Purpose
Reading,
Processing, Discussing and Understanding what a WebQuest is. To achieve the
goals through real teamwork. When we
put our minds together, ideas multiply!!! We emphasize the group process
that highlights a synthesis of the wealth of knowledge from a team of
minds.
What
is a WebQuest?
WebQuest
is a simple and powerful learning method that has become quite
popular in elementary and secondary schools (recently WebQuest
is also leveraged and adopted for corporate learning - Learning
TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Oct 12, 2005).
A
WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which most or all of
the information used by learners is drawn from the Web. WebQuests
are designed to use learners' time well, to focus on using information
rather than looking for it, and to support learners' thinking at
the levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The model was
developed in early 1995 at San Diego State University by Bernie
Dodge with Tom March, and was outlined then in Some Thoughts About WebQuests. WebQuest
can be a powerful teaching method and also a way to increase
collaboration and critical thinking skills. (Source: www.webquest.org; Learning Trends
list serve).
To
better understand what a WebQuest is, continue the following
exploration:
The
most user-friendly website on WebQuest: Internet4Classsrooms
(i4c)
From this website, you can find WebQuest definitions, building blocks, collections,
and much more...
Building Blocks of WebQuests
There are five basic components of an average WebQuest
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- set the stage for the activity.
- catch the reader's
attention to draw them
into the quest
- provide background
information.
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- state what the students will be required to do
- avoid surprises down
the road
- detail what products
will be expected and
the tools that are
to be used to produce
them.
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- give a step-by-step description, concise and clearly laid out
- provide links to
Internet sites interwoven
within the steps.
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- display a rubric to measure the product as objectively as possible
- leave little room
for question
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- summarize the experience
- allow reflection
about the process.
- add higher level
questions that may
be researched at another
time.
- Give food for thought
as to where they can
go with the info they
have learned, using
it in a different situation.
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More about the building blocks
A
Template for Building WebQuest
Articles
on WebQuest: what, why, how...
-
What
WebQuests (Really) Are - A latest article
written by Tom March, another leading figure in WebQuest.
It's an advanced reading - give it a try and you might
get a lot out of it!
http://bestwebquests.com/what_webquests_are.asp (Or
in PDF -
easy to print).
An introduction to some key ideas behind WebQuests. Before
jumping into the whys and hows of WebQuests, the author listed some myths
to give audience some good conceptual understanding of the World Wide Web
and its aspects that support student learning.
WebQuest Collections
The
Most Comprehensive
Website on WebQuest- warning again: don't
get drown!
Does WebQuest Promote Learning and Critical Thinking?
It
all depends... Read the article by Tom March:
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Isn't it silly to think driving a car would ensure
a great family vacation? Isn't it just as silly to think using a computer
guarantees learning achievement? This parable compares technology integration
to a family auto vacation...
Phew! Are we there yet? Hardly, but the trip promises to be interesting
and enriched. Can technology help this process? Absolutely! So let's finish
off by invoking one of the great last lines in American literature (that happened
to be uttered while driving in a taxicab). "Does driving a car guarantee a
successful family vacation?" As Hemingway said, "Isn't it pretty to think so?" (Quoted
from the article Are
We There Yet )
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