WebQuests

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WebQuests
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1) General Introduction to WebQuests
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a) What is a WebQuest?

• 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."

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b) The Pros and Cons of Webquests
Pros

• Effective structured use of Internet time.

• Capture students imagination.

• Accommodate students' diverse learning needs.

• Allows students to explore in a guided,
  meaningful manner.

• Individual and group work.

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b) The Pros and Cons of Webquests
Pros

• Many to chose from. Variety of curriculum areas.

• Free.

• Great links and lists of resources.

• You can create your own WebQuest or use existing
  ones.

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b) The Pros and Cons of Webquests
Pros

• Fun and motivating for students.

• Can be done as home assignment.

• Similar structure in all WebQuests. Ease of use.

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b) The Pros and Cons of Webquests
Cons

• Link rot dead end links. Web sites not available

• Content is predominately American.

• Takes lots of time to create one.

• Tend to use only Web as a resource, not other
  library resources.

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c) Examples
Check these out Note the structure
Introduction, Task, etc.
Example 1 The American Revolution Explore the
American Revolution from various viewpoints
(Patriot/Loyalist/British Government), conduct
"interviews", develop your own viewpoint.
http//teacherweb.com/NY/NiagaraFallsHighSchool/M
sFortin'sWebquest/
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Example2 Lord of the Flies Design a survival
strategy and bill of rights. http//www.longwood.k
12.ny.us/lhs/teach/webq/lmasterjohnlord/
Example3 Earthquake! Learn more about
earthquakes and where they are most likely to
happen. Find a safe zone for some earthquake
refugees. http//sd67.bc.ca/schools/sss/Science/we
bquest/index.htm
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d) The Structure of WebQuests
Most webquests follow this structure
1. Top (Overview or Home) Title, designers name,
e-mail address, etc.
2. Introduction To prepare and hook the student.
Introduce the activity or lesson.
3. Task (Quest or Question) End result of
students activity.
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4. Procedure (Process) The steps to accomplish
the task.
5. Evaluation How students performance will be
evaluated.
6. Conclusion What student will have
accomplished.
7. Teacher Page Information to help teachers
understand the WebQuest.
8. Credits List of sources and their links.
Thank-yous.
(Note some WebQuests include a Resources page
too)
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Here are some links to find out more details
WebQuest Template http//projects.edtech.sandi.net
/staffdev/tpss99/mywebquest/index.htm
Building Blocks for WebQuests http//projects.edte
ch.sandi.net/staffdev/buildingblocks/p-index.htm
A variety of WebQuest Templates http//webquest.sd
su.edu/LessonTemplate.html
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2) WebQuests Available as a Resource to Teachers
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a) Looking for a WebQuest that you can use in
your classes?  Whatever your subject area,
theres probably one out there you can use.
Heres some ways you can find out whats
available
i) Try a WebQuest Matrix

• Most subject areas covered.

• Grade levels K to adult.

(Danger! You can explore for hours in these
sites.)
The WebQuest Page, Matrix of Examples http//webqu
est.sdsu.edu/matrix.html
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These are lists of WebQuests created in various
settings, mostly University courses and
workshops. http//webquest.sdsu.edu/webquest_colle
ctions.htm
Matrix of Examples http//webquest.sdsu.edu/matrix
-old.html
More WebQuests http//www.plainfield.k12.in.us/hsc
hool/webquest.htm
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ii) Use a WebQuest search engine and type in
your search topic http//webquest.sdsu.edu/wqSear
ch.html
Note Another way to get to the search engine
above .. it is linked to the WebQuest
Page. http//webquest.sdsu.edu/webquest.html Click
on the site directly above, then click on the
word Search
III) You may use search engines such as
Metacrawler, Alta Vista or Google. Type in the
subject followed by the word WebQuest.
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Exploration 1
Double click on
1 My Network Places2 Schools on Entire
Network3 SSS4 Staff Data5 Department
Data6 Student Services7 Library8 Salter
WebQuest9 WebQuest Workshop 10 Go to slide 15
(left hand column).11 Click on the Slide Show
button (bottom left hand corner).
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b) Teacher-Librarians Role
The Teacher-Librarian can be of help in several
ways
i) Searching for specific WebQuest subjects for
classroom teachers.
ii) Bookmarking WebQuests that look useful. This
could be done by grade level and subject. Let
your T-L know if you have found a great site. It
can be bookmarked in a collection for others
to use.
iii) Helping teachers to develop their own
WebQuests. Pointing teachers in the right
direction for resources on how to create a
WebQuest and where to go for technical
assistance.
iv) Helping teachers and students to find
non-print and print resources that will help
with WebQuests.
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3) Developing WebQuests
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a) Importance of Content/Design
i) Here are some of the steps you will use to
create a WebQuest
1) Choose a topic or goal.
2) Brainstorm ideas about the topic.
3) Develop a task that you would like students to
accomplish. This task should fit a curriculum
standard and engage students in a higher level of
thinking. (More about this later)
4) Assign roles to students who will be doing the
WebQuest.
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5) Create a persona that will grab students
interests.
6) Search out, evaluate, bookmark, and organize
websites and other resources.
7) Describe the steps students will go through in
order to complete the task.
8) Develop a teacher page that will give extra
instructions to teachers as needed.
9) Develop a Credits page to acknowledge sources
and helpers.
10) Provide students with a clear understanding
of the grading criteria which will be used to
evaluate their efforts.
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ii) One of the best ways to start the process of
creating a WebQuest is to work through a
presentation by one of their originators, Bernie
Dodge. He calls his presentation A Road Map for
Designing WebQuests. Each design step has links
to further information or templates you can
download and use free. Just remember to give
Bernie recognition on your Credits page.
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iii) Another helpful resource is the link to
Spartanburg, District 3, County Schools. At the
end of this sites first paragraph are some links
that you may find helpful. Look for the following

