An article every educator can relate to

I found myself smiling as I read Ken Vesey's article, The Internet-only Research Approach: Does the Web Really Have All There Is to Say? It brought back memories of having to sit on the first day of preplanning and listen to speakers go on and on about the latest trend in education. The first day of preplanning is hardly the time to present new technology or teaching strategies. The author pointed out that when the speakers began talking about WebQuests, the teachers in the auditorium began to squirm. How unfortunate it is that such a valuable tool as a WebQuest was presented in such a way. On the first day most teachers are concentrating on what they will be teaching, how many students they will teach and if they will have a good or a bad year, not on new teaching strategies that they feel are being forced on them.
The author played the devil's advocate, as most educators would do in this situation, and found fault in the sample lesson plans that were presented to them. First, he acknowledged that when teachers saw how easy it was to link to sites in the WebQuest and their visual appeal, they were intrigued. Then, he pointed out that the presenters did not mention the fact that the information linked was limited in its value since there were no actual documents or primary sources which could be found in library references. He also noted that some of the links were littered with advertisements while others were written by people with little notoriety.
Explaining how valuable WebQuests can be should require more time than just one day of preplanning. Introducing new technology-based strategies to teachers is important since these types of strategies will prepare out students for a future in an information-rich world.