Helping Teachers Teach: Integrating the Internet into the Classroom

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by Donna Baumbach, Director

Instructional Technology Resource Center

University of Central Florida

Orlando, Florida

Combine your professional responsibilities to lead staff development, to teach information skills, and to stay on the cutting edge of technology.

Project-based learning. Laptops in schools. School video news programs. Learner-centered instruction. Multimedia student publishing. Electronic learner-support systems. . . .

Even for teachers who were trained recently, and certainly for those who have been teaching more than a few years, these may be completely new topics and activities. Interestingly, most of these activities at some point involve Internet skills. How can teachers keep up? With increased demands for teachers to be in the classroom and not out at professional conferences and staff training sessions, it is not easy. While there are many Internet-savvy teachers and those who "surf" for their own personal needs, some teachers still remain unaware of the vast educational opportunities available on the Net. Media specialists, whose most important job is to create a school community that can access, use, and value information, can help. A little patience in taking these teachers from where they are and leading them to where they want to go will be appreciated and will have lasting impact on students.

INTERNET AS A PROFESSIONAL TOOL

Most good teachers are always looking for new ideas, new techniques, new ways to make learning more effective for their students. Show teachers how to access the Internet from home or school to enhance their professional development and classroom performance. Even if they think they will never use the Internet with students, hook them with one of the following professional development benefits:

"Meet" Like-Minded Professionals. E-mail, listservs, and newsgroups can help teachers cope with the isolation many may feel. Through these discussion forums, teachers can keep abreast of current issues, trends, and ideas. They will …