MAPE: Newsletter Spring 2000 page 4

Michael Wills, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the DfEE with special responsibility for ICT policy, highlighted the importance of ICT skills for today, but more importantly for the children just beginning their formal education - about 90% of jobs now require at least basic ICT skills. He elaborated on the threat to society of the 'Digital Divide', the gap between the technological haves and have-nots, saying that 'new technologies always trail casualties in their wake' and considerable money is being set aside to address the digital divide.
We are in the midst of a major technological revolution. The speed with which this technology is becoming a part of our lives was illustrated in the following statistics. Mr Wills said that it took 38 years for 50 million people in the USA to gain access to radio, 16 years people to purchase a PC, but by contrast it has only taken 4 years for the same number of people to have access to the Internet! And there's no sign of a slow-down.

Netd@ys had their beginnings in a European initiative in 1996. An annual programme now exists to explore ways in which the Internet can be used to exchange information and broaden cultural awareness across Europe. This year twenty countries are involved in a wide range of activities. Apart from the forty projects funded by the European Commission there are many more worldwide activities.
Among those mentioned was a Finnish project linking several small rural schools and Molecool, a Norwegian project; secondary pupils must build complex chemical molecules in the context of a game.

In describing the development of Internet learning, Maria Kokkonen, the Project Manager Netd@ys Europe 1999, said that our own NGfL is one of the most advanced systems of its kind and the envy of many countries, not just in Europe but around the world. One of Becta's contributions this year is a series of Internet Treasure Hunts. Those of you who have visited MAPE's web site recently will know of Janice Staines' Maths Treasure Trail. This gives us a clue as to the high standard we might expect from the Internet Treasure Hunts covering most curriculum areas at Key Stages 1-3.

Of the Netd@y projects on display one in particular attracted my attention. SCET has been involved with the University of Liege and twelve schools in eleven countries working on 'Through my Window'. This project looks at weather across Europe, and involves pre-school children in Turkey gathering songs, stories and rhymes from other European countries as well as secondary pupils in Germany using sophisticated data-logging equipment to record weather data. The information will be made available on CD early in the New Year.
For further information contact Ivan Mykytyn:
email i.mykytyn@scet.com
URL http://www.svtc.org.uk/netdays99

Other presentations looked at different uses of the Internet. Peter Watts, Deputy Head of Potters Green Primary School in Coventry, outlined a way in which children in his school can be active, rather than just passive, users of the Internet. Briefly this is the way it works:
Children work in pairs and undertake regular Internet Treasure Hunts. Peter always sets the first question, but thereafter it's over to the children. Not only must pupils answer the question they have been set, but they must also use the same site to pose a question of their own. Thus by Wednesday the Treasure Hunt might look something like this:

Day	Names	Question	Answer
Monday		What does the word 'Armada' mean?	'Armada' is the Spanish word for fleet.
Tuesday	Josh and Sara	How many ships took part in the Spanish Armada?	There were 150 ships. It was the biggest fleet there had been.
Wednesday	Zaineb and Ayeesha	Who were the Sea Beggars?
Thursday	Harpreet and Sanjay
Friday	Lee and Hayley

In this way not only are the children developing their ICT skills using the Internet in a worthwhile and meaningful way, but additionally they are reading for information. Children and adults will often skim read to find the answer to a question, missing so many rich nuggets in the process. By asking children to pose questions as well as answer them Pete is ensuring that children search for information he wants them to find, but also information that interests them.
Gradually the school is building up a useful resource of Internet Treasure Hunts.

An exhibition of other innovative Internet ideas included one of particular interest to primary teachers. Stories from the Web explores how children can develop their reading, imagination, ICT and literacy skills by integrating the Internet into the day to day services of libraries.
There are two key features:

1. A web site at http://hosted.ukoln.ac.uk/stories/. This is interactive; children can submit their own work, some of which is published.

2. Regular Stories from the Web clubs in libraries in Bristol, Birmingham and Leeds. These are structured sessions using the project web site.

It is hoped that the next phase will incorporate author sessions with an online chat room. There are also plans to develop links with schools across the world through the British Council.

Stories from the Web
Centre for the Child
Birmingham Central Library
Chamberlain Square
Birmingham
B3 3HQ
tel: 0121 303 3365
fax: 0121 303 4386
email: stories@dial.pipex.com

4	contents	Newsletter: Spring 2000

Netd@ys Europe '99