An Online Inquiry Tool to Support the Exploration of Controversial Issues on the Internet

This paper describes a theoretically informed Online Inquiry Tool designed to support the exploration of controversial issues on the Internet. The tool’s design is grounded in principles associated with theories of online research and comprehension, argumentation for learning, representational guidance, and cognitive load. The purpose of the tool is to help students organize, monitor, and regulate several complex cognitive activities likely to present challenges during online inquiry. Supports are embedded into the digital tool to help students plan their information search around a controversial issue, identify supporting arguments and counterarguments related to this issue, critically evaluate and synthesize information from multiple sources, and use a filled in representation of what they learned to organize and compose a cohesive essay.

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