The internet…what a huge source of knowledge, entertainment, depravity, danger, and frustration it can be. How are we as educators, already over taxed for time, supposed to find the most engaging and safest resources for our students? Once we’ve found the appropriate web sites, if we are classroom teachers, how do we integrate that information into our curriculum? If we are Technology Specialists how do we teach the skills our students need while collaborating with those same classroom teachers?
Every minute there are millions of megabytes being loaded to the web and it is increasing exponentially. The amount and types of information out there is staggering. Unfortunately students who have little guidance from inexperienced teachers can find the wildest things. A few years ago the movie Men in Black came out and I wanted to know more about the man who composed the music for the movie (Danny Elfman). I typed in meninblack.com and was sent to a sado-masochistic web site for men.
I believe the value the internet provides far out weighs the negatives. Schools can collaborate on global projects with countries all around the world. Students and teachers can work on the same projects together all editing at the same time. The sharing of information is almost instantaneous! Skype and chats can allow quick communication and less need for telephones. Anyone can go online and give a poor person in another country a small business loan needed to start a business to feed their family. You can also play a game and feed the hungry. The possibilities are endless. It boggles the mind at the idea of finding exactly the right piece of information for your particular need.
The biggest problem I have with using many internet resources is getting the faculty and staff on board. There are many teachers who don’t see the value for their classrooms and don’t want to go through the training to be able to use it. They have a difficult time seeing the connection between what they do and what I do. It’s pretty obvious to me!
I think that with proper safeguards the internet is a very safe place to do research and have fun. As educators we have a certain amount of power that requires an equal amount of responsibility. As long as we teach our students to respect the internet for it’s reality they will do fine as they journey along their academic careers. Today’s technology lays the foundation for students to be able to transition into new technologies that they will use for the rest of their lives. It is a very exciting time in which to live!
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Hi Anne~
ReplyDeleteAgain, I agree with every point that you have made. Your largest argument, that teachers do not see the value in the use of the Internet, is very valid. There are a few teachers in my school that proudly, (and I mean pompously) walk the hallways announcing that they are luddites. Every time this happens, I think to myself, what kind of message is this sending to the students? Do they look at this as an opportunity to be able to go anywhere they want on-line during this class? Or, do they think that since the teacher does not view the Internet as valuable, then maybe it isn’t?
I know I bring up questions that have no solution. Most importantly, however, is your point that we are laying the foundation for students. Without a good, solid foundation in place, what will happen to them later on?
All for now!
Kathryn
I completely agree with you that the internet is too valuable to be ignored. It may have challenges but I think that you are right that those challenges are minimal in comparison to the value it provides. The internet opens up a world, like you said, that would otherwise be out of reach and incomprehensible for our students and just people in general.
ReplyDeleteI understand what you are saying about getting teachers on board. I know teachers that are not comfortable with the integration of technology which is unfortunate because it is a really great resource. One thing that I found helps me a lot to plan my lessons and help classrooms integrate technology into their lessons is a sheet that I have the teachers fill out once a month. I call it the “What were working on sheet” that the teachers just give me a general idea, usually about a sentence per subject, telling me what is going on in the classrooms. When I get those I plan my projects around them and a lot of times will find them other resources to use with the smart boards for their lessons. The more comfortable they get the easier it is for them to venture out and get their own resources.
You made some wonderful points, Anne! You definitely got me thinking about a few different things when it comes to searching the Internet. When you mentioned your “Men in Black” incident you brought up a wonderful point. There is a lot of traffic on the Internet that is moving very quickly, sometimes too quickly. It is hard to monitor what is really out there. We may type in one thing in a search engine and a completely different answer may come up that could not be appropriate for our students.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you mentioned that sometimes teachers can’t find the time to search for valuable sites it can be difficult. This made me think that some teachers spend time building lets say a webquest. The teacher may find many valuable resources on the Internet; however, who is to say that these sites will be reliable in staying active. In searching for many webquests I tried many pages that either didn’t work or once I was inside the webquest the links were dead. That is one thing that teachers need to be leery of when choosing websites for their webquest.
Anyways, you brought up many positives as well. ☺ It is a wonderful “power” as you said and we do have to use it wisely.
Anne
ReplyDeleteI respect and concur with your assesment of the internet. I am always amazed at what it can do and with the perils it holds. I also believe students need guidance when they go on the web. '
Like you I have a handful of teachers who are 'not on board' when it comes to using the internet. I wonder if stories in the media and teachers own experience don't make them concerned about the safety of the internet. It is funny when our school network is down they begin to squawk and complain that they cannot do their jobs yet their own students barely touch the web. I also think they like to say that the internet is not reliable when they need it. With better and better equipment at our school that excuse doesn't ring true.
I know that to get more of my teachers to include the web we need to show them ways they can use the web easily. I have gone to conference after conference with great ideas thrown out and I am the computer teacher. I can only do a little. But an inspired classroom teacher can really get mileage from a neat project using the web.
Anne,
ReplyDeleteI agree that it could be difficult to get others comfortable with using the Internet in the classroom. Far too many times, teachers are too afraid of implementing this into their curriculum because they are afraid of monitoring improper use. It is also a big task for classroom teachers to feel comfortable leading their students in a web-based activity as they typically have not done this before. The first time I brought the laptops into my classroom to use the Internet for research, I felt so overwhelmed. Students were clicking on the wrong links, not following along, and creating errors. I felt like I spent more time answering questions and fixing problems and not dedicating enough time for inquiry. However, this experience allowed me to have the insight into what problems may arise in the future and helped me make the process much smoother the next time. I think teachers need to just have this feeling in the beginning in order to succeed in the future.