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.
Stephen's
Web is the online home of Stephen Downes, a writer and researcher
in the field of online learning, online communities and knowledge
management. OLDaily is a free daily email newsletter based on the
site's constantly expanding knowledge base of research and information
related to online learning (a weekly version is also available). A
former philosophy instructor, instructional designer and information
architect, Downes is now employed by Canada's National Research Council
as a senior researcher in e-learning. Stephen's Web contains some
important essays in the field, including 'The Future of Online Learning'
(1998) and 'Learning Objects' (2000). Of most use, perhaps, is the
knowledge base, a searchable collection of almost three thousand items
culled from Downes's research in the field of online learning over
the last three years. Because the purpose of OLDaily and the knowledge
base is to spot trends and to assess the importance of news in and
around the field, news items are listed with some commentary about
the event's significance or its place in the wider picture. The reporting
on OLDaily not unbiased and value-neutral. Each development is assessed,
commentary is added and opinions voiced. Press releases and media
spin are not given a free ride on OLDaily.
ICT
in Schools: This week Estelle Morris, Secretary of State for Education
and Skills, published Transforming the Way We Learn: A Vision for
the future of ICT in Schools. Morris argues that the paper is
intended to stimulate an informed debate amongst everyone concerned
with learning. The paper is disappointing and there is little evidence
that Morris has obtained a good understanding of the potential of
online learning and realizing the government's objective of "making
Britain a centre of excellence in the development of networked software
content, and a world leader in the export of learning services."
Ultralab:
Professor Stephen Heppel is head of Ultralab, the learning technology
research laboratory based at Anglia Polytechnic University's campus
in Chelmsford. In a recent interview he gave to the Guardian newspaper,
Heppel provided valuable insights into the future of online education.
Heppel is concerned by the "tick box" model that has been
developed by several major corporations. He fears it will sabotage
any really creative thinking about learning. As he points out: "marketing
executives have a great budget to tell teachers about the latest widget,
but teachers don't have any means of telling each other about the
great ideas they have in the classroom. We need to do something about
that."
History
Legacy
of Harry T. Moore:
As leader of
the Florida
Progressive Voters League, Harry T. Moore
succeeded in tripling the enrollment of registered black voters. By
1945 over 116,000 black voters were registered in the Florida Democratic
Party. This represented 31 per cent of all eligible black voters in
the state, a figure that was 51 per cent higher than any other southern
state. Moore was also a full-time organizer of the NAACP in Florida
and
he
organized the campaign against the wrongful conviction of three African
Americans for the rape of a white woman in Groveland, Florida. Willis
McCall, the Sheriff of Lake County, shot two of the men while in his
custody. One was killed and other man was seriously wounded. After
the shooting Moore called for the McCall's suspension. A month later,
on 25th December, 1951, a bomb exploded in Moore's house killing him
and his wife. This excellent website produced by the PBS tells the
story of the first NAACP official killed in the civil rights struggle.
Jewish
Women's Archive:
The mission of the Jewish Women's Archive is to "uncover, chronicle
and transmit the rich legacy of Jewish women and their contributions
to our families and communities, to our people and our world".
As well as the Virtual Archive there are online exhibitions. This
includes Women of Valor (the lives of Jewish women who have made significant
contributions to Jewish and American life) and Women Who Dared (information
on contemporary Jewish women who risked their lives to fight for something
in which they believed).
Victorian
Census Project: The Victorian Census Project at Staffordshire
University aims to computerize source documents relating to Great
Britain and Ireland in the nineteenth century. These sources include
nineteenth century census abstracts, vital registration statistics,
returns of the Poor Law Commissioners, agricultural statistics and
crime statistics. The unit is also adding the Pigot's and Slater's
Topographies of Great Britain and Ireland.
Science
Adrian
Dingle's Chemistry Pages: A multi-award winning site aimed at
High School Chemistry students, their parents and teachers. The site
has over 200 free resources suitable for use in American and British
schools. They include notes, labs, worksheets. The content is primarily
aimed at the 14-18 age range and includes sections on Regular, Honors
and AP Chemistry for US students, and is suitable for GCSE and A level
students in the UK. The site has clear navigation and organization,
and is updated several times every week. The author is currently teaching
AP Chemistry at a top US private school and has many years experience
of delivering A level and GCSE curricula in the UK.
Dictionary
of Cell Biology:
The Dictionary of Cell Biology was first published in 1989. The main
objective was to provide access to easily-understood and cross-referenced
definitions of terms frequently encountered when studying the subject.
The second edition, published in 1995, plus enhancements planed for
the third edition, is now available free on the Internet. The dictionary
has 5450 entries and 5772 cross-references and covers organelles,
the nucleus, membrane trafficking, the cytoskeleton, diseases, cell
motility and the cell cycle.
Human
Anatomy On-line:
Informative Graphics
Corporation is a commercial software company that has produced this
website to show the public what it can do. Human Anatomy On-line contains
over one hundred illustrations of the human body with animations and
thousands of descriptive links. Using hot spots on the anatomy illustrations,
the user can explore their chosen body system (skeleton, muscular,
cardiovascular, etc.) through floating anatomy labels. Illustrated
animations for specific body functions (heart pumping, lungs breathing,
etc.) are also provided, as well as illustrated views of how a baby
develops in the womb.
Sociology
Multicultural
Pavilion: Paul
Gorski from Virginia is responsible for this very impressive website.
