May 2005 Web Site Reviews

   Reviews:

 
Art
English Language
General
Health & Wellbeing
Info & Com Tech
Languages
Math(s)
Performance Arts
Science
Social Science
Technology
  
Education
WebQuests
Asia & Asian
Aus & Aboriginal
• Christian Education
NZ & Maori
US & African
  
American

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Our 23 Quality Criteria

 

 

 

Art

ICT

Science

English Language

LOTE

Social Science

General  & Teacher sites

Mathematics

Technology

Health & Wellbeing

Performance Arts

 

 

 
Art

Comments

Art-Rageous  http://www.art-rageous.net/

As well as a multitude of other interests, this web site presents an excellent collection of art lessons which are particularly aimed at the middle school but would be suitable for a much wider range of students. Fresh ideas and well presented. Ideal for year levels 5-9 RRR

Principles of Graphic Design http://www.mundidesign.com/presentation/index2F.html

You can download this presentation or use it directly from the Internet.  The presentation deals with an introductory investigation of design, then moves onto colour theory, composition and layout, perspective and finally typography.  All done in flash and an excellent resource for teachers all students looking for additional background information in these areas. Ideal for year levels 7-10 RRRRR

21st Century British Sculpture http://www.sculpture.org.uk/

You will find here an excellent resource site detailing the works of almost 100 British-based sculptors.  The web site also presents news and up-to-date information on exhibitions and presentations of sculptors.  This would be a great site for looking at contemporary sculpture in particular.
Ideal for year levels 7-12
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Christo & Jean-Claude http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/christo/index.html

This somewhat legendary couple have collaborated on impressive large-scale artistic works around the world including the wrapping of the Reichstag in 1995, "The Umbrellas" in Japan, “The Point Neuf Wrapped” in Paris and the "Running Fence" in California.  The web site highlights their achievements, presents biographical material and also a schedule of upcoming presentations.
Ideal for year levels 8-12
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The Henry Moore Foundation  http://www.henry-moore-fdn.co.uk

This world-renowned sculptor has his official Foundation web site here and the site presents showcases of his work from around the world, exhibitions and presentations, biographical information as well as interpretations of his work by a variety of commentators. Ideal for year levels 9-12 RRRRR

Shakespeare Vs Britney Spears: What is Art   http://www.philosophersnet.com/games/britney_spears.htm

Defining what art is or is not is very much a cultural and personal opinion. However in this interactive investigation, you can see what the philosophers have said about this and also make your own contribution to the debate.  This web site collates everyone's opinion and then you can investigate what other people think on whether Brittney really was a greater artist than the bard!
Ideal for year levels 7-10
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The Incredible Art Department: Art Education  http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/

This Art service to teachers has been running for over 10 years and from here teachers can investigate art education news from around the world, ideas for programs in your classroom, links to excellent web sites dealing with art, discussions and highlights from a variety of different art associations.  A web site which all teachers need to visit on a regular basis. Ideal for teachers  RRRRR

Animalitos http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngkids/trythis/trycrf2.html

Kids in some parts of Mexico make clay animal figures called animalitos, which means little animals.  You or your students can also make these by using the recipe provided here.
Ideal for year levels 1-6
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English Language

Comments

Folger Shakespeare Library   http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=618

The Folger Library is based in Washington DC in the United States and contains a tremendous collection of primary source material in regards to Shakespeare and the times in which he lived.  This web site provides a fantastic collection of digitised primary source material as well as a wonderful collection of lesson plans that builds on the use of this material.  There is also an excellent section dealing with "Shakespeare for kids". There is a wonderful selection of interactive games and activities dealing with the works, life and times of William Shakespeare.  Please read the generous copyright notice regarding classroom use of this resource. Ideal for year levels 5-12 RRRRR

Free English Teaching Resources  http://www.teachit.co.uk/index.asp

Teach-It provides a fantastic collection of resources for English teachers and students which they make available from this web site as PDF files, which you can download at no charge.  The resources here deal with a wide range of year levels and provide a wide range of reference sources, background notes and ideas for the classroom. Ideal for year levels 0-10 RRRRR

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy [H2G2 http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/

While not a conventional historical text "the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" provides a fascinating view of the universe and this web site provides all the background information you would need just in case you do find yourself sucked up into an alien spaceship, and make sure you take your PDA with you as all the information you need to succeed in conquering the universe can now fit in the palm of your hand. Ideal for year levels 3-12 +any life form that can read RRRR

The Citation Machine  http://citationmachine.net/

This is a free service from the landmark project team and provides teachers and students with an interactive Web tool which is designed to model the proper use of information technology. You can generate MLA and APA citation formats by completing the online form which is available from this site. Ideal for year levels 3-12  RRRRR

