Education on the Internet
Number 94: 29th October, 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 39,930 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
Teaching History in Sweden: In this seminar Anders MacGregor-Thunell of Gothenburg explains what it is like to teach history in Sweden. He also makes a passionate plea for reform. This includes an end to passive class teaching, an increase in the time spent studying history, more use of technology in the classroom and a greater emphasis on a skills approach to the subject. So far their have been contributions on these issues from England, Spain, Greece and France. If you have views on this subject, register with the History Forum and join the debate.
News and Articles
Online Education and Training: This long established Institute of Education course has been restructured as two choices: either 10 weeks online from 30 January 2004, or 4 weeks partly online partly at 5 separate days in London from 26 April 2004. All the tutors have many years of experience as online tutors and trainers. The course takes a critical approach to both old and new technologies for on-campus as well as for distance students. It provides opportunities to investigate in depth the nature of new media and online discussions to assess their role in the creation of virtual classrooms. Crucially, it offers the experience of being an online student and thus a starting point from which to observe the advantages and problems of course design by new media, in collaboration with a wide range of informed peers.
Schoolzone was awarded the DfES contract to evaluate digital learning resources earlier this year and has, since June trained nearly 300 teachers as evaluators and begun the evaluation process with over 100 titles. The aim of the project is to support teachers by sharing good ICT practice and in so doing encourage them to use ICT as part of their normal teaching. Evaluations are available on the COL site and on Schoolzone. Additionally, Schoolzone lists 40,000 free web-based resources for schools which have been reviewed and categorised by UK teachers.
RDN Virtual Training Suite: The Resource Discovery Network (RDN) provides access to more than 70,000 Internet resources for the learning, teaching and research community via a series of subject-based information gateways. These are: ALTIS - hospitality, sport, leisure and tourism; Artifact – arts and creative industries; BIOME – health and life sciences; EEVL – engineering, mathematics and computing; GEsource – geography and environment; Humbul – humanities; PSIgate – physical sciences; SOSIG – social sciences, business and law. The resources are selected and described by subject specialists to ensure their quality and that they are suitable for education. Additional value-added services such as free subject-focused Internet training tutorials (RDN Virtual Training Suite) and newsfeeds are also provided.
History
Hybrid History: QCA is embarking on a pilot for a GCSE Hybrid History for use by interested schools from September 2004. The aim is to develop a new GCSE for history and the pilot offers the chance to trial new approaches to content and assessment as well as exploring effective ways of making links between history and related vocational areas. The qualification will build on existing good practice and eventually offer schools an exciting alternative to the existing specifications. A steering group, which includes representatives from the awarding bodies, is currently working on a draft specification for the core plus a range of optional units which will eventually make up this new qualification.
Battle of Little Bighorn: On 8th July, 1876 the New York Times reported: "The facts as now understood dispose most people here to lay blame for the slaughter upon General Custer's imprudence and probably disobedience of orders. But criticism is kindly and charitable in tone, as it would not be had he not fallen with his command in the thickest of the battle." Later that year the popular novelist, Frederick Whittaker published his Life of General George A. Custer. In an attempt to portray Custer as a hero Whittaker invented interviews with so-called survivors of the battle. This website looks at the evidence to discover what really happened at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
English
Project Gutenberg: Hosted by ibiblio, the Public's Library and Digital Archive, Project Gutenberg is the Internet's oldest producer of free electronic books (eBooks or etexts). Project Gutenberg began in 1971 when Michael Hart was given an operator's account with $100,000,000 of computer time in it by the operators of the Xerox Sigma V mainframe at the Materials Research Lab at the University of Illinois. Recently the Project Gutenberg team published its 10,000th ebook.
The Canterbury Tales: Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales between 1387 and 1400. It is the story of a group of thirty people who travel as pilgrims to Canterbury. The pilgrims, who come from all layers of society, tell stories to each other to kill time while they travel to Canterbury. The book has been a best seller since William Caxton first printed the stories in the 15th century. Internet users are now able to view the first editions of The Canterbury Tales online rather than having to visit the British Library where the original versions are kept.
