Education on the Internet
Number 97: 19th 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 41,045 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
Maximizing the Outcomes from Revision: Limited hours, cancelled lessons, student absence and unexpected events all contribute to the pressure felt at the end of an exam course to get completed. Therefore it is essential that the precious time available at the end of a course for revision is utilised to its maximum potential. This is the focus of this seminar by Stephen Drew. It is hoped that teachers will take away ideas and techniques from this seminar that can facilitate the holy grail of totally effective revision. If you have views on this subject, register with the History Forum and join the debate.
News and Articles
Celebrating Cultural Diversity: A one day conference to celebrate good practice in the use of ICT to cross cultural boundaries in UK schools and community organisations is to be held on Friday 21st November at the Westwood Conference Centre, Coventry. The conference is hosted by the British Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) and is part of the Netd@ys 2003 project. The conference will be a day of celebration and showcase the interactive digital work of young people from diverse cultural backgrounds who have been able to express themselves through this project.
BBC Digital Curriculum: Last month the European Commission approved the government’s plans to give £150 million to the BBC to produce free teaching resources. The new service will act as a central repository, allowing teachers to select, organize and personalise materials. There is no doubt that this initiative will dominate e-learning in Britain over the next few years. One of the reasons that the European Commission has approved the plan is that at least 50% of this material will have to be produced by non-BBC organizations. The BBC is holding two one-day for independent producers on the 24th and 25th November 2003 in west London to discuss these issues.
Schools Website Directory: This directory was first published on the web in 1996 under the SchoolNet UK banner. Later it became part of BT's Campus World website, and then part of Anglia Multimedia's AngliaCampus. Recently the directory has been re-engineered as a web enabled database and all data has been re-verified In the last two months, all 3644 school websites have been visited and catalogued. All English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish state secondary schools which have a website, have now been included in the database. The directory currently contains 5469 UK school websites.
Maths
Probabilistic Learning Activities Network: Have you ever wondered how to enhance your teaching of probability? David Harris tries to answer this question with this site. The material is based on interactive probability experiments in the form of applets and spreadsheets. The Question, Hypothesis, Experiment methodology is designed to introduce students to the fascinating world of random behaviour. Students are asked to provide an initial response to a probability experiment, collect data from the experiment and finally use mathematics to determine the probability measure of the experiment. Many of the experiments are counter-intuitive and are designed to foster discussion and interest in the mathematics classroom. The site is written primarily for students of the International Baccalaureate but can be used throughout any high school programme.
Interactive Online Geometry: Learn about all aspects of geometry at levels KS3 and KS4 (High School) level by doing interactive online activities. Free online courses are available in three main areas: Transformations, which include rotations, reflections, enlargements and translations; Shape, including polygons, angle properties, symmetry, quadrilaterals and circle theorems; and Geometrical Construction which covers all aspects of compass and straight edge construction mentioned in the National Curriculum for England and Wales. There are extended resources on the history of geometry, compass only constructions, "sacred geometry" and other topics which will challenge the most able student (and teacher!). Every page is truly interactive, allowing students to manipulate geometric shapes.
Geography
Geographical Association: The GA website has been redesigned to make it more attractive and easier to navigate. The GA website incorporates teaching advice, professional development opportunities and valuable online resource materials. The resources index covers each phase of education. There is also information on projects and a forums section. Two new features include Geography in the News and Unlocking the Archives. These sections draw on contemporary research and the Society's heritage resources.
GeoResources has now made available a Baseline Assessment Pack for Year 7 Geography pupils. The author, David Rayner, is a full time Head of Geography at a secondary school in Kent and has written and trialled the pack in his own school. It is already being used in around 60 schools across the country and has received a lot of praise from geography teachers, senior management and OFSTED. The pack provides a wide range of options so that schools can choose what suits them best. All sheets are photocopiable and can be marked relatively quickly (answer sheets and overlays are provided). There is the option of converting the assessment scores into a National Curriculum Level for those teachers that wish to use it. Further details and an order form are available from the GeoResources website.
