Internet Resources

This week I spent a lot of time looking at different Internet resources that I had not seen up to this point.  There were, on the list to look at, a few that I have used and enjoyed before.  But, for the most part many of these were brand new.  This was great to see as I have, as discussed with my group, not really explored many sites outside of what I already know.  These sites work for me and why fix what ain't broke.  BUT WOW!  I found so much more out there.  I am used to creating my own activities and lessons.  When exploring many of the sites this week, I have found that there are already lesson and activities created and ready for use.  It just takes some time to explore and find them.  Knowing this will make my job much easier and less time consuming in the future.  Exporeing this week seems to have been a lesson in--Don't be afraid to explore!

Search Engines

     I find it very interesting that there are actually proper ways to search the net.  I have found with many of the articles read this week, that I am not doing the whole internet search thing properly.  I changed my ways a bit and found that I got much more specific and larger amounts of hits when searching.  It may seem a bit strange, but I learned a great deal for a site that was designed for students in middle school!
     The debate I have been waiting for on this topic has finally arrived, Wikipedia.  I have been told through high school and college that Wikipedia is not a credible source and is therefore, "NO good for research projects."  Anyone can write on Wikipedia, and because of that the information may be false.  I did learn this week that there is a team that goes though the information to check for credibility.  False information may be up for a day or two, but overall it is delete at a rather quick rate.  I have done very little searching with the site up to this point, but I did take this opportunity to try it out.  I was amazed.  All I have been told before did not seem to be true.  I looked up things I have a very strong knowledge base on and others I don't.  I knew much of the information and anything I questioned, I looked around the net to see if I would find the same information.  Every 2nd opinion I got supported the original information from Wikipedia.  This will be a site that I use for seaching much more often. 
      The issue with searching the net and my teaching is that we do not do enough projects that require teaching how to properly search at this point.  We do 1 or 2 projects we use the net for and are limited on the time we have the labs.  It is because of this that we are not to indepth with our search engines in 2nd grade yet.  We are continuing to work on our typing skills yet.
     Overall, I am excited about the searching and creating of my form to evaluate websites.  I think that taking the time to really look at how to properly use a site and what they can do will help me not only in my classwork for MEIT, but also in my teaching. 

Internet Learning Resource

     After looking over what the Internet is and what it has to offer in the past few weeks I think it is great to step back and look at what the net can do to help enhance learning.  It was very interesting to look at sites that teach about how to use the Internet to learn about, the Internet.  It is further intriguing that the age that these sites are set for is anywhere between 7-12.  This is very interesting as there are just as many adults who are learning about the net for the first time as well.
   What is important for all educators to look at is the idea that the Internet is a "Learning
 Resource."  The Internet has so much to offer that can enhance lessons in school or even in personal study that it is really true to say it is almost endless.   There are sites that allow learning though games and videos.  There are sites to enhance student research and ensure that it is a "safe" search.
    The net is boundless in its options to be used as a learning tool.  This class, as it my be short may be one of the greatest in learning about how to use the net as a learning tool from a teachers point of view.  It will, I hope open my eyes to many sites that will aide in my teaching, and expand my definition of the Internet as a Learning Tool.