1. Introduction
Many of the Internet projects require students to communicate with
students from different states or countries via electronic mail or
mailing lists or other news groups. Furthermore, The Internet should be a
part of an integrated teaching system. It should be seen as a tool that
supports and enhances learning and not as a means by itself.
Teaching using the Internet does not by itself lead to achieving
curriculum objectives, because part from assisting in class preparation,
a good knowledge of the Internet allows us to assist our students in
their class activities involving the Internet. Besides, Professional
Development is a key to updating skills and for career advancement for
teachers. Among others, we can use the Internet to join a discussion
group, subscribe to a news group, take classes, and keep in touch with
professional colleagues.
To successfully use the Internet for teaching, we must know how to
access the various services available through the Internet. School students (Public or Private) can harness the power of ICT in order to be productive to the society.
Rural Learning can also improve significantly through the use of ICT tools. Government should ensure that funds are released to schools in order for Schools to achieve their objectives.
2. How the Internet Enhances the Teaching Process
We can use the Internet to add value, manage our classroom or improve
the planning. We want to teach using the Internet because we want to
change, improve, add a new dimension to our teaching, or vary the types
and increase the quality of activities assigned to students. In
learning, the students need some motivation. Allow them to use the
Internet in their learning is a motivational push to who are bored by
the traditional ways of information delivery, and thereby expedite the
transfer of information from the short-term memory to the long-term
memory. The Internet allows us to motivate some of the lost students in
the class, and thereby accelerate the assimilation process.
According to an African proverb,
a person who asks questions understands a new language faster.
Using the Internet for educational activities provides a different
avenue for discovery through questioning, and for critical evaluation of
information. It is also important that we answer students’ questions
properly and timely. This is why we must constantly retrain according to
the needs of the time. For this information age, we must be vexed with
the personal and educational uses of the Internet.
Generally, Communication is a way of using knowledge. It is a source
for re-enforcement. The Internet promotes fast communication across
geographical barriers, and therefore gives students an opportunity to
communicate early in life with a broad range of people not imagined
possible before. Also using knowledge in different settings give a
better understanding of the different shades of meaning of the concepts
involved in a giving learning situation.
Besides to manage the class room, you can post class lessons,
homework problems, and practice exams on the Net for students to access
from home, from the library, or from any place that has access to the
Net. Parents can access the Web pages to confirm the homework problems
their children are required to do. Moreover, the homework could be
structured in such a way that the student can progress from simpler to
more challenging activities by means of hyperlinks. In addition to
posting class lessons and homework, we can have a class bulletin board
on web site. In this way, students can get involved in class discussions
in a manner not possible in the classroom. This medium can also be used
to resolve problems between class periods.
In conclusion, the Internet allows you to add content to your lessons
and to disseminate useful information to students and parents without
waste of valuable class time and those give many advantages for students
in learning.
3. Advantages of Students Using ICT for Learning
As was pointed out previously, the Internet provides students with
the tools they need to discover and own knowledge. And give students the
hooks and templates they need to fasten information to the long-term
memory. There are some advantages of student using ICT for learning :
1. Motivating Factor.
The Internet can act as a motivating tool for many students. Young
people are very captivated with technology. Educators must capitalize on
this interest, excitement, and enthusiasm about the Internet for the
purpose of enhancing learning. For already enthusiastic learners, the
Internet allows you to provide them with additional learning activities
not readily available in the classroom.
2. Fast Communication.
The Internet promotes fast communication across geographical
barriers. Your students can join collaborative projects that involve
students from different states, countries or continents. This type of
learning experience was not possible before the Internet. This is a
unique learning experience very essential for each of our students, as
the world is becoming one big community. Website such as Facebook, Twitter etc has changed the way student and teachers communicate. We can use application like this to reach out to the world, and we can also use it to share ideas and information.
3. Cooperative Learning.
The Internet facilitates cooperative learning, encourages dialogue,
and creates a more engaging classroom. For example, Google product for our
class will allow your students to get involved in class discussions
through Google range of products(gmails, Google+, Google App) in a way not possible within the four walls of the
classroom.
4. Locating Research Materials.
Apart from communication, research is what takes many people to the
Internet. There are many more resources on the Internet than the school
library can provide. We can encourage students to take advantage of this
wealth of resources on the Internet for their research.
5. Acquiring Varied Writing Skills
If students are required to publish their work on the Internet, they
have to develop hypertext skills. These skills help students gain
experience in non-sequential writings. Moreover, and since the Internet
is open to all with access, students publishing their work on the
Internet are forced to be mindful of their language and to write to
non-expert audience.
5. Conclusion
Deploying ICT Infrastructure into our school for both teachers and students can help improve our economy on a long term basis, students and teacher can be able to get the latest information on technology in the world. Private sector partnership should also be encourage, so as to make sure that ICT tools are disbursed to our schools.
SOURCES
Internet