Internet Workshop Reflection

I received positive feedback from my group members. They all liked the lesson plan format that I used for the lesson portion my Internet Workshop. My group members like the Venn diagram comparison question on my handout. They all felt this would be a good way to differentiate instruction especially for visual learners. My group members also liked my idea of having students cross reference information from more than one site.

As a special education teacher I could use an Internet Workshop to teach about using the Internet safely. I think that critically evaluating a website might be difficult for some special education students. I think that I would have to take a more whole group instruction approach if I were to use an Internet Workshop in a special education classroom.

"Students will become victims of the expansive dark side of the Internet unless we teach the critical thinking necessary to make meaning out of the overwhelming and potentially manipulative amount of information that is now available and growing every day" (November, 2010, p.27).

We all agreed that students could have a negative experience with the Internet if they are not given the proper tools to manage it. Teachers should have honest and open conversations about the dangers associated with Internet use. We all felt that it is very important for teachers to teach their students about how to safely use the Internet. We talked about using the Internet Workshop as a scaffold. It would be good to begin with lessons on safety. Then the students could evaluate a site. Next, students could explore the Internet independently. The most important thing to remember is to always be available to monitor the students’ use of the Internet.