Some Thoughts About WebQuests Nancy Brown, Presenter

Sources Adapted from the articles by Bernie Dodge, San Diego State University “Some Thoughts about WebQuests” html html “Building Blocks of a WebQuest” ks.html ks.html Cathy Schrock, Educational Technology Consultant

What Is a WebQuest? An inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that students interact with comes from resources on the Internet. tm tm

Types of WebQuests Short Term - Designed to be completed in one to three class periods. Long Term Designed to take from one week to as long as a month to complete.

Short Term Webquest The instructional goal is knowledge acquisition and integration. The learner deals with a significant amount of new information and creates an internal scheme to make sense of it.

Longer Term WebQuest Instructional goal is extending and refining knowledge. Learner deeply analyzes a body of information, synthesizes it, and then demonstrates understanding by presenting it in some way.

Longer Term WebQuest Thinking Skills Comparing Classifying Deduction Analyzing Synthesizing Evaluation Constructing support Analyzing point-of-view

Attributes of WebQuest Introduction Task Process Information sources Evaluation Conclusion education/projects/webquests.html education/projects/webquests.html ects/webquests/quilts/ ects/webquests/quilts/

Other Characteristics Collaborative activities Role-playing Single or multi-disciplinary

Attribute #1 - Introduction Orients the learners as to what is coming Raises the level of interest through a variety of means n/projects/webquests/washington/ n/projects/webquests/washington/

Attribute #2 - Task Description of what the learner will have done at the end of the exercise Could be a product or verbal presentation n/projects/webquests/washington/ n/projects/webquests/washington/

Attribute #3 - Process Clearly described steps Describes exactly what is expected of the learner Provides advice to the learner n/projects/webquests/washington/ n/projects/webquests/washington/

Attribute #4 - Information Source List of web sites which the instructor has located to help the learner accomplish the task Includes other sources Not all sources need to be used

Attribute #5 - Evaluation Need to be able to measure results Rubrics designed by teacher are the most authentic form assessment Evaluation rubrics take many forms l l ects/webquests/washington/ ects/webquests/washington/

Other Examples ects/webquests/crucible/ ects/webquests/crucible/ s/education/projects/webquests/holocaust/ s/education/projects/webquests/holocaust/ education/projects/webquests/machines/ education/projects/webquests/machines/

Attribute #6 - Conclusion Brings closure to the quest Reminds the learner what they have learned Encourages them to extend the experience into other domains n/projects/webquests/washington/ n/projects/webquests/washington/

Design Steps for Teachers Become familiar with online resources in your content area Organize the resources into categories such as databases, reference materials, etc. Identify topics that fit in with the curriculum and for which there are online materials and resources ml ml

Writing the WebQuest Introduction – describe the webquest in your own words Task – the actual assignment – describe the scenario in greater detail; gives the roles that students will play Process – step-by-step instructions the students will follow Information Sources – useful links to info students need to complete task Evaluation – links to online tests, rubrics, etc. Conclusion – wrap-up, gives closure, thanks students for work and effort, describes “what happens as a result of work