The four instructional models present a vast array of ways that students can utilize the internet to enhance their learning experience. As for similarities, I noticed that the Internet Workshop and Internet Inquiry promote student research. Both would allow students to use search engines to find more information. It would teach students how to gather information from the internet, how to scope out good sources, and hopefully to cite properly. Internet Inquiry is a bit more open-ended than Internet Workshop, since teachers decide for the students what they will be searching for in Workshop.
I saw the Webquest as being markedly different than any of the other Models. I perceived it as basically an online rubric for students, from which they take the instructions to do a research project. The Internet Project was different than the other three Models because it limits the information type. However, it is a bit more hands-on for students, and uses the "real world" for information-gathering rather than being online the entire time.
I don't have a cooperating teacher at this time. However, in the future I would be interested to use the internet workshop in my class. I think it would help students become comfortable with using the Internet to gather information. With my particular discipline (English), students might gather a wealth of information mostly regarding the context of particular pieces of literature. There are also a lot of articles online that provide different perspectives about pieces of literature, so that will open up a new way of perceiving works of literature. I had a good time exploring different WebQuests that were set up for various pieces of literature, such as The Great Gatsby. Some of the projects were really fun (such as writing a magazine from the perspective of a 20's journalist), and I would certainly like to use them someday in my classroom. I would employ the Internet Workshop in my classroom. As Leu (2002) stated, "Is your class reading the works of an important author (or illustrator) in the world of children’s literature? You can easily have an Internet Workshop session on that person. Locate the author’s home page on the Internet and invite students to search for two or three important ideas about the person’s life to share at the workshop session." The Internet Workshop opens up students to a wealth of information to supplement the in-class lessons.
Citation: Leu, D.J., Jr. (2002, February). Internet Workshop: Making time for literacy [Exploring Literacy on the Internet department]. The Reading Teacher, 55(5). Available: http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/elec_index.asp?HREF=/electronic/RT/2-02_Column/index.html
Just a few areas of concern:
ReplyDeleteGood work with the reference and citation. When you are directly quoting someone, make sure you include a page number at the end of the sentence. Example (p.10).
Also - make sure you italicize the title of the web page.
In the body of your post...
You stated for both Internet Workshop and Inquiry model: "Both would allow students to use search engines to find more information" - however - with the Workshop - the teacher provides the site or sites (typically NOT a search engine) - it is a guided model because the students do not use search engines for information.
Your descriptions of the other models were not correct. For example, the WebQuest is not a rubric that students follow to create a research project... Hopefully the in-class overview gave you a better understanding of the models. If you still have questions - feel free to email me at any time.