July 1, 1996

Teachers Take Command of Cyberspace at NC State

With increasing access to the Internet in many schools, your children could get lost in cyberspace--unless they have accomplished teachers at the helm of their classroom computers. A course for school teachers offered by the Computer Science Department at North Carolina State University is helping ensure that those classroom captains are well prepared for their voyages.

"A Guide to the Internet for Teachers" is a two-day workshop that helps teachers gain a command of cyberspace terms and understand what the differences are between the Internet, the World Wide Web and Netscape; trains them how to "surf the net" and conduct targeted net searches for educational materials using various search engines; and shows them how to construct their own home pages and use Hypertext Markup Language (html) to format a text for the Internet.

While in the class, teachers visit Graceland and the White House, among other sites, and explore educational pages on subjects ranging from the solar system to the Civil War, Shakespeare to South Africa.

"It puts a lot of things they've heard about into context and pulls it together a little bit," said Carol Miller, the computer science faculty member who taught the course twice in June. "The folks have been very enthusiastic. They're great students, and they're obviously motivated."

Along with all the in-class advice Miller gave, the teachers also left with a packet of information that included a catalog of useful educational Web sites they could explore at their own schools.

Carrie Alston, a kindergarten teacher in Willow Springs, attended the class to learn how to take advantage of the technology. "There's so much information out there that's at our fingertips, and the key is learning how to use it," she said. "In taking this class, I'm looking for ways to research science and get information on, for example, ladybugs or find education forums that give ideas on how to handle areas of need in the classroom."

David Sander, who teaches classes on electronic communication systems and the principles of technology at Wake Forest-Rolesville High School, knows the importance of the World Wide Web. "You can access tons of information--it's an invaluable resource to have not just for the classroom but for the entire school."

It is because of the technology's potential and teachers' eagerness to learn how to use it that Alan Tharp, head of computer science at NC State, decided to offer the course.

"What is impressive about the Web is the wealth of material available. It is an order of magnitude more than is available in a traditional classroom or school," Tharp said. "I am not saying that the Web can replace teachers, but it can amplify what the teacher is able to teach the students.

"For example, students can visit Web sites that have simulations of physical phenomena and that use video, animations, sounds and color graphics. Such simulations provide a visual element that might not be available otherwise, and students can rerun the simulation as many times as they wish until they understand it."

Two more sessions July 18-19 and 25-26 are offered to Wake County teachers only, but two sessions slated for August 1-2 and 8-9 are open to anyone.

/ News Index / News Archives Index /