The Internet in the Classroom

Post #5 Prompt

A paragraph on your views about using the Internet to support student research. When is it useful? Not useful? Look to Chapter 3 for ideas and inspiration.

A paragraph on other ways you might use web-based resources to support student learning. Share a few resources that are of interest to you. Use your book and online resources.

A paragraph on your concerns about being a teacher who supervises students in a technology environment. Be sure to mention the age/grade level of your students.

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Who needs books when we have the internet, right? Why buy music when you can download it? Why schedule your life around "Heros" when youtube posts the episode five minutes after it airs? The internet is a realm of convenience. It is open when the libraries lock the doors, its still open when the cafe at Borders is all swept up, and it is open when the bars close on the strip. Needless to say, the internet never closes, it never loses customers.

In a world where anyone can post a website, the accountability that the internet once held is now gone. All we have left, after weeding through countless imitations, are .org(s), .edu(s), and .gov(s); AKA the credible sites. As an anti-wikipedian, I find that the sites I mentioned are the only sites allowed as sources for research.

Suppose students were assigned a project on our newly elected president. They google his name, and come across the following sites:

Obama's Official Campaign Site: Pretty credible information created by Obama and his campaign team. Skewed as far as political information goes with very pro-Obama material. (.com source)

Ontheissues.org Report on Obama: Very credible and neutral as far as the issues go. Provides readers with objective information that is very useful in student research. Also allows students to research other candidate information for comparison. (.org source)

The Official White House Site: Obviously the most credible site for direct information on the nation's president. Provides readers with information on the entire Obama family, as well as current projects that Obama is undertaking. (.gov source)

University Timeline of Obama: Factually correct and useful to students. Because of its scholarly nature, I find it to be very useful. As far as his presidency, little information is given. (.edu source)

Through these examples, one can clearly see the quality of information that comes from credible resources. Websites such as elibrary.com and britannicaonline.com provide students with books quality sources in an Internet format, making it convenient and easy to search through. Because these sites are pay sites they may not be available to all students. I certainly hope they are at my school, as investing in these sites reduce instances of plagiarism as students have access to credible resources for free.

Being a secondary Enlgish educator, I think my students will have an opportunity to use technology more so than other core subjects. Because of their age (12-18), they are naturally curious and easily distracted. Because the Internet is so full of vast material, information that is not school appropriate is easy to access. This adds extra stress on teachers, as we must supervise the sites that students access while on campus. Blocks on certain websites shall prove effective in controlling the sites that students view. Yay! :)