There is no doubt that in every school there are students who have grown so used to the internet that they see it as a prime source of information and have ceased to see books as being a central reference point when studying history.

Unfortunately, because of the range of material on the internet, this can be a particular problem. Indeed, as the January 2012 Ofsted framework says, it is vital for schools to minimise the risk to young people through having effective procedures for safeguarding.

What today’s history students often want and need is the breadth and quality of information that they would, in an earlier generation, have found in text books and encyclopaedias, but within their preferred medium.

With this in mind we have developed Autology, an educational search engine, within which all content is verified and mapped to the curriculum. It thus allows students to find the information they need, with the added guarantee that what they are finding is quality information.

It means that history students from KS3 to Post 16 can access the very best and most informative materials on line, either at home or in the school. The Autology resources include on-line versions of many Heinemann books, Letts text books, encyclopaedias and access to over 1000 web sources.

Through its “walled garden” approach to using the internet it is possible for schools to switch off access to Google and instead focus on highly reliable and, above all. safe resources.

However, that is not all. As we know, Ofsted also requires that schools narrow the gaps between the performance of different groups of students in the school.

The Autology approach assists in narrowing this gap by particularly aiding those students who find research and identifying appropriate resources difficult or unengaging.

In short, Autology meets the requirement of Ofsted by successfully engaging students in their learning. This enables them to develop the skills to learn for themselves, and enables the setting of appropriate homework to help develop these skills. This in turn helps to develop their understanding by providing equality of access to resources when they carry out their homework.

As a result students still use the same amount of time as before, but you will now know that time is focussed on retrieving and using information of the highest quality.

To see how Autology works a free trial is available by clicking here.

Alternatively, to talk through any aspect of our service please call 01244 560966 or email keithe@autology.org

You can also view the product at www.autology.org

Autology is provided by Autology World Ltd, Daresbury Innovation Centre, Science & Innovation Campus, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury, Cheshire, WA4 4FS