Post #5

I think that the internet can be used as a great way to aid students in research. I think that this is especially important when students are of an age where they fully understand that the internet does not have all factual things on it, and the site that they wish to use needs to be thoroughly evaluated before it is used as a reliable source. I think that research on the internet is an extremely important thing when it comes to students working on various projects and papers. The internet is filed with so much important and easy to access information that I believe it is most likely the quickest way for students to access information. I think that it is extrmely useful when students need quick information. It is also useful when they need a lot of different opinions and sources, because the internet is filled with information regarding almost every subject known to man! Another great thing that the internet offers to students for their research is online catalogues and databases that are pretty much written documents and books, just online. Although I think that the internet is a great source, I also think that students need to have some understanding of the fact that not everything is true on the internet and that it is important to be able to distinguish between what is facutal and what is false. I think that students should also be able to have an understanding on how to research things in the library and other sources besides the internet so that their research has a wide variety of sources. The internet is by far the most convenient and quick way to obtain facutal information, I just think that there is a time and place when it is appropriate to do so.

After being in this class for a while I have learned all sorts of differnet web-based resources that are available to students that teachers can use to support learning. I really like the idea of using blogs. They are free and easy to sign up for and students can use their creative side and also technical side. Teachers can also benefit because they now have an easy way to check and see if students are understanding what is being taught to them. I also like the idea of chat rooms. Teachers can set up online chat rooms where students can connect with other students and help eachother with things that don't understand. This aleviates some of the stress because students can ask eachother instead of always having to ask the teacher. Another great way to bring technology into the classroom, especially with young children is web-based educational computer games. I volunteer in a kindergarten class once a week, and there are so many games that she uses that are both fun and educational, and she finds them free on the internet. It keeps their attention and is very effective in followng up with lessons that she just taught. When I teach in a classroom I plan to use all of these web resources.

Although I am completely for students being able to use technology in the classroom, there are some reservations that I have as a teacher about the internet. There is so much great information out there, but all it takes is one wrong click and a students can be on a bad website. There's disqusting sites all over the place and it's hard for students to distinguish which sites are okay and which are not before they actually click on the site. Also a lot of sites are very bias and, without even knowing it, students can be reading false or one-sided information. Just because you google something and get a huge amount of webistes, it doesn't mean that these websites are all reliable. Most are acutally trash, which is why you need to give your students strict criteria as to what is good and what is not. I want to teach younger students, so I need to be especially careful when they are on the web. I think that if they are young then it is even more important for a teacher to make sure they are heavily supervising them. I think that a good idea would be to have smaller groups go at a time so that the teacher is constantly aware of where they are. The younger they are, the less they will be researching on the internet, so my students will probably be doing more educational computer games then anything. It is important to assess which age group you are teaching when deciding how much access and freedom you are going to allow them on the web.