The Internet: A Treasure Trove for Teachers and Students:
Resources, Problems, & Solutions???
Presenters: Tom O'Haver, the University of Maryland at College Park, and
Mary O'Haver, Fairland Elementary School
NATIONAL TEACHER TRAINING INSTITUTE
FOR MATH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
April 17 & 18, 1998
UMBC Technology Center
University of Maryland Baltimore County
Baltimore, Maryland
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~toh/
Resources: Teachers' Treasure Trove
Using the Internet
Project ideas
Student Projects
Telecommunications Projects
Interesting Math and Science Sites
On-line Magazines
Interactive Sites
Live data and on-line experiments
Collections of Links for Education
Sites for Kids
Errors and Misconceptions
Professional Organizations
Sites of personal and family interest
Problems and Solutions(?)
My school does not have any computers.
Our computers are old and outdated.
Older computers can still be very useful for basic applications such as
word processing, email, and spreadsheets. You might also be able to
run the older versions
of Web browsers (e.g. Netscape 1.1) on older computers.
We only have one computer hooked to the Internet.
This can still be very useful as a shared information resource!
Teachers and children, working individually or in small groups, can share
one networked machine the same way they might share a set of
encyclopedias. It is also possible to
download Web sites onto disks for students to access
while using non-networked computers.
It's so hard to find stuff: The Internet is not very well organized.
Many educators have already created well-organized collections
of Internet sites suitable for education. The Internet can also be searched automatically using several different kinds
of searching tools .
There are
tutorials that help you learn how to search efficiently.
What if my kids get into objectionable material?
Young children should be monitored by resposible adults when surfing
or searching the Internet. There is "site blocker" software available that will block
access to objectional material. For more information, see
The Children's Partnership and
and Safety on the Net by Larry Magid.
You can also
download the Web sites that you want your kids to use and install them
on non-networked computers.
How do I know if the information is reliable?
Material on the Internet is not organized by grade level.
It does not always work!
It is a fact of life that complex technology is sometimes
unreliable. Plan for alternative activities if the network is
down. Consider the possibility of
downloading Web sites onto disks so you won't have to depend on a live
Internet connection.
I don't have time for this: our curriculum is full already.
OK, you've convinced me. Where do I get an Internet connection?
The easiest thing is to get your own personal Internet account from a commercial
Internet Service Provider (ISP) such as Erols,
America On Line,
Verio Mid-Atlantic (formerly Clarknet), or
many other companies. You can use your account from home or
from school, using a local telephone number. Any classroom teacher or
other person with a direct classroom role, and certain school
administrators, may apply for one of the University of Maryland's
MDEDU
computer accounts, which provides email access.
Where can I go for help if I have questions or problems?
For Maryland teachers, the MDK-12 listserv list is an email discussion
group of Maryland K-12 classroom teachers and is an
excellent source of experienced and willing help for all sorts of questions.
Novices are welcome!
To subscribe to this discussion group, send a one-line email message to
LISTSERV@UMDD.UMD.EDU, with a blank subject line, containing the
message "subscribe MDK-12 Your Name", substituting your full name for
Your Name. Once you are subscribed, any messages that you e-mail to
MDK-12@UMDD.UMD.EDU will be automatically distributed to all other
subscribers. To unsubscribe (cancel your subscription), send the
message "signoff MDK-12" to LISTSERV@UMDD.UMD.EDU.