The Raven: An Interactive Study Resource http://www.teachersfirst.com/share/raven/start-fl.html

Welcome to the "Interactive Raven", a look at the vocabulary and literary devices in Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem: The Raven. This unit lets users view each stanza of the poem, pointing out the use of some common literary devices such as alliteration, assonance, internal rhyme and vocabulary words.  By moving the mouse over the highlighted words users can learn more about Poe’s use of these devices. Ideal for year levels 7-12 RRRRR

 Christopher Marlowe: The Creation of Dr Faustus http://www.teachersfirst.com/lessons/marl-1.htm

Dr Faustus provides an excellent vehicle reducing the basics of Renaissance scholarship.  It is an appropriate text to use to introduce the rudiments of literary criticism to novice scholars.  It is also a springboard for initiating a discussion of current and topical issues which can lead students to examine and explore significant issues in their own lives. An excellent ready to print classroom unit on this theme. Ideal for year levels 9-12 RRRRR

The Highwayman: An Interactive Study Resource http://www.teachersfirst.com/lessons/highwayman/

The Highwaymen by Alfred Noyes is a classic favourite poem that tells a good story with powerful imagery and rhythmic cave-ins reminiscent of horses hooves.  The web site highlights important features of this including alliteration, the use of metaphor and personification, simile and highlights some of the words the students may not be familiar with.  Ideal for year levels 7-12 RRRRR

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General & Professional Development

Comments

Studies in Learning, Evaluation, Innovation & Development   http://www.sleid.cqu.edu.au/index.php

A scholarly, peer-reviewed, international journal that supports emerging scholars and the development of evidence-based practice and that publishes research and scholarship about teaching and learning informal, semiformal and informal education settings and sites. Ideal for teachers RRRR

Coursework.INFO   http://www.coursework.info

This web site offers a selection over 1500 “coursework's” for you to view, all categorised by subject.  They include essays, and reports dealing with themes such as drama, literature, mathematics, languages, biology, business studies, economics, religious studies, physical education, music, design and technology, information technology, plastics, art . . . Ideal for year levels 9-12 RRRRR

Yahoo!: Searching the Creative Commons  http://search.yahoo.com/cc

Increasingly an alternative copyright association is being used which provides limited copyright over a vast range of educational resources.  The Creative Commons http://www.creativecommons.org began the process and now the Internet provides a vast array of resources, numbering in the millions, where teachers and students can make legitimate use of resources without some of the standard copyright restrictions.  You can search for creative Commons material using this search capability within Yahoo! Ideal for all year levels RRRRR

Pedago NET: Learning Resources Database  http://www.pedagonet.com/

If you're looking for resources dealing with teaching and teaching practices you'll find this Learning Resources search engine a useful tool in your quest to find appropriate resources.

The Brain & Learning  http://www.brainconnection.com

This excellent web site highlights news in the area of how knowledge of how the brain works and its effect on our understanding inpacts our knowledge of how we learn.  There are research readings which are reviewed, discussions, columnists as well as research papers which are written for teachers in order to better understand our students learn and what is happening in the brain and the role that their mind plays in this process

The Centre for Performance Technology  http://www.cpt.fsu.edu/

You will find here an excellent collection of papers dealing with large-scale inventions, especially regarding the use of technologies in order to increase efficiencies and effectiveness of the teaching and learning process. These papers highlight the positive and negative aspects of change and change management and focus around the Florida School Year 2000 project. Excellent.
Ideal for teachers
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21st Century Schools http://www.buildingfutures.org.uk/messageboard/initiative_3/papers/BF_Schools.pdf

So, just what will 21st century Schools look like?  Read page 11-20 and find out!  This is an excellent paper which questions almost every aspect of school which we take for granted.  Yes there are some things that are very difficult to change but also there is much we can change, and change for the better for both teachers and for the students and the cumulative affect of this is that society will get a much better deal from schools by investing more strategically in our young people.  This is essential reading that anyone committed to effective education. Ideal for teachers  RRRRR

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Health & Wellbeing

Comments

OECD Health Data 2005 http://www.oecd.org/document/30/0,2340,en_2649_34631_12968734_1_1_1_1,00.html   

OECD health data 2005,  offers the most comprehensive source of comparable statistics on health and health systems across OECD countries.  This is fantastic resource material for students doing compare and contrast exercises and looking for relationships between health of countries, diet, wealth, urban/rural . . . Ideal for year levels 1-12 RRRRR

