Education on the Internet
Number 51: 1st January, 2003
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 30,665 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
Internet Worldwide: The number of Internet users worldwide is expected to reach 655 million by the end of 2002, according to the United Nations. A new report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) indicates that developing countries accounted for almost one third of new Internet users in 2001. UNCTAD reports that the number of Internet users in 2001 rose 44 percent in Asia, 43 percent in Africa, 33 percent in Latin America, 33 percent in Europe and just 10 percent in North America.
Klez.E is the most common worldwide spreading worm. W32.Klez.H@mm often uses a technique known as "spoofing." When it performs its email routine. It can use a randomly chosen address that it finds on an infected computer as the "From:" address, numerous cases have been reported in which users of uninfected computers received complaints that they sent an infected message to someone else. For example, Linda Anderson is using a computer that is infected with W32.Klez.H@mm. Linda is not using a antivirus program or does not have current virus definitions. When W32.Klez.H@mm performs its emailing routine, it finds the email address of Harold Logan. It inserts Harold's email address into the "From:" portion of an infected message that it then sends to Janet Bishop. Janet then contacts Harold and complains that he sent her an infected message, but when Harold scans his computer he does not find anything - as would be expected - because his computer is not infected.
Online Content: The majority of Internet users are prepared to pay for online content according to a new survey from Burke's Peerage & Gentry, the genealogical publisher. The survey also reveals that the majority of subscribers and visitors to the site are middle and later aged individuals, in senior management positions or retired and have a higher than average income. 51% of site visitors completing the Burke's Peerage & Gentry first user survey said they were prepared to pay to access online content. 85% of current subscribers went on to say they will renew their subscription at the end of their current access period.
Internet Services
Schoolzmail is Internet based, all you need to use it is Internet access and a browser (explorer or Netscape), no need for hardware or software updates. It is multilingual, allowing partnerships with other schools worldwide and giving eligibility for Comenius funding. The school has complete control over the level of monitoring & filtering for all students & within all areas. These can be changed as required during the year. The account price includes full e-community building tools such as chat, discussion and file sharing across the school, and even with other schools where required. Again the school itself decides whether these are set up and how to monitor them.
IncrediMail: Have you ever found that the common task of sending and receiving emails is dull, redundant and tedious? Ever wanted to send emails that look livelier than standard emails? Would you like to add some thrill and experience to your email, a message that goes beyond text? IncrediMail will easily give you all that and much more and it's free and can be downloaded from its website.
InternetSeer is the largest free website monitoring company in the world. It currently provides free website monitoring to over 1 million users worldwide. As part of your free web site monitoring service, webmasters receive immediate notifications when InternetSeer encounters problems accessing your website. It also provides weekly performance reports.
Website Directories
The Internet Public Library (IPL): One of the most popular library sites on the Internet. IPL visitors can read online books, magazines, or newspapers; browse links to carefully selected websites for children and teens; and receive personalized assistance from an award-winning team of volunteer librarians. The website is operated by the School of Information at the University of Michigan.
WelshQuest: This search engine helps you find documents on this website and related sites (BritQuest, ScottishQuest, IrishQuest). You tell the search service what you're looking for by typing in keywords, phrases, or questions in the search box. The search service responds by giving you a list of all the webpages in our index relating to those topics. The most relevant content will appear at the top of your results.
Schoolzone School Search: Schoolzone claims that this is the UK's only complete listing of schools, colleges and LEAs (these organisations can amend or add to their details using a PIN). The Schoolzone website also has a collection of 40,000 educational websites, all hand picked for suitability and reviewed and categorised by UK teachers.
History
Gerrard Winstanley: In January, 1649, Gerrard Winstanley published the The New Law of Righteousness. In the pamphlet he wrote: "In the beginning of time God made the earth. Not one word was spoken at the beginning that one branch of mankind should rule over another, but selfish imaginations did set up one man to teach and rule over another." Two months later Winstanley and about thirty followers took over some common land on St George's Hill in Surrey. Digger groups also took over land in Kent (Cox Hill), Surrey (Cobham), Buckinghamshire (Iver) and Northamptonshire (Wellingborough). Local landowners were very disturbed by these developments. Instructions were given for the Diggers to be beaten up and for their houses, crops and tools to be destroyed. These tactics were successful and within a year all the Digger communities in England had been wiped out. This website provides a good overview of the political and religious ideas of Gerrard Winstanley.
CHCC Project: Funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee, a team of UK academics is developing the collection of Historical and Contemporary Census data and related Materials (CHCC) into a major learning and teaching resource. The project team is working to increase the use of census datasets in learning and teaching by improving accessibility to the primary data resources which are also being enhanced through adding and linking other information. The team is developing resource discovery tools via a Census portal which will provide access to an integrated set of learning and teaching materials for teachers and students (including tutorials, exercises and exemplar-based studies) relating to a number of subject disciplines.
Accessing Scotland's Past: The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) is currently running a project entitled 'Accessing Scotland's Past'. The project is a one year pilot project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, exploring online access to archaeological sites and historic buildings in two pilot areas of Scotland. RCAHMS records and interprets the rich variety of sites and monuments and buildings which together make up Scotland's built heritage. At the heart of the NMRS lies the Architecture and Archaeology Collections. These encompass a rich variety of material, including photographs, aerial photographs, books and periodicals, site reports and archives, maps, architectural drawings and models.
English Literature
Fiction Junkie is devoted to the art of skimming. Here you'll find a diverse range of recently published books - or to be more precise, the first couple of chapters. Although many online booksellers offer the chance to read excerpts from books, only Fiction Junkie brings them together under one electronic roof.
Fetch Book Info: This website provides is a quick way to compare prices of new and used books. Whether it's used college books, used textbooks, new fiction books or new poetry books, it will find the book stores providing the lowest available prices. Just enter the name of the book you are looking for, and we will find book reviews, alternative books and the store providing the best price after comparing dozens of book stores.
Politics
History of Liberty: Throughout history, liberty has inspired acts of great courage. Samuel Adams risked his life to promote the cause of the American Revolution, while Charles James Fox courageously defended American Independence in the British Parliament. Lafayette led soldiers into battle, endured brutal prisons and faced the most powerful rulers in Europe. Daniel O'Connell championed the cause of Irish liberty for four tumultuous decades. The astonishing Swede Raoul Wallenberg saved almost 100,000 Jews from Nazi death camps. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. defied death threats as he campaigned against segregationist laws, renewing the "higher law" doctrine that laws just be judged by moral standards. This excellent website, created by Jim Powell, hopes to enrich the visitor's understanding of ideas, personalities and events in the history of liberty.
CND: A British nuclear-powered Trident submarine is out on patrol ready, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to fire sixteen nuclear-armed missiles. Each submarine carries 48 independently-targeted nuclear warheads. Each warhead has seven times the explosive power of the first atomic bomb. The atomic bomb that was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing 140,000 civilians. The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) campaigns non-violently to rid the world of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction and has a large collection of factsheets on its website that can be used in the classroom.
Advertising
History Book Store: As the Official Online Store of A&E, The History Channel and Biography, we've always got something going on! Whether we are releasing new videos or DVDs, or offering great sales and specials, subscribing to our newsletter is the best way to make sure you are in the know.
WH Smith: Books, music, DVDs, videos, games, adventures, stationary, magazines from WH Smith. Other parts of its website includes an Education Zone.
