A Powerful Resource

I think our last assignment really helped me realize how much teachers can utilize the Internet for just about anything. I am teaching preschool now after teaching & working in elementary schools for five+ years. It really wasn't until the last few years that I started using the internet to research information for ideas to use with my preschoolers. ( In case you think I have had my head in the sand, I have been at home with my two little ones that aren't so little anymore.) Now, if you want to know the truth about what I have been using the internet for...I have achieved quite a collection of great recipes-( I love cooking), researched symptoms of viruses, so I can know the full ray of every childhood illness that comes our way, and I have found more than my share of great buys on e-bay for little girls clothes!
As I get closer to returning to teaching full time, I am just amazed at the wealth of information available. I only got a taste of researching for a specific topic when I took my last class EEC 660 and really started to explore different on line journals. I loved it. A few weekends ago, when I began working on our lesson critique, we travelled to North Carolina to visit family. My sister -in-law recently became certified in Library Science after teaching for many years. She shared a couple of sites with me: learnnc.org and ncwiseowl.org Password: wiseowl. I was so impressed with both of these sites. I also just became familiar with the Alabama Learning Exchange. I didn't know it even existed until this assignment. Recently, I have been researching nursery ryhmes and activites. My class is composing a nursery rhyme book with a collection of art activites and the rhyme so each child will have one to take home and "read" with their parents. The Internet is so helpful to me to help bring new ideas to share with the other teachers so we can make the best choices in what we present. I am thrilled to know that I have so many websites to use to aide in lesson preparation when I return to teaching. This class has helped me see that and also it has opened my eyes to look for ways to incorporate available technology to enhance the presentation and to spark the student's interest in learning. The Internet is a powerful resource.