WebQuests.......
What are they? How do they work?
A Web Quest is an inquiry-based activity where students are given a task and provided with access to on-line resources to help them complete the task. It is an ideal way to deliver a lesson over the web. Web Quests are discovery learning tools; they are usually used to either begin or finish a unit of study. Using WebQuests is a great way for students to get involved in real life learning.
Six Ways Teachers Use WebQuests:
1.To begin a unit as an anticipatory set
2. To conclude a unit as a summation
3. As a collaborative activity in which students create a product (fostering cooperative learning)
4. To teach students how to be independent thinkers since most of the problems encountered in a Web Quest are real-world problems
5. To increase competency in the use of technology
6. As a motivational techniques to keep students on task
Technologically, creating a WebQuest can be very simple. As long as you can create a document with hyperlinks, you can create a WebQuest. That means that a WebQuest can be created in Word, Powerpoint, and even Excel!
Most WebQuests follow the same format which includes the following pages:
Introduction
Task
Process
Resources
Evaluation
A true WebQuest....
* is wrapped around a doable and interesting task that is ideally a scaled down version of things that adults do as citizens or workers.
*requires higher level thinking, not simply summarizing. This includes synthesis, analysis, problem-solving, creativity and judgment.
*makes good use of the web. A WebQuest that isn't based on real resources from the web is probably just a traditional lesson in disguise. (Of course, books and other media can be used within a WebQuest, but if the web isn't at the heart of the lesson, it's not a WebQuest.)
*isn't a research report or a step-by-step science or math procedure. Having learners simply distilling web sites and making a presentation about them isn't enough.
*isn't just a series of web-based experiences. Having learners go look at this page, then go play this game, then go here and turn your name into hieroglyphs doesn't require higher level thinking skills and so, by definition, isn't a WebQuest.
So.....what exactly is a WebQuest? ........What does it feel like to do one?....... How do you know a good one when you see it?
To discover the answers to these questions, take a few minutes to participate in this WebQuest About WebQuests
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquestwebquest-es.html
Six Ways Teachers Use WebQuests:
1.To begin a unit as an anticipatory set
2. To conclude a unit as a summation
3. As a collaborative activity in which students create a product (fostering cooperative learning)
4. To teach students how to be independent thinkers since most of the problems encountered in a Web Quest are real-world problems
5. To increase competency in the use of technology
6. As a motivational techniques to keep students on task
Technologically, creating a WebQuest can be very simple. As long as you can create a document with hyperlinks, you can create a WebQuest. That means that a WebQuest can be created in Word, Powerpoint, and even Excel!
Most WebQuests follow the same format which includes the following pages:
Introduction
Task
Process
Resources
Evaluation
A true WebQuest....
* is wrapped around a doable and interesting task that is ideally a scaled down version of things that adults do as citizens or workers.
*requires higher level thinking, not simply summarizing. This includes synthesis, analysis, problem-solving, creativity and judgment.
*makes good use of the web. A WebQuest that isn't based on real resources from the web is probably just a traditional lesson in disguise. (Of course, books and other media can be used within a WebQuest, but if the web isn't at the heart of the lesson, it's not a WebQuest.)
*isn't a research report or a step-by-step science or math procedure. Having learners simply distilling web sites and making a presentation about them isn't enough.
*isn't just a series of web-based experiences. Having learners go look at this page, then go play this game, then go here and turn your name into hieroglyphs doesn't require higher level thinking skills and so, by definition, isn't a WebQuest.
So.....what exactly is a WebQuest? ........What does it feel like to do one?....... How do you know a good one when you see it?
To discover the answers to these questions, take a few minutes to participate in this WebQuest About WebQuests
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquestwebquest-es.html