This classroom activity is intended to demonstrate that the Internet is just one of many resources of information.

A school library containing a few computers wired to the Internet, is the ideal location for this exercise.

Note: Before beginning the Research Relay, children should be familiar with strategies for Internet and library searches.

• Divide class into six different groups.
• Assign three groups to computers and three groups to other library resources.
• Choose three research topics.
• Give the same topic to one computer group and one library group.
• Give groups fifteen minutes to gather as much information as possible. One student in each group should document the steps taken by the group to find their information.

Possible research topics might include:

• Latin names for ten types of trees (selected by the teacher)
• Capitals of ten countries (selected by the teacher)
• Ten plays by William Shakespeare
• Ten animal proverbs
• Ten significant historical events from a specific time period (ie: the 1950s, 1940s, etc.)

When the time is up, gather your students together.

Ask the groups researching each topic to step forward and share their findings.

• Were they able to find the information they were looking for?
• What steps were taken to find the information?
• Was the information easy to find? Where did they find it?
• Did they have any problems finding their information? What were they?

When all the groups have reported, ask your students:

• What are some advantages of print resources in a library? What are some of the disadvantages?
• What are some advantages of the Internet? What are some of the disadvantages?
• Based on their group experiences, which did students consider to be a better place to search for the information that they needed: the Internet or the Library?