Internet Project - Procon.org Example

Internet Workshop is an instructional model that consists of an independent reading of information on the Internet around a topic and a location initially designated by the teacher; it concludes with a short workshop session where students can share and exchange the ideas and strategies they discovered during their work on the Internet.

Here is an example of an internet workshop I conducted on the research question: Are Cell Phones Safe?

1. I searched youtube.com to find a video to begin building background knowledge about the process the United States government uses when deciding on laws and regulations for the country.

2. Next I offered several articles for students to read so they could gather information and make informed decisions on this topic. I use an Inquiry Chart to help organize student's notes.

This first link is directly related to the video: http://cellphones.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=003767
Kelly Gallagher offers wonderful short articles:http://www.kellygallagher.org/resources/AoW%209%20Cell%20Phone%20Etiquette.pdf
A final article links to several opinions on this topic:http://cellphones.procon.org/#did_you_know

3. Finally, students are directed to Procon.org to leave a comment about their opinion: http://cellphones.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001468&tab=reader-comments and then to choose an opposing view point and leave a comment

When teaching students how to learn from the Internet, the Internet Project model can offer structure and teacher control. For more information on Internet Projects, check out: http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/elec_index.asp?HREF=/electronic/RT/3-01_Column/index.html