Internet Use in the Classroom

I think using the Internet in an Early Childhood classroom can be a very beneficial tool if used correctly. There are so many greats things children can access on the Internet. There are many websites for children where they can learn skills, play games, and do other fun activities. Also more than anything they enjoy it! However, this has to be closely monitored. There are many things online that children should not view, and often they may not even mean to. Most of these things should be blocked by the school, hopefully making it safe for children to explore the Internet. As long as it is monitored, Internet can be a great tool! In addition it must be not be used in excess. The Internet is not a substitute for teaching, and most of the real learning should be hands on.

I would mostly use the Internet a lot outside of the classroom. I would use it to find activities we can do in the classroom, worksheets, games, and mainly ideas. The Internet has millions of ideas for lessons, bulletin boards, and ways to incorporate themes. Additionally, I will hopefully have several computers located in my room where the students can use them during free time. It would be a privilege though and can be taken away.

There are so many great websites out there for teachers now! I have a hard time picking out a favorite. However one that I particularly liked while exploring the websites we received in class was 4kids.org. I think this is one that could be used for the children to explore in free time. There are information pages, games, links to other websites, and fun activities for them to do. It appears to be a safe site so it would be acceptable in the classroom. I think they would enjoy using it and I spent several minutes myself looking through all the different sections.