Education on the Internet
Number 58: 19th February, 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 33,530 subscribers to the newsletter.
All reviews are added to our web directory. There are sections on Internet Services, 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
Comenius 3 Networks involve at least one organization from each of at least six different European countries, and partnerships should be designed to bring on board new organization during the course of the project. Activities supported through Networks could include the organization of seminars and conferences, the dissemination of project results, comparative studies and the provision of advice and guidance to potential co-ordinators. Networks will usually be funded for one or two years, or three years in exceptional cases. The level of funding will vary from one Network to another, however in the past the average grant allocated has been in the region of €50,000 to €150,000 per Network per year.
dotSAFE Project is a pilot study involving 23 member countries of the European SchoolNet. There are four principal areas of work, some of which are simultaneous and/or cyclical This includes auditing what is available, concerns, and effective practices to raise awareness of Internet safety in schools. The project also plans to develop new and adapted pilot materials and technical solutions to the problem.
E-Vote is an attempt to use the Internet and new technology to get more people involved in the discussions and decision-making process of the EU. It is a way to give students a vote and a voice. Over the next few months of the Greek Presidency, students will have the chance to be a part of these big changes - to vote on important issues, ask questions, and offer ideas and suggestions.
History
International History Teachers' Discussion Forum: This extremely popular discussion forum is run in partnership with some of Britain's leading teacher-created history websites. This week it launches an International Section. This has been created to enable history teachers to make contact with teachers from other countries, to propose work on collaborative projects with teachers and students from other countries and to act as a section to bring history teachers from around the world together.
Historians and the Iraq Crisis: Politicians on both sides of the argument over Iraq have been busy rummaging through the history books. The pro-war camp constantly warn against repeating the mistakes of appeasement. The antis claim we are heading for another Suez. But which is the more plausible parallel? This is what 12 leading historians think about this issue: Ian Kershaw, Paul Kennedy, Andrew Roberts, Simon Schama, Linda Colley, Eric Hobsbawm, Richard Evans, Michael Burleigh, Norman Davies, Avi Shlaim, Mark Mazower and Richard Overy.
Soviet Union, 1930-1933: The young Welsh journalist Gareth Jones, and former Foreign Affairs advisor to Lloyd George, visited Soviet Russia and Ukraine on three occasions between 1930 and 1933, reporting on Stalin's Five-Year Plan of Collectivisation and Industrialisation. However it was on his last visit in March 1933, that he internationally exposed the great Soviet Famine of 1932-33. He then publicly defended his allegations in response to Soviet rebuttals by Stalin's main apologist, Walter Duranty of the New York Times, which are covered on this fascinating website, along with several supporting documents, including articles and correspondence by Malcolm Muggeridge.
Geography
Spring Europe Quizzes: Kim Neale of Abraham Darby School has created a series of activities on the subject of Europe. This includes Trivia Quizzes, Do you want to be a Millionaire? Hangman, Matching Exercises, Challenge Board and Wordsearches.
First School Years: Elementary Geography: The worksheets and resources on this site are targeted primarily at Key Stage 1 ( 5 - 7 year olds). Some may also be suitable for children in Early Years or lower Key Stage 2. The printables are in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format. The Geography section includes materials on Mapping Skills, Weather, Around the World, Homes, Local Area and Jobs.
Politics
New American Century Project is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to a few fundamental propositions: that American leadership is good both for America and for the world; that such leadership requires military strength, diplomatic energy and commitment to moral principle; and that too few political leaders today are making the case for global leadership. The New American Century intends, through issue briefs, research papers, advocacy journalism, conferences, and seminars, to explain what American world leadership entails. It will also strive to rally support for a vigorous and principled policy of American international involvement and to stimulate useful public debate on foreign and defense policy and America's role in the world.
Iraq Crisis: Robert Byrd, the 83 year old senator for West Virginia, is unlikely to be a member of the New American Century Project. In a speech made in the US Senate on 12th February he argued that the war will represent a turning point in US foreign policy. "This nation is about to embark upon the first test of a revolutionary doctrine applied in an extraordinary way at an unfortunate time. The doctrine of pre-emption - the idea that the United States or any other nation can attack a nation that is not imminently threatening but may be in the future - is a radical new twist on the traditional idea of self-defence. It appears to be in contravention of international law and the UN charter. And it is being tested at a time of worldwide terrorism, making many countries around the globe wonder if they will soon be on our - or some other nation's - hit list."
Primary Education
Activity Village attempts to entertain and educate the under-10s. It provides colouring pages, puzzles, printable crafts and games, worksheets and wallpaper! It also publishes a free newsletters that gives updates and new ideas. The people behind the website claim: "We believe that busy kids are happy kids and do our best to provide things for them to do! Visit here regularly, and your children need never be bored again."
Education Place: This website, created by the publisher, Houghton Mifflin, provides resources for teachers, students, and parents. Subjects covered includes Reading/Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Intervention, Professional Development, activities, games, and textbook support.
Art
Artist Toolkit Encyclopedia is an in-depth guide to learning more about the building blocks of composition. Here you will see many examples of works of art that illustrate the visual elements and principles. Subjects covered include Line, Shape, Colour, Space, Texture, Balance, Emphasis, Movement and Rhythm.
Museum of Contemporary Art: Website Insights is a searchable database of MCA Collection highlights. At present, the MCA holds almost 6,000 objects, works representing trends in art after 1945 in all media and genres: paintings, sculpture, works on paper, photography, video, film, installations, and artists' books. Among the greatest strengths of the MCA Collection are surrealism of the 1940s and 1950s, minimalism of the 1960s, conceptual art and photography from the 1960s to the present, recent installation art, and art by Chicago-based artists. The search engine allows visitors to search by artist name, nationality, title of work, medium, and the decade in which the work was produced.
Internet Services
Google Monitor is a simple application that allows you to find and track the ranking of your website or any given URL in Google search results. It offers two modes of operation: you can enter a URL and a keyword to find the top results and where your site ranks among them, or select a URL and find its ranking for several keywords at once. You may store statistics for all URLs and keywords, and keep notes to further track search trends and the performance of your website.
The Register: According to Hitwise the Register is the UK's No.1 UK IT Media website. Hitwise monitors the daily Internet usage of more than 7.6 million UK internet users to provide website rankings in over 150 industry categories. Q4 2002 figures from industry monitors Hitwise confirm that the Register had the lion's share of UK readers in this category between October and December 2002.
