Internet Instructional Models Middle School

New Literacies, Reading Comprehension and Higher Level Thinking
Across the Middle School Curriculum

Facilitated by members of the
New Literacies Research Team from the University of Connecticut

Julie Coiro, Donald J. Leu, and Jill Castek

Home | Internet Workshop | Internet Inquiry | Internet Project & Webquests | Other Tips

INTERNET PROJECT & WEBQUESTS

Internet Project

This activity will provide an opportunity to explore different ways that students and their teachers are connecting and communicating with others from around the world through email, listervs, electronic discussion boards and central curricular web sites.

Internet Project may take place as you work with another class on a common learning activity, with students and teachers communicating extensively about the topic that both classes are exploring.
Internet Project may also take place when many classes contribute data to a common site and then, after the data are analyzed, see how their data compare with others. Often there will also be discussion between participating classes about the meaning of the results and even opportunities to use the data for further analyses. Each leads to rich opportunities.

Internet Project Examples

Students at the elementary level are being exposed to all kinds of exciting Internet Projects (see Susan Silverman's Webfolio for many great examples of K-5). They are beginning to move into the higher grades with examples like

The Joke's On: Students construct and analyze political cartoons based on current events
Student Created Document Based Questions: Students find primary and/or secondary source documents and create questions for their global peers to answer online.
A Series of Unforunate Collaborations: Pre-service teachers in undergraduate and graduate school team up with 5th and 6th graders to create, interact and respond to the Lemony Snicket series.
Literature Circles Extension Projects: This project is accepting participants now to create extension projects that can be shared with other classes around the world.

More intensive collaborative projects are being created as well.

International Schools CyberFair: Students conduct research about their local communities and then publish their findings on the World Wide Web. Recognition is given to schools for the best projects in each of eight categories: local leaders, businesses, community organizations, historical landmarks, environment, music, art, and local specialties. In these projects, the organization outlines the guidelines and your students work collaboratively to publish their findings to share with the larger global community. Explore this year's winners to see the power of these projects.
Global Virtual Classroom
The GLOBE Hands on Education and Science Program

Try It Out

Explore at least one of the Internet Project ideas above or in your content area below, noting the overall goal, the expected timeline, particular tasks, methods of assessment and important hardware and software needs. How might a project like this impact your instruction? You may also explore some of the Internet Project Registry Sites at the bottom of this table to learn more.

