The Amazing Internet

The most amazing feature of the Internet to me is to be able to chat on camera to my son-in-law in Iraq. We can see him, he can see us, and here are no long distance charges! The fact that my cell phone and PDA can access the Internet is a little overwhelming. In fact, I had to get my mom’s Internet on her cell phone disabled since at 86, she cannot see when she accidentally presses the wrong button and is connected to the web indefinitely and we are charged for the time.

Invisible Web is also a tem that is confusing to many people. These web pages are there, but not found by the usual search engines. I went to a workshop on that topic at an Illinois School Library Media Association conference. Teachers at my school often think everything is accessible on the Internet with a Google search. I understand that, but RSS & podcasting are mysteries I have yet to experience. That is where this class comes in.

One of the big concerns about the Internet and our network at my school district is with the use of streaming video and the bandwidth that it consumes. We cannot download or stream video during the school day or it crashes our network. So, it seems as if schools are always scrambling to keep up.

Another big concern of mine is the digital divide. While most of my students have Internet access at home, there are many of our at risk students who do not have computers at home, much less, Internet access available to them. That is a big reason why our school library is open an hour after school each day, as that helps “even the playing field,” as they say for those students.