Education on the Internet
Number 78: 9th July, 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 36,360 subscribers to the newsletter.
All reviews are added to our web directory. There are sections on Internet Services, Online Seminars, Primary Education, English, Mathematics, Science, Modern Languages, History, Geography, Design & Technology, Business Studies, Special Needs, Media Studies, ICT, Sociology, Music, Politics, Economics, Photography, Art & Design, Theatre Studies, Physical Education and Religious Studies.
John Simkin
Online Seminars
Effective Extra-Curricular History Activities: This seminar looks at the manner in which History activities can be effectively delivered in an extra-curricular capacity. If offers some information about different types of activities that could be offered to students and how students view activities that are created for them. If you have views on this subject, register with the History Forum and join the debate.
Teachers Online: The July edition of Teachers Online has just been published. It offer you some ideas for encouraging pupils' interest in the topic of Europe. The feature, Get into Europe, has details on how to work with European partners, as well as fun games on subjects such as European history. It also has a selection of activities from the TRE to help develop pupils' understanding of modern foreign languages and more. As always, Teachers Online provides all the latest news and events in the world of ICT.
Homework: The Parent Centre is for all parents and carers who want to help their child or children to learn. It is here to offer you support, information and advice about your child's learning and the English education system. This Department of Education website provides information on key features of good homework practice, case studies in primary, secondary and special schools and the benefits of parental involvement with homework.
Applemore College: The 24-hour School is a facility that has been developed by students at Applemore College. They conducted their own research and came up with a solution that allows all staff and students to access their home directory and shared drives on the college’s network from any PC with an Internet connection, using a web browser. Staff and students can download their work files from college to their local computer and then upload the work back to the school network. It has major advantages as the user only needs to be connected to the Internet for a minimal period of time to download files, rather than having to remain connected while working. Therefore, students have access to their schoolwork and various resources at any time from anywhere.
History
Black Presence: Asian and Black History in Britain: This website is a partnership between The National Archives (formerly the Public Record Office) and the Black and Asian Studies Association (BASA), funded by the New Opportunities Fund. This exhibition appears on Pathways to the Past, the National Archives' website for lifelong learners. The exhibition covers Black and Asian history in Britain from 1500 to 1850. Most of the digitised documents presented in this exhibition are held by The National Archives and appear in four galleries: Early Times, Africa and the Caribbean, India, Work and Community, Rights and Culture.
History of Black Footballers in Britain: Arthur Wharton was the world's first Black professional footballer and 100 yards world record holder. He was probably the first African to play professional cricket in the Yorkshire and Lancashire leagues. But while he was beating the best on the tracks and fields of Britain, the peoples of the continent of his birth were being recast as lesser human beings. The tall Ghanaian irritated white supremacists because his education and sporting triumphs refuted their theories. In the late Victorian era, when Britain's economic and political power reached its zenith and when the dominant ideas of the age labeled all blacks as inferior, it was simply not expedient to proclaim the exploits of an African sportsman. Phil Vasili's excellent website tells the story of Arthur Wharton and other black footballers in Britain.
English
Today in Literature: This free site offers interesting and engaging stories about literature and writing that bring writers and their works to life. Each day visitors can read a story about a literary event that occurred on that day in history - the story of Charles Dickens' refusal to give a private reading of "A Christmas Carol" to Queen Victoria; the story of James Joyce first meeting with Sylvia Beach; the story of Sherwood Anderson's death by toothpick; and so on. Subscribers receive other date based material as well. Teachers can use the material to give background to works of literature, to stimulate interest in writers and books, and to analyse the structure and technique of the essays.
Voice of a Long Generation: George Orwell once said, "... above all I wanted to make political writing into an art', which he certainly did. But there was purpose behind his art. His provocations were always deliberately intended to challenge his readers as well as the establishment. On this BBC Art and Literature website Sir Bernard Crick describes the life, and far-reaching influence, of this maverick political writer.
