Education
on the Internet
Number
44: 13th November 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 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
spartacus@pavilion.co.uk
News
and Articles
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)
Available
from Amazon Books (order below)
