Some words of reflection on using the Internet in the classroom

Nowadays, most English teachers are using the Internet as a pedagogical tool to foster language learning. Everyone know the very advantages of using the net (rapid access to all kinds of info, usage of multimedia which attracts learners with different cognitive styles, etc.). Nonetheless, teachers should be careful when using the Internet in the classroom as most poeple do not know that much of the information found in it may be misleading, biases, fake, or unappropriate. At this point, it turns out to be pertinent that teachers train students for them to be able to think critically about the different things available in the cyberspace.

With this in mind, a good integration of the Internet with lesson plans must start with a talk on the different features that may help learners to identify if there is somesing "obscure" concerning a website or the information it presents. We must teach our students to ask themselves, among other things, who publishes the info, why they publish it, to what extent the info is true, whether or not it can be confirmed by consulting other sources, etc. Only by developing students' (and in general, people's) critical thinking on this issue, they will be able to find and use info that is appropriate, reliable, lealistic, factual, and useful for any kind of purpose.

Search Engines

Particularly, when it comes to using the Internet with academic purposes, search engines arise as the most suitable alternative to look for and find information. There is a great variety of search engines or browsers that let us have access to almost everything we want. Some of the most popular ones are Google, Yahoo, Altavista, Ask, among others. However, most of the times, the majority of people can't get the best of them, as they do not know how to use their features and tools very much.

My recomendation? Well, first of all, teachers should get trained on this area so that they can be successful at searching for info and using the so many different things available for the teaching and learning of English in the net. Only after that, they will be prepared and confident enough to teach students about it. In my personal experience, which is sort of funny by the way, recently I knew about Ask.com and how to use it. I never knew that it was, in fact, a search engine that I could use in my lessons. When I think of this I realize that most of us are just "toddlers" in the cyberspace. Taking this into account, my mission from now on (and I dare to say all teachers' too) is to keep updated on the field of LTs so that we can use them appropriately and successfully.