year old children using the argument that this is in children's best interests. However, some argue that in reality state education has always been in the best interests of state and industry. This website is a celebration of families as providers, of education and parenting. The law in the UK is quite clear, parents rightly remain responsible for the education of their children regardless of whether they are in school or out of it. The state reserves the right to make enquiries should they believe that this responsibility is not being met and to offer an alternative educational environment to the home to those who wish to use it.
Book Section
The Olympics' Strangest Moments: This book recounts the bizarre, the controversial, the inept, the heroic and the plain unlucky from competition spanning three centuries of the Summer Games. From the inception of the modern Games in 1896 to the glories of Sydney 2000, the world's greatest sporting occasion has been packed with unusual occurrences.(Geoff Tibballs, The Olympics' Strangest Moments, Robson Books, ISBN 1 86105 711 3, £8.99)
