By: Erin Peterson

 The most important technological innovation of our generation  A resource of unparalleled potential

 The Internet is an international collection of computer networks with more than 800,000,000 users worldwide  A meta-network, a network of networks  Virtually, all schools have classrooms with Internet access  Parents and students also connect from home, libraries, and other public locations  The Internet offers ways to communicate with parents and to allow students to finish assignments

 Tools for communication  Tools for inquiry  Tools for construction

 Electronic mail, known as , is a system for sending, receiving, and storing messages  It is the most frequently used Internet application  The majority of U.S. citizens have an account and use it on a regular basis  Mailing lists are when one message is sent to a group of readers  Conferences are messages “posted” to a network location  Users from all over go to the site to read the messages  Chat and Instant Messaging are forms of telecommunications in which messages are exchanged in real time rather than stored for later reading  Video conferencing where video and audio are sent and received simultaneously

 Interpersonal Exchanges-key pals, global classrooms, electronic appearances, electronic mentoring, impersonations  Information Collections-information exchanges, electronic publishing, tele-field trips, pooled data analysis  Problem-Solving Projects-information searches, electronic process writing, parallel problem solving, sequential creations, social action projects