The Internet – a teaching resource

Abstract

The world is constantly undergoing changes, and the Internet is being used as an important teaching resource. From the chalk piece to the computer, technology has been present in school as a link between action and learning for professors and students. Technological tools are more and more frequent in the class room: the computer along with its chief resource – the Internet – have raised a debate about their effectiveness in school education. The use of the Internet in educational programs has revealed that this resource gives rise to educational environments which are different from that of the traditional attendance classes regarding the roles of teachers and students, the flow of information, the degree of autonomy and participation of students, and the development of complex competencies such as those involving the resolution of problems. Nevertheless, experience shows that these results are useful and effective only when teachers are technically prepared for them. To educate using new technology is a challenge which has not yet been thoroughly tackled. Technology may help, but to educate is fundamentally to learn how to manage a set of information and turn it into something significant to the individual, namely knowledge. The introduction of the Internet into school programs acts as a catalyst for change. Therefore it is appropriate to consider this new tool as a precious aid to learning.