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Pupils need internet lessons to thrive online, say Lords

Learning to survive in a world dominated by the internet should be as important for children as reading and writing, says a House of Lords report.

Lessons about online responsibilities, risks and acceptable behaviour should be mandatory in all UK schools, the Lords Communications Committee argues.

The internet is "hugely beneficial" but children need awareness of its hazards, said committee chairman Lord Best.

Industry leaders said education was key to keeping children safe online.

The Lords report builds on findings by the Children's Commissioner for England in January that the internet is not designed for children, despite them being the biggest users by age group.

"Children inhabit a world in which every aspect of their lives is mediated through technology: from health to education, from socialising to entertainment.

"Yet the recognition that children have different needs to those of adults has not yet been fully accepted in the online world," say the Lords.

A government spokesman said ministers wanted to make the UK the safest place in the world for young people to go online and would "carefully consider the recommendations included in the Lords Communications Committee Report".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-39329967

Chinese maths textbooks to be translated for UK schools

British students may soon study mathematics with Chinese textbooks after a “historic” deal between HarperCollins and a Shanghai publishing house in which books will be translated for use in UK schools.

China’s wealthy cities, including Shanghai and Beijing, produce some of the world’s top-performing maths pupils, while British students rank far behind their counterparts in Asia.

HarperCollins’s education division signed an agreement to release a series of 36 maths books at the London Book Fair, the state-run China Daily reported, with Colin Hughes, managing director of Collins Learning, calling it “historic”.

 “To my knowledge this has never happened in history before – that textbooks created for students in China will be translated exactly as they have been developed, and sold for use in British schools,” the China Daily quoted Hughes as saying.

The textbook deal is part of wider cooperation between the UK and China, and the government hopes to boost British students’ performance in maths, Hughes added.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/mar/20/chinese-maths-textbooks-to-be-translated-for-uk-schools