Internet Workshop Reflection

What feedback on your Internet Workshop did you receive from your two group members online?

After going over my Internet workshop, the overall feedback that I received was positive. They liked that I incorporated group work right at the start of the workshop. They said that by having the students work in pairs, each student can feed off of each other and learn from each other. One partner might see one aspect and another partner might look at something different and together they might see things that they wouldn't if they worked alone. They also liked how I decided to do my Internet workshop in 2 class periods and thought this was a sufficient amount of time for my task. They also said that the preparation for teachers section on my lesson plan was well thought out. My peers also said that my idea to have the students come back and evaluate another website together of the overhead projector is a great way to access their learning. One piece of advice I received was on my rubric. Although it was well thought out, my peers said that it might be too wordy and a little too overwhelming for my students. They thought it would be better if I shortened it a bit and made things clearer.

Will you use the Internet Workshop, or use a revised version of the Internet Workshop in your future classroom? Please explain.

I think that I would use this Internet workshop in my future classroom. I think it is important for my students to know how to evaluate mathematics websites online so that they know whether or not they are credible and can use them as resources for extra practice in mathematics. I would probably take my peers advice and revise the rubric before using it in my classroom but other than that I think this workshop is a great lesson for my students.

Briefly summarize your group's discussion of the statement, "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).

During our discussion of this quote we said that with hoax websites that are available online, students may take everything they read as true and that is why it is our jobs as teachers to army our students with the skills to critically evaluate a website. There are also a lot of corporate websites on the Web that have a lot of information on them but are sneaky with a hidden purpose of trying to sell the reader something. Internet is a big part of our lives today and students go to the Web a lot more than books for research so we must educate students and provide them evaluation skills. There is no way to get around the Internet, is has become an essential part of our lives. In our discussion we also talked about how in another class we talked about G. Siemens and his idea of "cognitive off-loading." In today's world full of technology, we no longer have to remember things. Instead we off load knowledge into something else such as a device that we can refer to. A great example is cell phones. A majority of people would say that without their cell phone they would not know people's numbers other than their home or maybe their parents. Instead of having the knowledge in our head, we must become competent in knowing how to critically evaluate other resources where information is stored. Since we live in an age where we go to resources for knowledge and don't need to have everything stored in our heads, it is crucial for students to be equipped with the skills to determine if something is valid.