Teaching with Technology

A Seminar for Teachers
at Stonington High School in Stonington, CT

Conducted by David A. Salomon, June 1998, August 1998, September 1998

Internet material can be flashy:

It can be fun:

It can be commerical and obnoxious:

And Internet material can be dull:

Hi, my name is Heather. This is my homepage. :) Wanna see some pictures of me and my cat?

But Internet material can also be terribly helpful, time-efficient, enlightening, informational, and even thought-provoking:
Click here! or here!

One thing's for sure . . .

our students are a part of it, and it is a part of our students' lives. We cannot just ignore it. It won't go away (as much as we might wish it would).

How then do we integrate contemporary culture and technology into our syllabi? How do we bring the outside world into our classrooms without letting the outside world get in the way? The solution is to use the technology to enhance our teaching, not in place of our teaching.

Some Basic Terminology

There are several basic terms and concepts which are essential to understanding how all of this works. Many software packages can be downloaded from the several FTP sites, such as Download.Com.

Internet: refers to the worldwide network of computers connected through telephone data lines. No one "runs" the Internet, making it either completely democratic or completely anarchic, depending upon your point of view. Internet locations are designated by the ends of their addresses (.com .edu .org and .gov are most often used).

LAN: or Local Area Network, refers to a network of computers operating in a somewhat- closed environment such as a classroom, library, or other fixed space.

World Wide Web (WWW): refers to the "universe of network-accessible information, the embodiment of human knowledge" (W3C, The World Wide Web Consortium).

Hypertext: refers to a special type of database system, invented by Ted Nelson in the 1960s, in which objects (text, pictures, music, programs, and so on) can be creatively linked to each other. When you select an object, you can see all the other objects that are linked to it (from PC Webpedia). In web browsers, hyperlinks are coded in a color (usually blue) that change to another color (usually red) to indicate that you have already visited that link.

Web Browsers: the two most popular graphical browsers are Netscape and Internet Explorer (from Microsoft). Explorer has always been free, and Netscape may be downloaded free from the UConn ftp site. Both programs are currently on version 4 with one or two updates per year. Additionally, there are text-only browsers such as Charlotte, which is the text browser on the UConn Mainframe system.

HTTP: stands for "hypertext transfer protocol" and is the "method" used to transfer files using a graphical web browser.

FTP: stands for "file transfer protocol," a way of transfering files over the Internet.

Telnet: a program which allows remote connection to a site. You can, for example, go to the Yale library using a telnet program.

Eudora, Pegasus: two e-mail programs which may be used through a PPP connection or the university's backbone. Eudora is actually named after the Southern writer, Eudora Welty.

Usenet or Newsgroups: "a public place where messages are posted for public consumption and response. The most available distribution of newsgroups is USENET which contains over ten thousand unique newsgroups covering practically every human proclivity. The names of newsgroups are comprised of a string of words separated by periods, such as "rec.humor.funny" or "misc.jobs.offered". The first word (i.e. "rec" or "misc") represents the top level category of newsgroups. The second word (in these examples "humor" and "jobs") represents a subcategory of the first level, and the third word a subcategory of the second" (from NetDictionary).

PPP Connection: a PPP or Point-to-Point Protocol connection is the way one accesses the Internet through a modem. The connection is to what is called an ISP or Internet Service Provider--examples are AOL, SNET, and EROLS.

Virus Software: you should run some type of virus protection software if you are going to use the Internet often or if you will use disks on more than one computer. McAffee and Norton are the two most popular programs.

I also have written another page, Information on the Internet and How-tos, which you might find helpful (N.B. this page has not been updated). Still confused? Don't know your Java from your Pegasus? Check the PC Webopedia, a site devoted to definitions of popular and obscure computer-related terminology. The NetDictionary is a similar resource.

The Discerning Reader

One of the most daunting issues when working on the Internet is discernment. How do we know what's up there is reliable, accurate, or worthy of citation? This essay, written by a librarian at UCLA, is a wonderful overview for "Thinking Critically About WWW Resources. Every teacher and every student should read it before embarking on Internet research.