As an example, one area that has fascinated me is the Anasazi Indians of the American Southwest. While we still have their ruins, we actually know very little about them (see photo). With access to the internet, one can actually visit the site itself (www.riorancho.com/rio/chap1.html) or visit an ancient kiva and do a virtual walkthrough a site (http://sipapu.gsu.edu/great.kiva/qtvr/kivaqtvr.html). This site also offers music from the Indian society. Students would not only be able to hear music, but there are also recorded chants, songs and stories in the actual language of various tribes.
Another site for viewing related articles and studies is National Geographic site (www.nationalgeographic.org). This site provides all sorts of relative information along with various links and associated articles.
The internet saves time and enhances their study capabilities. An example of this is a Social Studies project my daughter was assigned for her 5th grade class. For this project, she was to identify her family origin, in our case it was Irish, and then design and make a travel brochure for something of interest. She looked at various sites and found mention of the Blarney stone. Through the internet, she was able to collect various bits of information and pictures of the stone and surrounding country side. This pictures she printed out and then created a tri-fold brochure explaining the legend behind the stone as well as show people bending over backwards to kiss it. Without the internet, little, if any of this would have been possible without a great deal of frustration and loss of interest.
