Structuring Online Research

I initially thought that these projects would be a fun and informative way for students to explore the web and learn about the content matter. However, while I think this would be a great way to use the Internet in the classroom, I think it also takes a significant amount of planning and time. The models are very useful in this respect, because they will cut down on planning time, because they provide a way for teachers to structure and create an activity for their students

Based on the group discussion, it seems that we are all in agreement that these projects are great resources for students and will be an effective tool to use in the classroom. However, we differed on what the best one was, and what aspects are absolutely necessary to use in the project. Overall, I think we agreed that structure is the most important part so students do not get overwhelmed when working through the activity, and so they know what they should be doing on the Internet, and do not get distracted. The structure also ensures that teachers get across what they want the students to come away with, and helps them assess what the students learned.

I see myself using the historical investigation project the most, because primary sources are so important to learning history, and this project really provides a great way for students to work with them and use online research at the same time. I would also try to incorporate online research activities like this into a research paper. Research papers are often assigned in classrooms, and are a staple of classes. Providing guided research like this would help students learn to research on the web, and would help them with their papers. It is also a great hands on learning tool.