In his mission statement Gorski explains that he is attempting "to
provide resources for educators to explore and discuss multicultural
education; to facilitate opportunities for educators to work toward
self-awareness and development; and to provide forums for educators
to interact and collaborate". Features of the site include Teacher's
Corners (multicultural resources for teachers online); International
Project (information on what is going on in multicultural education
around the world); Online Discussion Board (forum for online exchanges
about multicultural issues) and Multicultural Activity Archives (experimental
activities for exploring multicultural issues).
Research
in Education: The Scottish Council for Research in Education
(SCRE) have now made their excellent journal Research in Education
available on the Internet. The website also includes an excellent
database of research reports that can be found on the Internet and
a list of the research projects that the Scottish Office Education
and Industry Department (SOEID) intends to commission over the coming
months.
Education-Line:
Education-Line is
funded by the Higher Education Funding Councils as part of the Electronic
Libraries Programme. Maintained by Sam Saunders at the University
of Leeds, Education-Line is developing what it calls "a live
collection of documents" on the Internet. The website enables
researchers to present their work at an early stage in its development
where it can be reviewed by the world-wide academic community. Education-Line
is also involved in providing access to specialized or small-scale
texts that would otherwise have difficulty finding a publisher.
Theatre
Studies
Royal
National Theatre:
The official website
of the Royal National Theatre. The archive section will be particularly
useful to the theatre student as it enables you to obtain information
on previous productions. At the moment this only includes performances
since 1998 but the website also provides a documentary record of the
Royal National Theatre since its inception in 1963. The Archive can
also supply photocopies of the programme notes and the major reviews
and associated articles about any past National Theatre production.
About
Guide to the British Theatre:
A superb websites for students of the British Theatre. Like other
Mining Company Guides it includes extensive site reviews, feature
articles and discussion areas. Peter Lathan, who runs the site, is
a real enthusiast who has clearly spent a considerable amount of time
reviewing the material. In the Spotlight provides up to date information
such as a full listing of the 1999 BAFTA Awards. You can also subscribe
to the British Theatre Newsletter from the site.
Globe
Theatre: The award winning site on the Globe Theatre in London
is produced and maintained by Reading University. There is an excellent
history of the theatre with hypertexted links to relevant information
on the design and construction of the building. Other sections include:
Information Guidebook, Frequently Asked Questions, The International
Globe Centre, Visiting the Globe, Performances at the Globe and Getting
to the Globe.
Hackney
Empire: In 1901 the architect, Frank Matcham, modelled his design
of Hackney Empire on the great Italian opera houses of the 18th century.
However, the building also reflected the technology of the time by
becoming Britain's first all electric theatre. Combining tradition
and the latest developments in technology is also in evidence in this
beautifully designed website. Its main feature is a history of the
theatre and this can be viewed as a straight narrative or by using
an animated timeline.
Art
& Design
British
Artists: 1750-1900: Biographies of 22 artists, illustrators and
cartoonists working in Britain between 1750 and 1900. This includes
artists such as James Gillray, Thomas Rowlandson, George Cruikshank,
John Leech, John Doyle, John Tenniel, Phil May, Linley Sambourne,
Bernard Partridge, Frank Holl and Luke Fildes. There are also entries
from the journals that employed these artists such as Punch Magazine,
The Graphic and the Illustrated London News.
Leonardo
da Vinci: Exploring
Leonardo has been produced by the Museum of Science in Boston. The
website is an attempt to provide a cross-curricular approach to Leonardo
DA Vinci's work. The website has four main content sections: What,
Where, When? (biography of Leonardo DA Vinci with images); Inventor's
Workshop (a look at some of Leonardo's futuristic inventions); Leonardo's
Perspective (Renaissance techniques for representing the 3D world
on 2D surfaces) and Leonardo: Right to Left (explores Leonardo's habit
of writing in reverse). An excellent teacher section has five lesson
plans for hands-on classroom activities and three opportunities for
students to communicate their ideas electronically. The site also
has ideas on how to make the best use of the four interactive galleries.
Vincent
van Gogh: David Brooks of Toronto in Canada has produced a marvellous
website for all students of Vincent van Gogh. The images of paintings
and drawings are listed chronologically and by subject. Each one contains
details of when and where it was produced and its current location.
Other sections include portraits of Van Gogh by other artists, an
On-line Forum, Books and Films, Van Gogh Exhibitions and Cultural
Events, In the News, The Fakes, and Frequently Asked Questions. Easily
one of the best art websites on the Web.
Physical
Education
Orienteering:
Rick Slater's website
provides a wealth of information on orienteering and rogaining. He
starts with a general introduction to the sport. This is followed
with practical information on topics such as how to use a compass.
The website also includes recent results, start-lists and rankings.
Although based in the US there is some information on events in Europe.
There are also a set of good links to other sites on orienteering
and rogaining.
Soccer
Skills: A selection of links to websites that provides information
on the techniques, tactics and training methods of modern football.
There are sections on Kicking Technique, Heading Technique, Passing
Skills, Tackling Methods, Set Plays, Dribbling Skills, Control Skills,
Fitness, Nutrition and Sport Psychology.
Physical
Education: Schemes of Work: The
Standards Site is managed by the Department for Education and Employment's
Standards and Effectiveness Unit (SEU). The main objective of the
site is to supply teachers with "guidance and tools to help schools
improve effectiveness, raise standards and reduce workload".
This includes a large selection of schemes of work for Physical Education.
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.
