Webquests Travis Smith and Ryan Bartlett

Two questions: How many of you used the internet at least once a week during class in your core classes when you were in school? How many of you plan to have students use computers at least once a week during class in the classes you teach?

WebQuest “A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the internet” (Dodge, 1997)

Why use a WebQuest Students like computers ( and many need to learn to use them for something constructive ) Inquiry based by nature – effective for most students since the students are active 21 st century skills –Information and Media Literacy –Promotes Global Awareness –Often include Critical Thinking –Career skills for the Information Age Administrators like technology

When should you use a WebQuest? Only when you are teaching a subject that has internet resources… In other words – for anything! –To introduce a unit or topic –To reinforce what you already taught another way –As a form of assessment (formative or summative!)

Are WebQuests effective? Students like them (Abbit & Ophus, 2008; Lipscomb, 2003) Differentiation – effective for disabled (Skylar, Higgins, & Boone, 2007) to gifted (Schweizer & Kossow, 2007) students Difficulties in comparing teaching methods (Abbit & Ophus, 2008; Strickland, 2005)

Examples of common WebQuests Scavenger hunt Watch videos/listen to podcasts/read text online and then answer questions/complete tables/etc. Online games/activities Online quizzes or tests A combination of all of the above

How do you create a WebQuest? “Borrow” one and then modify it OR 1.Find resources online that help you teach your subject. 2.Create an activity around the resources. Pick a place in your unit. Decide on a level of structure and length (10 minutes to whole unit or even whole class). Plan your assessment.

Example: Machines Introduction To Machines WebQuest

Example Rubric For Machines WebQuest SectionDescriptionTeacher FeedbackPoints Possible Points Earned IReviewing Force5 IISimple Machine Song15 IIISimple Machine Description 30 IVCompound Machines15 VJapanese Machines10 VIReview5 VIIAnalyzing20

Example Graded Rubric SectionDescriptionTeacher FeedbackPoints Possible Points Earned IReviewing ForceGood55 IISimple Machine Song15 IIISimple Machine Description Didn’t answer all the questions IVCompound Machines15 VJapanese Machines10 VIReviewGood, but put things in your own words. 55 VIIAnalyzingYou forgot to label!2018 Student Response

Examples Biology: 5gGmZ1xEIlWv_sGbB0xpLPPfYQ/edit?hl=en&authkey=CIa w4KMJ 5gGmZ1xEIlWv_sGbB0xpLPPfYQ/edit?hl=en&authkey=CIa w4KMJ Earth Science: MmCd71yd4EFszgrVKYnpWxN7Marw/edit?hl=en&authkey =CNv2vLkC MmCd71yd4EFszgrVKYnpWxN7Marw/edit?hl=en&authkey =CNv2vLkC Language Arts: htm htm Math: Science: space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/groundup/ space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/groundup/ History: lessons/1981http:// lessons/1981 Spanish: Biology: 5gGmZ1xEIlWv_sGbB0xpLPPfYQ/edit?hl=en&authkey=CIa w4KMJ 5gGmZ1xEIlWv_sGbB0xpLPPfYQ/edit?hl=en&authkey=CIa w4KMJ Earth Science: MmCd71yd4EFszgrVKYnpWxN7Marw/edit?hl=en&authkey =CNv2vLkC MmCd71yd4EFszgrVKYnpWxN7Marw/edit?hl=en&authkey =CNv2vLkC Language Arts: htm htm Math: Science: space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/groundup/ space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/groundup/ History: lessons/1981http:// lessons/1981 Spanish:

Sounds great, right? So what could go wrong?

Common mistakes (that Ryan made)

1. Forcing students to type long website names Ex. ells/SAS%20cellphysiol/celltranspor.htm ells/SAS%20cellphysiol/celltranspor.htm How many students would type this in wrong? LINKS!

2. Assuming websites that work on your home computer will work on school computers School internet filters Software –Programs –Plug-ins

3. Assuming all student computers have the same software They don’t (especially plug-ins) Animations usually require Adobe Flash and/or other plug-ins Students usually cannot install any software on their accounts

4. Making a WebQuest that can be answered too easily Be very careful with scavenger hunt WebQuests Why? Ask.com, Answers.com, Google, etc. Students typing questions into boxes and writing down the answers is not terribly effective learning. Include higher-level questions and questions that can only be answered by going through an activity or website

5. Not having a back-up plan Technical difficulties –School’s wireless internet down –Computer use conflicts –Computers extremely slow/long log-in (profile building) Murphy’s Law – this will happen when you are being observed or the superintendent is visiting your classroom, etc. "Murphy was an optimist.“ (Unknown)

Summary of advice Use links. Try the WebQuest yourself on as many student computers as possible. Have a back-up plan. Use higher level questions.

Links Math WebQuests: (mostly High School) (mostly High School) Social Studies WebQuests: (mostly High School) (all grades) (Elementary and Middle School) Language Arts WebQuests: (all grades) (High School) All areas: (all grades) (all grades) (all grades) (WebQuests and other lessons, all grades) (all areas, includes web-based WebQuest creator) (all grades, subscription but free trial) (all grades)

Questions What are some potential barriers to using WebQuests and web resources in the classroom? How will you prevent students from visiting inappropriate (for school) websites such as Facebook while on the web? (Note that proxy servers will bypass internet filters that your school may have in place.) How important is it for students to learn to use computers without immediately going to Facebook before entering the workforce? How could you combine WebQuests with some of the other teaching strategies we have learned about thus far? What topic in your subject area would WebQuests be particularly effective in teaching?

References Abbit, J., & Ophus, J. (2008). What we know about the impacts of web-quests: a review of research. AACE Journal, 16(4), Dodge, B. (1997, May 5). Some thoughts about webquests. Retrieved from Lipscomb, G. (2003). I guess it was pretty fun: using webquests in the middle school classroom. The Clearing House, 76(3), Schweizer, H., & Kossow, B. (2007). Webquests: tools for differentiation. Gifted Child Today, 30(1), Skylar, AA., Higgins, K., & Boone, R. (2007). Strategies for adapting webquests for students with learning disabilities. Intervention in School and Clinic, 43(20), Strickland, J. (2005). Using webquests to teach content: comparing instructional strategies. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 5(2),