Technology- Comparing the four instructional models of Internet use

The four different kinds of instructional models of internet use that we read about for class this week were the Internet Workshop, the WebQuest, the Internet Inquiry and the Internet Project. I was able to gather the most information about these topics using the videos created by Dr. Donald J. Leu from the University of Connecticut.
A similarity between these, obviously, is that they require the students to increase their knowledge of how to use the internet and what is the best way to navigate through the infinite sites to find what is important. Also, an important component of each of the models is student interaction and presentation. At the end of each instructional lesson utilizing the internet, the students are required to present the information they found to each other or to the world. Another similarity between these programs is that all of them encourage collaborative learning, increase reading and research skills.
Although there are several similarities, there are many fundamental differences as well. The Internet Workshop is a group activity in which students are completing an activity designed by the teacher so that he or she has solitary control over the content (Leu, 2002). With the Internet Project, the project the students are working on is often created by another teacher several states or countries away. While the teacher does have a choice of Projects to choose from, the exact content is often not determined by them. If a teacher undertakes the Internet Inquiry method, there is actually little teacher involvement. The students all individually choose a question or topic that interests them and then do research and presentations independently. A WebQuest is at the opposite extreme, because this is a teacher-centered model that will provide instructors with ideas for internet activities that may or may not have been created by that individual teacher. If a teacher decides to create a new WebQuest, there are templates available so they can do so effectively. A difference I found very interesting between all these methods was that only Internet Inquiry really lets the students freely explore something that interests them. The other methods have specific directions and topics to look into.
I feel that the type of project I would best be able to implement in my own classroom would be an Internet Inquiry project. Within a topic such as geometry or algebra, I could ask the students to research a theorem or mathematician that they find particularly interesting and then either teach the theorem to the class or present any information they have gathered. I believe that a project like this would allow the students the opportunity to explore topics in Math that interest them that we may not have time in class to cover fully. Also, if they do some research on math history, they can gather a fuller sphere of knowledge about the field by looking at the past and the present.

Leu, D. J.  (2002 ). Integrating Technology. Retrieved from http://www.ctell.uconn.edu/canter/canter_video.cfm?movie=234_introduction.mov