EDLD 5362

Teaching With and Without the Internet

The Internet can be looked at with scorn and admiration.  To some people it is a bastion of hope and a way to bridge the learning gap in our schools.  Others view the Internet as a force to try and control, or limit.  I interviewed Ann Johnston this week regarding the changes in education and the impact technology has had on her teaching career.  Mrs. Johnston has been an elementary teacher since the 1970’s and has embraced technology from the start.  However, she has seen many of her counterparts fight the changes and even quit the profession. 

Before the Internet was available in schools, most of the lessons were lecture centered.  If a child asked a question that the teacher could not answer a teachable moment would be lost.  Mrs. Johnston stated,

“When a student asked a question that I did not know the answer to I would have to find it in the library or an encyclopedia.  Many times the child would not be as interested in my answer the next day.  The internet helps the curious minds obtain information faster while their interest is at a peak” (personal communication, October 9, 2013).

According to Norton & Wilburg (1998), “The teacher no longer has to be in charge every minute, but can give some of the control over to the students and the technology.  If approached in a constructivist manner, the teacher’s job becomes one of facilitator or architect” (as stated in Sprague & Dede, 1999).  Students have facts, figures, and statistics at the touch of a button.  We need to teach them to use the facts to create and collaborate with groups of people.  According to Levin & Arafeh (2002) “Students think of the Internet as an important way to collaborate on project work with classmates, study for tests and quizzes, and trade class notes and observations”.  Project based learning is an initiative that our district has implemented in order to prepare our students for the future, and I believe integrating technology into PBLs will have an even greater impact.  

Students as a whole have not changed much according to Mrs. Johnston.  Their knowledge regarding worldly issues has changed due to the presence of social networks, availability of adult forms of media, and the changes in television shows.  However, students still thrive on compliments, if they are sincere, and generally want to do well.  High school teachers might disagree, but we were discussing elementary students.  The presence of the Internet has made it easier for children to be bullied by a larger audience.  Stopbullying.gov reports “Kids who are cyberbullied have a harder time getting away from the behavior.  Cyberbullying can happen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and reach a kid even when they are alone” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.).  Digital citizenship needs to be addressed in schools starting at a very young age in order for students to understand netiquette. 

When we started talking about learning theories it was hard to find a theory about child development or experiential learning that has changed due to the Internet.  Teaching theories have changed due to the presence of technology and the Internet in a classroom.  The phonics versus whole language pendulum continues to swing when it comes to teaching a child to read.  Technology has allowed teachers to take a differentiated approach to reading instruction.  “Differentiated instruction applies an approach to teaching and learning that gives students multiple options for taking in information and making sense of ideas”(Hall, Strangman, & Meyer, 2003).  Students can read a story of their choice within their ZPD range and take an Accelerated Reading quiz.  There are also online programs such as Fast ForWord that links each student to a phonics lesson at their individual level.  This kind of teaching directly to each child’s needs was more time consuming and harder to prepare for before the Internet and web based lessons.

            If students are taught how to use the Internet, and basic forms of netiquette, then they will be better equipped to use it to enhance their education.  Teachers need to be willing to change with the times and understand that it is okay for them not to know everything, but to be the examples on how to find the information they need.

References

Hall, T., Strangman, N., & Meyer, A. (2003). Differentiated instruction and implications for UDL implementation. Wakefield, MA: National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. Retrieved October 10, 2013 from http://aim.cast.org/learn/historyarchive/backgroundpapers/differentiated_instruction_udl

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 on October 10, 2013, from http://pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2002/PIP_Schools_Internet_Report.pdf.pdf

Sprague, D. & Dede, C. (1999). If I teach this way, Am I doing my job: Constructivism in the classroom. Leading and Learning, 27(1). Retrieved from the International Society for Technology in Education at http://imet.csus.edu/imet9/280/docs/dede_constructivisim.pdf

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Why is cyberbullying different? Retrieved October 12, 2013 from http://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it/index.html .