Education on the Internet
Number 25: 24th April 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 21,400 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
Neilsen Norman Group: Children get just as frustrated as adults when navigating around poorly designed websites, a new survey has found. A study by the US design think tank, the Neilsen Norman Group (NNG), observed children using a wide range of websites. It found that the bells and whistles often used on sites designed for kids do not necessarily impress. "Our study convinced us that most websites for children are built upon pure folklore about how kids supposedly behave," said web design guru Jakob Nielsen from NNG. "While it is true that kids love whizz bang animation and sound effects, even these things won't hold their attention if they come upon something too difficult to figure out or they get lost on a website."
Life-Long Learning: UNESCO's Institute for Information Technologies in Education in Moscow has recently launched an international project entitled "ICTs in technical and vocational education and training" that deals with life-long learning, education for all, and information literacy in a world increasingly marked by convergence. In the framework of this project, the Institute has begun to prepare information material on existing experience and best practice of ICT usage in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) around the world.
Internet Proficiency Scheme: Becta is the British government's lead agency for ICT in education and supports national organisations in the use and development of ICT in education to raise standards, widen access, improve skills and encourage effective management. Becta is now seeking 50 schools to help test a new Internet proficiency scheme which aims to develop safe and discriminating online behaviours for KS2 pupils. The pilot scheme is due to run from May to July 2002. For further information contact internetprof@becta.org.uk
History
World War Remembered: People are a great resource - their memories can unlock the past for us. World War Remembered is a Web site that publishes personal accounts of the wars of the last century. Students and teachers from the East Riding of Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, have collected spoken and written memoirs from people who experienced war - in the armed services, or as civilians. This site is growing, as more people contribute - and this site can help preserve their stories for future historians.
The Great War 1914-18: As well as general information on the Ypres Salient the site includes an innovative detailed study of the Second Battle of Ypres, 1915. The study so far consists of 80 pages of text and maps for the Prelude to the Battle and the battle from 5.00pm to midnight. It also features unique map and timeline windows. The next phase of the battle study for 23 April 1915 will be added to the site shortly.
Our Manchester: A collection of articles on the history of Manchester. Recent illustrated articles added include Belle Vue Revisited, Rochdale - A History, Ardwick School, Longsight Station, Longsight Memories, Edgar Wood - Architect, The White City and A Manchester View.
English
Little Explorers: This website provides 1,885 illustrated dictionary entries. Each word is used in a meaningful example sentence. Most entries have links to a related web site. Just click on an underlined word (or its accompanying picture), and you'll link to a great web site related to it. A picture-dictionary format is used to link to hundreds of carefully-chosen child-friendly sites around the world. Since the pictures are links, even pre-readers can surf with a minimum of help and guidance from their favorite adult. Older kids can use Little Explorers as a school reference. This is the English version; just click to use the English-French, English-German, English-Italian, English-Portuguese, or the English-Spanish version.
Project Gutenberg: This website publishes out-of-copyright works online for free. This generally means that the Gutenberg texts are taken from books published pre-1923. So you won't find the latest bestsellers or modern computer books here. You will find the classic books from the start of this century and previous centuries, from authors like Shakespeare, Poe, Dante, as well as well-loved favorites like the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the Tarzan and Mars books of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Alice's adventures in Wonderland as told by Lewis Carroll, and thousands of others.
Redbridge Literacy Website: This website is for all primary and secondary teachers of literacy, both within English and beyond. The site features downloadable lesson plans and resources, ideas to support literacy work in schools and relevant news and updates from official bodies, such as QCA, the National Literacy Strategy and OFSTED. The Key Stage 1 and 2 areas of the site are well established, and offer particular support to English Co-ordinators working in primary, whilst the Key Stage 3 area offers a whole range of Year 7 and 8 units of work in medium and short term planning formats, along with Literacy Across the Curriculum resources. The website also features details of all INSET courses, primary and secondary, run by the London Borough of Redbridge; these courses are open to teachers from all areas.
