Internet in the Classroom

The Web and the Classroom Podcast

Visual literacy through technology is very important for today’s classroom. Most of the research in today’s world is done through the internet, both positively and negatively. We should use many of these same methods since this is the way that the students will learn in the future. This has impacted the teaching profession by causing an evolution of ideas about modern pedagogy in which the idea of standing in front of a classroom and lecturing is now just a thing of the past.
The use of visual-thinking strategies can help students figure out processes and connect concepts throughout their education. Thinking Maps are a major form of visual-thinking strategy that allow students to create individualized, graphic organizer style tools to sort through different types of data. The internet can be very helpful with this type of tool since it will help students find the research that they may need to connect the concepts of the content area.

These main forms of Thinking Maps can be used for any visual-thinking strategy.

Technology allows students to learn the same way proffesionals do!

The world today is full of many different types of technology and learning experiences.  Students have evolved to learn in the many different ways of the world, so our classrooms must change also.  Gone are the days of a teacher standing in front of a room and lecturing for the entire period as students very studiously take notes and glean all of the information they need to know.  Today’s children learn more effectively through a large selection of styles and through a very fast paced learning experience.  Having students experience the concepts that they are learning is a very important aspect of learning; students should be able to leave the education system with a good understanding of what working in a specific field entails.  

                The main change that has occurred in education is technological.  Individuals can now complete almost any activity without having to interact with another person.  Online banking, self-checkouts at the grocery store, and automated USPS machines are examples of services that have now moved to technological, non-human based services.  With the idea that technology is a major part of the world, it must also be a major part of the classroom.  The role of a teacher has changed in much the same way that the role of bank tellers, grocery store clerks, and Postal Service workers have; we must help facilitate and problem-solve for the activities that students will need to complete to learn the concepts of our curriculum.  By giving the students the proper tools to solve a given problem and being available to help the students through any problems, we are giving them a real-world experience that they will begin to encounter more and more regularly.

Students learned about Chemistry in a real world way as the class moved into the kitchen to discuss heat transfer.