WebQuest Mania By Rick Busath Daisy Damos Michael K. Hopson

WHAT is a WebQuest?  A WebQuest is an inquiry based activity on- line in which some or all of the information that students interact with comes from resources on the internet.  WebQuests are project based learning activities that are grounded in inquiry learning.  Conceived by Bernie Dodge in 1995 at San Diego State  WebQuests are engaging!

What does a typical WebQuest look like?  Introduction: What are we going to be learning about, why is it relevant?  Task: This is what you must do.  Process: This is how you are going to do it.  Evaluation: This is what I, the teacher, am looking for.  Conclusion: This is what you should have learned. What extensions can we come up with and build upon?

WebQuests Involve Inquiry Based Learning  In Inquiry Based Learning, students are presented with a problem…  Students gather data and then digest it…  Information is then organize and presented.  Learning usually takes place in small groups  Teacher as facilitator.

WHY WebQuests?  No non-productive “free roaming” on the internet, WebQuesting gives students focus and a sense of exploration.  Technology = Engagement. Students see WebQuests as being fun!  Promote creativity and problem solving.  Provides a vehicle for students to develop in a cooperative learning environment.  Open ended questions promotes higher order thinking skills.  Students look critically and “under the surface” at subjects

WHO Do WebQuests Benefit?  Students : Students that are engaged are more likely to complete tasks, retain knowledge, and have “buy in” to their learning experience.  Teachers: Many WebQuests are linked from our web site, and can used today! Promotes constructivist classroom environment wherein students create their own knowledge.  Administrators: Appropriate use of technology that meets school site technology plans.  Use of technology improves standardized test scores.

WHERE: WebQuests are internet driven so…  They can be done in the classroom.  By students at home.  In the schools’ computer lab  At the public library  At Starbucks or anywhere else they can connect to the internet!

Teaching Standards Addressed  Check this link:

WHEN Should WebQuests be done?  When trying to target different learning modalities.  When introducing a new subject  Mastery of an already learned subject  Extension: deeper learning or broader linking of subject material  Differentiated instruction for varying ability levels  Anytime… they’re fun!  Again… no time constraints. Home, school, the world becomes the student participants’ classroom.

Subjects Taught by WebQuests  Wide range of topics can be covered but…  WebQuests lend themselves best to topics that involve creativity and open-ended problem solving.  For example:  What would it have been like to have lived among the California Indians prior to the European immigration?  What would Dr. Martin Luther King think about the children of today?  You are a hotel developer, which region of California would best suite the needs of your new hotel? Why?

Making a WebQuest  Use our Site Extensions and follow the linksSite Extensions  Taskstream Taskstream  Bernie Dodge’s WebQuest site at San Diego State UniversityWebQuest site  Why reinvent the wheel? Many WebQuest sites allow teachers to use, change, and modify existing WebQuests, with proper citing of original source.

How to Use Our Resource Site  Read the first link on each drop down menu.  Get out there, follow the links, and have fun!  Remember to ask yourself, “How can I use this in my classroom?”  “What will my students’ learning experience be like using a WebQuest?”  Our resource site: