ACTIVITIES Explore WebQuests and establish goals for your WebQuest   Choose a topic and define a task for your WebQuest   Create the introduction for your WebQuest   Identify resources for your WebQuest   Develop the task and process sections for your WebQuest   Design the evaluation and conclusion sections for your WebQuest   Consider additional issues critical to implementation of your WebQuest

Activity 1: Explore WebQuests and establish goals for your WebQuest

In this activity you will familiarize yourself with the concept and structure of WebQuests in order to specify goals for the students participating in your WebQuest. This will provide a foundation for development of your own WebQuest.

Task and Guidance

Exploring WebQuests
"A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the internet, optionally supplemented with videoconferencing (Dodge, 1997). Prior to designing your own WebQuest you need to find out what WebQuests are and what they are good for. The following resources will provide you with an overview:

The Student WebQuest
http://www.chicopee.mec.edu/webquest.htm
An online article with an overview of WebQuests and their critical features.

Some Thoughts About WebQuests
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec596/about_webquests.html
An overview of the WebQuest concept.

WebQuest Design Map
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/Process/WebQuestDesignProcess.html
Illustrates the flow of the design process behind a WebQuest.

Another good way to learn about WebQuests is to examine existing Quests. The resources listed below are indexes of completed WebQuests. Choose at least three Quests that appeal to you (by topic or grade level) to examine. As you examine the WebQuests, make notes about specific aspects of the Quests that you like and about what will work well in your classroom with your students. These WebQuests will serve as models when you build your own WebQuest. Bookmark them in your browser or put the URL in your Notepad, as you will continue to refer to them as you proceed through this module:

Matrix of WebQuest examples
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/matrix.html
WebQuest examples organized by grade levels and subject areas.

Spartanburg Schools Teacher Designed WebQuests
http://www.spa3.k12.sc.us/WebQuests.html
Examples accompanied by brief descriptions.

BioPoint's WebQuest Examples and Resources
http://www.biopoint.com/WebQuests/wqlists.html
WebQuest examples with resource information.

Establishing goals for your WebQuest
Now use what you have learned about WebQuests to brainstorm a list of goals for your students to accomplish in a WebQuest. These may target higher thinking skills such as analysis or comparison, or they may target specific content knowledge. Keep your goals similar to those that you would have in a lesson for your classroom. To determine goals for your WebQuest, examine your own curriculum and the specific needs of your students. Consider the following:

• What curricular areas do you need to address in your classroom?
• What state or local standards do you need to address with your students?
• What skills or content areas are your students struggling with?
• What skill areas would benefit from another activity emphasizing the skill?

In this video, you will see Brent Ranard, teacher of Computer Foundations at Owen Valley High School in Spencer, Indiana, discussing the reasons why he uses WebQuests with his students. He feels WebQuests are one of the best ways to tie the learning of computer skills into a meaningful experience. As you watch the video, you may want to take notes in the Notepad on the goals Brent has for his students. Use your notes to help you create your list of goals for this activity.

 

QuickTime: Modem  |  High Speed Windows Media: Modem  |  High Speed Brent Ranard, technology teacher at Owen Valley High School, Spencer, Indiana, talks about how WebQuests support his curriculum and the needs of his students. Video Help

TIP: Although some WebQuests have explicit goal pages complete with lists of standards and outcomes, the goals and outcomes of many WebQuests are implied through what the students are required to do and produce. You may want to re-examine the example WebQuests and consider the goals that are implied or explicitly met through the activities.

Product

Submit the list of goals (3 or more) you have developed for your WebQuest in the text box provided below. Be certain that each goal specifically states what you want students to accomplish.

Activity 1: Workbook Submission

Your work, messages or posting will not be saved because you are in a featured course. If you were enrolled in this course, all features would be active.

Attachments:

Idea Sharing

Go to the Activity 1 Idea Sharing and describe one particular aspect of a WebQuest, or a specific activity, that you think is unique or will work well for your students OR describe an aspect that you think will be particularly challenging. Respond to at least one other person's post.

Learning Questions

Revisit the learning questions/issues that you identified and wrote in your Notepad. In going through this activity, did you find answers to any of your questions? If so, you may wish to make a note to yourself in the Notepad regarding how you might incorporate the information into your final solution. You are also encouraged to add to and/or modify your initial list of questions based on the knowledge you acquired in this activity.

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