Exploiting the Internet as an Information Resource in Schools

Citation

Barker, P. (2000), "Exploiting the Internet as an Information Resource in Schools", The Electronic Library, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 69-75. https://doi.org/10.1108/el.2000.18.1.69.4

For some time now, the use of computers in schools has been a necessary part of the curriculum for many disciplines such as science, technology and mathematics. More recent technological developments (such as the Internet and World Wide Web) are now extending the relevance of computers to many other academic disciplines within the school context. The importance of these developments is reflected in the UK by the UK Government’s support and enthusiasm for the “National Grid for Learning” – which is likely to provide many new opportunities for Internet usage within all UK schools. For those wanting to find out more about possible uses of the Internet within their school environments, this book offers a useful starting point. The book’s main focus is on developments in secondary schools and is aimed, primarily, at school librarians and teachers who are implementing Internet development in schools.

The book is organised into 12 chapters. All of the these commence with a statement of “learning objectives” (“Having reading this chapter, you will be able to …”) and concludes with a collection of references – both to conventional sources of information and to Web‐based material. There is also a short bibliography included at the end of the book.

The first three chapters of the book are “general” and cover: the use of information technology (IT) in schools; the Internet; and the development of information skills for use with the Internet and the World Wide Web. These chapters provide a useful summary of currently available Internet resources, identify some useful ideas for evaluating Web sites and introduce a number of different information skills models – for example, those advocated by Marland, Eisenberg and Berkovitz, Kuhlthau, Wray and Lewis, and that of the author himself (called PLUS). These early chapters also discuss Web site downloading and copyright issues.

Chapters 4 through 8 are subject specific and deal with applications relating to the teaching of English, Science, Geography, History and Art, respectively. Chapter 9 is devoted to “other curriculum areas” and includes applications relating to Modern Languages, Mathematics, Social Science and Religious Education. The following two chapters then cover topics relating to the development of Web‐based resources: Chapter 10 discusses issues and techniques involved in creating an educational Web site while Chapter 11 describes intranets and the important roles that they can play in school environments. The final chapter deals with “Future developments”. Here, the author does not see anything really radical happening in the near future. In the longer term there might be replacement of CD‐ROMs by DVD‐ROMs, changes in Internet access policies, more integration of technologies and ever more miniaturisation of components – with the knock‐on effects that this has (for example smaller computers, larger memory capacities, and so on).

This book is written in an “easy‐to‐read‐style” and avoids unnecessary technical terms and jargon. There are lots of examples of “good practice” and plenty of ideas that teachers and librarians in schools could follow up and, if necessary, adapt in order to meet the needs of their own particular circumstances.