Sports Coach Page   http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/

This page contains an alphabetically sorted list of the pages on the sports coach web site.  This site is an extensive collection of resources for coaches, sports science students and anyone interested in skill development in almost any sporting area.  Material here deals with a wide range of sports science themes such as energy pathways, endurance, lactic acid, mobility, nutrition, oxygen debt, training principles as well as a wide range of coaching tips and resources. Ideal for year levels 5-12 RRRRR

Cool Meals  http://www.coolmeals.co.uk/

Cool Kids who want to become like some of their favourite film stars, sportspeople or even a whiz kid need to eat well.  At this web site you can check out food facts, activities and investigate the virtual body to discover what foods your body requires in order for you to stay fit and healthy.
Ideal for year levels 4-7
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Kidde Safety  http://www.kiddeus.com/KECHome.shtml  

The information presented here is segmented into age groups to ensure that each level receives information in a format that is appropriate.  From each of these, students can learn how to save their lives if the houses on fire, carry out a fire safety check and also learn the most common cause of fires in homes. Ideal for year levels 0-12  RR

Sports & Nutrition: The Winning Connection http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/hsnut/index.html

This web site highlights four critical biological factors for success in personal sporting endeavours.  The four are 1. Ensuring that it needs the correct balance of food types which are consistent with what your body requires to carry out the type of physical activity you are engaging in. 2. Making sure that your pre-game meal is appropriate and its planned ahead. 3. That you able to keep the necessary energy levels up and 4. You have sufficient fluid intake before, during and after the physical activity that is planned. Ideal for year levels 7-12 RRRR

BAM: Body And Mind  http://www.bam.gov/flash_dan.html

If you are looking for a web site which can provide contemporary and well presented material dealing with balancing the requirements of the body and mind then this web site should meet those requirements.  There are several sections within the sites dealing with fitness, good health, knowing your own mind, making the most of the grey matter inside your head, talking things through and life survival skills. An excellent resource for teachers and students.
Ideal for year levels 3-7
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Using Digitised Primary Source Materials in the Classroom http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue10_6/bloom/index.html

Using Digitised Primary Source Materials with K.-12 students makes learning content more engaging and relevant, and help students develop a wide range of skills.  This paper highlights the use of Primary Source Materials in Colorado classrooms and provides a brief overview of what educators needs are in order to use Digitised Primary Source Materials or effectively and efficiently and students. 
Ideal for teachers 
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Information & Communication Technology

Comments

Reducing Bureaucracy with ICT  http://www.becta.org.uk/leaders/leaders.cfm?section=4&id=2157

Technology has promised much in terms of reducing bureaucracy but only recently has it eventually started to deliver on these promises.  This British web site looks at how to use information and communication technologies to reduce bureaucracy within school systems and the role that interoperability and integration play in this process. Ideal for teachers  RRRRR

First Monday   http://firstmonday.org/issues

First Monday is one of the first openly accessible, peer–reviewed journals on the Internet, solely devoted to the Internet. Since its start in May 1996, First Monday has published 605 papers in 108 issues; these papers were written by 718 different authors.
 
Ideal for teachersRRRRR

Flashcan Animator   http://www.flashcan.com/animator

If you are looking to introduce the concept of animation into the classroom then this free software would be an excellent place to start.  The site makes use of flash technology to introduce students to the concepts behind animation and also allows them to create their own animations.  Very cool.
Ideal for year levels 7-12
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Internet Archive   http://www.archive.org/

The idea behind this archive is to collect artefacts which represent the evolution of the technology era as well as containing archives of cultural artefacts in digital form.  The site contains a collection of excellent web site links which will take you back to a time when we all watched glowing green screens and thought matrix printers were really cool. Ideal for all year levels RRRR

Total Cost of Ownership   http://129.71.174.252/tcov2/

The total cost of ownership of technology within a school system is often very difficult to judge.  This total cost of ownership calculator allows you to input your data and provide you with feedback on what the technology that you have invested in is actually going to cost you in the long-term.
Ideal for teachers 
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ISTE: Learning & Leading with Technology  http://www.iste.org/inhouse/publications/ll/32/6/index.cfm?Section=LL_32_6 

This excellent free online journal deals with the role of technology in the teaching and learning process.  Articles range from using handheld technology in the classroom through to dissertations on how to best use online digital resources, reviews of other research, books and online web sites, technology reviews and much more. Ideal for teachers  RRRRR

Really simple RSS  for Macs http://www.thinkmac.co.uk/newsmac/index.html

NewsMac is is a versatile RSS news aggregator that lets you view news headlines and story descriptions before you have to even touch a Web browser. Ideal for year levels 6-12 RRRR

