Inquiry-Based Activities and Internet Search In The EFL Classroom

Abstract

Nowadays with the inclusion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) resources in the schools, and due to the lack of books and resources especially in public education settings, students rely on the Internet to do homework, and carry out revision of sources to accomplish a task. The use of a computer connected to the Internet that makes available lots of information with just typing and clicking some keys have had a deep impact on education. That impact itself is still an unexplored ground, which needs to be observed and systematized in order to build a theoretical framework that allows researcher, teachers and Internet users in general not only to understand but also to oversee the way this resource is being used in the educational field. Bearing in mind the former statement, this study aims at understanding the way learners approach information when they are required to search for data to solve a problem or a question in order to orient teachers as to how to guide students in the inquiry process and use the resources provided through Internet with a critical stance. It has been observed that the inclusion of Internet in the education scenery has not only facilitated examination of different topics and communication activities, but it has also generated negative trends in which students tend to download any piece of information they find without even reading it. This searching for information process is a key aspect in learning because the information retrieved might contribute in the construction of meaning held during learning. Therefore, it is important to understand the way students carry this process out in order to look for alternatives to encourage deep, more systematic and reliable processes for retrieving and using the information provided by the Internet.