The following module discusses the role of the Internet in today's K - 12 classroom. It addresses the many issues that teachers face on a day to day basis when they try and use the Internet in their teaching. Participants are expected to read the module thoroughly and visit each link. As well you are expected to post reflections on two of the following sections using the WebCT discussion tool :
History of the Internet, discuss your thoughts with the group.
Reasons why the Internet is an increasingly important tool for education, discuss your thoughts with the group.
Some of the obstacles to teachers using the Internet in classrooms today, discuss your thoughts with the group.
Student Learning and the Internet, discuss your thoughts with the group.
Marshall McLuhan's Global Village, discuss your thoughts with the group.
Note 1:
The following symbol 
recognizes Canadian
Internet resources.
Note 2: A word or a collection of words that are "blue" and "underlined" are direct links to the Internet. Press on them and you will go to the site. Please let me know if you find ones that do not work.
Module's Goals :
1. You will acquire some background history of the Internet
2. You will acquire an understanding of the role of the Internet in education
3. You will be utilize some specific Internet tools used by educators
4. You will gain an understanding of the many ways in which the Internet can help students learn
History of the Internet
In 1973, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) initiated a research program to investigate techniques and technologies for interlinking packet networks of various kinds. The Internet was based on the idea that there would be multiple independent networks including packet satellite networks, ground-based packet radio networks and other networks. The Internet as we now know it embodies a key underlying technical idea, namely that of open architecture networking. The Internet has changed much in the two decades since it came into existence. It was conceived in the era of time-sharing, but has survived into the era of personal computers, client-server and peer-to-peer computing, and the network computer. The most pressing question for the future of the Internet is not how the technology will change, but how the process of change and evolution itself will be managed.
Internet Society (ISOC) All About The Internet - all about the Internet, written by the Internet Society.
Internet Society (ISOC) All About The Internet: History - a brief history of the Internet, written by the Internet Society.
Marshall McLuhan
Marshall
McLuhan (click for biography link ) talks about the "Global
Village" ( click for cbc interview ). What do you think
of the following :
"In Understanding Media, Marshall McLuhan put the matter this way: "...since the inception of the telegraph and radio, the globe has contracted, spatially, into a single large village. Tribalism is our only resource since the electro-magnetic discovery. Moving from print to electronic media we have given up an eye for an ear."
Reasons why the Internet is an increasingly important tool for education :
Students today should learn to access, analyze and communicate electronic info effectively.
Impact of the Internet on Learning & Teaching - This site, developed by Dr. Hossein Arsham, University of Baltimore, covers how to begin, how to operate, and how to make Web-based courses successful and enjoyable.
Some of the obstacles to teachers using the Internet in classrooms today :
Many teachers appear to have a systematic lack of awareness of the appropriate uses of technology in schools. The following links discuss the appropriate uses of electronic communications in schools.
Appropriate Uses of Electronic Communications - written by the Beaverton School District, Beaverton, Oregon, is a condensed version of the regulations around electronic communications such as Voice, E-Mail, World Wide Web, And Other Data Services.
Using
Information Technology - written by the Education Ministry,
Province of Manitoba, it is their vision that using information
technology in Manitoba classrooms will help enable all students
to solve problems, improve their personal performance, and gain
the critical and abstract thinking skills necessary to become
lifelong learners and contributing members of their communities.
Many teachers believe in the apparent complexity of the Internet. The following link :
Complexity and the Internet - has many links that discuss the complexity of the Internet.
Many teachers believe that there is an absence of new forms of assessment with which to measure new forms of learning. The following article :
New Times Demand New Ways of Learning - written by North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, suggests that recent research builds a powerful case against what used to be accepted "truths" about learning and technology. It points out that there is strong evidence that traditional models of learning, traditional definitions of technology effectiveness, and traditional models of the cost effectiveness of technology don't work. In place of these old assumptions, researchers are positing new ways of looking at learning that promote: engaged, meaningful learning and collaboration involving challenging and real-life tasks; and technology as a tool for learning, communication, and collaboration.
There are many schools that lack access to the Internet due to poor connections. The following article :
Access
to Computers and the Internet in Schools - written by Canada's
School Net discusses the importance that parents put on computer
and Internet access for their children.
The reality of reduced funding for public education. The following article :
Education
Funding - written by the BCTF, discusses the myths and facts
about public education funding in British Columbia.
Teachers and parents are concerned about child safety on the Internet and supervision of students using the Internet at school. The following articles discuss child safety, supervision and the Internet :
Protecting
your Child - Internet Safety - written by the RCMP, offers
suggestions on how to use the Internet safely.
Child
Safety on the Information Highway - written by CHILD CYBERSearch,
Canada, offers suggestions for students to be "street smart"
using the Information Highway.
Teacher's
Internet Safety Pledge - interesting suggestion from Youth
Online, Canada.
