Education on the Internet
Number 17: 6th February, 2002
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 17,148 subscribers to the newsletter.
All reviews are added to our web directory. There are sections on Primary Education, English, Mathematics, Science, Modern Languages, History, Geography, Design & Technology, Business Studies, Media Studies, ICT, Sociology, Music, Politics, Economics, Photography, Art & Design, Theatre Studies, Physical Education and Religious Studies.
John Simkin
MyEUROPE: The myEUROPE project is a European Schoolnet initiative at the disposal of all the teachers who wish to involve their pupils, colleagues and schools in European issues and values around three main thematic areas: European Citizenship, Cultural Diversity and Young Mobility. It provides news, services, tools, activities, projects and resources. Teachers can either use the resources provided or contribute, participate in pedagogical activities or set up cross-European collaborative projects. The myEUROPE Schools Network is a group of more than 1100 schools that have either been recommended by Members of the European Parliament or have voluntarily registered. They form a unique community of teachers who work for the development and the enhancement of a common European identity.
Future of Online Learning: Stephen Downes is an Information Architect at the University of Alberta in Canada. His fascinating article, The Future of Online Learning, is well worth reading. Subjects covered include Future Technology, New Technology in Education, Interaction and Online Conferencing, Personalized Education, Time and Place Independence, Learning Communities, The Triad Model, Accreditation, Modularity, Ownership and Copyright, Instructional Management Systems, The Economics of Online Learning and The Future.
Visual Attention Span: This website features a battery of new diagnostic tests together with the option of generating online reports. This new literacy theory is explained within the website but a more comprehensive discussion can be found in the Australian Journal of Remedial Education, Vol.27, No.5, 1996. The authors explain the nature of whole word processing and demonstrated the close link between guessing inaccuracy and a new visual memory function called VAS (Visual Attention Span). The new theory has been described as "The most exciting development in literacy in a decade". The capacity to determine in advance a child's capacity to use word-guessing strategies now empowers teachers to tailor their teaching more precisely to each child's needs and opens up a science-based basis for teacher training.
History
Genealogy: Advice for Effective Searches: Answer a series of simple questions at this site and get free, customized advice on the most effective next steps in your genealogy search. If you are not sure how to use certain records, this site also provides hints on how to use the records recommended for your search plan. This unique feature starts with what you know and provides ideas on what you might do and where you might look in order to develop your search more fully. If you are new to investigating your ancestry, this will be helpful in getting a positive start. If you have been working on your family history for some time, this can help you get some new ideas to move further in your research.
War and Conflict: World War II: Another outstanding website produced by the BBC. The material on the war can be accessed by topic, time or people. The large collection of articles covers the Battle of Britain, the Holocaust, the Blitz, Area Bombing, War in Russia, the Battle of El Alamein, Allied PoWs, SOE, Emperor Hirohito, Heinrich Himmler, Battle of Arnhem, Home Guard, MI5, Monte Cassino, Evacuation, Adolf Hitler and the role of Caribbean, Indian and African forces during the war.
David Hart's Home Page: David Hart believes that the use of IT in the classroom encourages a shift in the focus of education away from the top down method of delivery towards a more student-centred approach to learning. He argues that: "With other sources of information from all over the world available at the click of a mouse button, there is much less need for the top down approach to learning and teaching. Teaching then becomes more a process of assisting the student to find material relevant to their research topic, helping them to evaluate the information they find, and providing them with the opportunity to present it in a form accessible to others." His website provides information on his philosophy and includes examples of how he uses technology to teach his students.
English
Spelling it Right features more than seventy pages of advice and exercises. Worksheets emphasise spelling patterns rather than spelling rules and deal with topics such as syllables, memorising strategies, word beginnings and endings, consonant blends, proof reading, adding prefixes and suffixes. Roger Smith, an experienced English teacher and examiner, originally aimed the site at parents who were concerned about their children’s spelling and were keen to help them improve. However, it soon became apparent that adults were also using the site to overcome their own spelling weaknesses. Teachers, too, print out the worksheets for use in the classroom and many schools and colleges in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand now include a link on their own web sites so that parents, students and teachers can easily access Spelling it Right.
Grammar Lady: Mary Newton Bruder is the person behind this impressive website. Bruder informs the visitor on the home page that "the purposes of the site are to be helpful, to raise consciousness about correct language use, and to remind everyone of the ways to have fun with language". The Grammar Hotline/Web site is a free service that attempts to answer quick grammar, punctuation, spelling, and other points about language.
Of Mice and Men: An excellent website for anyone teaching or studying John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men. The website is designed to be an annotative guide to the novel. As you travel through the site, you will find hundreds of definitions to help you get more out of your reading. Click on any one of the chapter links in the frame on the left. There you will first find a short synopsis of the chapter. You will also find phrases and sentences from the book that contain words that students may have had trouble understanding. Click on any of the highlighted words, and you'll be taken to a glossary page where you will be able to find the word's definition. The website also provides help with allusions (references to various people, things, geographical locations, etc.) and idioms (expressions).
