EDCI 5825 Week 2 Reading: Instructional Models of Internet Use

The primary purpose of using Internet resources in the classroom is to prepare students for the future as technological advances rapidly occur. Acquiring skills of accessing, using, and evaluating information found on the Internet is extremely important for students of all ages. As explained by Dr. Donald J. Leu (2001), an international expert on new literacies in Internet technologies, there are four major methods of incorporating the Internet into daily lessons. Internet Project, Internet Workshop, Internet Inquiry, and WebQuest are resources teachers of all grade levels can use to promote safe Internet use and to connect their students with contemporary and growing technologies.

Though Internet Project, Internet Workshop, Internet Inquiry, and WebQuest all work on literacy skills, Internet Workshop provides the most rounded literacy experience. Here students read for knowledge and research specific content related to their current unit. Moreover, they are able to collaborate with peers by sharing their research and, subsequently, they will learn from each other. Similarly, Internet Project and WebQuest also promote this collaboration and teamwork by asking students to interact in groups as they create web based projects, complete lessons in pairs or small groups, and even communicate with a class from anywhere in the world. This is the most exhilarating part of Internet Project and WebQuest, as students can become virtual pen-pals and global learners with students in classrooms around the world with resources like the Flat Stanley Project, Journey North, and Monster Exchange. ThinkQuest, a part of Internet Inquiry, goes the furthest in hosting an online inquiry competition, which excites students participation and gives international exposure to individual schools and communities.

The most individualized of the four methods Leu (2001) talks about is the Internet Inquiry. With Internet Inquiry students pursue questions that spark personal curiosities. Students follow a specific routine of reviewing, evaluating, synthesizing, and communicating researched information. Still, this relates to all three other Internet resources because the teacher is inviting his or her students to question and interrogate a topic with a diverse amount of resources available on the web. Internet Project, Internet Workshop, Internet Inquiry, and WebQuest provide a vast space for students to be creative in. These resources motivate students to explore and directly engage with the questions they seek to answer. As long as the teacher is overseeing and monitoring all work done on the Internet, students will learn new strategies required in the contemporary world to complete effective research.


These "Teaching with the Internet" tools seem extremely effective and conducive to educational methodology. I will most certainly keep the four methods of Internet instruction as a resource in my future teaching, as they supply a rich, well-rounded, and modern form of instruction. I particularly like Internet Inquiry and Internet Project for students with special needs as they provide individualized opportunities for students to pursue their own interests. Internet Project is also an exciting way to get students to feel connected with the world as they become virtual pen-pals. I think this is a good way to get students to learn the safe habits of an internet user and their technological skills will most likely remain with them for all their lives.


Leu, Donald J. (2001). Introduction to Models of Internet Use. Retrieved June 7, 2011, from http://ctell.uconn.edu/canter/canter_video.cfm?movie=234_introduction.mov.