Websites as an ICT resource

ICT resource – Websites

What is the resource?

The ICT resource is about using websites when you’re planning lessons as a teacher or together with the pupils for example in the classroom. There is a difference between webpages and websites. Website is the domain where you can find different webpages with information connected by links. What you need to have if you decide to use this as a teaching tool is a computer and an Internet connection. You can go even further if the school has a projector. For example, you write the webpage that you want to look at in the little window on the computer. With the projector you can show it to all the pupils´ in the classroom while you are doing it on a big screen. The Internet is a big part of the future and as a teacher and a pupil you can use this to your advantage in a lot of different ways.

How does it work and what do I need?

You don’t need to have a lot of technology when you are using internet for teaching. If the school has a computer room, laptops or possibly computers in the classroom you can use the Internet on either of them. Today Internet is all around us and our pupils´ and we will be exposed to it probably almost every day in some way. Almost every school in Sweden has an Internet connection today. The web is a very big source of almost everything you can think of. You can search for information, listen to music, play games, learn languages, look at maps, and talk to each other even if you are in another country. But in this case you need to use webcams and different programs to make it work. The sky is really the limit when it comes to the content on the web.    

Areas of use for teachers and pupils

If you as a teacher decide to use Internet as a source and a part of the learning process you need to have good knowledge yourself about webpages and websites and how you can work with this as a tool. The learners need to understand why they are working with this resource and as a teacher you need to explore the source together with them. This is particularly important to do with the younger pupils though they do not yet now about the different pitfalls that unfortunate are on the web, you need to know what to look for.

An example of a learning exercise can be different webpages and websites were the pupils will find different types of experience in language learning. They will in this way get the opportunity to explore and continue develop their language skills in a fun and different way compared to the traditional language lessons. To develop good language skills there need to be different types of learning experiences for the learner.

On these websites you will find webpages with a lot of language exercises where the pupils can practice on what they need or just continue to practice on different parts that are in a language. This could for example be grammar, read and listen to texts, pronunciation and so on. The internet opens up a whole new world of opportunities.      

 

 

Other thoughts

It´s important that you as a teacher talks about the internet and teach the pupils about this resource before you let them work with it. It is also important that you have good knowledge about the website they will be working on so you know and can answer questions if needed. When you are planning to use this resource in for example language teaching you need to investigate the authenticity of the website. This so there will be a good and fun learning experience for the pupils´. When you know your way around the Internet and knows how to work with this resource the sky is the limit.

Louise Olsson, 1EN30L