Surf the Web Fantastic

The Internet - what a wonderful innovation. Do you use the Internet in your classroom? Do your students use it to do research, find information, prepare reports? I'm sure they do - whether they use it at school, or at home.

The Internet is a great tool, but it also needs to be used with caution. This article will take a look at how the Internet got started, some great ways to use it, and some words of caution.

How the Internet Got Started

Explaining growing up in a world without computers and the Internet to students today is probably something like the days when our parents tried to explain to us what life was like growing up without television or microwave ovens. I remember trying to explain some of that to my own students some number of years ago. I was attempting to tell them what life was like before the invention of the VCR and the microwave, two things that I remember being so awed by when they became commonly available. The kids looked at me and just about shook their heads in pity - how could anyone LIVE without those items?

The same can be said for computers and the Internet. I can hardly remember how it was to live without mine, and I only started really using one about 8 years ago! Imagine how a 10 year old would feel if you tried to tell him about BC time - Before Computers, that is!

To get kids thinking about life BC, here's a great site to visit. Hobbes' Internet Timeline: http://www.zakon.org/robert/internet/tim... starts in 1957 with the launch of Sputnik and our launch into what would become the Internet world. It follows the development of computers and the Internet right up to 2003 and also has some nifty growth charts for your math whiz kids to peruse.

History of the Internet: http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/history/ivh... is another great site to visit if you are looking to put this valuable tool into some historical perspective.

Ways to Use It

There are probably as many ways to use the Internet and computers as there are computers themselves.

Here are just a few ways to fit computers into your classroom.

Classroom Today - Online Resources: http://www.classroom.com/learningarea/cl... This site has some terrific links to lessons, web quests, and the Classroom Connect Library. Global Schoolhouse: http://www.globalschoolnet.org/GSH/index... is a clearinghouse of more than 900 online collaborative projects, organized by topic, grade, and project date. Find partners or join projects from around the globe.

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