THE INTERNET/VIRTUAL LEARNING IN THE CLASSROOM By: Jason Williamson & Jace Crossland

The Internet The Internet is a worldwide, publicly accessible series of interconnected computer networks (“Internet and Higher Education”)

Cons of the Internet in the Classroom  Maintenance and installation  Paid Tech Staff  Malfunctions  Teacher training

Cons of the Internet in the Classroom New features on websites bog down servers Objectionable material difficult to monitor

Cons of the Internet in the Classroom Computers already in use are not good enough for Internet Schools cannot afford to replace obsolete equipment

Pros of the Internet in the Classroom Current Events Up-to-date information to the second

Pros of the Internet in the Classroom Prepares student for life and workplace Establishes networking skills

Pros of the Internet in the Classroom Students can publish their work Limitless resource

Pros of the Internet in the Classroom Access to weather Expose students to different cultures

Integrating the Internet into the Classroom Step 1 Decide what you want the internet to do? Lesson plan, worksheets, online activities, ect. Step 2 Research your topic with a search engine. Step 3 Visit the sites and review their contents to make sure that they are pertinent to your unit and appropriate for your students. When you find a site that you want to use, Bookmark it. Make your lesson plan.

Integrating the Internet into the Classroom Step 4 Run through your lesson plan the day before you use any Internet sites to make sure that the site is still posted and you can get to it. Step 5 Finally, organize all of your internet sites by bookmaking the sites, for later use in lesson plans. ("How to...integrate the Internet." Teaching PreK-8 v 29 p September 2002 )

Virtual Learning Environments A VLE will normally work over the Internet and provide a collection of tools Tools normally included with a VLE are  Uploading content  Return of students work,  Peer assessment  Administration of student groups  Collecting and organizing student grades  Questionnaires  Tracking tools New features on some VLE’s include  Wikis  Blogs  3D Virtual Learning Spaces

Why aren’t VLE’s in every classroom? Fear of change! Teachers not wanting to change there already “perfected” ways of presenting material

Other Theories “Effective communication is not happening virtually, which is leading to fragmentation of a learning community with feelings of isolation and confusion among some students.” – According to: “Collaborative learning in the virtual classroom Dr. Julie Ann Richardson”

Virtual learning Environments

References Phillips, M. R. & Horton, V. (2000). Incorporating the internet into the classroom: Problems Opportunities and Thoughts. Internet and Higher Education, 1, Sharma, P. & Maleyeff, J. (2003). Internet Education: Potential Problems Solutions. International Journal of Educational Management, 17, Arbaugh, J. B. (2000). Virtual Classroom Versus Physical Classroom. Journal of Management Education, 24(n2), Youngen, G. K. & Davidoff, G. (1988). Incorporating the Internet into Science and Technology. Science and Technology by Race, 17(n2), "How to...integrate the Internet." Teaching PreK-8 v 29 p September 2002 Swain, Colleen. "The World Wide Web : A Classroom adventure." Intervention in School & Clinic v 32 p November '96.