The Internet as a "tool"

Educators often talk about technology as "just a tool" that can be used in different ways by teachers and students. It's often said that computers won't replace teachers, but teachers who know how to use computers will replace those who don't. My view is that the personal computer changed teaching somewhat - it made some things, like grading, easier. It let developers create a series of lessons that students could use on their own. Many of these lessons helped people learn habits, like multiplication. The more interesting lessons, though, were ones that captured the imagination. With sound and video, software like Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego and other simulations helped create language learning environments, not workbooks.

Maybe those were and are "just tools" in the hands of the skilled teacher. When we talk about the Internet, though, I think we have something fundamentally different. Computer programs let students interact with a machine in new and different ways. The Internet lets people interact with people in new and different ways. In my view, the Internet is "just a tool" like the printing press was "just a tool." Yes, it's a tool, but it opens new connections and possibiities. Language teaching is fundamentally different now that teachers can have instant access to real-life text, images, sound, and video.

As more teachers start to use the Internet, more ideas will emerge. Perhaps we'll find better ways to communicate, which will help us all understand each other. I certainly hope we find something more than just better ways to sell things.