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 14,715
subscribers to the newsletter.
Multicultural
Schools and the 11th September: In a recent article, Tim Brighouse,
chief education officer for Birmingham, wrote: "We owe so much
to staff in our schools. Daily they are providing examples of courageous
leadership for our bewildered youngsters in the present terrifying
crisis." He supports this opinion by giving examples of how teachers
in multicultural schools in Birmingham are dealing with the impact
of the events of 11th September.
Girls
and ICT: A recent survey discovered that only 22% of the IT workforce
is made up of women. This means that over the last seven years the
proportion of women in IT has dropped by about 10%. Anne Cantello
points out that there is evidence to suggest that it is the teaching
of ICT in schools that is the main reason why girls are losing interest
in the subject. She argues: "We need to make our children's experience
of IT exciting, inspiring and challenging. We need to focus on the
things that really interest them to both deliver the IT skills they
need and increase interest in IT careers."
Rural
Schools: Rachel Tompkins is president of the Rural School and
Community Trust, a nonprofit educational organization "dedicated
to improving student learning and community life by strengthening
relationships between rural schools and communities and engaging students
in community-based public work." An interview with Rachel Tompkins
can be found in the Virtual Teachers' Lounge at the Education World
website.
History
Charles
Booth Online: This website is a searchable resource giving access
to archive material on Charles Booth that is held by the British Library
of Political and Economic Science. This includes the original records
from Booth's survey into life and labour in London, dating from 1886-1903.
There is also a guide written to encourage the use of the website
in the teaching of history in schools.
Multicultural
History: The impressive website provides links to a series of
resources on multicultural history produced by the BBC to support
television programmes such as Windrush, The Story of Africa and Trace
Your Roots. There are biographies of William Cuffy, William Davidson,
Olaudah Equiano, Marcus Garvey, Claudia Jones, Mary Seacole and Phillis
Wheatley. There is also a selection of the best websites on Black
History.
Black
and Asian History: This Channel 4 website is a gateway to websites
about black and Asian history across the British Isles. You can search
for sites by location (via a map), time-line (via timeline) or subject
(via the search facility). The website also includes support material
that accompanied recent television programmes on black history.
English
Zuzu: On this website Beck Underwood's
artwork provides a stimulus for creative writing. Children can submit
their work for possible online publication. Subject categories includes
science-fiction, holidays and animals. The website also contains sections
on Mysterious Stories, Poetry, Courageous Kids, Neighborhood Reports,
Virtual Vacations, Interviews and Broadway Reviews.
Kids'
Space: Launched in May 1995, Kids' Space was established to break
down cultural, religious, ethnic and racial barriers between children
of the world by promoting cross-cultural collaboration in creative
projects. The site now features creative writing from more than 150
countries. The website also includes Kids' Space Communication for
communication activities, such as penpals.
Discovering
Dickens: An interesting approach to the work of Charles Dickens
that has been created by Lucy Davis of 'Schools of California Online'.
The material has been produced to help students learn "more about
the time and circumstances which influenced Dickens". Students
have a choice of five different cases. Each case requires the student
to visit several Internet sites that specialize in specific knowledge
about Charles Dickens. Case One involves a look at the everyday life
of Charles Dickens. Students visit two Internet sites 'Dickens' Home'
and 'Dickens' House Museum' and are given assignments that involve
them comparing their life with those of people living in 19th England.
Case Three explores the links between Dicken's novels and his experiences
of childhood poverty.
Mathematics
Convert
It: A very useful website that enables visitors to convert from
one unit of measurement to another. Options include Area, Capacity,
Distance, Energy & Power, Temperature, Velocity/Speed, Volume
and Weight/Mass.
Math
League: The Math League website is dedicated to bringing challenging
mathematics materials to students. The website specializes in competitions.
The author claims that the website builds "student interest and
confidence in mathematics through solving worthwhile problems."
Over a million students participate in Math League contests each year
and they are designed to cover a range of mathematical knowledge.
Maths
Teaching Ideas: Mark Warner's excellent website has been created
for the teachers and parents of primary-age children. The section
on Maths includes lessons entitled Estimation, Puzzle Display, Beat
the Teacher, Maths Dictionary, Detective Trail, High Noon, Maths Table
Challenge, Division Problems, Times Tables Investigations, Rounding
Numbers, Guess My Number, Number Patterns, Coordinates, Weighing Objects
and Countdown.
Design
& Technology
Design
& Technology: 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 Design &
Technology.
Italian
Lighting Designers: In this new addition to the Design and Technology
Department the work of the classic Italian lighting designers Livio
Pier Giacomo, Achille Castiglioni and Gianfraco Frattini is examined.
Their work has been described as "Rationalism but at the same
time possessing humour and a sculptural form". The three men
designed such classic lights such as the 'Boalum lamp', the 'Luminator
floor lamp' and the 'Arco floor lamp'. Amongst their product design
achievements are the 'Mezzadro' (Sharecroppers stool) and the 'Sgabello
per Telephono' (Telephone stool).
Science
EncycloZine:
A website that describes itself as "a concise illustrated encyclopedia
and a compendium of diversions". The science area includes sections
on Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Cosmology, Physics, Nature of Scientific
Method and the Philosophy of Science.
Adrian
Dingle's Chemistry Pages: A multi award-winning site designed
for UK and US high school chemistry students. It has content suitable
for A Level & GCSE (UK) and Regular, Honors & Advanced Placement
(US) courses. The site has downloadable notes, worksheets and labs.
Updated several times a week with clear navigation and good design.
The author is currently teaching in the US and has several years experience
of teaching in the UK.
Eden
Project: The Eden Project in Cornwall houses thousands of the
world's plants under special domes, and since opening in March 2001,
has attracted more than a million visitors. The official website is
disappointing but a team at Learn have produced an impressive educational
micro-site for the project aimed at both children and teachers.
Geography
Internet
Geography:
An excellent website produced by Anthony Bennett for those teaching
or studying Geography. Topics covered include Environmental Problems,
Coasts, Earthquakes, Ecosystems, Glaciation, Limestone, Plate Tectonics,
Rivers, Volcanoes, Weather, National Parks, Land Use, Migration, Urbanization,
Employment Structures, Industry and Population.
The
Met Office: The Met Office provides the latest information on
the world's weather. It now also has a Curriculum Learning Centre
that includes worksheets and classroom activities, leaflets to download
and a "Did you know?" section. There is also a Teacher Training
Centre that claims to help "to teach the curriculum effectively
- in areas like the atmosphere, fronts and clouds". It also includes
a bibliography and suggested essay questions.
Modern
Languages
Harry
Potter in German: A German website dedicated to J. K. Rowling's
hero, Harry Potter. It provides information on characters (Harry Potter,
Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Hagrid, Albus Dumbledore and Daco Malfoy)
and locations (Hogwarts, Privet Drive, Diagon Alley, Gringotts and
Hogsmeade) used in the books. The website also has summaries of each
book and provides links to press articles on the work of J. K. Rowling.
Erlebniswelt:
Students can use this website to test out their knowledge of the German
language. The website includes sections on general knowledge, geography,
history, science and nature. It also provides reports on the week's
news stories in German.
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.
