Education on the Internet
Number 60: 5th March, 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 32,800 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
OFSTED: Inspection data published by OFSTED recently shows that the percentage of poor lessons seen in secondary schools has fallen over the past four years. The data, based on inspections carried out since 1998, shows that Information Technology is the least well-taught subject. History teachers performed the best with only 2.1 percent of lessons considered to be poor or unsatisfactory. This was followed by English (2.3), Geography (3.0), Design & Technology (3.6), Art (4.1), Mathematics (5.5), Music (6.7), Religious Education (7.3) and IT (8.5).
Google: Last month Google acquired Blogger (see review below). In this article Simon Waldman argues that Google is becoming to the Internet what Microsoft is to the PC. As he points out, if you run a website and you don't feature on Google you might as well not exist. "Countless sites depend on it for referrals, countless users treat its search results as gospel. That gives it incredible power: over businesses, over the Internet as a whole and over the way millions of people see the world. As it continues to improve and expand, and as no one has yet offered anything that looks like a real rival, that power becomes even greater."
Cybercafe Search Engine: This website provides listings for more than 6,300 verified cybercafes, public Internet access points and kiosks in 169 countries. Results list the address of each cybercafe, and web site URL and email address, if available. Also offers specialized search function that let you limit results to public Internet kiosks, and terminals cybercafes on cruise ships. Just select the search field and then enter the name of the city or the state or country in which you wish to locate.
Spring Europe
Greece and Spring Europe: So far 277 schools in Greece have signed up for Spring Day in Europe. At the 8th Lyceum of Loannina they have composed two songs about European Union with relative lyrics and in association with some other European schools doing the same, they intend to create a music album. In the Lyceum of Avlonari (a small village near Athens) they have written a theatrical play about the E.U. Its title “A neighborhood called Euronion” (European Union). The pupils are going to play roles of the European countries, problems, values etc. (just like Aristofanes wrote his comedies giving human characteristics to cities, problems, values and the like).
Tolerance and Prejudice: This WebQuest has been created by Janos Blasszauer, a teacher in Hungary. The WebQuest allows the students to research the topic and read stories. After that the students do one of the suggested activities. Students also share their views on the discussion board (blog), write their own story, fable etc., draw a piece of art and save it (groupboard) or they might use an idea of their own. Students’ work will also be posted on the website.
Abraham Darby School: Kim Neale of Abraham Darby School in Shrophire, has arranged several events for Spring Day in Europe. The school has invited an MP, an MEP, a member of the Board of Governors, and a vicar to visit the school on 21st March. The vicar will bring his 11 sheepdogs. Each of his dogs responds to a different language. For example he speaks to one dog in German and the dog understands his instructions. All of the dogs are able to count to 15 in their specific language. Abraham Darby School will also be having a European food day and our catering staff have agreed to help us with this. Finally, Kim Neale is arranging a Videoconferencing day with schools from across the world to debate the future of Europe.
History
Joseph Stalin: Today is the 50th anniversary of the death of Joseph Stalin. It has been claimed that Saddam Hussein has a large library of books on Stalin. Before he gained power in Iraq he told a friend: "When we take over the government I'll turn this country into a Stalinist state." However, as Jonathan Freedland points out in today's Guardian, Stalin's greatest impact has been on the left. "Stalinism and its excesses have seared into the human mind a scepticism about all projects aimed at fundamental change. The fear is that any revolutionary ambition for society will always end in disaster, that any goal larger than gradual reform will lead to a bloodbath - and it is Stalin who stands in the cold, unbudging precedent." This website provides a detailed biography and a collection of primary sources on the life and times of Joseph Stalin.
Quiz on Spanish Civil War: Although some questions deal with internal affairs, the quiz is mainly focused on the international dimension of the Spanish Civil War: the different attitude of the great powers at that time and the public opinion reaction to the Spanish conflict. The Spanish Civil War is a good and early example of British appeasement policy regarding Hitler’s aggressiveness, American isolationism and France weakness and lack of resolution. Mussolini found a good opportunity to follow his attempt of imposing an Italian hegemony in the Mediterranean sea and Hitler had at his disposal a war to test the German rearmament. Finally, the USSR played its role as world workers’ motherland by giving military aid to the Republican side and making the Comintern organise the International Brigades. At the same, as George Orwell got to know, the NKVD brought to Spain the secret and repressive tactics that Stalin was using in Russia against all sort of opposition.
