Self-Organised Learning Environments (SOLE) is a simple yet effective way to get students enthused about a new topic. Get them into small groups with access to the internet, give them a question to explore and then sit back and let them find out the information themselves. At the end of the session ask the groups to feedback and collate the results - you will be surprised what they have found out..
Click here to download a free copy of the SOLE toolkit
Nice one Dom. I was not aware of this term. I've been using a similar method in my classes (I split the class into smaller 'splinter' groups then ask each group to independently research a different specified aspects of a topic) and have found it can help to encourage proactive learning, a deeper grasp of a topic and teamwork.