The lack of both time and training opportunities for teachers on using the Internet in their classrooms. The following links are helpful :
Online
Readiness Training for Educators - this site is intended
to provide educators with the necessary competencies to access
online resources for classroom use. Development of this site
was made possible through Saskatchewan Education, Industry Canada
and the Headwaters Project. The activities on this site will
introduce you to internet basics, show you how to find and use
resources, and help you develop practical applications for your
students.
John December's Web Site - has links to resources to help you learn about the Internet and the Web.
Learn the Net - comprehensive guide to the Internet developed by Learn the Net.
Oz-TeacherNet - starting point for Australian teachers who want to use the Internet for professional development and curriculum purposes.
University of Albany Libraries - online tutorials on topics such as how to connect to the Internet, evaluating Internet resources and choosing a search engine.
The lack of a district comprehensive educational technology plans from K - 12. The following links discuss IT from K - 12 :
Instructional Technology - Scope and Sequence - prepared by the Owego Aplachin school district, samples of technology curriculum overviews from different school districts.
TECHandbook - is a planning guide for technology education developed by the San Diego City Schools Educational Technology Department.
Technology Curriculum - the technology curriculum of Connecticut's Westport Public Schools can be viewed on a K-12 grade basis at this Web site.
Student Learning and the Internet
Students learn that a powerful aspect of the Internet is its potential as a communications tool.
ePALS
Classroom Exchange - Since 1996, ePALS Classroom Exchange
has been helping teachers, parents and students around the world
take advantage of new technologies that enhance and enrich learning
experiences. ePALS has received numerous accolades for these
efforts and continues to develop exciting new ways to bring technology
and learning together in ways that are safe, easy and fun.
Students learn through connectivity, students delight in being able to connect with people around the world.
Canada's
SchoolNet - one of the best educational web sites with over
7,000 Learning Resources, @SchoolNet Today a daily information
news service on the world of e-learning, interactive features
such as our polls of the month and much more!
Students learn through online resources.
Online Teaching Resources by Topic - collection of online resources. Topics covered range from active learning to technology in learning and instruction.
Students learn by becoming involved, for example, electronic publishing can provide an authentic audience for student writing
MidLink Magazine - The mission of MidLink Magazine is to highlight exemplary work from the most creative classrooms around the globe. This is a non-profit project supported by North Carolina State University and the University of Central Florida. Any school, teacher, or student is invited to participate.
Students learn to learn - encourages students to assume responsibility for their own learning.
ThinkQuest - ThinkQuest is an international website-building competition, sponsored by the Oracle Education Foundation. Teams of students and teachers are challenged to build websites on educational topics. These websites are published in the popular ThinkQuest Library and top-scoring teams win valuable prizes.
Some of the Basic Terms to Using the Internet
These will be discussed in more detail in future modules
Note : All The Answers - is a site to use for easy-to-understand explanations of the Internet.
1. World Wide Web - uses browsers like Netscape Composer and Internet Explorer to provide point and click access to text, graphics, sound and occasionally video files, often integrated around a specific topic.
2. E-mail : electronic mail - allows you to send and receive messages over the Internet.
3. E-Mail Discussion Lists and Electronic Journals - there are hundreds of discussion groups for educators on the Internet. Groups include K12.lang.art, for language arts educators; k12.ed.soc.studies. for social science teachers; and k12.ed.life-skills, for school counselors.
4. Audio and interactive video - with the proper computer setup, a sound card and Web phone software, you can use the Internet in place of the telephone.
Example of Software
- Totally Hip Software
- innovators of Interactive Video Authoring Tools and Services.
5. FTP - File Transfer Protocol, a way of transferring files over the Internet from one computer to another. A common use is using it when you upload or download your files to your Web site.
6. Telnet - is a protocol for remote computing on the Internet. It allows a computer to act as a remote terminal on another machine, anywhere on the Internet. This means that when you telnet to a particular host and port, the remote computer (which must have a telnet server) accepts input directly from your computer (which must have a telnet client) and output for your session is directed to your screen. There are many library and information resources that are accessible through telnet.
7. Gopher - Invented at the University of Minnesota in 1993 just before the Web, gopher was a widely successful method of making menus of material available over the Internet. Gopher was designed to be much easier to use than FTP, while still using a text-only interface. Gopher is a Client and Server style program, which requires that the user have a Gopher Client program. Although Gopher spread rapidly across the globe in only a couple of years, it has been largely supplanted by Hypertext, also known as WWW (World Wide Web). There are still thousands of Gopher Servers on the Internet.
8. Internet-Based Tools for Education - an overview of the types of tools and technologies that are available to teachers who wish to incorporate online tools as part of their class materials.
9. Internet4Classrooms - this site has suggestions for helping teachers use the Internet effectively.
10. Integrate the Internet into the Classroom - most of the sites found here focus on providing background information on how teachers can use the Internet in their classroom.
The Internet as a learning tool is an ongoing work in progress, one that is being produced by communities of learners, many of whom have come together through new ways of communicating made possible by the Internet itself.