Education
on the Internet
Number
32: 21st August 2002
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 26,270
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
spartacus@pavilion.co.uk
News
and Articles
High
School Students and Internet Use: A new study from Pew Internet
& American Life indicates that 78 percent of middle and high school
students in the US use the Internet. However, the report argues
that the nation’s multi-billion dollar effort to wire schools
is at risk of being squandered unless there is a similar commitment
to improve connectivity in classrooms, help all students master computer
skills, teach more sophisticated Internet literacy, make sure that
high-quality information is available to them, and – most important
of all – create assignments that take advantage of the wonderful
Web resources they have found on their own. “Internet-savvy students
are far ahead of their teachers and principals in taking advantage
of online educational resources,” said Lee Rainie, Director of
the Pew Internet & American Life Project. “ Students
use the Internet dozens of ways to help them in school. They see the
Internet as a virtual textbook and reference library, a virtual tutor
and study shortcut, a place to conduct virtual study groups, a virtual
locker, backpack and notebook, and as a virtual guidance counselor
when they are deciding about careers and colleges. However, the students
repeatedly said that the quality of their Internet-based assignments
was often poor and uninspiring – if online assignments were even
made at all. The students said the single greatest barrier to Internet
use at school is the quality of access to the Internet at most of
their schools.
e-Learning
Centre: The e-Learning Centre is a one stop e-learning resource.
It provides access to thousands of links to selected and reviewed
e-learning resources in 4 main categories: Resources; Showcase; Vendors
and Events. eCLIPSE, the e-Learning Centre's e-Learning Intelligence
Service, is a free subscription-based service that adds intelligence
to the vast amount of resources available by providing further value-added
information (eg its Top 10 series) and a pathway through the materials
via their work-based, role-based and technology Centres.
Timesavers
for Teachers is a Consortium Member of the GEM project sponsored
by the United States Education Department which accepts only quality
education sites. Timesavers for Teachers specializes in offering teachers
teacher resources and tools that save time. The website provides practical,
visually appealing often-used forms, checklists, units, timesaving
ideas, and other reproducible worksheets for busy classroom teachers.
Internet
Services
Mail2web:
Recent research claims that 14% of emails contain viruses or spam.
It is therefore sensible to delete offending items on the server.
Mail2web is an Internet based email client that allows you to pick
up your email from almost any POP3 or IMAP4 email server. You simply
enter your email address and password to access your inbox. You can
then read, reply and forward your messages. No registration is required
to access this application that has been developed, maintained and
supported by SoftCom Technology Consulting Incorporated, a global
leader in reliable and cost effective Internet based services.
MailWasher
allows you to preview multiple accounts and all aspects of your e-mails
before you download them. It also allows you to delete and bounce
e-mails back to the originator. The sender will receive an e-mail
saying the address was unknown. Another feature helps identify and
mark e-mail as normal, virus, possibly virus, possibly spam, probably
spam, chain letter, and blacklisted, so you can deal with the e-mail
as you wish. Other features are comprehensive customizable filters,
use of MAPS RBL to identify spammers, multiple accounts, visual and
auditory notification of new e-mail, minimization to system tray,
and much more. It is compatible with POP3 servers. This is a full
version with no restrictions, but donations are gladly accepted.
Email
Filtering: Imagine checking your email and only receiving messages
that you want. No more junk and no more viruses. This is the service
that Email Filtering offers. This English-based company scans your
email and removes viruses and junk mail before they reach your computer,
and you do not need to change your email address or install any software.
The service costs £21 a year.
History
Margaret
and Rachel McMillan: Inspired
by the ideas of William Morris, Margaret and Rachel McMillan devoted
their lives to helping children living in Britain's slums. In
1892 Margaret joined Dr. James Kerr, Bradford's school medical officer,
to carry out the first medical inspection of elementary school children
in Britain. Kerr and McMillan published a report on the medical problems
that they found and began a campaign to improve the health of children
by arguing that local authorities should install bathrooms, improve
ventilation and supply free school meals. The two sisters led the
campaign for school meals and eventually Parliament passed the 1906
Provision of School Meals Act. Two years later Margaret and Rachel
opened the country's first school clinic in Bow.
