Of course, university students use
the Internet a lot. Taking a break from
an intense study session, we may chat with our friends on Facebook for a while. It is easy to think of the Internet as
primarily an entertaining and unessential modern convenience, easily replaced.
It is easy to take it for granted.
It is mind-boggling to consider,
however, how much the Internet has impacted our education itself, in a very
substantial manner. Teachers send class Power Point presentations as
attachments to our e-mail throughout the semester. Some classes require
homework be done or turned in online. We
also get updates and changes in assignments and class schedules. We contact the teachers with questions and to
make appointments. Often they say it is easier to reach them this way. Communication occurs not only with teachers,
but with other students as well. When we don’t understand something we can
easily connect, sharing the items we are not sure of. Doing group projects is a great deal easier too.
You Tube and other video clips and online photos that apply to our topic can to
added to our Power Point presentation, e-mailed to all the group members to add
on their parts. Ideas and concerns are
shared via e-mail.
Research for presentations, papers
and homework needs good academic articles, which can be accessed from the
university’s library website. It extends
to many other websites and articles around the world. Google searches can also
yield some good sources. For example, other universities post great visual
illustrations to help understand class materials. Complicated chemical reactions within cells
were made a lot easier to understand. I
used the Internet a lot in this way for my Biology class. Additionally, since I am a Spanish major, I
use a number of online resources as well. In my Spanish phonetics course, our
teacher referred us to this dynamic resource to see and hear how the sounds are
made. Check out this awesome site: http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/spanish/frameset.html.
Other websites offer movies in Spanish, cultural information
or grammar information, crucial to learning a foreign language. One such site www.duolingo.com, focuses on grammar, which
is divided by topics. You listen and repeat what you hear or translate
sentences. There are other activities as well.
It is very interactive. When you
make a mistake, for example, the program remembers it and integrates it into
the next lesson. Even though there is a
lot of learning taking place, the site is set up like a computer game.
“Lingots” can be earned for completing a section and practicing every day
builds up a “streak” with cumulative points.
One can invite friends to compete with. All the things earned are
educationally related, but the participant is so busy having fun, that it seems
more like play. There is an area to consult with other “players”, getting and
receiving tips on learning Spanish. There is an advanced translation area where
students interact with each other and discuss the sentences to come up with the
best translation. This site has been
very helpful and enjoyable to me.
Our university does not run that
site, but does have interactive online help. Some of the Spanish classes have
online homework and in-depth resources there.
Our Career Planning and Placement has several interactive sites for
knowing ourselves better, learning about careers and job qualifications and
internships. Additionally, our
university’s Spanish Club and Languages@Southern Miss groups are both on
Facebook. Posted are opportunities for
learning, interacting in the community, and available jobs to apply to. The study abroad trip to Costa Rica, used a
closed online group to coordinate information and schedules while overseas, as
well as enabled us to share our experiences and activities. This current blog
site, which you are on, is also part of my university. Our class assignments for my Spanish Writing class
included making this blog and writing weekly entries. We did have formal papers
to write in which strict grammar rules were followed. The blog entries here, served a different
purpose. As blogs are part of current,
popular communication, we were to gain experience setting up and writing them
as well. Our teacher also wanted us to
loosen up and write freely about things that we feel and experience in daily
life, without fear of making grammatical mistakes. No corrections were made. In this way, we could activate our creative
thinking, which was then applied to the formal papers in which we did correct
each paper, rewriting them four or more times. I found this method to be very
helpful. It made me feel very comfortable and confident. I was excited that the class was so in tune
with current affairs. As a result of
writing these blog entries, my creativity did get freed up. This spark enabled me to do very well when I
wrote the formal papers.
The positive aspects of the
Internet then, are that it enables communication channels from teachers and
students, helps with group projects in numerous ways, is a source for quality
research material - visual and interactive supplemental sites increase
understanding, other sites offer job and career development and contact with
others in the field.
There are few, but only a few drawbacks
to the Internet. One has to make sure
the sites you use are legitimate and be careful to avoid spam. Not all information on the Internet is
accurate, so it is better to stay with academic or official government sites
and such. Students can become addicted
to the Internet and neglect their daily life, so that is something to be aware
of. A counselor may be needed to help find a balance for that individual. Overall though, the Internet has a lot to
offer.
I love learning and as a
non-traditional student, I am thrilled to have this technology available to me.
I find the Internet to be is a very exciting and positive educational
experience. I think it’s phenomenal.
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| Here I am with other Spanish students from the University of Southern Mississippi. I am wearing the blue top. |
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