Internet Use in Elementary Classroom

The Internet can be a beneficial part of an early childhood classroom. One benefit of the Internet is that it offers a way for children to complete assignments in a different way. By doing this, children can be more motivated to complete their work then they would be by doing their assignment on paper. Their assignments will now have more information which supports their ideas. Teachers will be able to incorporate pictures on various worksheets by searching the Internet. Another benefit is that children can communicate with children from different classes via email. The teacher could have the children type up a sentence on a word processing program and then paste their work into an email in his/her name. This is a way for the teacher to monitor what is being sent but is a way for children to begin their skills in technology. The last benefit would be that children could begin to look at different online magazines. Online magazines can be educational ways for children to read about different events or to participate in activities that may be present on the site.

The Internet can also cause problems in the early childhood classroom. One downfall is that the teacher could begin to rely too heavily on the Internet for resources in doing lesson plans or activities. The Internet should act as a tool for teachers to get ideas for ways to expand on lessons or subjects but should not take the part of replacing their work. Another downfall is that it offers a wide range of information that could potentially be false. Children need to learn what websites are legit and which sites could have information posted by anyone. The last downfall would be that children would rely on the Internet for all of their information. Children need to be reading books rather than sites online for information.

My personal views of the beneficial uses regarding the Internet is that the Internet can be a successful tool for children if used appropriately. Children need to begin their skills in navigating the Internet but need to be taught how to search properly. The Internet can offer teachers a way to find different activities that focus on their lesson for the week. They can print worksheets off or get ideas on how to set up worksheets. The Internet can also be a way to communicate with parents, staff, and other school personnel. This can offer teachers immediate feedback from parents rather than waiting overnight for answers. It also is a way to communicate events, announcements, and other information quickly and effectively.

My favorite educational website would be WebQuest. A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. When you click on find WebQuests you are able to type in a subject area in search the San Diego State University Database. Then you are brought to different pages that consist of an introduction of different activities, different tasks and processes to complete, and an evaluation which you can grade your students on how well they completed the tasks. Under the process tab, you are able to click on different links that are related to your topic that might be helpful in completing the tasks. These different links that you will find act as lesson plans that can help you when presenting different themes or subject areas to your class.

http://webquest.sdsu.edu