Internet Instructional Models

There are four types of instructional models that use the internet. They are all different but have some similarities and commonalities.
Internet Workshop, Internet Project, WebQuest and Internet Inquiry ALL include the students seeking information online and all involve collaboration or sharing of information with others.

WebQuests and Internet Workshops are teacher-driven, responding to specific questions or lessons designed by the teacher. The workshops are simpler, generally one question or theme that requires the students to go to defined sites to find information and then share results in a classroom "workshop". Somewhat different, the WebQuest is an entire lesson online, using web-based information that the students need to go online to research. Both these models would seem to be fairly quick to complete.
      
Internet Projects and Internet Inquiries are more elaborate and would likely take much more time to complete over an extended period than the first two methods.
Internet Projects also have a lot of teacher participation, and are more collaborative than the other types, as they are a coordinated project between classes at different locations, all working together through the internet.
Internet Inquiries are the least like the others. Although the student does seek information online, the activity is much more independent and student-driven. In this type of model, the students take an active role in deciding what is researched, what the results mean and how to share their conclusions with others.

They all have an important place in instruction today as they provide opportunities for student to develop their computer/internet literacy, collaborative skills, problem identification and independent research skills.

I have asked my coordinating teacher for my student teaching (in the fall) what technology is available to our students and what experiences she would like to incorporate in the classroom. I knew, from our earlier meeting, that SOME classrooms have Smartboards and there are computers at the school for use during class sometimes. I think we cannot assume students have access to computers and internet outside of school. I don't know if it would be appropriate to expect students to do internet-based activity for homework, as they might have trouble getting access. Perhaps we could suggest they stay after school to do the work, or go to a public library?
She has just replied that we will have a Smartboard in our classroom and in fact I will be doing ALL my lessons on the Smartboard. The Smartboard system has internet access and is loaded with a TI-84 graphing software (like the calculator). They have a Beyond Questions Student Response System with 30 remote controls. They also have "shared documents" that I will have access to. I am also able to do a video blog if I wish. It's not a requirement but might add something fun to my teaching. Our math classroom is connected to a computer lab with twenty computers that are connected to the internet and have math software (geo sketchpad, algeblaster, green globes graphing software microsoft office etc.).
Some of this is familiar to me. Most is not. Lots of new interesting technology for me to learn!

I can think of several ways I would like to incorporate some of these internet instructional models in my classroom next fall. First, I would like to give the students a list of bookmarked websites where they can find help or extra practice if they don't fully understand the material we've covered in class.
I would also like to include in my teaching some discussion of ways math is used in "real life". One of the websites I found has a section of all the professions that use math in some way (there are hundreds!). So I would set up an Internet Workshop first, asking the students to go to that site and find several professions that use math and report back to the class (or a smaller group maybe). Then as a follow-up activity, I would assign an internet inquiry where the students are to research a profession of their choosing, on their own and design a presentation however they prefer- video, powerpoint, oral, blog, written report. Another internet-based activity I want to do is a daily or weekly activity where students go to a website to do a "problem of the day" or read a posted article.
These activities will benefit the students in many facets of their learning. First, they will strengthen their math skills and understanding through the "help" websites and the "daily problem" sites. After doing the research for the Workshop and Inquiry models, they will learn more about collaboration and presentation by reporting back their findings to the group. And through ALL of these activities they will gain familiarity, literacy and proficiency at using technology and internet -based tools. These skills are increasingly demanded by the academic and professional worlds as more technological tools are developed. As teachers, we have a responsibility to prepare our students for the world they will live in and we would do our students a grave disservice if we did NOT prepare them to meet these demands and expectations. As noted by Schrum and Levin (2009),  we must include information literacy, critical media literacy and ICT literacy in every subject we teach. The students "will be left behind unless they gain these skills" (p 10).  The National Technology Standards for Students (NTS-S 2007)  recognize this critical need as the standards have been revised from having knowledge of technological tools and concepts to utilizing and applying those tools with creativity and critical thinking (Schrum and Levin 2009, p. 14).

Reference:

Schrum,L. & Levin, B. (2009). Leading 21st century schools. Location: California.