THE USE OF INTERNET TOOLS IN TEACHING
During my practice of education the internet and its vast technological resources were used to enhance my lessons. Technology integration is important in educating the digital minds today. Technology plays a vital role in addressing the multiple intelligences in the classroom as well as is a constructivist tool which can be used to create an authentic atmosphere whereby students can build on their prior knowledge in the classroom. In this entry I will be presenting two internet tools which were used during my pedagogical journey. These tools are both Bitstrip Comics and You Tube.
Bitstrip comics
Bitstrip Comics is an internet tool that creates fun comics using characters. This comic was used as an engagement along with a role-play to introduce the class to an everyday authentic problem situation in my conservation lesson. By looking at the comic the students were really engaged and enjoyed the comic especially since one of the avatars was designed to resemble their teacher. Using this internet tool was easy and created an image in the students' minds that would be difficult to imagine just by reading a prose paragraph. This was a very useful tool in my pedagogical practice.
you tube
You Tube was a very useful tool in delivery of my lesson during this year. You Tube enables educators to use a video to deliver concepts of the lesson to be taught. As the saying goes a picture paints a thousand words but You Tube paints an infinite number. You Tube also enables teachers to not only teach concepts but also skills such as using apparatus or dissecting a flower. You Tube was also used in my conservation lesson during my practice (See Lesson Plan Above). In this lesson I used a video not as an engagement but as as a consolidation in ending the lesson. This was very effective as the video was based on Trinidad and Tobago and students found the video to be very emotional.