Just before her death in
1931 Margaret McMillan established a new college to train nurses and
teachers. A friend of the
sisters, Walter Cresswell, later wrote:
"Such persons, single-minded, pure in heart, blazing with selfless
love, are the jewels of our species. There is more essential Christianity
in them than in a multitude of bishops." As
well as providing biographies of Margaret and Rachel McMillan this
website also includes extracts from the writings of these two amazing
women.
Conflict
Archive on the Internet: This website contains information and
source material on the conflict in Northern Ireland from 1968 to the
present. It also has information on society and politics in the region.
Material is regularly added to the site and information on particular
pages may change. The information is divided into a number of main
sections: Background to the Conflict, Key Events, Key Issues, Bibliographic
Database, Conflict Studies and Directory of Researchers.
Chronology
of Ireland: This website, created by Brendan O'Brien, presents
information on people and events connected to Ireland. The chronology
contains about 130,000 words and is constantly being augmented. To
view the births, deaths and events of a particular year, you need
to go to the appropriate hyperlink in the bar to the left, then click
on the era/decade in question, and then scroll down to find the year.
Alternatively, you can use the search engine at the bottom of this
page.
Politics
George
Monbiot is the author of Captive State, and the investigative
travel books Poisoned Arrows, Amazon Watershed and No
Man's Land. He also writes a weekly column for the Guardian
newspaper. In 1995 Nelson Mandela presented him with a United Nations
Global 500 Award for outstanding environmental achievement. A large
collection of his thought-provoking articles can be found on his website
and would make good starting points for lessons on political and environmental
issues.
Nuclear
Age Peace Foundation: David Krieger, the founder of the Nuclear
Age Peace Foundation, argues that cultures need heroes and provide
a "concept of the ideal for educating new generations".
This website contains biographies of Krieger's heroes including Jane
Addams, Ralph Bunch, Helen Caldicott, Cesar Chavez, XIVth Dalai Lama,
Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, Dag Hammarskjold, Cordell Hull, Martin
Luther King, Coretta Scott King, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Rosa
Parks, Linus Pauling, Jeannette Rankin and Albert Schweitzer.
A
Critical Decision: This educational organization provides research
and thought-provoking insight on many divisive and emotional issues
within society and the effects of politics upon the environment and
biodiversity (our life-support system). The organization also provides
a nature gallery (with many stunning photographs) for visitors to
enjoy.
Design
& Technology
Design
& Technology On The Web covers just about everything students
of Design and Technology might want to know. This includes help with
KS3 homework, projects, coursework guidance, exam revision or just
checking out issues linked to technology. A growing site that already
with over 300 original pages. Type in your keywords and you should
find references quite easily. There is an A-Z section to check out
those topics you didn't know you wanted to check. Whether its Resistant
Materials, Graphic Products, Systems & Control, Electronics, Industrial
Production (Engineering), Food, Textiles, A Level or whatever - there
should be something here. If you find something is missing then the
site designer is always interested in adding new material to satisfy
student needs.
Polyprop
Chairs: From 1963 to the present day over 14 million Polyprop
chairs have been sold in twenty-three countries. Designed by Robin
Day, this chair has been described as one of the most democratic modern
designs of the 20th century. You can find out more about Robin Day
and the the Polyprop Chair at the Design-Technology website.
Book
Section
Fenian
Fire: There were seven attempts to assassinate Queen Victoria
during her long reign; four of them were of Irish origin. The most
serious of all was the Jubilee Plot, a conspiracy apparently hatched
in New York by the Fenian Brotherhood to blow up the Queen, her family
and most of the British Cabinet with dynamite at the great service
of thanksgiving to commemorate the 50th anniversary of her accession,
held at Westminster Abbey in June 1887. Fenian Fire, by journalist
and author Christy Campbell, uses declassified British government
documents, hitherto secret for a century and a quarter, to unravel
a ruthless intrigue set against the turbulent politics of the period.
Ministers knew the real truth. They let the conspiracy foment - and
manipulated subsequent parliamentary and judicial procedures claims
Campbell. The aim was to destroy Charles Stewart Parnell, the Irish
nationalist leader in the Westminster parliament, by branding him
and his supporters as fellow travelers of terror.
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