Activity 3a

C & I 335
Summer, 1998

Patty Chiles
Douglas School
Springfield, Illinois

I too subscribed to EdTECH and am in agreement with most of the summaries I have read. I had no experience with list servers and found this to be an interesting assignment. I am at point where I am learning so much about technology. At times the amount of information that is available is overwhelming to me.

Some of the discussion in EdTECH was of no interest to me at this time, but I did look in on discussions I could relate to. I found the discussion on Internet use the most valuable for me. As a teacher of junior high students I have many concerns about what is "out there" and how I can monitor where my students might browse.

I had experience using Yahooligans as a search engine for my students, but had never heard of Bess. The discussion of having a central computer that was monitored by an adult was interesting, but not practical for my building. I couldn't help but think about who would pay this person's salary, how many of these people would the District need, what would this cost to set up, and would this make us feel too safe about student Internet access.

I found it helpful to read the thoughts and concerns of others. It made me reflect on my own concerns. As I learn more I realize how impossible it would be for a teacher to preview material. The discussion about students not being able to obtain certain sites about AIDS was interesting. It makes me more aware of the need to inform students about how to validate information they receive via the Internet.

I can see where EdTECH could be a valuable tool for teachers. My problem is just one of time. As I read something interesting or go search where an individual has suggested I find myself branching out further and further. One site I found that I thought would be extremely helpful was http://www.schoolvision.com/drmitchell/Pages/Pages/bookmarks/ This site has the top 500 sites of interest to educators. It is well worth the time to visit. Don't ask how I got there! It was one of my many long Internet journeys.

EdTECH was interesting, but I can see where I need to learn to limit myself. There is just so much information available. Due to my lack of knowledge at this point I can only compare it to taking a small child to the library, turning her loose and suggesting she see if she can find something to read.