INTERNET PROJECT EXAMPLES TO EXPLORE
Language Arts/Literature The Media Mosaic Project: Media Literacy for Global Youth (IEARN): Participants are encouraged to be better informed world citizens by analysis and comparison of the news media which influences and shapes the points-of-view, values and decisions of the world community. CBBC Newsround Chat invites teens from around the world to voice their opinion and interact. NewzCrew: Engage youth in dialogue about news, media and democratic issues. Newsday Project: Create a newspaper with others and keep in touch via the electronic discussion board. Writer's Window: Students are invited to join continous stories or read and respond to creative writing with others around the world. Aspects of Love: (IEARN Project) Participants express themselves either in writing or drawing, to help them develop tolerance to other's opinions and shape their values through the power of love. Laws of Life (IEARN Project): Young people ages 9-21 are invited to express in their own words what they value most in life. The Peace Diaries: learners in classrooms in thirteen countries collaborate on projects that have produced content for the Web, books and radio Our Dream School Theatre: multi-point video conferences for children/students to express their tradition and culture through multiple theatre formats	Social Studies Geogame Interactive Web Project: Locate yourself on a map and send it off as a mystery to other participants. Life on the Streets: Learn more, share stories and contribute resources. Online Expeditions: Online interactive journeys along with people who travel to exotic locations. Decisions, Decisions, Online: Join in on the conversations or interact with national surveys about student reactions to contraversial issues like TV Violence, Napster, Animal Testing or Human Cloning. Doors to Diplomacy: encourages middle school and high school students around the world to produce web projects that teach others about the importance of international affairs and diplomacy. Registration Now Open! Child Soldier Project (IEARN) Youth bear witness to the issue of the child soldier and how it affects their lives, their families, their communities and their countries. Hunt for Famous Explorers: (KIDPROJ) Students make nine clues about Famous Explorers and challenge other classes to identify their explorer. UNICEF Discussion Board: Students are encouraged to speak out, interact, and take action with regards to a number of global issues. Direct link to the Online Forums.
Math Are You Getting Enough Sleep? Keep track of sleep patterns for a week and analyze the results. Global Grocery List: Share your local grocery prices with participating classrooms all over the world. Heads Up: A Study in Probability The Global Sun Temperature Project: Join schools from around the world as they try to figure out how their geographic location (i.e. where they live) affects their average daily temperature and hours of sunlight. National Math Trail: Submit math problems related to your local environment. The Noon Day Project: Measuring the Circumference of the Earth Connecting Math to Our Lives (IEARN Project) Math and Agriculture (IEARN Project) Project SkyMath Stock Market Projects Interactive Stock Market Project Stock's Quest Global Stock Market Game Bialik Stock Exchange (Advanced Economics): Students are expected to develop an innovative idea/product, form a company, and ultimately sell their product to the public, i.e. the general student body.	Science Human Genetics: A Worldwide Search for the Dominant Trait: Collect and analyze information to determine which traits are controlled by a dominant gene. Exchange your hypothesis, data, and conclusions with other students around the world. The International Boiling Point Project: Boil water, collect data on several factors, and submit your results to a central database. Then, students can analyze all of the data to reach an answer to the question "What causes a pot of water to boil?" Electricity: How Much Do You Use? Students gather data about their own household electricity usage and find the average amount used in a week. They compare this to the average amount of electricity used in other parts of the country. RoadKill 2004: Students and teachers get involved with scientific monitoring of an environmental parameter using the Internet to increase participant awareness of motor vehicle hazards with wildlife. YouthCan: Youth Communicating and Networking about Environmental Issues Global Warming Project: Students research, share and debate with multiple technologies in this project.
Search a thematic topic of your own using Google, Yahooligans, or KidsClick
Internet Project Registries and Guidelines Internet Project: View an online presentation by Don Leu from the University of Connecticut CIESE Online Collaborative Projects: Real Time Data Projects,Partner Projects and more. IEARN Projects: Students use the Internet and other information communication technologies to engage in collaborative educational projects that both enhance learning and make a difference in the world. Connected Classroom Project Registry for elementary and secondary levels KidLink (KidPROJ list of current and past projects) Carr, J. (2002). Quick Tips for Teachers. In Project pillars: Foundations for success in online curriculum Projects. Research Innovation and Access section of AccessEd, Education Queensland. Available: http://www.edna.edu.au/sibling/pillars/html/tips.htm Judi Harris' Virtual Architecture Web Home outlines examples of curriculum-based educational telecomputing projects and resources into categories like interpersonal exchanges, information collection and analyses, and problem solving. Tools for Collaboration from the Global Schoolhouse Network The TestBed for Collaboration walks you through the process of getting started and then links to four examples of collaborative projects. EPals Classroom Exchange has a database of over 3000 classrooms around the world seeking classroom keypals.

WEBQUESTS
A WebQuest is a complete teaching/learning units for students on the Internet. Students simply follow the directions and complete their learning experiences at a WebQuest site. WebQuest pages usually contain the following sections: 1. Introduction 2. Task Definition 3. A Description of the Process 4. Information Resources 5. Guidance in Organizing the Information 6. A Concluding Activity WebQuests may be developed by anyone but they are often developed by teachers. Because they appear on web pages, they are then available to other teachers. Many different examples may be found by doing a search for a WebQuest in the area you are studying. Use search key words such as: Geometry WebQuest, Panda Bear WebQuest, Eric Carle WebQuest, etc. Here's an example: DNA For Dinner: Assess and apply information about the genetic engineering of food crops. Webquests can serve many purposes. Explore range of Webquest Design Patterns and decide if one fits in best with your learning goals. You can also read how two new communication technologies, Blogs and Wikis, have recently been incorporated into Webquests. Be Careful! Does the WebQuest meet these standards? Does this WebQuest meet important curriculum goals and learning objectives? How? What would students learn from this experience? What does it teach? Is this important? How much time will this take my students? Is this time well spent or could we accomplish more in less time with another learning experience? Does the WebQuest require students to think critically about information and evaluate the information they encounter? Does higher order thinking take place during the WebQuest or are students only required to develop literal, factual knowledge? Is this WebQuest developed so as to accommodate individual learning needs and interests? Will all of my students be able to benefit from this activity? If not, what must I do to meet individual differences? Is there an opportunity for students to share the results of their WebQuest with the rest of the class for discussion and additional learning? How do students share their learning with the rest of the class, enriching everyone's insights about what took place? Do students know, in advance, how their work on the WebQuest will be evaluated? Will students know what is important to accomplish in the activity based on how it will be evaluated? Are all of the links on the WebQuest active and appropriate for students? Have I completed the WebQuest myself, and checked each of the links to resources that appear?
Try It Out Explore one of the webquests collected this table, noting the answers to the Webquest standards listed in your handout. BE SURE TO RETURN TO TODAY'S WEBSITE WHEN YOU FINISH!