• Diagram that is an introductory overview of a
  WebQuest

• A WebQuest development guide

• View a sample diagram on brainstorming ideas

• An example concept map WebQuest Word document

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Here are some further links to Readings and
Training Materials for creating
WebQuests   http//webquest.sdsu.edu/materials.ht
m
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Exploration 2
1 Go to slide 22. 2 Click on A Road Map for
Designing WebQuests. 3 Explore Bernie Dodges
steps for creating a WebQuest. 4 Go to slide
24. 5 Click on the link above the picture. 6
Explore Reading and Training Materials.
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b) Templates
When you create your own WebQuest you can either
begin by opening a new Word document (eg.
Microsoft Word) or use a template that tells you
what information to include and where to put it.
Here are some links to Templates.
Again use the link to Spartanburg, District 3,
County Schools and then in the second paragraph
use the link called a template to assist
teachers
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Here are some other links to templates
WebQuest Template http//projects.edtech.sandi.net
/staffdev/tpss99/mywebquest/index.htm
Building Blocks for WebQuests http//projects.edte
ch.sandi.net/staffdev/buildingblocks/p-index.htm
A variety of WebQuest Templates http//webquest.sd
su.edu/LessonTemplate.html
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c) Higher Level of Thinking
It is important that your WebQuest engages
students in a higher level of thinking, not just
collecting data from the Web. The WebQuest should
require students to solve a problem, form an
opinion, analyze, persuade, etc. Here are some
links to help you choose a higher level of
thinking
WebQuest Taskonomy A Taxonomy of
Tasks http//edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/taskonomy.htm
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A WebQuest Taxonomy Cluster http//projects.edtech
.sandi.net/staffdev/tpss99/tasksimap/
WebQuests A Strategy for Scaffolding Higher
Level Learning http//webquest.sdsu.edu/necc98.ht
m
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Exploration 3
1 Go to slide 28. 2 Explore any of the links to
help you choose a higher level of thinking to use
in a WebQuest.
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d) Background and Rationale
If you want to read about the background and
rationale for WebQuests from their originators,
Bernie Dodge and Tom March, here are some links
"Some Thoughts about WebQuests" articles and
links by Bernie Dodge, San Diego State University.
new article on WebQuests WebQuests for
Learning by Tom March, San Diego State
University.
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e) Information for Teachers Section
Not all Webquests include this section, but it is
very useful when they do. It usually includes
instructions and suggestions that might help
teachers as they plan to use the WebQuest. It can
be added into the text of the WebQuest, but on a
different page than the students will read. Here
is the way I included it in my own WebQuest
called Earthquake!. Note that you may need to
change your screen resolution size to
1024x768 before you will see the Teacher Page
link on the bottom left side.
http//sd67.bc.ca/schools/sss/Science/webquest/ind
ex.htm Earthquake!
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Exploration 4
1 Go to slide 31. 2 Click on the link at the
bottom of the slide for earthquake WebQuest. 3
Under Teacher Page click on Tasks. 4 Choose
Task 5, note Information for Teachers (in
green). 5 Compare to same task in Student Page.
Note Information for Teachers is omitted. 6 Take
a few minutes to read over some of the
Information for Teachers sections in some of
the tasks.
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f) Tech Support
Unless you are a wizard at making webpages, you
will need lots of help (like I did) to get your
WebQuest from the word document stage to the
ready for the Internet stage. This requires
someone who is very familiar and practiced with
Flash, Front Page, or similar HTML based programs
that turn word documents into Web documents.
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Your tech support person will find and install an
appropriate background for you, change your word
document into active Web text, create and
organize all the links you need, and get your
WebQuest connected to the World Wide Web. It is
very helpful if your tech person knows how to use
HTML because this can speed up the process. You
will need to work closely with this person, and
perhaps leave printed instructions, to let him or
her know exactly what you want.
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Saundra Priester and her work experience students
were an invaluable tech support for me when I did
the Earthquake WebQuest. Saundra spent about 4
hours and one of her work experience students,
Riley Yeoman, spent about 15 hours helping me.
Saundra says she, and her students, are willing
to help other SSS teachers who need tech support
for creating WebQuests, as long as she has plenty
of advance notice.
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If you have the time and are the type of person
who likes do-it-yourself challenges, then you
might find this link useful for getting your
WebQuest on the web
http//www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil
Filamentality helping you add your own Filament
to the web of learning.
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4) Evaluation Criteria for students
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You may want to include some evaluation criteria
in your WebQuest so students (and you) have a
good idea of how to be successful in their quest.
You can make up your own criteria or use the
rubrics available from the link below. I used
this site. I found it pretty easy to use and was
able to customise the rubrics to fit the tasks in
my WebQuest.
http//rubistar.4teachers.org/ Rubistar Create
Rubrics for Project Based Learning Activities.
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Here are some other rubrics links
http//edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/rubrics/weblessons.
htm Rubrics for Web Lessons
http//www.theeducatorsnetwork.com/utt/rubricsgene
ral.htm Ronas Ultimate Teaching Tools
http//www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-4
521.htmlhttp//www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/
lesson-4521.html Rubrics Inspire your Students
and Foster Critical Thinking
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Exploration 5
1 Go to slide 39. 2 Explore the links to
evaluation rubrics. 3 If you find one you like,
for practice, cut and paste it to a word document.
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5) Evaluating your own WebQuest
If you would like to evaluate your own WebQuest,
or someone elses, or have students or colleagues
evaluate it, this link might be useful
http//edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webquestrubric.html
Rubrics for evaluating webquests.
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THE END
Of the Quest