Using Webquests in your Classroom

What are Webquests?

"First developed by Bernie Dodge and Tom March, working with teachers in California, the WebQuest model has been embraced by teachers around the world. As a result, a wealth of fully developed WebQuests exist online that are available for use by you and your students.
WebQuests outline the steps of a learning journey so that students spend their time exploring important questions and issues without wasting time wandering around looking for information. WebQuests offer efficiency and reliability. They also focus on the kinds of higher-level thinking and problem solving now required by many state curriculum standards and tests. " (from Canter Net at http://www.canter.net/netclass/activities/L6/slide1.html )

Elements of a Webquest

WebQuests can be built to address a variety of curricular goals. Whatever academic discipline or disciplines they are built to address, all WebQuests should exhibit certain characteristics.

WebQuests include the following six elements:

Introduction: Sets the stage for the WebQuest. It creates interest in the activity, provides background information and foreshadows what is to come.

Task: Describes what students are expected to do in terms of both process and product. The task should involve higher-order thinking skills and the transformation of information. It should be both doable and interesting.

Process: Describes the steps that students should go through to accomplish the task. Because the steps of the process are clearly defined and provided in the WebQuest, teachers are able to access and implement ready-made WebQuests easily and effectively.

Resources: A set of information resources that are needed to complete the task. Because resource materials are provided, students can focus on using information rather than on finding information. A variety of resources are included. Some resources may be Internet-based, including Web documents, experts available via E-mail, or e real-time conferencing and searchable databases on the Internet. Other resources may include books, magazines, newspapers, and CD-ROMs that are available in the classroom or school library.

Evaluation: Identifies the criteria for evaluation, often through use of a rubric. This helps both students and teachers understand elements of the process and product through which students are expected to demonstrate their learning.

Conclusion: Brings closure to the WebQuest. It reminds students of what they’ve learned and can point them in new directions for further exploration and learning.

Instructional Design:

As you access the WebQuests online, you will assess their quality in terms of the following.
Instructional Design
* An introduction orients students to the activity.
* The activity is based on a doable and interesting task.
* Students follow a clear process.
* Students are provided with resources from the Internet and other sources.
* The evaluation allows students to demonstrate knowledge in an authentic and relevant way.
* A concluding activity brings the learning together.

Quality of Student Learning
* Engages students in an inquiry-based activity.
* Develops relevant and authentic knowledge and skills.
* Involves collaboration among students.
* Supports the learners' thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
* Involves the transformation of information, creating new knowledge or new ideas.
* Students demonstrate their knowledge to an authentic audience, either real or simulated.

Examples of Tasks:

Taskonomy of WebQuests - This link provides ideas for a variety of tasks addressing curricular design and differentiated learning

Use the following to help orient you on the design of a Webquest:

• WebQuest Matrix of Examples -Go to the Webquest Portal and search by "Top" sites - which include the best examples of webquests, use "Search" to do a keyword search or search the "middling" sites for examples that have many good features of a webquets.

• Instructional Design Patterns - Includes templates for the most popular and successful designs for Webquests - great place for ideas.
• Homegrown Examples:
• Holocaust Memorial Webquest
• Astronomy Webquest
  
• Webquests and the new Technologies - A Webquest about Web 2.0 - Let's try this out...

 

Evaluation Exercise:

Use the worksheet to evaluate three examples of Webquests. Considering the elements of a Webquest and instructional design, use the worksheet to evaluate the three Webquests you've chosen.

Plan your WebQuest

Use a blank template to jot down ideas for your WebQuest. Meet with your media specialist to collaborate and work on the Webquest. Also, "Tech CEUs" available for curriculum integration projects collaborated on with your media specialist.

WebQuest Building Blocks

Adapt Existing WebQuests

WebQuests Design Patterns and Templates

Creating your own Webquest

• Refer to your assignment: Creating Webquests for Greenwich Public Schools Teachers

• Go to Webquest Wizard OR use your account with FinalSite to create a new page.

• Set-up pages for each of the steps in a WebQuest: Introduction, Task, Process, Resources, Evaluation and Conclusion
  

• Add your content to each of these pages.

• Add resources links - should include name of the site and full website addresses.  Work with your media specialist to add quality resources both print - and digital.
  

• Find clip art. Possible sources:

  • Pics4Learning - Provides a copyright-friendly collection of images and pictures for educational use.

  • Discovery Clip Art -Any use of clip art from Discovery needs to have the following tag: "Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com"

• Save or download the image to your desktop. If you use a copyrighted image, you must include citation information.

• Add images and format the pages.

• Save and publish the pages.
  

Posting your Webquest

• Use our new Web Content Management System - FinalSite - and create a Webquest using the elements presented in this workshop.