Design and Technology
Design and Tech: This website provides links to over 400 sources of information on Design and Technology. The material is organized under the headings: Resistant Materials, Electronic Products, Textiles, Graphic Products, Systems & Control and Food Technology. There is also a list of links to schools with good Design and Technology websites. Students also have the facility to send photographs of work produced in Design and Technology lessons.
GCSE Technology: Student visitors to this website are told: "The biggest single reason for students choosing this option is that they think it is easy. Think again! It is time consuming and demanding!" However, the author has done what he can to make the subject more accessible. There are excellent sections on Drawing Techniques, Anthropometry, Materials, Fixtures & Fittings and Mechanisms.
Politics
Win Without War: The Iraq War is already being fought out on the Internet. Win Without War is a coalition of 32 national organizations that have joined together to advocate alternatives to war in Iraq. This coalition offers a mainstream, patriotic voice for engaging opinion makers, activating concerned citizens, and communicating to policymakers and the media. On 26th February it held a Virtual March on Washington and as a result politicians in the United States received over a million emails, phone calls and faxes about the proposed war.
Citizens Against Celebrity Pundits: A large number of people involved in the entertainment industry have over the last few weeks been arguing against a pre-emptive strike on Iraq. This website has been launched for for those American citizens who support President Bush and disapprove of celebrities speaking out against the proposed war. It includes links to pro-war articles and an online petition against celebrities who they believe are "abusing their status" in opposing the war.
Internet Services
Singingfish: Looking for audio or video files from across the web? Singingfish is a multimedia search engine that helps you find audio or video files from across the web. The company recently signed a deal to power audio-visual searching in Microsoft's Windows Media Player client. The deal means that Singingfish now provides the multimedia searching capabilities for two of the web's largest digital media players and give the company a dominance as a multimedia search provider.
Blogger: Blogger is a web-based tool that helps you publish to the web instantly - whenever the urge strikes. Blogger is the leading tool in the rapidly growing area of web publishing known as weblogs, or "blogs." A blog is a web page made up of usually short, frequently updated posts that are arranged chronologically - like a what's new page or a journal. The content and purposes of blogs varies greatly - from links and commentary about other web sites, to news about a company/person/idea, to diaries, photos, poetry, mini-essays, project updates, even fiction. Blogger gives you a way to automate (and greatly accelerate) the blog publishing process without writing any code or worrying about installing any sort of server software or scripts.
Dave's Quick Search Deskbar is a tiny textbox that Dave Bau designed for search hounds with weary mouse-fingers. Unlike the Google Toolbar, this little deskbar lets you launch searches without starting a web browser first, directly from your Windows Explorer Taskbar. You type your search and hit Enter for a regular Google search. Now you can do searches no matter what you are doing (email, word processing, programming, etc.). With this quick search bar you're not a captive to Google. Do Yahoo searches, get Merriam-Webster definitions, get Bloomberg stock quotes and find Switchboard phone numbers. There is also a built in calculator. Click the button on the search bar or press F1 and a menu shows you all your choices.
Googlebar: The Google Toolbar was produced for Internet Explorer? The Googlebar project was initially created to address the widespread desire in the Mozilla community for the Google toolbar to support Netscape 7, since many users of mozilla enjoy having all of Google's specialty searches in one convenient location. The current release of Googlebar, produced by Jonathan Mendelson, emulates all of the basic search functionality of the toolbar, allowing users to easily access a number of specialty searches from their browser, including: basic web search, site search, the "I'm Feeling Lucky" search, groups, directory, image search, and restricted searches in BSD, Linux, Mac, Microsoft, catalog, news, and US government sites. Future plans call for the addition of support for highlighting all keywords, uninstall, and preference panel configurability for keyboard modifiers on a search.
Book Section
American Civil War Commanders: When the War Between the States broke out in 1861, the US Army had only four line generals - and three of those were over 70 years of age and veterans of the Napoleonic period. About one in three of America's professional officers chose to serve the Confederacy, and the government's urgent need to find commanders for its vastly expanded army put stars on the shoulders of men of very varied backgrounds and talents. The trials of war would soon separate the born leaders from the over-promoted and the political opportunists. This second volume devoted to Union generals examines the careers and personalities of 25 commanders who fought in the war. (Philip Katcher, Osprey Publishing, 1 84176 321 7, £10.99)