Maths
Maths A-Level Revision Website: A website providing extensive easy to read revision notes for students studying advanced level mathematics. The site covers a wide range of topics, including pure mathematics, statistics and mechanics sections and is frequently expanded and improved. The pure mathematics section currently includes algebra topics such as partial fractions, the binomial theorem, logarithms, sequences and series. In addition, there are a number of pages of trigonometry notes, which introduce radians as a way of measuring angles and deal with the important trigonometric formulae. The pure maths section also contains an extensive section on calculus (differentiation and integration), including a variety of pages on various integration and differentiation techniques. The statistics section currently includes details of numerous probability distributions as well as topics such as confidence intervals and ways of calculating probabilities. The mechanics section includes notes on the 'suvat' equations, Newton's Laws of Motion, moments, centre of mass, friction and restitution.
GCSE Higher Maths: This website provides free ICT resources for GCSE Higher Maths. Written to accompany the Longman book, GCSE Higher Maths, these activities can also be used even if you aren't using the book with your class. Activities include ready-made Excel activities, Factfinder activities and accompanying downloadable worksheets and teachers' notes. Offers registration facility to notify you when new materials and special offers of interest are added to the website.
Design & Technology
Food Link is organised by the Food and Drink Federation in association with the Food Standards Agency, the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, the Local Authorities Co-ordinating Body on Food and Trading Standards, the Departments of Health, Food and Education, the National Farmers Union, the British Retail Consortium and the British Hospitality Association. The programme provides a focus for communicating messages aimed at helping everyone understand and carry out the basic precautions which they can take to reduce the risk of suffering from food poisoning.
DT Online is produced by the National Association of Advisers and Inspectors in Design and Technology, in cooperation with Dial Solutions, using materials provided by teachers for pupils. DT Online is free at the point of use and has three aspects: (1.) It is an online repository of information relating to most DT focus areas. (2.) For electronics and packaging, there are interactive designer sections that allow online production of circuits and packaging nets (3.) There is a developing projects section that also provides access to remote manufacturing centres in volunteer schools and colleges.
Science
Imagine Mars Project: Due to popular demand, the Mars Millennium Project is being relaunched as the Imagine Mars Project by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) on Space Day 2002. Building on the success of the Mars Millennium Project, the Imagine Mars Project is a national arts, sciences and technology education initiative that harnesses America's fascination with space and leads young people to work together with educators and civic leaders in designing a Mars community for 100 people. As part of the Imagine Mars Project students explore their own community and decide which arts, scientific and cultural elements will be important on Mars. Then they develop their ideal community, from an inter-disciplinary perspective of arts, sciences and technology.
Space Day 2002: On May 2, 2002, join other students, teachers and space enthusiasts and participate in a fun and informative webcast broadcast live from the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. Cyber Space Day allows viewers to ask questions of Mars experts and participate in student surveys and polls.
BioWeb: Mrs. King's BioWeb is a help site for students and teachers in the field of science. This site was designed to assist students and teachers with science information that might otherwise be difficult to locate. Major concepts are compiled together in a user friendly fashion to make learning science interesting and educational. The BioWeb includes links to lab experiments, educational games and activities, science fair help, homework help, science journals, teacher lesson plans and resources, distance learning, continuing education, testing aids, and benchmarks for state standards.
ICT
Questionmarker is an e-tool that enables the classroom teacher to deliver the testing and assessment of their students on-line. Featuring the first ever personalised on-line-markbook, it opens up the world of e-learning and maximises the potential of the Curriculum online. Ideal for homework, revision and study leave. Give students test codes, they do the test at home and their results appear immediately on the teacher's computer.
Kar2ouche is interactive software that enables pupils to produce storyboards, animations and publications. This develops contextual understanding, encourages reasoned interpretation and facilitates creative expression. Each title has relevant characters, backgrounds, props, text and audio that pupils manipulate to create storyboards, presentations and publications. These can be played back, printed and emailed encouraging pupils to communicate ideas and evaluate other’s work.
Book Section
The Internet in School: Duncan Grey's book, The Internet in School, provides an invaluable insight into the use of the internet in schools for anyone involved in education. It deals with the practical applications of the Internet as a resource in the classroom and its potential to enhance teaching and learning. Written in a non-threatening and non-technical style, the book examines both the pitfalls and the opportunities of Internet use in schools.
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