Education on the Internet
Number 96: 12th November, 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 40,410 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
Assessment in History: Drawing a number of interesting discussion threads already undertaken on the school history forum, and the author's belief in the wisdom of the Manx soothsayer who once told him "you can't make a pig any fatter by weighing it every day", this seminar seeks to open a debate on the role of assessment in the school history classroom and outlines some aspects of what the author regards as sound practice with examples from his own practice being cited. Issues for debate and discussion include, how best to use the National Curriculum attainment target for history, how to communicate the attainment target to students, when to assess and in what context. There is also scope for the debate to widen to how we use ICT for testing and assessment. If you have views on this subject, register with the History Forum and join the debate.
News and Articles
ESD: Education for sustainable development (ESD) is an approach to the whole curriculum and management of a school, not a new subject. It has its roots in environmental education and development education. As a result, many of the building blocks of education for sustainable development are already present in every school. This website has been designed to help teachers, curriculum coordinators, school managers and governors to develop approaches to education for sustainable development.
National Curriculum Online: This site links every National Curriculum programme of study requirement to resources on the Curriculum Online (English, Mathematics, Science, Design and Technology, ICT, History, Geography, Modern Foreign Languages, Art and Design, Music, PE, Citizenship, Religious Education and PSHE) This site also has information about the National Curriculum from the teacher handbooks and guidance and ideas on teaching.
Groupware Tool for Schools: European Schoolnet has just released a new groupware tool for schools, which has been specially customised for children and teenagers. It was produced as part of the Zap portal for children and teenagers, which is launched by the European Collaborative Learning Environment (EUNCLE) research project. EUNCLE is a project supported by the European Commission's Safer Internet Action Plan.
History
Donner Party: In the years between 1840 and 1848 an estimated 2,735 people migrated overland from Missouri to California. With good weather the 2,000 mile journey would take about five months. It has been estimated that in 1846 around 250 wagons and 1,500 people assembled at Independence, Missouri. This was also the year of the Donner Party, the worst disaster in wagon train history, when forty-two emigrants and two Indian guides died on the journey. This website uses the letters, diaries and memoirs of the people who took part in this journey to tell this dramatic story of heroism, murder and cannibalism.
Chartist Ancestors: Millions of people signed the three great Chartist petitions of 1839 to 1848. Thousands were active in those years in the campaign to win the vote, secret ballots, and other democratic rights that we now take for granted. Chartist Ancestors is a resource for family historians and others with an interest in the Chartist movement of the 19th century. It lists the names of those involved in Chartist organisations, and those arrested and charged for their activities. Where names are provided, the site also seeks to place the events in context.
Maths
Maths Zone: This site aims to bring collect together and order a range of free resources discovered on the Internet, which can be used for teaching Maths in Primary Schools in the UK. Resources from various sites are placed together in sections to form a compelling bank of interactive games and activities for teaching Numeracy in Primary Schools. There is also a section for those teaching students aged 11-16.
MathSphere: The MathSphere website has an impressive collection of resources for mathematicians. This includes mathematics worksheets and test papers. There is also wide coverage of the national curriculum, the numeracy hour and homework. Topics include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, square numbers, cubic numbers, data handling and geometry.
Geography
Geological Timechart: Reference material setting out the geological timescale and geochronological terms used by the British Geological Survey). The BGS Geological Timechart aims to provide colourful reference material for use in schools, colleges and the home, setting out the geological timescale and geochronological terms used by the British Geological Survey.
Virtual Geology: Rocks form the Earth's hard outer layer or crust. They are a mixture of different minerals such as quartz, calcite, feldspar and olivine. Although there are hundreds of different kinds of rocks, they fall into just three main groups : igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary. This simple grouping is based on how the rocks formed. The Virtual Geology Menu so far includes Igneous Rocks, Metamorphic Rocks and Sedimentary Rocks.
Science
LearnNet is for the use of teachers and students of chemistry at all levels. The network provides access to products and information relevant to the study of chemistry. Many resources are available free only on LearnNet. The entries are classified by experts in chemistry teaching to ensure that the best interests of the users are attended to at all times. LearnNet is an approved content provider for the UK's National Grid for Learning and Curriculum Online.
Groundwater: In this module students develop understanding about groundwater resources and the impact that humans and the forces of nature have on groundwater depletion. Through a series of individual and cooperative group activities the students investigate the relevance of fresh, accessible groundwater to them. Groups then compare the water quality of different sources of drinking water by conducting water quality tests on drinking water.
ICT
ICT Teacher's Guide: An updated ICT Teacher's guide for key stages 1 and 2 has been sent to all primary schools in England. It includes a range of new integrated tasks for existing units, showing how key ideas, skills and techniques in ICT can be applied and developed in other subjects. If you have not received a copy you can download it from the Standards Unit website. To help teachers make the most of the schemes, the people from the Standards Unit have added examples of how primary school teachers are customising them. You will also find examples of how teachers have adapted units in different subjects to reflect their particular circumstances and to better meet pupils' needs and abilities.
EDU Forum: The site, created by Simon Morgan of St. Alsager School provides free high quality ICT resources for both teaching and supporting ICT in secondary education. To this end, you will find a variety of practical tutorials covering such things as introducing the Internet, presentation skills using Word, core areas of Key Skills IT and much more. Recent additions to the Resource Section includes Top Tips, Open Flexible Learning and Y7 ICT tests.
Internet Services
Ezilon: This search engine was founded to allow individuals and companies around the world to easily access information with emphasis on Western Europe. Ezilon combines the power of search engine and directory that allow quick access to relevant information at the time needed. Its main focus on quality rather than quantity. The search engine only accepts website submission from the European Union Member countries and from any other websites around the world with information pertaining to Western European interests.
Education Index Web: This website, created by Hobsons, an international college and career publisher, claims to provides a guide to "the most useful education-related sites on the Web." The website can be browsed by subject or by lifestage, from prenatal and infant all the way to college and continuing education. Since it went online in September 1996, the Education Index has grown to more than 3,000 sites in 66 different categories.
Book Section
World War II Medal of Honor Recipients: The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force that can be awarded to personnel in the United States' Armed Forces. From the early fighting in the Philippines through the D-Day landings in Northwest Europe to the final assaults in the Pacific, this book looks at the brave US soldiers and airmen who were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions in the face of danger. It tells the exciting combat stories of such famous figures as the film star Audie Murphy, one of the most decorated US soldier of WWII, alongside less well-known awardees. (Robert Hargis & Starr Sinton, Osprey, ISBN 1 84176 614 3, £10.99)