Media Studies
Media Literacy Conference: In a democracy the right to express oneself freely and the right of access to information are the indispensable rights of a citizen. In order to guarantee these rights we need independent, pluralistic and responsibly-minded media. Freedom of the press, free exchange of information and ideas and an open discussion without the influence of government are of great significance for the development of a free, stable and democratic society in a united Europe. This subject will be considered in greater depth during the conference 'Learning Democracy'. The presentation of media-literacy projects from different European countries offer information and the chance to collect ideas and take first steps in cooperation across national borders. The conference language is English.
Global Gang: Run by Christian Aid the website features a hot news section, which provides stories from around the world. The stories are illustrated and designed to provoke interest and discussion. Current news stories include Liberia (imagine living in a massive sports stadium with thousands of other people); Join the global gang! (a new project that links up children from around the world); Wrestling in London (Lisa from Colchester wrestled with a giant figure called 'I can't be bothered'); We can all be heroes! (find out about TV star Kwame's hero, and how you can be a hero); Gun Violence in Jamaica; Life in Afghanistan (how has life for children in Afghanistan changed since September 11th?) and Hunger in Southern Africa.
Geography
Global Mappings: This interactive website, Global Mappings: A Political Atlas of the African Diaspora, demonstrates linkages between transnational black politics, social movements and world historical events of the 20th century. The website is the culmination of a two-and-a-half-year partnership between faculty, graduate students and technical staff at Northwestern University. Certain software is necessary to view the site. Most important is a current version of the Macromedia Flash player.
Isle of Skye: The Skye Museum of Island Life is a group of seven thatched cottages exhibiting life on the Isle of Skye in former times. The exhibits relate mainly to the village life of ordinary people, but there are also items connected with the crofter rebellions in the nineteenth century, items used by Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald, weapons from the age of clan warfare, and even Stone Age axeheads used by Skye's earliest inhabitants. The websites take you on a tour through the museum in words and pictures.
Science
DNA Learning Center: The Dolan DNA Learning Center (DNALC) is the world's first science center devoted entirely to public genetics education and is an operating unit of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, an important center for molecular genetics research. The DNA Learning Center website argues that the "social imperative of genetics research demands the development of educational resources to build a genetically literate public that supports basic biological research, understands elements of personal genetic health, and participates effectively in policy issues involving genetic technology and information".
Everest: The mysteries of Everest boggle the mind. How did it get so tall? What changes happen in the human body in the extreme conditions of high altitude climbing? Learn the answers to these questions by visiting The Tech Museum of Innovation online exhibition on Everest. This includes exploring plate tectonics, physiology, or following one of the many links to other sites about the mountain.
Art & Design
Web Gallery of Art: This website is a virtual museum and searchable database of European painting and sculpture of the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods (1150-1800), currently containing over 11,600 reproductions. Commentaries on pictures, biographies of artists are available. Guided tours, free postcard and other services are provided for the visitors.
Artlex Dictionary of Visual Art: This dictionary of visual art has been created by Michael Delahunt, a teacher of visual arts at Sonoran Sky Elementary School, Scottsdale, AZ. What began as a short lexicon in the spring of 1996 has grown into a massive dictionary. So far Delahunt has produced definitions of 2,600 terms. Entries usually include illustrations, pronunciation notes, quotations and links to other resources on the Web. Delahunt is still working on the project and plans to add lessons and assessments that teachers and students can use.
Book Section
The Cossacks: During the Napoleonic Wars, the Cossacks were Russia's unique and plentiful supply of irregular cavalry. They were employed as skirmishers, raiders and scouts, and their tactics of harassment and harrying caused great problems for Napoleon's Grand Armee as it retreated through Russia in 1812. This title shows how, although labelled as rapacious, lascivious, mercenary and ill-disciplined on the field by their detractors, they laid claim to being the finest light cavalry in Europe. This book also details the various tribes that made up the Cossack nation, the social structure of Cossack life, and how they were organised and employed in war. (Laurence Spring, Osprey, ISBN 1 84176 464 7, £10.99)
