What is the Internet?According to Lever-Duffy and McDonald, the Internet is networking at its largest. The Internet is like a network in that it connects multiple computers and allows them to share files and communicate. The Internet is a network of networks (http://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/pctech/internet/internet.shtml). According to Wikipedia, the Internet “consists of millions of private and public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope that are linked by a broad array of electronic and optical networking technologies.” The Internet uses an Internet Protocol Suite, TCP/IP. This is the way communication is transmitted (the rules), kind of like a radio dispatcher talking to the mobile station. The Internet carries information and services to you and me. One way is the inter-linked (joined together) hypertext (hypertexts are documents with hyperlinks so you can click on and it can take you to the source) documents of the World Wide Web.
What value does it hold for educators?According to Lever-Duffy and McDonald, the Internet “makes it possible to seek, find, and communicate information that might otherwise been impossibly out of reach” and “makes it possible for teachers and learners to interact with each other globally to discover new perspectives and broaden personal horizons”. In other words, the Internet provides so many open doors for educators. Examples are as follows:
1. FREE reliable resources, such as, online dictionary, thesaurus, writing style resource, thousands of examples of papers, projects, and ideas
2. A way to communicate with other teachers from all over the world
3. A way to share ideas
4. A way to share common resources with others
5. A way to find interactive engaging new activities for students
6. A way to share lesson plans with others
7. A way to communicate with classrooms in another part of the country
8. A way for many people to attend classes
9. Interactive downloadable software
10. Educational games for students
11. Chat capabilities
12. Blogging capabilities
13. Wiki capabilities
14. Virtual field trips
15. A way for students to learn about cultures not in their books
16. Having students create their own web page
17. Training for teachers
18. Assessment tools
19. Tutorials
20. Faster access to information
21. Create a quiz
22. Easy way to “Go Green” by posting course information and documents to a course management system (ex. Blackboard)
The Internet has endless possibilities for teachers and students alike. There are so many ways a teacher can utilize the Internet with her students and for his/her students.