Design and Technology
The Design Technology Department: An experienced British teacher has created the Design Technology Department in order to provide free educational materials for schools and colleges. The site is continually growing and will eventually offer teachers and pupils, materials for all of the Key Stages. The website contains quizzes, GCSE and A level revision materials, handouts, GCSE Resistant Materials, AS and A level materials, schemes of work, packaging, famous kite designers, structures, examples of pupils work, furniture design, inventions, department policies and links to educational and commercial websites. The site is linked to over three hundred websites including the NGFL and the BBC.
Inventions of the Industrial Revolution: This excellent BBC website enables the visitor to discover the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution through animated models. Inventions covered include The Rocket, the Beam Engine, the Blast Furnace, a Paddle Steamship, a Spinning Mill and Winding Gear.
Ettore Sottsass: Ettore Sottsass was one of the leading members of the Memphis Group founded in 1981. His versatility gave him the ability to design and create products in a variety of very different materials. He designed buildings, furniture, ceramics, metalware and glassware. His photography was even internationally exhibited. In the 1970's he was a leading figure of the 'Radical Movement' and played a very important role in 'Post Modernism' in the 1980s. This website developed by Andy Davies provides a detailed explanation of the life and work of Ettore Sottsass.
Geography
GeoResources Photo Gallery: Looking for digital photos to help with your Geography presentation/worksheet/etc? Then try GeoResources Photo Gallery - a growing collection of photos free for educational use. Currently holds photos of Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and Canada. New photos are added on a regular basis. GeoResources also has a 1000 carefully categorised links for Keystage 3, G.C.S.E. and 'AS/A2' Level, case studies and virtual fieldwork. There are free map outlines, weather data to download and a weekly quiz. Try the new GeoResources Photo Competition and win a prize.
Slemish College Geography Department: In the Slemish College Geography department there are 4 main aims. (1) Make learning about our world fun; (2) Use 'Effective Learning' strategies developing Thinking skills and using Learning styles; (3) Take students on one fieldwork event every year; (4) Use ICT and computers to enhance our students learning. This website tries to encourage aspects of all of these. Students use the site for finding out information (through the use of the website library). In fact some recent homework activities were put online and children could access the homework and helpful information to help them on the site. GCSE Geography students can look at Powerpoint Presentations that they would have been shown in class and can look at their syllabus and coursework guides and information. A Level students can look at their course notes and activities, as well as following links to Fieldwork booklets and information.
US Geological Survey: Volcanoes: The US Geological Survey website provides information on Volcano Hazards, Location of Volcanoes, Types and Effects, Volcano Monitoring, Historical Eruptions, Warning Schemes, and Emergency Planning. There is also a weekly report of worldwide volcanic activity prepared by the USGS and the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program.
Science
SciRep: Scientific Report Writing for Schools: Writing reports in science lessons is becoming increasingly important. Many exam marks hang in the balance because pupils are unable to finish reports on time, or lack the direction to produce a good enough report that remains concise. This site increases the effective use of ICT in writing reports, and has separate GCSE and A-level versions. Also included on the site is "The Evil Tutor's Guide" as a light relief to the tedium - for both teachers and pupils!
Ask a Scientist: The Scientific American magazine website provides an excellent Ask a Scientist service. Questions and Answers are archived and organised under the following categories: Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Computers, Environment, Geology, Mathematics, Medicine and Physics. Recent questions answered include: How does a computer virus scan work? Why does your stomach growl when you are hungry? What is antimatter?
Doc Brown's Chemistry Clinic: This website is a growing general revision site for GCSE, AS and A2 Chemistry. It has free notes, revision tests and structured questions with answers. There are also matching pair exercises, multiple-choice questions, quizzes, crosswords and jumbled sentence exercises.
ICT
UK ICT Coordinator website contains free materials and resources for ICT teachers and coordinators. There are links to primary, GCSE and A level Computing/ICT sites as well as material for cross curricular use. The monthly newsletter subscription is free and contains useful updates. The site has received good reviews already from the popular Interactive and EC&T school ICT magazines.
ICT: 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 ICT.
Religious Studies
Catholic Religious Education provides teaching and learning material for the Key Stage 3 programme, GCSE and post 16 education. All resources are free and can be amended to suit the particular needs of students and teachers. The resources are designed to compliment lessons not to dominate them.
GCSE Religious Studies: Learn topics in GCSE religious studies and how to answer exam questions on this site, which has extracts from a book by two chief examiners who have set exams for many years and who teach you to answer questions such as does God exist? and can we describe him? as well as teach you what Christians - Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant - believe about God, Jesus and creation, how they worship, and why they say some actions are right and others are wrong in areas ranging from sex, marriage and abortion to wealth, poverty and liberation.
Modern Languages
Modern Languages: Resources organised by category, including French, German, Russian, Spanish, Catalan and Linguistics. Registered users may suggest new categories and links to be added to the database and receive updates when new content is added. Site also contains languages forums, online languages bookshop and GCSE revision notes.
Spanish for the Virtual Student: The Spanish for the Virtual Student has been created by William Dechent of the University of Missouri. The course contains over 50 modules and covers pronunciation, nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and pronouns.
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.
