The world of education has changed. This is something that I have found myself discussing with my students’ parents over the past few years. School looks different than it did when my students’ parents were in school and it even looks different than it did less than a decade ago. This is due to one important shift in education. Our classrooms are now comprised of mostly digital natives, whose needs are best met through the integration of 21st century skills. With an abundance of technological resources out there, teachers may struggle in determining which best fits their class’ needs. One instructional model that would be beneficial in any K-12 classroom would be the Internet Workshop model. What is the Internet Workshop Instructional model, you might ask? It might be more familiar than you think.
In his article, "Internet Workshop: Making Time for Literacy," Leu states “We believe that the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) are changing the nature of literacy and literacy learning as they become an increasingly important part of our lives” (Leu, 2002). The Internet Workshop model focuses on this and strives to use the Internet in ways that target the students' educational needs. In this model, students can gather information on the Internet and then share and evaluate what they discovered.
The Internet Workshop model has four parts. Although there is some variation in administration of this model, the following four parts are consistently a part of this model:
There are many advantages to using the Internet Workshop model. This instructional model allows students to discover new literacies through Internet technologies, such as using the features of a search engine and determining when a website was last updated. This instructional model will help prepare students for their future through the acquisition and sharing of new strategies and insights. Another advantage of the Internet Workshop model is that it allows for differentiaton. Students can be presented with different bookmarked sites based on their reading abilities. Additionally, open-ended assignments can allow higher performing students to stretch their thinking through the use of higher level thinking skills.
Although the advantages are numerous, there are some disadvantages to this instructional model, as well. In the diverse classrooms that we all teach in, it might be difficult to find many different sites at the students’ levels focusing on one particular topic. This will lead primary grade teachers to be more creative in how they use this model in their classrooms to meet their early readers’ individual needs. Another challenge may be present for schools that have access issues due to funding. Leu suggests combatting this by developing a schedule for when students use the classroom computers to complete the assignments. This would cause the students to have to use the computer while other instruction is happening. For some students, catching up would be easy, but for others, it might be very challenging and put them behind in other content areas.
Although many teachers are hesitant to use the Internet Workshop model in their classroom, they should not be. Many individuals cite that they either don’t have the time to learn this new instructional method or they do not have the time to integrate it into their day. Neither of these assertions are true, as this method can be integrated into many aspects of the day and it is very similar to other workshop models, thus requiring less time to learn.
Leu, D.J., Jr. (2002, February). Internet Workshop: Making time for literacy [Exploring Literacy on the Internet department]. The Reading Teacher, 55(5). Available: http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/elec_index.asp?HREF=/electronic/RT/2-02_Column/index.html
In his article, "Internet Workshop: Making Time for Literacy," Leu states “We believe that the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) are changing the nature of literacy and literacy learning as they become an increasingly important part of our lives” (Leu, 2002). The Internet Workshop model focuses on this and strives to use the Internet in ways that target the students' educational needs. In this model, students can gather information on the Internet and then share and evaluate what they discovered.
The Internet Workshop model has four parts. Although there is some variation in administration of this model, the following four parts are consistently a part of this model:
- Find and bookmark a website related to a current unit of study.
- Design an activity in which students use the site to gather content knowledge and develop critical literacy.
- Complete the research activity.
- Students share their learning and new insights.
There are many advantages to using the Internet Workshop model. This instructional model allows students to discover new literacies through Internet technologies, such as using the features of a search engine and determining when a website was last updated. This instructional model will help prepare students for their future through the acquisition and sharing of new strategies and insights. Another advantage of the Internet Workshop model is that it allows for differentiaton. Students can be presented with different bookmarked sites based on their reading abilities. Additionally, open-ended assignments can allow higher performing students to stretch their thinking through the use of higher level thinking skills.
Although the advantages are numerous, there are some disadvantages to this instructional model, as well. In the diverse classrooms that we all teach in, it might be difficult to find many different sites at the students’ levels focusing on one particular topic. This will lead primary grade teachers to be more creative in how they use this model in their classrooms to meet their early readers’ individual needs. Another challenge may be present for schools that have access issues due to funding. Leu suggests combatting this by developing a schedule for when students use the classroom computers to complete the assignments. This would cause the students to have to use the computer while other instruction is happening. For some students, catching up would be easy, but for others, it might be very challenging and put them behind in other content areas.
Although many teachers are hesitant to use the Internet Workshop model in their classroom, they should not be. Many individuals cite that they either don’t have the time to learn this new instructional method or they do not have the time to integrate it into their day. Neither of these assertions are true, as this method can be integrated into many aspects of the day and it is very similar to other workshop models, thus requiring less time to learn.
Leu, D.J., Jr. (2002, February). Internet Workshop: Making time for literacy [Exploring Literacy on the Internet department]. The Reading Teacher, 55(5). Available: http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/elec_index.asp?HREF=/electronic/RT/2-02_Column/index.html