Wonderin'
About WebQuests!!!
What are they?
How would I know a good one when I saw
it?
How would I use them in my classroom?
What are the benefits to my students?
Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation & Conclusion | Resources
| Extension &
Reflection | Teacher
Notes | Standards
WebQuests provide a format for inquiry-oriented
lessons. They are an interactive learning experience that explores a
theme or question, uses cooperative or collaborative learning, asks students to
complete specific tasks using a variety of Internet resources and requires
reflection. WHAT? This sounds great….but anyone can put
educational jargon words together to make activities seem exciting…is a vendor
getting money off of this? Let’s get
into the nitty gritty of what a WebQuests really is and let ME, a trained
professional, make the decision as to how beneficial this WebQuest thing will
be for my students and myself!
As a teacher, you like
to know the answers to everything. You try to stay current on the latest
trends, know what the letters stand for in the infinite number of acronyms that
plague your school life, and be the best teacher you can for your
students. You have heard about the term “WebQuest” before but you are not
quite sure what they are and if you should be doing them in your
classroom. Is this just another technology or education fad that will
quickly disappear? Is this another
activity that I must try and fit in, between teaching to the standards and
teaching to the standards? Could this
be the answer to all my curricular dreams, i.e. tying it all together?
To answer your
wondering questions, you will need to first learn what WebQuests are and
where they came from...then, you will want to know how to evaluate the
WebQuests for quality curriculum content for your classroom and benefits to
your students, as well as make a decision if you will begin implementing
WebQuests in your room. If you find the answer to the task is yes, you
will be asked to identify the best WebQuest in your grade level or content area
and briefly present it to the group. If you find the answer to
be no, you will be asked to briefly discuss your reasoning and concerns to the
group.
As a teacher who wants
to use technology in the classroom...you are aware of your basic technology
skills. Here is where you have your first decision to make… do you prefer
working independently while utilizing the Internet and computer or would you
prefer working with another teacher? If you are choosing to work with
another teacher, you will need to decide who will be the "WONDERIN'
Driver", i.e. computer controller and website finder, and who will be the
"WONDERIN' Recorder", i.e. information recorder. Both of you
will be the "WONDERIN' Presenters" to the group, so there is no hope
in escaping that role!! If you are working independently, you will be the
"Driver","Recorder", and "Presenter" which are
certainly manageable to complete independently and your audience of teachers
always takes pity on those who are alone!
STEP 1: Read
about the background of WebQuests from at least three of
following sites:
http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/webquest/webquest.html
EdTech guru, Kathy Schrock's insights on WebQuests
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec596/about_webquests.html
Thoughts from WebQuest creator, Bernie Dodge
http://www.ozline.com/webquests/intro.html
Why WebQuest? article
http://www.memphis-schools.k12.tn.us/admin/tlapages/wqtetc99.htm
Using a WebQuest in your classroom: the basics
http://www.ncsu.edu/meridian/jul99/webquest/index.html
WebQuests in the Middle School Curriculum: Promoting Technological
Literacy in the Classroom
http://www.iste.org/L&L/26/7/features/yoder/index.html
Article on the Student WebQuest
http://athene.riv.csu.edu.au/~khanson/webquests.htm
Beyond Read & Recall: An introduction to web-based learning using
WebQuests
http://www.totacc.com/user/jornada/webquest.htm#top1 What is a WebQuest?
STEP
2: Record a 2-3-sentence definition summing up your
findings on this Word document.
STEP
3: Review several WebQuest examples to get a feel
for the variety that exists.
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/matrix.html
Choose the grade level or topic that most interest you
STEP
4: Review the WebQuest Evaluation Rubric
options. Choose the rubric you feel is most valid and useful for your
needs. Print 2 copies. Choose 2
WebQuests to evaluate in your grade level, content area, or interest using the
rubric.
Complete
the rubrics.
http://www.ozline.com/webquests/rubric.html
OR
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquestrubric.html
STEP
5: List some concerns or questions you still have
about WebQuests and or some tips on how you would manage WebQuests in your
classroom. Example: What would I do if a student finished
early? OR How can I use WebQuest if I only have 1 computer in my
classroom? Questions/Concerns
STEP 6: Evaluation & Conclusion
Time:
Make a decision about
the use of WebQuests in your classroom. Is this something that would be
valuable and impact student learning? If the answer is YES, be prepared
to briefly share the WebQuest example that you found which you would like to
use with your students. If the answer is NO, be prepared to explain your
rational and concerns. Final decision
www.west.asu.edu/achristie/ Dr.Christie’s site provides links to many
additional WebQuests created by students, as well as many of the ideas and
information was utilized from her classes.
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec596/about_webquests.html Bernie Dodge, WebQuest creator, provides all
of the resources needed to create your own WebQuest, along with information
about its value and classroom impact
o
Spend additional time using the various WebQuest
sites to find quests that could be used throughout the year.
o
Brainstorm your own ideas about creating a
WebQuest developed by YOU! What do you
need to get started?
o
Could your students develop a WebQuest? Why would this be beneficial?
·
How could you share this information with
your peers? Who would MOST benefit?
·
How will you use the new info you learned
today or tomorrow?
·
What would parent reaction be to this
time of activity? How could you
introduce this effectively?
Be
sure to allow fears and questions to be fully discussed; ignoring or squelching
“doubters” will not create buy-in. Allow
others to answer and share rather than ‘soap-boxing’ alone.
Be
sure to monitor links to assure frustrations are kept to a minimum.
Reassure
teachers that the presentation section can be very informal…sometimes, it can
be helpful to let teachers stay at their computer and you can click through the
site they are talking about while they are talking rather than asking them to
stand in front of the group.
http://ade.state.az.us/standards/technology/Standard1.pdf AZ Technology standards
Context:
· Learning Communities: Staff development that improves the learning of all students organizes adults into learning communities whose goals are aligned with those of the school and district.
· Leadership: Staff development that improves the learning of all students requires skillful school and district leaders who guide continuous instructional improvement.
· Resources: Staff development that improves the learning of all students requires resources to support adult learning and collaboration.
Process:
· Data-Driven: Staff development that improves the learning of all students uses disaggregated student data to determine adult learning priorities, monitor progress, and help sustain continuous improvement.
· Evaluation: Staff development that improves the learning of all students uses multiple sources of information to guide improvement and demonstrate its impact.
· Research-Based: Staff development that improves the learning of all students prepares educators to apply research to decision making.
· Design: Staff development that improves the learning of all students uses learning strategies appropriate to the intended goal.
· Learning: Staff development that improves the learning of all students applies knowledge about human learning and change.
· Collaboration: Staff development that improves the learning of all students provides educators with the knowledge and skills to collaborate.
Content:
· Equity: Staff development that improves the learning of all students prepares educators to understand and appreciate all students, create safe, orderly, and supportive learning environments, and hold high expectations for students' academic achievement
· Quality Teaching: Staff development that improves the learning of all students deepens educators' content knowledge, provides them with research-based instructional strategies to assist students in meeting rigorous academic standards, and prepares them to use various types of classroom assessments appropriately.
· Family Involvement: Staff development that improves the learning of all students provides educators with knowledge and skills to involve families and other stakeholders appropriately.
--National Staff Development Council