Approaches to Information Inquiry  http://www.eduscapes.com/info/models.htm

Many educators view information inquiry is the foundation of all "traditional content areas".  There are a wide range of models dealing with the nature of information inquiry in this web site presents 10 of the most popular information inquiry models that are used around the world.  None of these models is necessarily the correct model but each contributes to the discussion and the process of information inquiry. Ideal for teachers  RRRRR

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Foreign Languages (LOTE)

Comments

Academie Francaise http://www.academie-francaise.fr/

The Academy Francaise is probably unique in that this institution’s sole purpose is to guard the French language on a global scale.  With over 40 member countries, Academy Francaise hosts the official French dictionary ensuring it is kept up-to-date, adding new terms and removing outdated terminology.  You can also find here a considerable history of the French language which is quite fascinating.
Ideal for year levels 9-12
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The Weather Report: in French http://www.meteo.fr/meteonet_en/index.htm

The bureau of meteorology in France provides an excellent gateway for discovering and learning terminology associated with the weather.  Click on any other regions highlighted on the map in order to get a full weather report.  Using this language base have your students present a weather report for their own area, but in French. Ideal for year levels 7-10 RRRR

2001 Waka for Japan 2001  http://www.shef.ac.uk/japan2001/

Welcome to the Japan 2001 Waka Website - a site devoted to the many types of classical Japanese poetry. During the course of the Japan 2001 Festival a collection of 2001 poems was archived here, covering approximately the first thousand years of poetry in Japan. The poems appear in the original Japanese, transcribed into the Roman alphabet (Romanised) and translated into English. They are accompanied by commentary and background material to fill in the blanks on the world the Old Japanese poets lived in, their beliefs and society (in English). Ideal for year levels 7-12 RRRR

A Chacun Sa Maison  http://www.envolerie.com/accueil.html

This excellent French language site provides an introduction for young learners of the French language by way of a range of activities involving manipulating the French language by way of colouring in, basic mathematical activities, music terminology, learning the names of different homes for different animals, some basic work on tense . . . .  An excellent introductory web site for young children wishing to learn the basics of the French language in a multimedia environment. Ideal for year levels 0-5 RRRRR

Japanese Verbs: An Exercise  http://www1.interq.or.jp/keihin/40verbs.swf

Using Flash © technology this web site presents a range of introductory exercises of those students wishing to build on the understanding of applying verbs in the Japanese language.
Ideal for year levels 8-11 RRRR

Accord: Exercices autocorréctifs  http://www.didieraccord.com/

An excellent collection of self-correcting exercises for beginning students.  The contexts that are used are excellent and draw heavily on imagery and particular photographs of everyday scenes in France.  An excellent set of exercises which can be sent as a homework task. Ideal for year levels 5-9 RRRR

A Door into the World of Kanji  http://www.neverland.to/kanji/

The focus of this web site is to provide visitors to Japan with an introduction to understanding signage which has been written in the Kanji format

They Japanese Cookbook for Kids http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/cook.html

This introduction to Japanese has been especially written for young children and provides the perfect vehicle introducing young children to basic Japanese language formats and pronunciation.  Ideal for year levels 4-9 RRRR

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 Mathematics

Comments

Tessellate  http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/tessellate/

Using this interactive Java applet students can tesellate different shaped objects with different numbers of edges in a range of different colours to produce a wide range of geometric patterns.
Ideal for year levels 4-8
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Exploring Emergence  http://llk.media.mit.edu/projects/emergence/

Mathematics is about patterns and being able to explain patterns using the language of mathematics.  In this excellent essay and simple Java applet, an apparent object moves across the screen but in fact nothing is moving at all.  This is the concept of emergence, how objects and patterns can arise from simple interactions in ways that are unsurprising and can be counterintuitive.
Ideal for year levels 9-12
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Project InterActivate   http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/

The goal of Project InterActivate is to collect evaluate and disseminate interactive Java based courseware for teachers of science and mathematics.  What they have ended creating here is an excellent repository of lessons, activities, tools and a wonderful collection of Java applets which can be used within your mathematics curriculum or, if you are a student, to help you understand mathematical concepts and ideas. Ideal for year levels 0-12 RRRRR

Mystery Master: Logic Puzzles http://www.mysterymaster.com/puzzles.html

All logic puzzles on this web site have been solved! .These logic puzzles range from very easy through to very challenging. You can download the Mystery Master program from the site and examine the puzzles and see how long you take to solve them.
Ideal for year levels 5-11
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Clocks: Teaching Time http://www.fi.edu/qa00/attic3/

