Week #5 -EDU 638 - The Internet and Education

The Internet and Education

According to Picciano (2011), that the Web is still evolving and can require substantial resources, particularly in the time it takes to script, develop, and edit quality instructional multimedia.  Nonetheless, the potential of multimedia for web-based learning activities cannot be ignored and needs to be considered.  However, the author stated that in developing multimedia for web-based learning applications, teachers, and technical assistants should start by considering student access to the Internet.  The effective transmission of sound animation and full-motion video on the Internet depends on computer hardware and communications capabilities’.

The goal of the application is to provide learning  opportunities to students in their homes, then teachers should carefully consider the extent to which multimedia can be effectively used, because not all students have access to the Internet in their homes and some of those who do are using a slow speed modem connections. As connection speeds increase and the ubiquity of the Internet pervades, digital content reigns. And in this era, free education has never been so accessible (Picciano, 2011, p.148).

The author states that therefore in developing Internet applications for education, administrators should consider how to integrate the Internet with other data communications facilities in a school district.  Although, many school districts rely on the Internet exclusively for their data communications systems, it does not necessarily have to replace existing facilities such as LANS and WANs but can be used to enhance them.  Given the issues of student’s access to technology, technical support requirements, and difficulties involved in producing or obtaining high quality multimedia materials, teachers should consider providing substantive Web based animalization, audio, or video material only if it in fact adds to the instructional value of an activity (Picciano, 2011).

In order to become effective, with the Internet, many teachers should form a team with the IT support team, according to (Hall, 2011), called norming.  They should set the guidelines of what the students should and should not do. Also, teachers should have the best ways for the team to share their knowledge through tutorial videos and multimedia applications.

Reference

Hall, Don (2008). The technology director’s guide to leadership: The power of great questions.

     International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE): Washington, DC.

Picciano, Anthony G. (2011). Educational leadership and planning for technology (5^th

     ed). Pearson Education, Inc.: Upper Saddle River, NJ.