Well, concerns about technology? Do you have time for concerns? By the time you have a concern, there is something new. In fact, by the time I finish typing this blog entry, there will probably be several new things. The biggest concern I have is keeping me and my sources/resources current. The Internet is changing rapidly, so what is there today might not be there tomorrow. So when planning, say a WebQuest for instance, you must make sure your resources are up to date and working. There is nothing worse when you the sites do not work and you have a classroom full of kids not able to get on to a site to complete an assignment. So you must be able to allow yourself an adequate amount of time to check these resources and swap out any that do not work. I would be concerned they are not current and I would have to make sure they have been updated with the correct information. Remember, just because it is on the Internet, it is not always true!
To alleviate these concerns, again, I would leave myself enough time to check the resources. Perhaps you chunk your exercises so they are not overwhelming. The Internet is an important part of our day to day lives and there are a vast amount of resources available for everyone to use and to find. The key is to make sure they are still available to use, they are relevant to the task at hand and they are appropriate to the audience you are using them with. Giving myself the time to check and review would make me feel a lot better.
I have several hyperlinks in the power points I use when the students take notes in class. I sometimes check to make sure my hyperlinks still work and are not "dead." When I don't do this during lecture time there's always a few links that end up not working and the students give me a hard time for not checking.
ReplyDeleteThe internet is changing so fast that many times a good link only is available for so long then it's gone. We as educators must constantly being willing to change and adapt. We no longer can keep a list of bookmarks that can be used year after year like papers in a filing cabinet. It's to the point that when you want to show a few good websites you must find them a day or two before giving a presentation.