HOW TO TEACH ENGLISH WITH TTECHNOLOGGY
12/12/2012 21:33
Using web sites in the classroom
In this chapter we look at the basic skillset needed for effective use of the Internet with
'your students and take a closer look at the process for introducing the Internet into your
teaching.
Using websites is one of the easiest and least stressfirl ways of getting started with
technology in the classroom. There is a large and constantly expanding collection of
resources on the web, at a variety of levels and covering an amazing aftay of topics. You
can choose from authentic (written for Internet surfers in general) sources or Ell-specific
sites (made by, and for, teachers), monolingual or multilingual sites, sites with multimedia,
or just simple text, for those on slower connections.
The web is a source of content which can be used as a window on the wider world
outside your class, and is - of course - a readily available collection of authentic material.
As such, it is a much larger repository of content than would previously have been readily
available to you and your students.
Perhaps one of the best tips we can give you at this point is to work as a team with other
teachers in your centre. Everybody has their favourite websites, and plenty of teachers will,
at some point, have used websites in class, or taken material from the web and adapted it
for teaching purposes. Thke the time to share sources of content with other teachers and
organise regular get-togethers where you sit down and discuss what you have found on
the Internet and how you have used it in class. Collaboration like this can help to reduce
the time you spend searching for good materials and the time spent preparing activities or
making worksheets. fust as the Internet is becoming more of a collaborative medium, so
should your use of it in your teaching.
The technology needed to use the Internet for teaching is relatively limited and the
chances of something going wrong are greatly reduced over.more complex technology
approaches such as attempting to carry out live chat or video-conferencing sessions.