Making use of the "Journey in Time" exhibit this web site has developed a range of educational resources related to historical timepieces.  The stories of those timepieces and intricate workings are examined here and activities and resources that complement these clocks provide interactive fun and understanding. Ideal for year levels 2-8 RRR

Applications of Mathematics  http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/careers/aa/lessons/math.htm

"What is the point of doing this mathematics?"  This common refrain from students can be answered using some of the ideas presented on this web site.  Applications of mathematics dealing with firefighting, and into engineering, vulcanology, designing, market analysis, animal health, aerospace,  life saving, events planning, house painting, rollercoaster design, playing golf . . .  . . all of these require an application of mathematical understanding and this web site provides you links through to these resources. Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRR

Bike Mathematics http://www.bikexchange.com/fa97f3.htm

The contents for this web site were written by 13-year-old student who has done an excellent job of presenting some background mathematical concepts which are embedded in the day-to-day use of the bicycle. Ideal for year levels 5-8 RRR

Clever Games for Clever People  http://www.cs.uidaho.edu/~casey931/conway/games.html

If you are looking to keep your mind alive and be able to deal with logic and sequencing, then the games provided here should keep you on top. Ideal for year levels 6-10 RRRRR

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Music & Performance Arts

Comments

Drama Studies   http://www.teachit.co.uk/index.asp?M=6&A=15&S=93&Z=1

Teach-It provides a fantastic collection of resources for drama teachers and students which they make available from this web site as PDF files, which you can download at no charge.  The resources here deal with a wide range of year levels and provide a wide range of reference sources, background notes and ideas for the classroom. Ideal for year levels 0-10 RRRRR

Olive Link   http://www.olivelink.com/

There are numerous opportunities on the Internet now to share your photographs with anybody in the world, however most people are a little less generous when it comes to sharing your video clips!  However this is the focus of this web site.  It provides the tools to compress  your video clips in place for online, providing access to all your friends and relatives. Ideal for all year levels RRRRR

Ricci Adams’ Music Theory  http://www.musictheory.net

This is possibly one of the most useful music web sites we have ever come across.  Not only does it contain a wide range of tools, interactive lessons and very useful utilities it is also been produced under the Creative Commons © system which allows teachers far greater "rights of the use" than traditional copyright law allows.  You'll find their lessons dealing with the major and minus scales, dots and tyres, noted duration, diatonic triads (!), voicing chords . . . Interval trainers including no training, interval ear trainer, chord ear trainer, keyboard trainer, triads trainer, brass trainer, guitar trainer  . . . . As well as three very useful utilities including a chord calculator, staff paper generator and a matrix generator.  Ideal for year levels 6-12 RRRRR+

English Theatre (from Canada)   http://www.artsalive.ca/en/eth/index.html

“Arts Alive: English Theatre” is designed to uncover the behind the scenes of professional English Canadian Theatre. Within these web pages parents, teachers and students are invited to embark on a journey through thematically organized content that will lead to a greater understanding of and appreciation for the people and processes involved in transforming a play from the page to the stage. Ideal for year levels 6-12 RRRRR

9 Easy-to-Make Musical Instruments http://www.kinderart.com/teachers/9instruments.shtml

Children love music as much as they enjoy making things.  This web site joins together these two creative forces and makes them an enjoyable, albeit quite noisy, combination of activities.  Children can make musical instruments such as tambourine, drum, chimes with such resources such as buttons, beads, a letter, magazines, photos, paints . . . . Ideal for year levels 0-4 RRRRR

Call Free Music  http://www.coolfreeweb.com/Free_Music/

There is an extraordinary amount of music available for free download from the Internet but it is sometimes difficult to ascertain whether or not the process is legal or not.  This web site provides inks to 16 web sites where you can download MP3 music files without fear of being marched off to prison in front of your class in period 5 tomorrow. Ideal for all year levels RRR

CyberFret: Basic Guitar Chords http://www.cyberfret.com/chords/beginning-7/index.php

If you are looking for some theoretical support for learning to play the guitar, you'll find an excellent resources available here along with guitar chords and discussion forums, learning your scales, some music theory and much more. Ideal for year levels 6-10 RRR

Arts Alive: English Theatre  http://www.artsalive.ca/en/eth/index.html

ArtsAlive English Theatre is designed to uncover the behind-the-scenes world of professional English Canadian Theatre.  You are invited to embark on a journey through thematically organized content that will lead to a greater understanding of and appreciation for the people and processes involved in transforming a play from the page to the stage.  A great resource and wonderfully presented.
Ideal for year levels 5-12
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