This is a cool suggestion from Adrian (our Camp@Apple who is a high school teacher in Singapore who is smiling right at you!). He suggested that when assigning internet research on a certain topic, instead of saying “research on butterflies”, say “list down the top 5 sites on butterflies and explain why you ranked them that way” — meaning, the student must explain and make a comparison of sites visited. Now, the student has to think why site A is #1 as opposed to site B or C.
I was so happy to here this suggestion. My greatest fear about the internet is that students will just surf the net and then copy and paste information without really understanding it. Of course, as teacher, I know when this “crime” has been committed. How? Because the student “miraculously” writes like a professional BUT can’t answer pertinent questions regarding his or her work. This teaching method forces the student to analyze and think critically.
