A WebQuest is an assignment that asks students to use the internet to learn about and synthesize knowledge on a specific topic. It consists of an introduction, learner objectives, process, resources, evaluation, and conclusion. Key parts include the student's role, intended audience, and task. WebQuests allow students to collaborate and access multimedia resources to complete visual and engaging projects. However, they also risk plagiarism and lack of supervision if used at home. Overall, well-designed WebQuests can provide interactive learning experiences while developing students' research skills when resources are properly evaluated.
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What Is A Web Quest
1. What is a WebQuest?
By: Than Wilson, April
Wright, Andrew Smith
2. Parts of a WebQuest:
• Introduction- The introduction is used to
explain what the project is about and why it is
important.
• Learners- This addresses the grade level
aimed at for the specific audience.
• Standards- It will list the specific objectives
from the state department that will be used in
the activity.
3. • Process- Explains what the student will do. It
gives a detailed description of what the entire
project is. It defines the student’s
role, audience, situation, and task.
• Resources- List all resources and materials
needed for the project. This includes web sites
and handouts needed.
• Evaluation- This is how the project will be
assessed. This is where you would find a rubric
and reason for the development of the
assessment.
• Conclusion- This tells what the student should
get out of the whole project.
4. Important Terms to Know
• WebQuest- A WebQuest is an assignment which
asks students to use the World Wide Web to
learn about and/or synthesize their knowledge a
specific topic.
• Role of a student- The role of a student is to
research and analyze data to gain knowledge
about a concept.
• Audience- The audience the group the WebQuest
is designed for.
• Task- The task is the process that you are carrying
out to have a better understanding.
6. Links to other WebQuests, continued
• http://www.wfu.edu/~mccoy/NCTM00/laura.html
•
• http://www.uwm.edu/~kahl/WebQuests/Showdown/
•
• http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/webquests/aero/aero.htm
•
• http://www.k12science.org/curriculum/boilproj/index.
html
•
• http://www.uni.edu/schneidj/webquests/spring04/bob
o/index.html
7. Teacher Resources Needed
• Technology
– With technology a teacher will need to make sure
a student has an outlet to computers and the
internet. This is the key to your door to
WebQuesting. Once we get online we will also
need the free technology sources to create your
WebQuest. There are several open for teachers to
use for free including:
http://www.filamentality.com/wired/fil/ and
http://questgarden.com/
8. Teacher Resources Needed, continued
• Story quot;outline“
– Think of this as topic and design. You need to
have a topic that will keep the students interested.
After you choose a topic you will need to have an
outline for what you want the students to
accomplish and how to set it into each one of the
requirements for a good WebQuest.
• This site is a good site for a design outline:
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/designsteps/index.
html
9. Teacher Resources Needed, continued
• Information
– After you have your topic picked out you need to
have some resources and cites gathered to get the
students started. A free mind can go far once it
gets started.
10. Pros for WebQuests
• You have the power of the web behind your
topic. You can show students - or let them
discover for themselves, not just tell them. Web
sites can take your students anywhere in the
world.
• WebQuests can also increase the quot;comfort levelquot;
of students using the Internet for learning
activities. A properly designed WebQuest can
help students become creative researchers rather
than simply quot;surfingquot; from one site to another.
11. Pros for WebQuests, continued
• WebQuests can be collaborative. Students can work
individually or in teams, depending on classroom
circumstances and your preference.
• A good WebQuest is also highly visual. Your
presentation will be far stronger if it includes sites with
lots of pictures, maps, animations, or even sounds.
These are teaching tools that keep students’ interest.
• quot;More than information, the Web is about
people, ideas, and sharing.quot; Cited form Tom March's
Article and this stands true in all fields. The internet
will not only educate but help teach the students how
to interact and gather information from other people.
12. Cons for WebQuests
• The internet is a vast array of information. That is
information, not truth. One of the true cons
comes form the challenges of monitoring
information to determine if it is accurate or not.
• How can I say it better than quot;Creating Liarsquot;.
With all this information on the internet as we
advance in classes and age groups we need to be
weary of the chances for plagiarism to happen.
This information gathering online might create a
breed of student who believe they can steal
anything they need form online.
13. Cons for WebQuests, continued
• If you want students to work on the webquests in class,
you might not have enough computers. Individual work
might need to be changed to team work.
• If you’re allowing young students to work on a webquest at
home, you might not have the assurance that parents are
supervising and supporting the activity.
• This technology outlet gives students a greater chance for
quot;zoning outquot;. One teacher one a wiki stated that one of his
greatest drawbacks with this educational tool was that
students tended to quot;play with the technologyquot; not quot;learn
with it.“
14. References
• http://www.teachersfirst.com/summer/webquest/ques
t-a.shtml
• http://www.filamentality.com/wired/fil/
• http://questgarden.com/
• http://webquest.sdsu.edu/designsteps/index.html
• Strickland, J. (2005). Using webquests to teach content:
Comparing instructional strategies. Contemporary
issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 5(2), 138-
148.
– http://www.citejournal.org/articles/v5i2socialstudies1.pdf
