Position Project Two

Perry Lloyd - Position Paper 2

What are the 5 most important things for a teacher to think about when using the Internet in the classroom?
(Think about all the different issues of use as well as the practical considerations involved with using the Internet.)

Why are these the most important?

You will be expected to include at least 5 references in the paper. These references may come from the course readings. This paper will be graded based on how well you answer each of the questions. Your answer should be 400-600 words long. You should write clearly and attend to grammar and spelling.

1. Physical Requirements

Using the internet in the classroom cannot occur without the physical presence of computers with relatively up to date programs, as well as the connection to the internet. While this may not be the primary concenr of most teachers, I consider it to be my primary concern because, just as without food there is no meal, without the technology there is no internet in the classroom.

However, I feel that there are other concern about the physical presence of computers aside from whether or not they are present. There is the concern of the ratio of computer to student, as too few computers can result in conflict between students, or at least feelings of animosity.

Also, computers ned to be set up in such a way so that continuous computer use will not be damaging to the students, in particular young students. Placement of the keyboard in relation to the hands in of prime importance, as is the position of the monitor relative to the eye level of the students. Also, there has been growing concern recently about the effects of radiation on developing brains, and what effect continuous close prominity to a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) may have on a youg human being. So far as I know there have been little findings, but this may be of concern to teachers.

2. Internet Skills

It is crucial in my humble opinon the teachers teach their students how to use the internet. This does include skills such as how to open an internet brower, or even how to save files or images and then relaod them, these are all computer use skills (which the students will have to learn in order to use the machines themselves). Internet use skills include: how to make maximum use of search engines, how to be courteous on the internet with other users, how to develop skills such as bookmarking,

'When users move around a large information space as much as they do in hypertext, there is a real risk that they may become disorientated or have trouble finding the information they need...Even in [a] small document, which could be read in one hour, users experienced the 'lost in hyperspace' phenomenon as exemplified by the following user comment: 'I soon realized that if I did not read something when I stumbled across it, then I would not be able to find it later'. (Nielsen, 1995(1))

and separating good sources of information from bad.

This, of course, does not apply to students to are experienced internet users, though of course a refresher lesson is always a good idea.

3. Time Required for the Teacher

For teachers who are already very familiar with the internet, the amount of time they may need to help integrate the internet into their classroom may be minimal compared to those for whom the internet is a completely new experience. In all cases, integrating the internet into the classroom will take time, and teachers wil need to determine on their own whether or not the potential positive effects of internet integration will be enough to justify the amount of time they spend on it.

Boldt & Gustafson have found that "[Their] review of introductory economics courses on the web reveals that the most common usage of the Internet is the placement of course materials such as a syllabus, lecture notes, or old tests on a web site. Students have also been encouraged to use e-mail as an additional means of communicating with the instructor and each other. In selected instances, faculty are having students read economics-related material available over the web or use the web as a source of information for a homework project. More innovative efforts to integrate the Internet in courses, multimedia presentations, interactive exercises, student web projects, and class bulletin board discussions, are also being incorporated into courses on a selective basis." (2) Their research was on internent use at the university level, not the primary or secondary. I feel that this reflects the amount of time that a college professor is willing to spend on integrating the internet into their classroom: hardly at al. In all of the above cases: reading materials available on the web, bulletin board discussions, posting syllabi, lecture notes, and old texts; none of these require very much time to do, especially with the innovation of scanners.

4. Benefits to the Students

Does using the internet in the classroom help students? Do they learn better the subject material, or are they learning something else entirely? Or perhaps they're learning even more, or even less? I feel that it's of the upmost importance to consider what effects using the internet will have on the students, especially when there has been such a rise in standardized testing. Can the classroom cover every thing that is necessary to cover for the standardized test and still be able to use the internet in the classroom?

5. Dangers to Students

Besides the obvious dangers, such as possibly allowing strangers on the internet to come into contact with students, especially in the younger grades, there are other dangers to look out for. For instance, will internet use teach students to stop going to the library to seek out information when they can find plenty on-line? Will it teach students to spend lots and lots of time on the internet when they might otherwise be playing outside with friends and developing important social skills? Granted that the average child spends four to five hours a day watching T.V., maybe changing it to four to five hours on the internet might be an improvement.

References:
1. Nielsen, J. Multimedia and Hypertext: The Internet and Beyond (Mountainview, CA, 1995), p. 247. as cited in The World-Wide Web: Its Uses as a Teaching Tool, http://info.ox.ac.uk/jtap/reports/teaching/chapter4.html

2. Integrating the Internet in the Classroom: Examples from Economics, http://www.westga.edu/~dboldt/CSJ.html