The Leu article discusses the four procedures for creating an Internet workshop. The first two procedures are completed by the teacher and the final two are completed by students. The first thing a teacher should do is to find a site and bookmark it. The teacher then designs an activity with at least one open ended question. The third step is for students to complete the activity. The final step is to have a mini workshop (by the end of the week) where students can answer/ask questions and share new insights.
The article also discusses the purposes for creating an Internet workshop. The four purposes include the following: introduce a unit, develop background knowledge, navigating strategies, and develop critical literacies important to Internet use.
I will definitely use Internet workshops in my classroom. I already have my students do research to answer certain questions about a topic. My students then wrote a paper and typed it. However, students did not come back together and share in a mini workshop. I will definitely use this last step. It is important for students to share new insights and answer/ask questions as a group. Other examples of Internet workshops given in the article that I would like to use in my classroom include the following: author studies, comprehension activities, and math problems of the week (share strategies). I have the option to either bookmark sites (using Delicious) or use trackstar to designate appropriate sites during Internet workshops. I will further discuss my opinions/uses for trackstar in an upcoming blog on webquests!
