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.
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.