Science
Science Pages is the on-line home of the Science Department at Nether Stowe School in Lichfield, Staffordshire. The site features key stage 3, 4 and 5 revision materials and weblinks, a news section, online quizzes, interactive crosswords and student work. The site is designed and is maintained by Richard Anderson, a Chemistry (GCSE) and Biology (AS/A2) teacher at the school. Other members of the science teaching staff are now becoming more involved in generating material for the site; and it is envisaged that the site will become a valuable resource to support our student's learning from Year 7 to Year 13.
Resource Files: Paul Martin is a NQT at Charles Burrell High School, Norfolk. After spending many hours preparing resources for use in his science classes he decided to put them on the web and if anyone else has a use for them. Material currently on offer is aimed at KS3, KS4 and 16+ pupils.
Music
Black History & Classical Music: It's a little-known fact that composers and musicians of African descent have been contributing to classical music since Mozart's time! Marie-Antoniette's music director was Black. Ludwig van Beethoven wrote a violin sonata for a Black violin virtuoso, and accompanied him on piano at its first performance. This website provides an excellent introduction to Black History and Classical Music.
American Lynching and Music: Lynching is the illegal execution of an accused person by a mob. It was originally a system of punishment used by whites against African American slaves. There was a decline in lynching during the First World War but more than seventy blacks were murdered in this way in 1918. Ten black soldiers, several still in their army uniforms, were amongst those lynched. Between 1919 and 1922, a further 239 blacks were lynched by white mobs and many more were killed by individual acts of violence and unrecorded lynchings. This website provides recordings that deal with lynching: Strange Fruit (Billie Holiday) The Death of Emmett Till (Bob Dylan), Vigilante Man (Woody Guthrie), Taneytown (Steve Earle), Ballad of Medgar Evers (Phil Ochs) and A Pawn in their Game (Bob Dylan).
Religious Studies
Sikh Gurdwara: A Sikh place of worship is called a Gurdwara, which means doorway to the Guru. In other words, a Gurdwara is God's house. It does not have to be a special building. Especially in India, Gurdwaras may be in ordinary houses or other buildings. The most important thing is that the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book, is there. It is a place where people meet to worship, to learn, to have fun, and to have meals together. This website, produced by Fairlands Primary School & Nursery, provides an excellent introduction to the subject.
Hindu Universe: The Hindu Universe has been created by the Hindu Students Council, an organisation based in Boston. A web directory designed in the style of Yahoo, enables you to quickly obtain information on different aspects of Hinduism. The material arranged under the following categories: Arts, Customs, Worship, Books & Resources, Dharma & Philosophy, Hindus Around the World, History, Temples & Organisations, Languages, Interfaith Relations, God, Sages & Gurus, Sciences, Scriptures and Social & Contemporary Issues.
Media Studies
Moving History: The AHRB Centre for British Film and Television studies and the South East Film and Video Archive have launched Moving History - a new web resource on film archives aimed at the arts and humanities academic community. This new site provides an in depth guide to the United Kingdom's twelve public sector moving image archives, presenting detailed information on these fascinating and valuable collections, and illustrated with over 100 selected film and television clips. The site also offers guidelines on gaining access to these archives, and provides links and contact points for further information.
Women Photographers: A website produced by the California Museum of Photography that includes images by some of the best-known names in the history of the medium as well as significant or exemplary images by other less famous photographers. There are illustrated articles on Frances Johnson, Julia Margaret Cameron, Gertrude Kasebier, Alice Boughton, Berenice Abbott, Marion Palfi, Alma Lavenson, Imogen Cunningham, Susan Meisalas, Barbara Morgan, Mary Ellen Mark, Rosalind Solomon and Olivia Parker.
Book Section
The Miraculous Fever-Tree: Using fresh research from the Vatican and the Indian Archives in Seville, as well as hitherto undiscovered documents in Peru, Fiammetta Rocco describes the ravages of the disease, the quest of the three Englishmen who smuggled cinchona seeds out of South America, the way quinine opened the door to Western imperial adventure in Asia, Africa and beyond, and why, even today, quinine grown in the eastern Congo still saves so many people suffering from malaria. (Fiammetta Rocco, HarperCollins, ISBN 0 00 257202 8, £16.99)
