Topic: Your initial thoughts about using the Internet to enhance the teaching and learning process.
Prior to my classes at PSU, I was reluctant to encourage the use of the Internet in classrooms, but my eyes are opening and by expanding my knowledge about the use of the Internet, I can see how it can be an asset to the educational environment. Working with preschoolers ages 3-5, it will really be a stretch to coming up with ways to incorporate it into a classroom for research / information retrieval, but there are websites that incorporate the concepts and early development that preschoolers need. The emphasis with these children is for social play and learning basic concepts (not social networking), but figuring out how to share and play with other humans.
I do see it as a way for the teachers to keep up with things going on in the world of early childhood education. It is a place to find state of the art teaching techniques. It is a resource for teachers to form groups to discuss what is going on in their classrooms. It is a place for these individuals to communicate, try ideas, post what has worked well, ideas for problems encountered.
The information written in Chapter 1 was great. While I knew some of the info, some of it was new. I knew the most of the extensions, although my understanding of .com was company not commercial - not that it makes much of a difference. Even though I knew much of the info, I didn't use it when searching - I didn't look at the URLs of what comes up and analyze them - I will now. It is a powerful tool that I think needs to be a prerequisite for students using the web in school or to do school work.
Unfortunately, I was reading this while in traffic on our way home from the Phillie's game today - since I wasn't driving I didn't want to waste the time - (Oh yeah - Yeah Phillie's WON!), so I didn't get a chance to try some of the things out as advised by Dr. Fritz - but I look forward to trying many of them. The ones that stick out in my mind were from Chapter 3 (yep - there was A LOT of traffic) - the easyWhois and The Wayback Machine!
So, my mind is changing as to my perception and belief of using the Internet in the classroom (currently - for primary grade children or older). With that being said, I have to say that I think it can be used as a tool (like a calculator, pencil, paper) and can never take the place of a great teacher.
Teachers are needed more than ever. We have to prepare students for effective use of this amazing tool. When thinking about the younger students, think about how you could use the Web to take them to places they might never get to go or to listen to things that they might never get to hear (live webcam at a zoo, museum, view of a volcano, an author, etc.). Here is a list of resources that might be helpful.
ReplyDeleteThanks - I will need to look closely at these and give any good ones to some of the teachers I work with ... they appreciate suggestions as they have little time to search for things.
ReplyDeleteUsing the internet with very young children is a challenge, but there are terrific sites that you can share with them. I taught a children's literature class last semester and asked my students to search literature (poetry, picture books, non-fiction, etc) websites for elementary children. They came up with some really terrific sites. Almost every author of children's picture book has a site. The site for the Magic School Bus books is really fun. There are also loads of sites from zoos, aquariums, children's museums, etc. that are great for young children.
ReplyDeleteSue,
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with your more...that the Internet cannot replace a great teacher. That great teacher is the key to teaching/supporting the Internet tool to be used as effectively and safely as possible in and out of the classroom.
I have to share with you that Chapter 1 taught me a few things that I couldn't believe I had not known before...like what a tilde (~) meant! Who knew it meant that it was a personal opinion?
I learned a lot from reading the first couple of chapters too. I even asked my class about the Tilde and other tips and most of them didn't know any of them either. I am surprised how important this information is and how few people know about it.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing to think about everything on the internet. I know that I think I know something and then I am mistaken. It is really like learning something new every day. My kids were working on PowerPoints for the first time this year. Most had never done them before. In a matter of a day they had mastered making them! Animations, pictures, colors, backgrounds, text, you name it, they had it! We better stay up to date if we want to keep up with them!
ReplyDelete