BEYOND DIGITAL.
International Schools Education Technology Services’ (ISETS)
e-newsletter April 2004
In this issue:
For Girls: ISETS features 5 links to sites dedicated to girls
and promoting information and resources for girls in the area of
information technology. Included is an article about how girls
interact with information technology.
The Middle East:
Our students are exposed daily to news stories about the Middle East.
ISETS looks at 5 sites that focus on understanding the rich cultural
heritage of this fascinating area of the world.
eProduct
– Laptops for Educators:
ISETS highlights Toshiba’s new educator’s laptop and links you to
reviews about the Satellite A40.
http://isets.org/eProduct/toshlap.htm
eBlog:
This month’s blog looks into the issue of student use of cell phones,
PDA’s and other wireless technologies brought from home into school.
Surf Byte of the
month:
Our monthly pick of two great sites for you to use in your classroom
today!
Information Technology Resources for Girls
There are a growing number of excellent resources available for
girls interested in information technology, science, and mathematics.
The agenda of these sites is to link the audience to role models, and
to provide resources to empower girls who choose to explore
information technology, science, and mathematics.
Articles,
Research and Gender Studies in ICT
http://www.rcss.ed.ac.uk/sigis/public/externalsitesanddocs.php
The Research Centre for Social Sciences has developed one of the most
comprehensive sets of links to resources, articles, and research on
the issue of gender studies and information communication technology.
Girl Power
http://www.girl.com.au/index.htm
This web portal out of Australia focuses on a host of topics,
resources, links, and interactive activities for girls. This site is
rich in content and covers all kinds of topics from health to careers,
with a Q & A section. It has a user-friendly interface and is easy to
navigate.
Girl
Tech
http://www.girltech.com/
A portal geared for girls interested in technology. The site contains
a chat room in an effort to empower girls, and provide them for a
venue to express themselves with their peers. It has an array of
places to go, and a user-friendly interface. Users can join the Girl
Tech club, and then have access to all the resources of the site.
The GirlSite Network
http://www.girlsite.org/index.html
GirlSite is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a
multi-media network community for women and girls. It has a rich
selection of links and resources, and provides a platform for girls to
meet, discuss and express their issues. Members can publish and ask
questions.
Women Role Models
for the New Millennium
http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/PubEd/research/women.html
This site does an excellent job of highlighting women in a variety of
careers who have become role models through their inspiring work. The
site has a link to info on each person highlighted, with a video or
audio feed. This site is hosted and constructed out of U.C. Berkeley.
A Girls’ World
http://www.agirlsworld.com/
This is a very comprehensive portal full of excellent links,
resources, articles, movies reviews, chat, discussions, and activities
for girls. Includes an advice column, contests, pen pals and classes
for members. Well set up and excellent content.
For
Girls
more ISETS links:
http://isets.org/eStudent/forgirls.htm
The Middle East:
This is an area of the world which is featured in the media daily.
Often perspectives and news from the Middle East are associated with
negative images of the people, culture and countries of the region. In
an effort to provide educators and students with resources which
highlight the rich cultural heritage of this area of the world, ISETS
features 5 sites on the Middle East with a specific focus on culture,
history and geography.
Global
Connections
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/index.html
This is set up where the user can scan a Middle Eastern history
timeline from 1900 to the present, explore different themes, and look
at the big picture by thinking about connecting questions. Created by
PBS, the site does a wonderful job of creating concrete connections
amongst the different factors which have made the Middle East such a
fascinating place.
Middle East
http://menic.utexas.edu/menic/
This site acts as a virtual library of the Middle East, very
comprehensive in its content and links. It does a good job of covering
a rich selection of topics on all aspects of culture, geography and
daily life. The site is a public service of the
Center for Middle
Eastern Studies at
The University of
Texas at Austin. It claims to be one of the largest
internet databases for information on this region of the world.
Many Things in
Common
http://www.mrdowling.com/607mena.html
This site takes a novel approach as it provides links and resources
which explain the differences and similarities between the Arab world
and the world of Islam. The emphasis is on showing that Islam is not
only in the Middle East, and that there are clear, distinct cultural
and historical differences between countries and regions often lumped
together.
It is a very informative and rich resource.
Middle East &
Islamic Studies Collection
http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/religns.htm
This site acts as a comprehensive portal of links with a rich
selection of resources on the religions of the
Middle East.
The site has a lot of variety and is a good place to start any
research project on this topic.
GeographyIQ.com.
Middle East
http://www.geographyiq.com/
GeographyIQ is an online world atlas containing geographic, economic,
political, historical and cultural information. Within the site are a
number of other resources including maps, flags, and currency
conversions as well as climate and time zone information. The site has
the Middle East countries indexed in their alphabet search engine. It
is a good place to get background information and quick facts.
For more
Middle East links go to:
http://isets.org/eCurriculum/currlink/Middle_East.htm
For a tailor-made Middle East WebQuest,
contact ISETS at:
contact@isets.org
Surf Byte of the
Month
Don’t Buy It!
http://pbskids.org/dontbuyit/
This
excellent site acts as a media literacy resource for adolescents. It
encourages users to think critically about media and at the same time
become more discerning consumers. The site is set up with an array of
activities designed to educate students and share the skills and
knowledge needed to question, analyze, interpret and evaluate the
media messages adolescents are exposed to daily.
Just outstanding!
Wireless Hotspot Directory
http://www.wifinder.com/
As wireless technology becomes more seamless, and many of our
laptops and PDAs have the wireless feature, getting connected when
traveling is important. Search for public access Wi-Fi hotspots around
the world at this site.
Plus, this mini portal lists the top ten Wi-Fi hotspots:
http://www.topsitelists.com/world/hotspots/
