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The seeds of the Internet Challenge
Geri Ruane shares her experiences using technology in the classroom and the creation of her Internet Challenges, which are used in classrooms across the country. By Geri Ruane |
 tep back
with me for a moment as I reflect upon my introduction to the Internet. As I
look back upon the events that provided the seeds for my Internet Challenges, I
realize that I am still very much a pilgrim in this new world of
cyberspace.Ever since I became an elementary school computer teacher in 1994, I have felt myself swept up in the rapid pace of technological advancement. Our school computer lab changed dramatically in my first two years: bigger hard drives, faster CPUs, and eye-catching new software made this an exciting time. I was eager to explore it all and to share what I learned with my students and colleagues. |
Geri Ruane |  y the fall of 1996, my lab
had been wired for the Internet. I was both excited and bewildered by this new
development. I didn't know how to start to learn about the Internet, or even how
to find it on the computer! I finally forced myself to jump into this new world
and see what it was all about. In my first week or two, I was amazed to discover
a number of interesting and educational Web sites.
My initial idea was to use these and other sites as a means for enhancing my students' reading comprehension skills. In December of '96, I bookmarked the "White House for Kids" Web site on the 27 Macintosh computers in the lab. I was ready and eager to introduce my students to the World Wide Web. When students saw the pictures of the first families (and their pets) displayed by the projector, they couldn't wait to check out the site on their own. I showed them how to select the bookmarks on their own computers and watched them with bated breath, hoping all would go well. |
t was here that I experienced my first cyberspace "road bump": the site server
apparently could not handle 27 simultaneous connections, which meant that some
students couldn't visit the site right away. Third, fourth, and fifth graders
are not noted for their patience, and as they sat waiting for access, they looked
to me for the remedy to this glitch. The balloon of my high hopes began to
deflate as the precious minutes ticked away. It became clear to me that teaching
with the Net involved factors I had never had to consider.
This became even more apparent as I observed those who had been able to access the site. They stared at the screen, unsure about what to do next: some cast confused glances in my direction. When I instructed them to read the text on the Web page, they responded in a way I had not anticipated: "What? Read this whole big page? Where's the sound, the music, the games? This is boring. How do I get out of here? Can I switch back to the software NOW?" (My aspirational balloon was losing altitude fast.) |
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"I wanted to channel their energy into a fun learning experience, guiding them in
their cyberspace travels. But how could I do this?"
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 hose who couldn't get to the White House site checked out some other
educational sites, but their interest waned after a few minutes. Finally, some
found a site where they could color a picture and this held their attention for
awhile. Coloring, however, was not my notion of productive use of the Internet,
and with this thought, my "balloon" hit the ground, completely deflated. Frustrated, I felt there had to be a way to show them the educational rewards of the Web. I wanted to channel their energy into a fun learning experience, guiding them in their cyberspace travels. But how could I do this? How could I construct a Web-based learning activity that was stimulating, exciting, even "cool?" I left school for Christmas vacation pondering this question. |
 arly January, '97: I became
engrossed in learning as much as I could about the Internet and its wealth of
educational Web sites. Aware that Presidents' Day and Martin Luther King Day were
approaching, I decided to design an instructional activity around those topics.
I found some relevant Web sites and proceeded to construct a plan. The plan? To take students on a cyberspace yellow brick road adventure. I sat down at my computer one night and started typing out ideas about how it would all work. I would serve as the students' guide, providing both instructions and encouragement along the way (I knew that especially in the beginning, motivating them would be crucial). They would travel to different Web sites, reading the material there and finding the answers to the questions on the worksheets that I would provide. I wrote a tentative introduction to the first Challenge: |
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|  an you meet the Internet
Challenge? It is up to you to take on one (or more) of the challenges listed
below and score a big win! You are going to search the different Web sites and
answer questions. Once you have completed this assignment, return this paper to
your classroom teacher and discuss what you have learned. Your classroom teacher
will review it with you and points will be awarded to you if this challenge has
been successfully completed. Your classroom teacher will write down the number of
points (range from 50-100) that you have won. If you have won 200 points or more,
return the bottom portion of this paper to Mrs. Ruane to receive your prize.
In other words, I presented this exercise as a kind of personal contest, one that could allow each child to experience that winning feeling. |
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realized
that any motivational momentum created by this "challenging" introduction could
be quickly quashed by the kind of Web site-access delays we had recently
experienced. For this reason, I decided to design the activity to prevent having
all 27 students click onto a Web site at the same time. I would bookmark a
number of sites, allowing students to select them in any order and follow the
corresponding directions on the worksheet.
The first challenge that I created focused on our presidents and first families, as well as the history of the White House. The second challenge revolved around Black History Month: students would read about Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, Roy Wilkins, and others. |
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"After 15 minutes, I looked around the lab and saw to my delight that the boys
and girls were engrossed!"
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 hen I had completed the two challenges, the next step was to contact
the classroom teachers and school librarian and tell them about my plan. I was
gratified by their support: I had a green light. My final preparations included assembling a collection of prizes for those who completed the Internet Challenge. I procured a huge bowl--the now-famous "Tub of Treasures"--and filled it with a variety of appealing rewards. I was ready! |
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n
mid-January, '97, I introduced my students to the Internet Challenge after
several days of piquing their interest by describing this new activity. They
seemed eager to tackle the instructions as I watched from the sidelines, hoping
for the best. After 15 minutes, I looked around the lab and saw to my delight
that the boys and girls were engrossed! I had allowed them to work with a
partner and this apparently was a good strategy: the students in each twosome
were collaborating to complete the Challenge. That day everyone left the lab
talking about their experiences on the Internet. They were hooked.
Their initial excitement endured as they continued to work on the two Challenges during the following weeks. This feeling was occasionally dampened by frustration at the technical difficulties that would crop up, and I shared their irritation. I explained, however, that unlike packaged software, the Internet is a "live" medium in constant change, and that we could not expect every link to function properly all of the time. I saw that working on the Net required students to develop a measure of patience and flexibility, and as weeks passed I observed many acquiring these valuable traits. |
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| his first experience was
enough to let me see how Internet Challenges could transform ho-hum Web site
browsing into fun and purposeful explorations. I felt I was on to something good.
With that in mind, I created additional challenges on various topics: ancient Egypt, China, Texas history, tigers, aviation, books, solar system, nutrition, and even the dangers of smoking. My students were learning how to use the Internet as a tool, not as a toy. It was evident to me that by doing the Challenges they were honing their reading, research, and critical thinking skills, and I also noticed two additional benefits: (1) they were developing their computer literacy and proficiency, and (2) they seemed to be growing in areas of character, i.e., in their self-confidence, cooperativeness, even kindness. |
 ow three
years later, my students have completed many Internet Challenges on a myriad of
subjects. I have been fortunate in having my work recognized in a number of
publications, and I currently design Challenges for my school district as well as
various newspapers, magazines, and educational newsletters. I have created more
than 100 challenges and am pleased to have seen this activity, which began as a
late-night notion, embraced by many educators and thousands of students.
Watching my own students work on the challenges year after year reaffirms to me
their value, and being able to share them with others throughout the country is
the icing on the cake for me.
I feel that I have not yet fully tapped what I see to be the vast potentials of the Internet Challenge. The experiences related above represent the sprouting of seeds of this endeavor; I will continue to nurture to fruition the branches and blossoms. The best is yet to come. |
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