Teaching Effectively Using the Internet

Teaching and the Internet can make a great combination. But first you have to understand that the Internet is not a substitute for good and effective teaching. And using it improperly could cause problems. The Internet is an information and resource tool and teachers and instructors should utilize it mainly for these purposes. It is not a crutch or support for bad teaching. Using the World Wide Web as a resource for quick teacher concepts. This is actually where the Internet shines. Instructors do not have to sort through books and file cabinets searching for a lesson plan guide or worksheets.

For instance, if you need a coloring page, lesson plan or worksheet on just about anything, bang! A quick search will produce abundantly. All of those are available and sometimes for free on the wonderful world of the Internet. When you need a worksheet for math, also you will find it fast. The perfect solution to finding instrutional and classroom materials such as lesson plans is the Internet. As time goes by, you can even come up with your own folders filled with useful material without spending a single cent in a bookstore. But there is really no need to do that.

You just have to bookmark your favorite chosen websites and you would never need a file cabinet full of reproducible anymore. Using the Internet as a resource and information tool. Many websites are within your reach and they provide some insights on teaching methods ad techniques, helps, tips and hints for classroom improvement. But they are not meant to replace for what you have learned and extracted from past experiences ad fellow teachers. Instead, they must only be used for enhancing and developing your teaching skills. There are so many instructors and teachers that use the Net as a mere alternate or replacement for all other resources, which includes their own styles, strategies and imagination.

You could also find so much in teaching wisdom, but it is a different matter if you’re putting it in practice. Adopt and integrate some knowledge into your teaching, but always find some ways to personalize it. You could look for good teaching concepts and ideas and you can run them by your teacher colleagues. For teachers and instructors, the World Wide Web has sometimes become a replacement for magazines, journals and textbooks and for some reason; some instructors have placed the Net above everything else. Try not to fall into this trap--you can definitely discover some great and relevant ideas for topics, but all ideas must be kept in their proper perspective.

Never try to use the Net for this sole purpose alone just before or during class hours. You would need duty-free time to dig the wealth that is available on hand in the Web. Try thinking of it as a guide and reference for long term teaching career. Consequently, a teacher should never think that strategies, planning and classroom teaching itself could be replaced by the Web. It can’t—one should not have the mindset of “As long as there’s the Internet, I no longer need to plan.”