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 15,200
subscribers to the newsletter.
Website
Content: A report published by Pew Charitable Trust and American
Life claims that most people are unwilling to pay for content on websites
that used to be free of charge. The survey of 1,351 Internet users
discovered that 17 per cent have been recently asked to pay for online
content that used to be free. Of these, 12 per cent opted to pay for
the content, whereas 50 per cent found a free alternative website.
Friends
Reunited: The website which allows people to find and then get
in touch with long lost school friends had 2,094,000 unique visitors
in October 2001. This compares to the 191,000 unique visitors in June
2001. It is now one of the top 20 most visited sites in the UK. Registrants
at the site sign up to their schools and colleges with their own profile,
and can then search their old schools for other past classmates who
have registered. The average time spent on the website has now reached
the remarkable figure of 41 minutes.
Top9:
This is the Internet's first Search Directory to use consumer intelligence
to comprehensively rank the most popular websites by industry category
on a monthly basis. The rankings are compiled by PC Data Online and
are based on surveys with over 120,000 home users on the Internet.
Currently in the Education Resources section the top nine are Spark
Notes (2,647 unique users), Thinkquest (1,852), Pink Monkey (706),
Blackboard (680), School Notes (457), Grade Saver (402), UMI (328),
Educate (317) and Planet Papers (238).
History
Teachers'
Virtual School: History Department: The Teachers' Virtual School
History Department provides lessons for those teaching history in
the classroom. Lessons are listed under Key Stage and Topic. Teachers
are invited to send in details of any online history lessons they
have produced for their students. The website also includes sections
on History Online Resources, History Quizzes, Timelines, History Forums
and History Journals.
Nobel
e-Museum Peace Prize: A website that celebrates the people and
organizations that have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The site
includes biographies, nobel peace lectures, articles written by Nobel
Laureates and links to other relevant resources. Prize winners featured
include Jean Henri Dunant (1901), William Randal Cremer (1903), Theodore
Roosevelt (1906), Elihu Root (1912), Woodrow Wilson (1919), Gustav
Stresemann (1926), Jane Addams (1931), Arthur Henderson (1934), Cordell
Hull (1945), Emily Balch (1946), Albert Schweitzer (1952), Martin
Luther King Jr (1964), Mother Teresa (1979) and Nelson Mandella (1993).
Women
of the Special Operations Executive: This website, created in
1995, tells the story of the women who joined the Special Operations
Executive (SOE) during the Second World War. As the author points
out, the website "does not intend to glamorize or hero worship
the women - the work was far from glamorous - but to simply show the
intricate work they did, the extraordinary courage they showed and
the sacrifices they made."
English
Poetry
Class: The Poetry Class website reflects the ethos of taking the
fear out of poetry. What this site offers is plain language, printable
poetry workshops for immediate use in classrooms, a glossary of terms,
interviews with poets, recommended books, and key stage requirements
tagged to particular poetry workshops on our site. Poetry Class vet
each external poetry site listed in our resources section to ensure
that it matches its standards for clear language, contains useful
information about (or examples of) poetry and poetic forms, and is
easily navigable for all users.
English
Biz GCSE: An English and English Literature GCSE revision site
that offers students a straightforward way of finding out how to improve
their GCSE grades.
Absolute
Shakespeare: Created by James Hodge the Absolute Shakespeare contains
Shakespeare's plays, sonnets and poems. Study Shakespeare with plot
summaries, essays, character analyses, quotes, biography, pictures,
timeline, trivia, the Globe Theatre and links.
Media
Studies
Newseum:
The Newseum, the interactive museum of news, takes visitors behind
the scenes to see and experience how and why news is made. Visitors
can be reporters or television newscasters; relive the great news
stories of all time through multimedia exhibits, artifacts and news
memorabilia; and see today's news as it happens.
Photo-Seminars:
A website for image makers and those who teach image making. It offers
free seminars on several photographers including Henri Cartier-Bresson,
Edward Weston, Eugene Atget, Matthew Brady, Robert Capa, Imogen Cunningham,
W. Eugene Smith, Irving Penn, Lisette Model and Margaret Bourke-White.
There are also sixteen workshops on subjects such as Photojournalism
and Travel Photography.
Filton College Media:
A site developed by Adam Ranson for A/AS/VCE Media/Film/Communications
students at Filton College in Bristol. Offers lots of handouts, some
on-line quizzes and case studies.
A
Level Media Site: Mick Underwood's website provides reading materials,
links for research and useful notes. Aimed primarily at students on
the AQA syllabus, but also relevant to any student or teacher of Media
Studies.
Science
Wavelength
Educational:
Free science worksheets, spreadsheets and datafiles plus examples
of how to use ICT in the classroom. Also includes cross curricular
ICT helpsheets for Microsoft Office applications.
Creative
Chemistry: Worksheets and practical guides for chemistry clubs,
GCSE and A Level Chemistry. Interactive coursework help, molecular
models and games. Created by a Head of Chemistry.
A
level Biology: AS
and A2 level Biology (AQA B) notes and questions which can be answered
and self marked on line - written by an experienced teacher and examiner.
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.
