How is the Internet used in a classroom?

In order to make use of information on the Internet, it must be placed into a context. In the ACT, the structure most often used is that described in the Information Access Curriculum Support Paper, and is called Information Literacy. Information Literacy is about turning an assignment into a finished product. The steps involved are:

This process is used for encyclopedias and books, not just for information on Web pages.

The teacher may provide some sort of structure for Internet access. This structure is often called scaffolding. How  work is scaffolded will depend on a range of things such as the age and ability of the children, the available access to the Internet, and the desired learning outcomes.

For Example, an assignment for a middle primary class might be as follows:

The text on the Internet is in third person (for example, Koalas live in gum trees). The assignment asks for a post card so that the text has to be re-written in the first person (for example I saw a koala in a gum tree). This forces the student to read, understand and report the text on the web pages. It also prevents plagiarism by making it impossible to simply cut-and-paste the information. Similarly, to answer the question about  how much it cost the family to get in, the student will need to both look at the prices and do some maths.

The teacher might ask the children to hand in the notes they took while looking at the web pages as additional material to support their evaluation.

The question could be changed for different abilities. For example, if the teacher wanted to make the children do more research, she may have only provided the address of the Map. The children would then have to find more information themselves. If a letter had been requested rather than a postcard, a longer response would have been needed. For a unit of work, the question may have asked for a re-design of the zoo, perhaps to accommodate more space for some new animals.

Searching

At some stage, children must learn how to locate information for themselves on the Internet. Searching is an art form, and there are no fixed rules for constructing a successful search. Practice and some guidance or support can make the learning process much easier. Searches rely on the key words that are developed in the Defining stage of the Information Literacy process.

Yahoo! provides a structured way to locate information. You can also restrict searches to particular sections, say animals in Australia, or Snow in the recreation section.

AltaVista is a more powerful search tool. It allows you to refine your search. Many other search tools have similar features.

What sites do your children use?

Many children enjoy the Wiggles. Children can be involved in creating pages to be placed onto the Internet. These can be a place for Australian kids to publish stories, or they can publish for an international audience.Or they can create "choose your own adventure" stories, such as Koala Trouble.

Children can access interesting places, such as Questacon or Antarctica, or any number of other places around the world, or ask questions of real space scientists. They can become involved in on-line projects.

There are many general resource sites on the Internet set up specifically for children. A good starting point is Yahooligans!, a search tool designed for children to use. Take a look at the parent's page, especially the Yahooligans Rules for Online Safety.

In Australia, Education Network Australia (EdNA) is developing a range of resources for teachers and students. EdNA is a commonwealth project, supported by all the states and territories, which aims to locate a wide range of high quality resources with an emphasis on Australian content.

What sites are there for parents to use?

Telstra springboard provides a great entry point with a range of topics, again overcoming the bias towards the United States. Many other search tools are available.

Lyons is connected to the Internet through Canberra Schools on the Net, (CSN). This is the Department of Education and Community Services Internet Service.The Department is developing the Information Technology resources in all schools through the Bringing IT Together initiative.   Other policy documents are available on the Department's site.

What about Security?

The media often portrays the Internet as a dangerous place. How safe is the Internet to use? What do parents need to know about Internet access?

The risks of Internet access are exposure to inappropriate material, harassment, and physical molestation. These risks can be minimised by adopting a few simple rules. These include never giving out personal information, ensuring a reasonable level of supervision, and being open about the issues involved. With these rules in place, making use of the Internet is as safe as making use of the local shopping centre - and certainly less dangerous than a drive in the car.

There are many sites dedicated to the issues of children using the Internet. KidSafe is a United States site which has a great deal of quality information.

Canberra Schools on the Net, (CSN)   includes a filtering system to eliminate many inappropriate resources. This is essentially a list of inappropriate web sites that cannot be accessed via CSN. This list can be added to by staff at Lyons Primary School. In addition, the computers with Internet access are password-protected. There are a range of such products available for home use.

It is also vital that children learn about appropriate behaviour on the Internet. At some stage they must make a transition from being shown what is available to locating information themselves, and so they must learn to judge the quality of Internet resources. Preparing Your Daughter or Son for the Next Century by Jamieson McKenzie provides an excellent account of how parents can encourage critical thinking.

Homework Help

Resources for kids

The whole Internet is a huge resource for assisting kids with their homework. Difficulties can arise when:

• Too much material is located, making it too difficult to select the appropriate resources
• The material is inappropriate  - Academic material, or material with an obvious commercial bias, or material which is biased towards North America, for example.

These problems can be overcome to some extent by making use of EdNA, the commonwealth-funded Education Network Australia. EdNA sites have been approved by Australian educators.

Many sites provide lists of resources for use by children. Homework Central, Jr, is appropriate for Primary age children. B.J. Pinchbeck's Homework Helper is a directory of sites which may of use in doing homework. Both  sites are mainly North American in content.

Yahooligans! lists a range of helper pages, and provides an index of pictures and sounds to be downloaded and placed on your homework Again, the content is North American.

You may choose to use the Information Literacy process as a guide for doing homework. Wanniassa Hills Information Skills Project aims to help students with the processes involved in information literacy and the skills necessary for their research.

Resources for Parents and Teachers

Similar problems and biases occur in locating resources for parents and teachers.

Parent's Place is a site intended to support parents helping children with homework Kid Info is another. The Online Educator aims to promote Internet use in schools.

The National Parent Information Network is a clearinghouse of primary and pre-school resources in the United States. It includes a directory service for parents. This includes some excellent resources for helping children to learn at home.