This course will take participants through an overview to WebQuests, a dynamic, inquiry-based Internet project for the classroom. Participants will create their own WebQuest outline, as well as come away with a host of new ideas and strategies to create a complete WebQuest on their own.
One of the most effective ways to use the web with students is to create a WebQuest designed expressly for your classroom. A WebQuest can be defined as an inquiry-oriented project in which the information used by students comes from the Internet. WebQuests are organized around a central task, which usually involves group work and division of labor among students to complete the task. Inquiry is an important component. Students must use critical-thinking skills to gather information and apply this information to the larger task at hand. Teachers also choose ahead of time the links they want students to visit; this allows teachers to pre-screen resources for educative value and allows the WebQuest process to be as streamlined as possible, not wasting classroom time on students fruitlessly searching for information on the web.
Overview
A WebQuest is a project for the classroom that is teacher-designed, yet student-centered. Teachers plan and create a WebQuest, choosing a task, assignments, roles for students, Internet links and materials, and a culminating activity. However, once the WebQuest is implemented in the classroom, the focus diverts to the students. Tasks should promote higher-order thinking skills and allow for interpretive responses and meaningful interaction with material. WebQuests should also be motivating and fun when possible. Roles can be designed to allow students to become private detectives, journalists, a famous person, a scientist, or anything that interest them.
For example, see the following WebQuest, “We’re On a Mission”. http://www.teachnet-lab.org/ps101/chornik/mission/missionindex.htm
This WebQuest is an elementary-level science unit. Note some features of this WebQuest which make it particularly compelling: it’s written with the students as the audience; the task is motivating and exciting; students are given real-world roles; it conforms to the structure of WebQuest design; group work is included with a clear division of labor; the assignment is inquiry-based; resources are high-quality; and it includes an evaluation rubric.
WebQuests allow students to use and interact with Internet-based materials in a guided and meaningful way. Unlike traditional research papers, students should not be retelling what information they find; they should be taking this information and doing something new with it--building upon the new information they’ve learned and creating something of their own. This session introduces the WebQuest model and illustrates how this instructional model is of value to both teachers and students.
Readings
In the How to Use the Internet in Your Classroom book, read Chapter 5, “How to Design WebQuests.” This chapter details all the features of WebQuests, as well as their classroom applications.
On the How to Use the Internet in Your Classroom CD-ROM, please view the section on WebQuests, located in the “How to Design Classroom Activities” section. Web resources and articles are included, as well as model teacher WebQuests.
Provide an example of a project that would be appropriate for the WebQuest model. Give us the web link, title, subject area, and grade. What are some criteria that make a good WebQuest?
Overview
To best prepare you to design a WebQuest of your own, you need to understand their structure, have an innate knowledge of the types of tasks that best serve the model, and which tasks might be better left to another method of instruction. The WebQuest structure is very specific and does not leave much room for interpretation, though there are plenty of avenues to customize and create original content for your particular students, their needs, and subject area.
In this session, we'll look through a list of design patterns for different types of WebQuest tasks. These patterns give names to the types of tasks that work best with the WebQuest model, and provide examples and ideas for creating tasks. Each pattern has examples of completed WebQuests; be sure to look over these different examples for clarity. We will also look at detailed explanations of the WebQuest structure. The building blocks link goes through each section step-by-step, and provides exemplary models of published WebQuests. Please look over several of these examples as well.
Readings
On the Making the Most of the Web with Your Students CD-ROM, view the section on WebQuests (listed under “Making the Most by Technology.” Review the links and teacher curriculum units. Choose the curriculum units most appropriate for your grade level, and note the structure of each project and what types of tasks are involved.
The Task section of a WebQuest is the most important piece, and is often deceptively simple. Please read “A Taxonomy of WebQuest Tasks” (http://webquest.sdsu.edu/taskonomy.html), and familiarize yourself with some of the types of tasks that best fit the WebQuest model.
Reflection
Based on the WebQuest taxonomy page (http://webquest.sdsu.edu/taskonomy.html), choose one of the task categories and create a task for students that is focused, engaging, and challenging. In what ways does this task fit your overall goals for your students?
Overview
Since WebQuests take an enormous amount of planning and research, and are complex and time-consuming to create, we'll only be working on a planning document in this session. Picking links is extremely crucial and, of course, a motivating and appropriate task is essential to the rest of your WebQuest. This session will permit that planning time, and hopefully, will also spur you to create a complete WebQuest of your own. Be sure to look at the links thoroughly, and look at some of the additional resources they provide.
When using the WebQuest pre-write document, be sure to copy and paste your answers when complete. The worksheet does not save your responses; you may want to compose your work in a word processing program to ensure that you do not lose any material.
Readings
Read through the web site “The WebQuest Design Process” (http://tommarch.com/writings/wq_design.php), and be sure to visit all sections. This site truly provides a break-down of what is needed to create a WebQuest on your own.
A great way to get started with WebQuests may not necessarily be to create one, but to use one that has already been written by another teacher. Read “Adapting and Enhancing Existing WebQuests” (http://webquest.sdsu.edu/adapting/index.html), to understand the adaptation process.
Reflection
Describe a classroom activity or unit you currently teach that could become a WebQuest. Explain how the activity is inquiry-based and appropriate for the WebQuest model.
Creating WebQuests http://webquest.org/index-create.php A comprehensive site, with links to online templates and resources to create a WebQuest of your own.
Finding WebQuest Resources http://webquest.org/findlinks This mini search engine provides links that are classroom-friendly and age-appropriate.
The WebQuest Model Workshop http://www.sandyscragg.com/webquest.htm This workshop web page contains links and resources to guide you through the entire process.
