The nature of today’s workplace is very different from the skills we are teaching students. Yesterday’s education which is prevalent in educational systems is not enough for today’s learners. Many students need to “Power down” when they arrive at school. The skills necessary to succeed in the world require technology. Because Americans lag behind other nations in academic and technological skill they must work smarter to compete in the connected world. American schools have an epidemic of unmotivated students and those just going through the motions to graduate. Educators need to integrate the usage of technology along with inquiry based learning to wake up and motivate the students. Inquiry based learning produces authenticity for students.

“From the standpoint of the child, the great waste in school comes from his inability to utilize the experience he gets outside while on the other hand he is unable to apply in daily life what he is learning in school. That is the isolation of the school--its isolation from life.” --John Dewey, 1916. To think that the lack of authentic learning has been identified for years and still the problem is prevalent in educational systems. Incorporating technology into the curriculum is a step in the right direction to make instruction motivating and connects to the real world.

Benefits for using the Internet for research in the classroom:
o moves students beyond “searching for information” to using it and creating
o get better results from student projects and research
o integrate 21st-century skills into the curriculum
o foster more collaboration/cooperation with teachers, students and experts
o publish work create and post information, images, video, hyperlinks, and sound to collaborate with others
o share information (and labor) with your others online
o do more in less time
o leads to authentic inquiry base learning
o students use prior knowledge
The Internet and Web tools are tools—such as pencils, paper, crayons, and glue are tools. They can be used in almost every subject area for almost any academic objective. The Internet with the web tools is a digital playground for expression in a variety of ways.

As content on the Internet grows exponentially, there is more information to find, to evaluate, and to use. Students need to learn and practice evaluation skills to separate fact from opinion, to determine authority, to select appropriate tools, to articulate the Internet outside of school, they may not use them effectively, or choose the best tool for a task, or discover all the features of the tools they are using. We need to educate them to be analytical patrons and manufacturers of Web content.

Inquiry Based Learning frame work involves essential questions. These are “important questions that recur throughout all our lives. They are “broad in scope and timeless by nature.” (Wiggins) Essential questions engage and motivate students. Essential questions may hook, hold their attention plus encourage students to raise more questions. When students are given a question to their answer their learning will continue. Inquiry-based learning enables teachers to congregate numerous instructional objectives and literacy standards while also integrating technology into the curriculum

Because of the exponential growth of the Internet navigating can be a laborious task sometime without producing the needed results. Navigating the Internet is an essential literacy task for all students. The Internet is an extraordinary resource for authentic inquiry. We must teach and let students practice strategies to become literate in using the ever growing Internet. Students need to learn how to choose topics, set goals, ask questions, apply and analyze research strategies, evaluate, synthesize and present the information. Many times we don’t take the time to teach the skills and just assume the students are competent. Luckily, most students are motivated to learn how to search the Internet more effectively and efficiently due to their understanding of computers as essential tools for communication, research and their future.

Students being allowed to use the Internet for research need to be able to critically evaluate the site and information they have located. Students tend to believe everything on the Web as being factual. Student need to be taught to look for the following when using the Internet:
Accuracy: The page lists the author and institution that published the page and provides a way of contacting him/her.
Authority: The page lists the author credentials and its domain is preferred (.edu, .gov, .org, or .net)
Objectivity: The page provides accurate information with limited advertising and it is objective in presenting the information.
Updated: The page is current and updated regularly (as stated on the page) and the links (if any) are also up-to-date.
Accessibility: The page information can be viewed properly--not limited to fees, browser technology, or software requirement.
The evaluation of information from the Internet will facilitate students in becoming problem solvers and critical thinkers.

So, students gather the information and what do they need to know to fabricate the project (presentation, product)? Synthesis is the point at which everything is brought together. All their thoughts, facts, research, outlines, and ideas, are untied together into a completed product. This process can be overpowering to the student. Students need to be instructed on categorizing and organizing the data so that the analysis can begin. As students analyze their data, they can begin to establish criteria that will help them reach their decision. Teaching students how to synthesis information promotes the learning of problem solving, critical thinking decision making and Informational Literacy skills.

The crucial 21st Century skills of collaboration and communication are easily addressed and mastered through the use of the Internet in the curriculum. Students need to collaborate with an audience outside the classroom to make a real world decisions using critical thinking skills, to collaboratively locate real-time data, and select digital tools to support collaborative authentic learning projects.

Unfortunately the easy of locating and using research from the Internet leads to many incidents of plagiarism. Students need to be taught not only the ethics of using the Internet but also the consequences. It is vital for students to understand the need for, and purpose of, giving credit to the sources they use in the research process. Students are taught the concept of plagiarism, but only for using books; rarely does the instruction cover electronic resources. Instruction on when and where of citing sources as well as times when citing sources is not necessary needs to giving to students whenever research is being conducted.

In conclusion, integrating technology in the curriculum requires proper plan, and can not be used as an “add-on”. Computers and Internet skills are imperative to preparing our students for the future. We need to stop teaching facts for regurgitation and teach students Informational Literacy Skills. By doing this coupled with Authentic Inquiry Based Learning students will not only have an success, motivating learning experience but also be prepared for the future.


Wiggins, G. (2007, November 15). What is an Essential question? . Retrieved Nov. 11, 2009, from http://www.authenticeducation.org/bigideas/article.lasso?artId=53