Program of Study



9440 Learning with the Internet

Course Description

This course explored the potential of the Internet to support inquiry-based learning through collaborative activities, research, and authoring/publishing. We investigated goals and strategies of online learning and examined learning theories and models ofteac hing/learning in relation to selected Internet activities for K-12 students.

Reflection

When I started teaching in the 1990’s, there was little to no Internet access at my school. What was available was in the Media Center with computers that were extremely slow and very unreliable. Access was also very slow and unreliable. I think back now to that time and wonder how I ever managed to make lessons interesting and engaging in the “lecture” classes I was teaching.

With that being said, one major belief that I have about learning with the Internet is that the Internet provides teachers with the ability to develop lessons that are not just engaging or interactive but also relevant and meaningful. The Internet provides access to a vast body of information as well as interactive tools that continue to grow exponentially. The resources available to teachers and students are becoming more and more advanced and I can only foresee that continuing to grow exponentially as well. With the availability of all this information and the multitude of interactive and collaborative tools teachers would be remiss if they did not utilize the Internet in their unit plans.

Which leads me to another belief I have about the Internet and all the various ways to access the Internet and other web-based applications. For the most part, we are teaching a very ambitious and motivated group of digital natives who are not afraid of anything technological. They are accessing the Internet via normal computer channels but they are also using smart phones and tablets giving them immediate access to the Internet whenever they want. Students generally seem to have more time to surf the Internet and are just as likely if not more so to find “new and improved” ways of doing/learning things as are their teachers. A case in point is my pinterest.com project. These digital natives are conditioned to “think” this way, therefore, teachers really need to find ways to meet these students on a ground they are most comfortable.

One of the main benefits I’ve experienced from this course is the development of my final project which led me to pinterest.com. I am so excited to be able to use this tool in my class and without exploring this online tool via this course, I probably would not have investigated it to the extent that I did for this project. Even though a student originally introduced me to the site, I had not had time to look at it close enough to determine whether it would serve my purpose. Researching the project based on the merits of meaningful learning allowed me to create an authentic online tool that grabs and holds student’s interest and will meet the needs of several of my course objectives.

Another main benefit of this course has been that I was “forced” (I say this in jest) to investigate Web 2.0 tools and other Internet activities/sites/concerns/statistics, etc. I have such an interest in technology and keeping up to date with the advances in software, Internet tools, gadgets, etc. but often time does not allow for me to really spend time researching these avenues (or at least that’s what I tell myself). This course has provided me with the time to read up on what some of the current trends are utilizing the internet and learn about the many, many Web 2.0 tools available among other web-based applications. Though I wasn’t able to get through the entire A-Z group’s discussion board for Web 2.0 tools, I did “collect” the information and plan to spend some time over break looking at their recommendations more in depth.

Although I wasn’t initially sure how I would feel about online courses when I started this program, I have found that I truly enjoy them and have gained a lot of valuable knowledge and information that I can use with my students. I’m just so thankful I’m not still stuck in the 1990’s!

Artifacts