John Simkin

Scott Hamilton is responsible for this beautifully designed and easy to use website. As the title suggests, the website contains details of all the main First World War aces and aircraft. The database includes biographies of aces from sixteen different countries. The entries are extremely detailed and very good use is made of hypertexted links. Other features include a Discussion, Forum and Today in History, where information is provided on all the significant events that took place on that particular date during the war.

http://www.theaerodrome.com/index.html

DT Online is produced by the National Association of Advisers and Inspectors in Design and Technology, in cooperation with Dial Solutions, using materials provided by teachers for pupils. DT Online is free at the point of use and has three aspects: (1.) It is an online repository of information relating to most DT focus areas. (2.) For electronics and packaging, there are interactive designer sections that allow online production of circuits and packaging nets (3.) There is a developing projects section that also provides access to remote manufacturing centres in volunteer schools and colleges.

http://www.dtonline.org

The CIMT was established at the University of Exeter in 1986. As the CIMT is a centre for research and curriculum development in Mathematics teaching and learning it was only a matter of time before it began to explore the possibilities of the Internet. Jointly sponsored by Esso, British Steel, the Post Office and Singapore Airlines, the website is being used to build a database of resources for students and teachers. Some of the mathematics worksheets available include those that cover topics such as Genetic Fingerprinting, Postcodes, Time Zones, Tin Can Design, Bar Codes and Birthdays.

http://www.ex.ac.uk/cimt/welcome.html

The Standards Site is managed by the Department for Education and Employment's Standards and Effectiveness Unit (SEU). The main objective of the site is to supply teachers with "guidance and tools to help schools improve effectiveness, raise standards and reduce workload". Secondary Modern Foreign Language schemes of work are available for French, German and Spanish.

http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes/mflindex/

This website is based at the Department of Sociology at the University of Amsterdam. The group is involved in several projects but the excellent Sociologist - Dead and Very Much Alive website is an attempt to provide a comprehensive listing of all sociology resources on the Internet. Fifty-six sociologists are listed including several who are still very much alive. The material includes interviews, articles, text of out of print books and discussion groups. It is also possible to search for material by subject area.

http://www.pscw.uva.nl/sociosite/Topics/Sociologists.html

This website provides practical advice on diet and exercise. It claims that the suggested programme is based on sound science and has developed from current research on healthy eating and physical activity. The main purpose of the Activaters section is to promote enjoyable healthy eating and physical activity to primary school children. Students are also given the opportunity to input information for an online lifestyle assessment.

http://www.foodfitness.org.uk

Manuscript illumination, the quintessential medieval art form, enjoyed a final flourish during the Renaissance. In the wake of the invention of printing, Flemish illuminators created extravagant and lavish manuscripts in which their art was revitalized and given new direction. This brilliant new style resulted in some of the most colourful and luminous book illumination of the late medieval era and quickly gained patronage throughout Europe. Illuminating the Renaissance at the Royal Academy (29th November 2003 - 22nd February, 2004 ) is the first exhibition to bring together the greatest works produced by Flemish illuminators during this exceptional period.

http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/?lid=905

This website provides plans that enable students to cut and fold paper into a wide range of aerodynamic shapes. This includes the Rapier (flies like a glider but has the elegant shape and great precision of a dart), Flying Fish (flies well in a straight line), Dragon Plane (will fly for 30 meters), Helicopter (will stay aloft for ages and spiral down excellently), Rocket (designed by a Physics lecturer) and Floating Paper Airplane (with its wide wing span and the stabilising winglets at the end of wings it is very stable and flies for long distances).

http://www.paperairplanes.co.uk/planes.html

Cool Planet is Oxfam's award-winning and newly redesigned site for teachers and children. As part of Oxfam's Development Education Programme, Cool Planet offers information and resources to encourage young people's development as global citizens. Visit the site and find exciting and interactive educational pages with global themes for pupils to explore, teachers' pages packed with ideas, information, and useful links to help bring a global perspective to your classroom. There is also an easy-to-follow curriculum information for planning global citizenship activities using our highly regarded 'Teachers Guide to a Curriculum for Global Citizenship'.

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/

This collection of 1,535 online texts is part of the impressive World Wide School Library. Material is organized under the following categories: Adventure, Animal Tales, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Detective, Drama, Epics, Essays, Fantasy, Historical, Horror, Humour, Literary Studies, Mystery, New Age, Other Tales, Plays, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Shakespeare, Short Stories, Social Commentary and Western.

http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/cat...ubject-top.html

Ofsted yesterday published its latest report on the government's national literacy and numeracy strategies. David Bell, chief inspector of schools, warned that the government will continue to miss its primary school improvement targets. The report points out that eleven-year-olds' English scores have been stuck at 77% (reaching national targets) since 2000. Bell claims that the main reason for this is that "too many teachers still had too poor a grasp of English and Maths to help struggling pupils." The chief inspector called for more training for teachers to boost their subject knowledge and teaching techniques.

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/inde...summary&id=3442

The school of the future need employ just one qualified teacher. The controversial suggestion is contained in a Department for Education and Skills paper that sets out priorities for the next phase of school workforce reform during 2006-8. Entitled Workforce Reform - Blue Skies it was circulated on 11 November 2003 to all the organisations that signed the Government's Workforce Remodelling Agreement. The report says that schools are able to operate under new "freedoms" brought in by the workload agreement. Suggested ways of exploiting this new situation includes: teacher numbers being cut to pay for more support staff; other staff being bought in from agencies or coming in on secondment; support staff being supervised by one qualified teacher only – the headteacher; and reducing overall teacher numbers to pay for a better adult-pupil ratio.

http://www.nut.org.uk/story.php?id=2973&PH...cb6b16eeeac801d

The Spartacus Educational website was established in September 1997. The website contains a collection of encyclopaedias. Titles include Britain 1700-1950, USA 1840-1980, The First World War, The Second World War, The American West , Germany 1900-45, Cold War, Tudors, Stuarts, Vietnam War, Black People in Britain, Spanish Civil War, France 1900-1945 and Russia 1860-1945. Spartacus also produces two free weekly newsletters: Education on the Internet and Teaching History Online.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/

What do you think it is best? trying to collaborate with the already existing Spanish speaking forum or trying to set up a brand new one?

I feel we should do what we can to maximise the number of visitors that this forum receives. Therefore, I think we should provide our own Spanish version of the forum. However, I think we should do what we can to help each other. For example, I publish a weekly newsletter and archive it on my own website. I will continue to do that but will also post these reviews, news items, etc., in the relevant part of this education forum. Maybe, your friend should do the same with his Spanish newsletter. In doing so, he could plug his newsletter/forum.

As for this forum: I'd like to manage a Dutch / German section once it's fully operational.

Thanks for the offer. The job’s yours. What about the sub-headings. Is the following acceptable? If so, could you provide a translation (Dutch/German).

Curriculum Issues (discussions about the curriculum and teaching methods)

Resources (information on new resources available)

Help (questions and answers on subject matter or teaching methods)