Considerations Webquest in the Classroom
Experts
in the Field
Bernie
Dodge
Tom March
Webquests - Welcome
This course was written by Doug Peterson, Computers in the Classroom Consultant, Greater Essex County District School Board.
You're a savvy Internet using educator. You're more interested in teaching your students how to discover the rich content of the Internet in a manner consistent with the curriculum than to let students blindly search with the hopes of finding something. It's more important to have your students use information rather than looking for it. Internet use is a higher level, sophisticated skill and you're going to provide the vehicle to support this via Webquest.
The Webquest model was first developed by Bernie Dodge with Tom March at San Diego State University in 1995.
A webquest usually unfolds in five stages, providing the necessary scaffolding for the learner.
Begin to become familiar with Webquests by previewing a few. Explore some of the Webquest located on the GECDSB Webquest Collection Page. Keep track of the techniques and tasks that are suggested in these Webquests that could be applied in your own project.
You may have found a Webquest that you will be able to use in your classroom. Numerous Webquest can be found on the Internet for any grade level and virtually any topic however, finding the perfect Webquest is not always easy. A good place to start is the Webquest Locator. When searching for a Webquest be sure to consider curriculum expectations and the intended audience level. Are there too many 'dead' links? If so, there may not be enough directed information available for students to complete the assignment. Take some time to search for a Webquest (or two) that you may be able to use in your classroom.
After previewing a number of Webquests, you may be eager to create your own! Continue onto the Introduction link to begin developing the various stages of your own Webquest.
This professional development module will assist you in the development of your own Webquest by helping you to become familiar with the various stages of a Webquest. In order to create a Webquest for your students, you should have a knowledge of the basics of webpage design. Ministry Licensed programs such as Macromedia's Dreamweaver MX or Claris HomePage are available for teachers to install on their home computers for lesson plan preparation. See your CIESC.
If you don't know anything about HTML, you may want to try an online fill-in-the-blank tool to create your Webquest. An easy to use one is available through Filamentality.
Guiding
Questions: Keep the following guiding questions in mind as you peruse
the links.
1. What is a Webquest and how can it be used in the classroom?
2. How do Webquests support cross-curricular learning?
3. What are some of the benefits and challenges of using a Webquest?