Education on the Internet
Number 44: 13th November 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 29,000 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
IQ Scores: Ulric Neisser, professor of psychology at Cornell University in New York, has over the last few years been collating international research on intelligence. He reports that modern youngsters are attaining IQ scores that are about 25 points higher than their grandparents. Researchers suggest that the use of computers at an early age is a key factor in boosting children's IQ to levels never reached by previous generations. Neisser points out that while scores on abstract reasoning and thinking portions of the test had improved by seven IQ points in each of the past two decades, verbal and mathematical abilities had stayed much the same. Other researchers claim that the key factor is improved nutrition. In a recent study of adolescents, Dr. Michael Nelson, a senior lecturer in nutrition at King's College, London, found iron deprivation, could reduce IQ by up to 10 points.
Netd@ys Europe is an initiative of the European Commission, organised by the Directorate-general for Education and Culture. It promotes the use of new technologies, especially the Internet, in education and culture. The most important principle of Netd@Ys is the voluntary participation of those working directly in the field. A vast number of projects, at local, regional or national level are organised and specific activities on-line and off-line are undertaken under the themes which are proposed each year. These include multimedia performances, online forums and games, workshops, competitions, etc. Netd@Ys provides all participating individuals and organisation with an open platform for participants to showcase their projects and with an opportunity for them exchange ideas and experiences with people all over the world.
Electronic Frontier Foundation: Based in San Francisco, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an organization working to protect fundamental rights regardless of technology; to educate the press, policymakers and the general public about civil liberties issues related to technology; and to act as a defender of those liberties. EFF argues that: "governments and corporate interests worldwide are trying to prevent us from communicating freely through new technologies, just as when those in positions of power controlled the production and distribution of - or even burned - books they did not want people to read in the Middle Ages."
Primary
Literacy Matters: The site specializes in providing free literacy lesson plans and resources for Early Years to Y7 teachers. The Medium term and weekly lesson plans are based on good texts and are cross referenced to the National Literacy Strategy Framework for Teaching objectives. The plans are written by former teachers who continue to try out these ideas in the classroom. The site also contains an 'Ask the Expert' section, a discussion forum and has many useful links.
Schoolsnet was launched in November 1999 to offer "parents, pupils and teachers an indispensable educational resource." Its primary section includes materials on Art, Design & Technology, Geography, History, ICT, Literacy, Music, Numeracy, Physical Education, Religious Education and Science.
English
Luminarium: This website, created by Anniina Jokinen, combines three sites first created in 1996 to provide a starting point for students and enthusiasts of English Literature. The material is organised under three headings: Medieval, Renaissance and 17th Century Literature. Each entry includes a brief biography plus links to articles, quotes and online versions of the writer's work. The website is extremely well designed and contains music and art from the respective time periods.
English Job Maze is a British/Australian ESL/EFL job & information site for ESL/EFL teachers and schools around the world. It also contains a wealth of free TEFL industry-related info for teachers, including profiles of TEFL qualifications, tips on writing CVs and answering interview grammar questions. The four owners of the English Job Maze are all University of Cambridge DELTA -qualified, and have extensive English as a Foreign Language classroom, management and materials writing experience.
Science
James Prescott Joule: In a series of experiments in the middle of the 19th century, James Prescott Joule helped to show the relations between electricity, mechanical, and chemical effects. This research led to the discovery of the first law of thermodynamics. This website, developed by the Museum of Science & Industry in Manchester, explores aspects of the work of James Joule. This is a pilot for a much larger site which will look at science in the Manchester area, past and present, focussing on the people involved. It will feature the work of John Dee, John Dalton, James Joule and Ernest Rutherford, as well as looking at other locally important areas of scientific activity, putting them into a wider social and economic context.
Teaching Ideas Science: Teaching Ideas is a website for teachers who teach primary-age children (i.e. ages 5 to 11). The material is produced by Mark Warner, a teacher in a primary school in Kent. Although it has been designed with UK teachers in mind, all ideas can of course be used by teachers around the world. The science section includes activities entitled Wicked Science, Watching Snails, Moving and Growing, Habitats, Investigating Teeth, Conductors and Insulators, Friction and Transparency Experiment.
