Article Summaries

Articles Summaries

2006

Although schools create and acquire knowledge , they are seldom successful in applying that knowledge to their own activities . In fact schools and other K-12 institutions have been recognized to be slow in the adoption of new technologies , including Internet . This is certainly true in terms of the application of information technology into the learning process , since the blackboard and chalk remain the primary teaching technologies in many schools even while the merits of information technology to improve communication , efficiency , and decision making in other organizations , but schools

, are recognized and inculcated by information technology researchers . However , as schools experience increased competitive pressures , information technology is one area that schools might use to differentiate or compete with or more importantly , to use as a catalyst for transforming educational processes . From the critical viewpoint , usage of Internet and informational technology in the classroom should not be regarded as a radical shift in educational perspective , but primarily positive and effective changes in teaching and learning processes

According to Wallace (2004 , Internet became an integral part of K-12 educational process and experts in numerous studies have already revealed the potential of the Internet for improving teaching and learning . Wallace (2004 ) aimed to demonstrate through three documented case studies , how instructors using combination of Internet , their skills and knowledge , engage students with educational content . As Wallace points out , the reciprocal connection exists between how Internet shapes educational process and how the process shapes Internet However , Wallace (2004 ) explains that for subject specific teaching Internet represents rather problematic issue , instead of panacea , in the form of affordances ' of resources , which author distributes in five categories , namely boundaries , authority , stability , pedagogical context , and disciplinary context . In the first case study examined by Wallace (2004 , teacher 's primary motivation to enhance the educational process with Internet was to make students to be fluent computer users and to have access to current information about science (Wallace 2004 . Instructor 's experience with Internet implementation in the classroom learning has been marked with both negative and positive outcomes . On the negative side , the instructor was disappointed with her students ' encounters with science on the web , and as she pointed out with the lack of impact that the Internet work seemed to have on their enthusiasm for studying ' [science] (Wallace , 2004 . At the same time according to Wallace (2004 , many students have demonstrated interest on what was happening in the class , primarily because they were .proud of their growing ability to use the Internet (Wallace , 2004 . School teacher 's experience with Internet introduction to the class demonstrated by Wallace (2004 ) in the second case , has been mainly negative , because students were not taking advantage of Internet resources , pointed by their instructor , thus destroying teacher 's expectations from Internet and educational process . Third case study was more successful then previous , because from the very beginning the teacher used Internet resources that were subject-matter focused and fast-paced . The only problem she encountered was the inability to track student work on...