Using the Internet in the Math Classroom

Internet Workshops, Internet Projects, Internet Inquires, & WebquestsAllison Duncan

Canyons School District

Why do you think the Internet should be incorporated into classroom learning activities?

Discuss with a partner.

Share out

So what your saying is… “The Internet is a dynamic resource that can provide extraordinary learning

opportunities.  Students can observe live global weather, conduct virtual experiments and interact with students around the world.” 

(Duncan, Hyla, Penney, & Ruggiero, 2009)

As educators, it is our responsibility to prepare our students for the 21st century. Being able to use the Internet to search for and find information effectively is a skill our students need in order to survive in the 21st century.

So why don’t we use the Internet more in our classrooms?

The Internet and other informational and communication technologies are such powerful resources that, like other teaching tools, in order to be effective and enhance learning, they need to be planned with learning objectives, aligned with core standards, and structured so that learning can take place that might not have happened otherwise…

4 Models There are four different models that incorporate using the Internet as a means of searching and finding information. They are:

1. Internet Workshop :consists of gathering information about a certain topic

from a certain webpage(s) specified by the teacher.

2. Internet Project :a joint project that involves students from different classes

from around the state, country, or world. It usually involves collecting data, doing experiments, and/or producing a product.

3. Internet Inquiry :used to help students develop questioning and research

skills by finding and analyzing Internet resources.

4. Webquest: an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all of the needed

information comes from the web.

Your task: Choose one of the 4 models that you would like to use in

your classroom.

Click on the link to learn more about the model and preview examples.

Go to the Common Core State Standards

Choose a CCSS standard from your grade level.

Describe how you would modify your teaching using the Internet model you have chosen.

Internet Workshop

The Internet Workshop is the easiest model to use, and allows the user to "gradually build to more complex and powerful instructional strategies" as they feel comfortable (Leu, 2004, p. 109).

  Steps:1.  Locate a good site with content related to a classroom unit of

instruction and set a bookmark or URL for students to use.2.  Develop an activity requiring students to use the site. 3.  Assign the activity to be completed during the week.  4.  Have students share their discoveries during a workshop session

with others.

For example…

Biographies of Women Mathematicians contains biographies of various women mathematicians. Have students pick a mathematician to read and report about. Have them relate why they picked this particular woman: can they relate to her in any way?

MacTutor History of Mathematics archive is an extensive archive that includes topics about the history of mathematics. Have students choose a topic, do a report, and state how it relates to what you are currently studying now. Or have students find out which mathematicians contributed to your current topic and how or what they contributed.

Interactive Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles has an amazing library of different math and logic games. Select a game that relates to what you are studying and ask students to play the game. Ask them to write a reflection on the game and how it related to the current topic.

Internet Project

The Internet Project is a great way to incorporate cross-curricular learning experiences. Social studies and science can easily be incorporated as students search out data about other parts of the world and analyze data from experiments.

For example…

The Global Grocery List Project has students enter in grocery list data from their location and compare prices on a database from around the world. A variety of analyses can be used.

You can join current, ongoing Internet Projects by going to:

Global SchoolNet’s Internet Project Registry

Internet Projects

Collaborative Internet Project - TEAMS Educational Resources

Ideas for your own Internet projects: Invite other classrooms to join in with you in solving problems of the week. Each

classroom can take a turn coming up with that week’s problem.

Do a probability experiment (flipping a coin, rolling dice) and compare data with schools from other countries.

Come up with survey questions about student interests, collect data and create graphs to share with students from other parts of the world.

Visit the site Finding Data on the Internet. Have students look at the data and come up with a group project based on the data for students from another classroom to analyze and report on.

Internet Inquiry

An important part of math that students often miss is coming up with math questions that are important to them and finding the answers to those questions. An Internet Inquiry allows you to challenge your students with an opportunity to identify and answer math questions that are relevant to their lives.

Internet Inquiry1. Develop a question2. Search for information3. Evaluate the information4. Compose an answer to your question5. Share the answers with others

For Example… Let your students explore NationMaster. Have the students come up with a

mathematical question based on data that interests them. Then, students will search the Internet for answers to their questions.

Use the fractals website A Fractals Lesson to learn about fractals. Have a group of students explore the site, come up with a question, and then create a mini lesson to answer the question and to teach the rest of the class about fractals.

Another idea is to give students a list of mathematical websites and let them

explore the sites. Have them create a question based on those sites and then come up with their own project to answer and address their questions. Mega Mathematics Knot a Braid of Links Interactive Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles Math is fun!

Excellent Resource Internet Inquiry Toolkit

WebquestsWebQuest is the most advanced model, and includes the following

sections:   1.  Introduction   2.  The Task Definition   3.  A Description of the Process   4.  Information Resources   5.  Guildance in Organizing the Information

6. A Concluding Activity

Examples: Algebra 2 and Logarithms

Webquest.Org has a library of Webquests on a variety of math topics.

Webquests

Best Webquests.com

How much would it cost to build a pyramid? Check it out at Mr. Pitonyak’s Pyramid Puzzle.

Additional Resources

100th Day of School Celebration ArithmAttack  Arithmetic Software Geometry Classroom Materials Great Graph Match Math Hunt Practical Algebra Lessons from Purplemath Statistics National Library of Virtual Manipulatives Khan Academy Illuminations Online Resources

ConclusionTo sum up, we simply can not take our students into the computer lab and expect great things to happen because they are using technology.

As with any teaching tool, the integration of the Internet needs to be coupled with effective teaching strategies in order for student learning to be enhanced.

These 4 models can help increase the learning of our students by providing structured activities that are aligned with standards and objectives.

References

Duncan, A., Hyla, P., Penney, B., & Ruggiero, S (2009, February 22). Instructional Models. http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgvwh9rs_3g9n33sdq

Hendry, L.A. (2006) SEARCHing for an answer: The critical role of new literacies while reading on the Internet. The Reading teacher, 59, 614 -     627  

Leu, D.J., Leu, D.D., Coiro, J. (2004). Teaching with the internet K-12: new literacies for new times, 4th ed.  Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc.