What is a WebQuest?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.”

• There are typically 2 kinds of Quests:

• Short-term: designed to be completed in 1–3 class periods

• “The instructional goal of a short term WebQuest is knowledge acquisition and integration.”

• Longer-term: typically takes between a week and a month to complete

• “The instructional goal of a longer term WebQuest …is extending and refining knowledge.”

• “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.”

• There are typically 2 kinds of Quests:

• Short-term: designed to be completed in 1–3 class periods

• “The instructional goal of a short term WebQuest is knowledge acquisition and integration.”

• Longer-term: typically takes between a week and a month to complete

• “The instructional goal of a longer term WebQuest …is extending and refining knowledge.”

What are the basic components of a What are the basic components of a WebQuest?WebQuest?

1. Introduction• Provides background information on the quest

2. Tasks• What is to be accomplished?

3. Information sources• Where should learners look on the Web to find the information that they need?• Sources could include web sites, downloadable documents, images, audio and video

files, or a chat buddy, among others4. Process guidelines

What steps do learners take to complete the quest?5. Guidance

• Can you provide your learners with guiding questions or prompts to help them along?6. Evaluation

• Tell your learners how their performance will be evaluated7. Conclusion

• Give your learners the opportunity to reflect on what they’ve learned and what their goals were

1. Introduction• Provides background information on the quest

2. Tasks• What is to be accomplished?

3. Information sources• Where should learners look on the Web to find the information that they need?• Sources could include web sites, downloadable documents, images, audio and video

files, or a chat buddy, among others4. Process guidelines

What steps do learners take to complete the quest?5. Guidance

• Can you provide your learners with guiding questions or prompts to help them along?6. Evaluation

• Tell your learners how their performance will be evaluated7. Conclusion

• Give your learners the opportunity to reflect on what they’ve learned and what their goals were

WebQuests, Project Based Learning, and WebQuests, Project Based Learning, and ConstructivismConstructivism

• WebQuests are inquiry-oriented and are typically embedded in some kind of a project or task that must be completed

• WebQuests frequently call for students to construct some entity (perhaps a PowerPoint presentation, a web site, or a concept map, to name a few), lending themselves to constructionist-oriented activities

• WebQuests can be excellent methods by which to allow learners to construct knowledge for themselves and to demonstrate that knowledge through personally meaningful connections

• Remember to tie your Quest to an essential question and to whatever standards to which you are aligning the instruction

• WebQuests can be, and often should be, collaborative projects, enabling students to work together to complete the project

• When designing WebQuests, consider the cognitive skills (such as Bloom’s Taxonomy, though you might also consider skills in the affective domain as well) as well as the technical skills (using software applications and developing search engine skills, for example) that you would like to assist your learners to develop

• WebQuests are inquiry-oriented and are typically embedded in some kind of a project or task that must be completed

• WebQuests frequently call for students to construct some entity (perhaps a PowerPoint presentation, a web site, or a concept map, to name a few), lending themselves to constructionist-oriented activities

• WebQuests can be excellent methods by which to allow learners to construct knowledge for themselves and to demonstrate that knowledge through personally meaningful connections

• Remember to tie your Quest to an essential question and to whatever standards to which you are aligning the instruction

• WebQuests can be, and often should be, collaborative projects, enabling students to work together to complete the project

• When designing WebQuests, consider the cognitive skills (such as Bloom’s Taxonomy, though you might also consider skills in the affective domain as well) as well as the technical skills (using software applications and developing search engine skills, for example) that you would like to assist your learners to develop

Resources and ExamplesResources and Examples• Some WebQuest Resources:

• QuestGarden: http://webquest.org/questgarden/author/• The WebQuest Design Process: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/materials.html• WebQuest Reading & Training Materials: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/materials.htm• Building Blocks of a WebQuest:

http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/buildingblocks/p-index.htm• A WebQuest template:

http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/tpss99/mywebquest/index.htm• Some Examples:

• Geometry in Real Life: http://www.ats.edu.mx/personales/rocio/Math/index.htm• Chocolate: A Multidisciplinary WebQuest:

http://www.btcs.org/tutorials/WebQuests/chocolate/index.html• Rubrics:

• Generic WebQuest Rubric: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquestrubric.html• Rubrics for Web Lessons: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/rubrics/weblessons.htm• Kathy Schrock’s Assessment Rubrics:

http://webquest.sdsu.edu/rubrics/weblessons.htm

• Some WebQuest Resources:• QuestGarden: http://webquest.org/questgarden/author/• The WebQuest Design Process: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/materials.html• WebQuest Reading & Training Materials: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/materials.htm• Building Blocks of a WebQuest:

http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/buildingblocks/p-index.htm• A WebQuest template:

http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/tpss99/mywebquest/index.htm• Some Examples:

• Geometry in Real Life: http://www.ats.edu.mx/personales/rocio/Math/index.htm• Chocolate: A Multidisciplinary WebQuest:

http://www.btcs.org/tutorials/WebQuests/chocolate/index.html• Rubrics:

• Generic WebQuest Rubric: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquestrubric.html• Rubrics for Web Lessons: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/rubrics/weblessons.htm• Kathy Schrock’s Assessment Rubrics:

http://webquest.sdsu.edu/rubrics/weblessons.htm