The
rapid growth of information, coupled with the ability to exchange it more
rapidly among more people than ever before, is creating a new environment for
education (Hitlin, P., & Rainie, L., 2005). The Internet has empowered the world to do
things that were never thought possible not too long ago. Through my interview with Sherri Dent, professional
educator of over twenty years, I was able to shed some light on what the use of
the Internet has done in the field of elementary education.
Before the Internet, teachers had to put forth more time and
effort into planning the day-to-day instruction to ensure that their students
were receiving a high quality education that encompassed all of the TEKS. Mrs. Dent said that she had to do the
research herself so that she could adjust the lesson plans to meet the needs of
her students. She would create lessons
for those students who were struggling and for those who needed a more
challenging experience. She would also
go to other grade level teachers to get ideas.
Now, she uses the Internet to do more research on a topic she is
teaching. She also teaches the students
how to use the Internet. “I can use the internet to gain more information on
any given topic and then use that information in the teaching of my lesson” (S.
Dent, personal communication, April 9, 2013).
She believes her lessons are more up to date and therefore the students
can relate to the topic and how it applies to their everyday lives. Mrs. Dent used to only be able to read to the
children, and can now show them. If the
students have questions they can both look the answer up together and get
immediate feedback.
“Learning is about reinventing the wheel, and may all learners
have the opportunity to do so. The educator is merely a midwife in this
process” (Arsham, 2002). Even since I
have been teaching in the district, our reading and language arts curriculum
has made mountains of improvements and reinventing the wheel in the technology
department. Mrs. Dent said that she did
not have near the resources available for her reading groups. “I basically choose stories that would enrich
my grammar and phonics skill for the week and read those” (S. Dent, personal
communication, April 9, 2013). Mrs. Dent’s groups were leveled but she was
not able to give them more challenging assignments because her reading and
language arts resources were very limited.
Today, she uses the Internet to access books on line (E-books). There
are many programs that Mrs. Dent uses to teach all the language arts topics. The reading series is on-line and it covers
everything from phonics and grammar to reading comprehension. Having a reading series that has integrated
technology allows her to set the students’ assignments to their individual
levels on the computer.
In the content area of mathematics, it was set up much like the
language arts curriculum. Mrs. Dent
shared that the lessons were taught straight from the math book, and she
basically followed the flow of the book.
Her math lessons were mainly given in a whole group setting with very
little differentiation. Mrs. Dent today
uses all kinds of math programs that she has access through the Internet. “I am able to set goals for each student and
keep track of their individual learning needs in any specific math related
content area” (S. Dent, personal communication, April 9, 2013). She also mentioned that the educational games
she utilizes make learning fun for her students, instead of the old school method
of “skill and drill”. Based on the
findings of the Pew Internet and American life project, 55% of parents say that
it is essential for today’s children to learn how to use the Internet in order
to be successful and another 40% believe it is important (Graziano, M.,
Lenhart, A., & Simon, M., 2001).
Science and Social Studies lessons came straight from the
teacher edition manuals before the use of the Internet. Mrs. Dent said that if they needed to do any
research, they would have to take the entire class to the school library. Dent stated that today she uses the Internet
to enhance all areas of science and social studies. “When I teach about a historical person from
the past I can pull up an enormous amount of information and pictures for my
class to see” (S. Dent, personal communication, April 9, 2013). They can see how science works by actually
experiencing it first hand via the Internet.
Things of the past are made possible in the future by the click of the
mouse. Mrs. Dent said that she uses the
Internet more in these two content areas and in any other area she teaches.
Day-to-day procedures before the use of the Internet were more
time consuming. Taking attendance, lunch
count, and correspondence with parents all had to be conducted through notes or
phone calls stated Mrs. Dent. She had to
keep up with the number of absences and excuse notes all on paper. When it came to lesson plans they were all hand
written in a plan book and she not able to share my ideas with others across
the district. Now, Mrs. Dent can
correspond with teachers across my district about any topic via email. They share ideas and lesson plans on a weekly
basis. “I have a small percent of the
paperwork I had prior to the Internet and less access to information on the
students” (S. Dent, personal communication, April 9, 2013). She also mentioned that our curriculum in
available to us via the curriculum planner online and the lessons have video
streams, websites and games built in.
This advance in technology makes the students’ learning more meaningful,
and allows for the teachers to spend time on individualizing the lessons for
small group instruction. According to
Levin and Arafeh’s article on the widening gap between internet-savvy students
and their schools, students want to be assigned more—and more engaging—Internet
activities that are relevant to their lives. Indeed, many students assert that
this would significantly improve their attitude toward school and learning (Levin, D., & Arafeh, S., 2002). We are thankful that our district is already
on board with many of these Internet provided learning experiences.
References
Arsham, H. (2002, March). Impact of the
Internet on learning and teaching. USDLA
Journal, 16.3. Retrieved from http://www.usdla.org/html/journal/MAR02_Issue/article01.html
Dent, S. (2013, April 9).
Personal Interview
Graziano, M., Lenhart, A., & Simon, M.
(2001, September 1). The internet and education: Findings of the pew internet
and American life project. Pew Internet and American Life Project. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2001/PIP_Schools_Report.pdf.pd
Hitlin, P., & Rainie, L. (2005). The internet at school. Pew
Internet and American Life Project. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2005/PIP_Internet_and_schools_05.pdf.pdf
Levin, D., & Arafeh, S. (2002). The digital disconnect: The
widening gap between internet-savvy students and their schools. Pew Internet
and American Life Project. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2002/PIP_Schools_Internet_Report.pdf.pdf
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