Modern Languages
ZUT! Catherine Murphy taught French in Cardiff, UK, for 10 years and gave up last year in order to be able to spend more time working on my own website. Zut provides a comprehensive set of interactive activities for French teachers and learners, featuring more than 500 exercises, over 100 of which have audio samples of native French speakers. It is an easily navigated resource, organised for each year of study and also includes exercises for the interactive whiteboard.
BBC Learning French: The BBC is now providing a series of short online learning courses on French. This includes French Fix (motivational language learning which takes whatever knowledge of French you have and challenges you to improve it on the spot); French Steps (earn how to converse, order in a restaurant and ask for directions in French with this online beginners course that's easy-to-use); Language Gauge (this tool will let you find out how much you know and what's best for you to take your it further; Talk French (a language course for absolute beginners, with video and audio clips and activities to help you learn); The French Experience (a series of multimedia activities for beginners, building on the absolute basics of Talk French, but can be used on its own to learn and practise the language).
Media Studies
Mediaknowall is designed as a starting point for students undertaking research into media projects. Created by Karina Wilson, Head of Media Studies at South Island School in Hong Kong, the website has sections for KS3, GCSE and A-level students, each containing notes and further links on a range of media topics - Audience, Production, Narrative, Genre etc as appropriate to each level. Students can also search for a particular topic or key word using the search page. The site has more than 150 pages and is constantly growing - especially as WJEC change the focus of the set papers each year. There is a comprehensive history of the horror film in a separate section, designed for those choosing Genre for their A2 coursework essay. Teachers can find also find simulations and suggestions for student tasks to go with key topics.
Media Literacy Clearinghouse: A website designed for educators who want to learn more about media literacy and to make their students more media aware. The material is organized under the headings: Advertising, Commercialism, Gender Representation, Motion Pictures, Propaganda, Political Advertising, Television, Recommended Articles, Role of Media in Politics, Analyzing for Bias, Media Literacy and Visual Literacy.
Citizenship
Time for Citizenship: On this website produced by St John Fisher Primary School in Sheffield, children exchange ideas through a scrolling notepad (school forum). They are also given the opportunity to display artwork and ideas of citizenship. Teachers are able to download Citizenship lessons from the site and obtain information from colleagues regarding Citizenship education. All lessons are selected as good examples of good practice and have been 'field tested' in schools by teachers, police officers and children. Every primary school in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland is being invited to join in this project to share good practice and to contribute to the site. This site is much more than children, police, teachers and the NSPCC working with the Internet. It is about action in the community and that really is at the heart of the project. It is hoped that children will learn to become more involved in activities which will allow them to grow into more caring citizens.
TeacherNet: Recently TeacherNet launched a new PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) area of its website. It's a dedicated learning and development resource, and includes: a flexible, interactive tool to help identify your development needs; a signpost to 'learning pathways' offering a range of learning options; a database of resources; and the opportunity to share ideas, seek advice and contribute your own good practice through the bulletin board. The website also has over 90 Citizenship lesson plan reviews and links relevant resources.
Book Section
Ninety Degrees North: After Sir John Franklin disappeared in the North-West Passage with all his men in 1845, serious efforts began to find the true northernmost point of the globe. Ninety Degrees North is a vivid history of the disasters that ensued. Nations and individuals competed vigorously in the challenge; the Americans led the field, but were stopped by a mutinous crew who poisoned their captain; then followed the newly united Germans, the Austro-Hungarians, and the British, who in 1876 managed to get further than any other expedition, but were finally driven back by scurvy. Norwegian skiers, Swedish balloonists, Italian aristocrats and global press barons all took up the monumental quest for glory. The obsessive Robert Peary even took his pregnant wife with him to set a record for the most northerly birth in history. Ninety Degrees North is a thoroughly enjoyable popular history, told with craftsmanship and wit. (Granta, ISBN 1 86207 535 2, £9.99)
