The Wired Classroom

At first glance, the Internet does not seem like a great tool for teachers. But when combined with guidance and creativity, it comes alive as a teaching tool. The ability to step outside the boundaries of the classroom with a click makes the Internet invaluable to any teacher.

But why should teachers incorporate Internet activities into their classroom? The truth lies in both the Internet's offerings and the employer's expectations. Online information offers new and updated information that can enhance the learning experience. Additionally, employers expect young talent to be familiar with technology and gain a more global perspective. Utilizing the Internet in the classroom helps achieve those goals.

Educational service Thirteen Ed Online has identified three primary classroom processes that benefit from the Net: communication and collaboration, research, and publication.

The process of communication and collaboration involves student interaction with both the teacher and other students. A teacher can set up a class e-mail list or forum, providing another avenue for exchanging opinions, ideas, and relevant information. The Internet can take collaboration beyond that of the class, creating opportunities to work with teachers, students, or professionals outside the school.

The necessity for research and discovery is obvious and can be greatly enhanced with supervised use of the Internet. Not only is the Net a rich source of historical and scientific information, but real-time data is increasingly common. A science teacher can encourage students to mine and discuss regional weather data. A student can download census statistics to analyze national trends. This approach to discovery captures the interest of students and gives them opportunities to be more analytical.

The process of publication also benefits from Internet access. It's not unusual for book reports, term papers, and research projects to be part of the end stage of learning. Instead of static creations shared only between teacher and student, publishing these materials online for all to see provides impetus to students to do their best. Students also gain practice with technology and information design.

As adoption of the Internet expands globally, more teachers and students are utilizing the technology every day. The fifteenth annual International Schools CyberFair encourages classrooms to collaborate, research, and create material using Internet tools, all while gaining practical skills. The CyberFair involves "more than 2.5 million students from 45,500 schools across 115 countries." Classrooms focus on a theme, research it, and then publish the results. A panel of judges consisting of teachers, professionals and fellow students then carefully reviews the entries using a peer review process. This process allows teachers to further teach critical thinking and evaluation skills.

The Oracle Foundation sponsors the ThinkQuest program, an online learning platform used by classes around the world to gain technology and collaboration skills. Using ThinkQuest's online system, teachers and students can create interactive projects. As student become more familiar with collaboration and technology, classrooms can participate in special international ThinkQuest competitions using projects that integrate into the classroom curriculum. One of the competitions allows students to design a website that becomes part of the ThinkQuest library.

Teachers also incorporate the Internet into their curriculum on a more local level. One interesting project involves cataloging local animals and plants. The teacher encourages students to take photos of flora and fauna found in the back yard, identify them, and determine if they are local or foreign to the area. Information is then uploaded to a web page. Additional data, including migration patterns and bloom periods, can be added to entries.

Some teachers are going beyond the desktop, making class activities mobile. Teacher Ariana Leonard in Wesley Chapel, Florida incorporates cell phones and other Internet-ready mobile devices into her class. Leonard, a Spanish teacher, sent her students on scavenger hunts, sending text messages in Spanish. The students also used their mobile devices to take pictures and research homework assignments.

There's no doubt that the Internet engages students, but consider it a tool and not a replacement for the teacher. The online realm offers an abundance of information, but it takes a skilled teacher to help explain and decipher it.

Second, everything online isn't necessarily fact. This opens up an excellent opportunity for teachers to teach critical thinking, fact checking, and evaluation skills. By instilling skepticism into classroom activities, students learn to use the Internet for research in a much more responsible way.

Third, students may clamor for any excuse to go online during a class assignment, but that doesn't mean that the assignment will benefit from its use. Explain what skill or knowledge will be gained by utilizing the Internet rather than a book or practical observation.

Finally, make sure that your school (and your classroom) has a clear set of rules for Internet use, and ensure that the students follow them. Keep students focused and limit Internet use to only a small portion of class time.

The Internet provides teachers and students a useful tool in their arsenals. When used responsibly, it extends collaborations beyond classroom walls, encourages individual discovery, and gives students the opportunity to become more globally aware.