Modern Languages
About the French Language: Laura K Lawless began studying French in 1987. She is a freelance translator and has taught French and Spanish. She is working hard to make this into the most thorough French language site in the world. The website consists of hundreds of French lessons for all skills, levels, and ages. Lawless adds at least two new lessons or articles every week. It also includes more than 2,000 sound files; 4 forums (including one just for French teachers) where users can practice and get help with their French, as well as exchange ideas with other French-speaking members from around the world; three daily features (a word, quotation, and lesson of the day); articles about the French language and francophone cultures; teaching ideas; and links to online resources such as dictionaries and automatic translators.
ARTFL Project: The American and French Research on the Treasury of the French Language (ARTFL) is based at the University of Chicago. The website contains over 20,000 French texts including the Diderot Encyclopaedia, Roget's Thesaurus and the French Bible. ARTFL is also working on several collaborative projects with French educational institutions. These are all listed and linked from the main website.
ICT
LessonPlaniT: Recent research shows that nearly half England's primaries have an interactive whiteboard while 82% of secondary schools have them. The Interactive Whiteboard Company is giving away LessonPlaniT software to every school in the UK. LessonPlaniT works with all whiteboards, regardless of manufacturer, and on all common computer platforms and operating systems. To claim your free copy you need to complete the registration form on the company's website.
NAACE is the professional association for those concerned with advancing education through the appropriate use of information and communications technology (ICT). The association was established in 1984 and has become the key influential professional association for those working in ICT in Education. The NAACE mark has been developed by NAACE, in association with Becta. It is an award which recognises a school's success in developing and implementing a strategic approach to ICT. It provides a framework for using ICT to enhance teaching and learning and provides opportunities for the school community to develop ICT capability. Working towards and gaining the NAACEmark enables schools to move forward with the knowledge that they are implementing recognised good practice.
Media Studies
Media Studies: Steve Baker's website is an unofficial site containing materials suitable for all students of Media, but in particular those studying the OCR and AQA syllabuses. While the site is still very much under development, there are a large number of shorts pieces on the main conceptual areas as well as longer booklets. There are also research links to major media organizations and some limited advice for teachers. A small amount of material is password protected, but the majority is open to all.
Media Web: This is a media studies site intended for students and teachers and anyone interested in working on the AQA media studies A/AS course. There are sections on film, advertising, representation, genre, audience,news, documentary, wider issues, advice on exam coursework and marking criteria. It's been very popular and is widely used by both students and teachers alike. The resources can be copied, pasted and printed.
Internet Services
Hot Potatoes is a suite of programs published by Victoria University and Half-Baked Software. Teachers use the Hot Potatoes programs to create educational materials, especially exercises and tests. The Hot Potatoes suite includes six applications, enabling you to create interactive multiple-choice, short-answer, crossword, matching/ordering, jumbled-sentence and gap-fill exercises for the World Wide Web. Hot Potatoes is not freeware, but it is free of charge for non-profit educational users who make their pages available on the web.
4nqt: This website is the comprehensive advice and support service for teacher trainees, new teachers and those interested in a teaching career. As well as selecting pertinent articles published in think!teaching, the website adds a range of unique features to create the invaluable internet resource for new or soon-to-be teachers.
Book Section
Generalissimo: Following his acclaimed studies of the state of modem France and how Hong Kong has changed since the 1997 handover, Jonathan Fenby now turns his attention to one of the most interesting yet under-reported figures of twentieth-century history. Chiang Kai-shek was the man who lost China to the Communists. As leader of the nationalist movement, the Kuomintang, Chiang established himself as head of the government in Nanking in 1928. Yet although he laid claim to power throughout the 1930s and was the only Chinese figure of sufficient stature to attend a conference with Churchill and Roosevelt during the Second World War, his desire for unity was always thwarted by threats on two fronts. Between them, the Japanese and the Communists succeeded in undermining Chiang's power-plays, and after Hiroshima it was Mao Zedong who ended up victorious.(Jonathan Fenby, The Free Press, ISBN 0 7432 3144 9, £25.00)
