1. WebQuests in Science PED 4125 – H. Mace

2. Webquest… what the? A webquest is like a scavenger hunt on the Internet. Basically, you go on an Information Gathering Adventure to find facts and things from the Internet to answer some of your questions.

3. Officially... 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. Key points: guided search inquiry oriented interaction with websites

4. Types of webquests... Short Term Goal: knowledge acquisition and integration. By the end: learner will have grappled with a significant amount of new information and made sense of it. Length: one to three class periods. Longer Term Goal: extending and refining knowledge. By the end: learner would have analyzed a body of knowledge in depth, transformed it somehow, and demonstrated an understanding of the material by creating something that others can respond to, electronically or otherwise-. Length: between one week and a month in a classroom setting.

5. Webquest – more specifically Key components of a webquest: a context a task with a process for its completion student expectations a set of websites (information sources) an outcome (organization guidance) a conclusion Check out this site for more information: http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec596/about_webquests.html http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec596/about_webquests.html

6. Evaluating a webquest Overall how does it look? is it easy to navigate? does it work? Introduction gives an interesting context links to previous learning/content

7. More on evaluating The outcome of the task related to expectations (not just busy work) cognitively demanding (not just regurgitating) The process of the task clear steps activities relate to task and build up knowledge roles assigned

8. And lastly… evaluating Resources relevant to task great quality websites (sources, appearance) Evaluation criteria clearly described with task

9. Let’s look at a webquest together A simple science webquest on Endangered Animals Endangered Animals Use the checklist to give feedback to the teacher…

10. Time for group analysis Group 1: Periodic PosterPeriodic Poster Group 2: Bottle rocket challengeBottle rocket challenge Group 3: Atomic structureAtomic structure Group 4: ForensicsForensics Group 5: Energy questEnergy quest Group 6: It’s all about bondingIt’s all about bonding Use the checklist to provide feedbackchecklist

11. Samples I had you examine Periodic tableeriodic table Elementslements Democracy and national debtemocracy and national debt

12. On-line WebQuest Resources The WebQuest Page Search samples of webquests… Search samples of webquests…