Technology

I think that advances in Internet and technology are mostly beneficial. It has become easier to share video and audio clips in the classroom which provide additional ways of learning besides lecturing. Email has become useful because it is a quick way of communicating with both students and parents. Grade reports can easily be sent to parents with email so that they can get updates and can express concerns with a teacher. Internet also allows students access to a lot of information that they would have to search pretty extensively for in a library. I especially enjoyed online articles for my Paideia research project because it made information available to me in my own room.
Despite the many advantages there are some problems with Internet and technology. It is sometimes difficult for students to sort the vast amount of information on the Internet and because anyone can make a website it is hard to know what is a reliable source. Certain Internet aspects such as myspace and facebook have also made it easier for students to be subject to stalking. Unfortunately some safety settings are unable to protect our youth from Internet prowlers. Finally, it can sometimes be discriminating to require students to use computers and Internet because there may be students that do not have access to this in their home and are not provided with transportation to places that they may be able to use it.
Overall I think that these advances in technology have benefited the classroom but there are some things that we must be careful of in using it.