Transcript WebQuests - Santa Rosa County School District

WebQuests
And More…
Structured But Fun Web Lessons
Six Strategies For Web Use
Topic Hotlist
Multimedia Scrapbook
Treasure Hunt
Subject Sampler
Short-term WebQuest
Long-term WebQuest
Topic Hotlist
An online list of links
Adds Web resources to an existing lesson
Good for beginning Web integration
Spares learners hours of fruitless
searching
Multimedia Scrapbook
Basically, a Topic Hotlist with links to
materials
Students use teacher-provided sites to
download multimedia for their own projects
Treasure Hunt
Gather 10 – 15 sites with info on given
topic
Pose one key question for each web site
chosen
Subject Sampler
Learners presented with small number (6)
of intriguing Web sites organized around a
main topic.
Students are asked to respond to the
Web-based activities from a personal
perspective.
Rather than uncovering hard knowledge
(Treasure Hunt), students give their
perspectives on topics
WebQuest
“An inquiry-oriented activity in which some
or all of the information that learners
interact with comes from resources on the
internet…”
Structured inquiry
Two Levels
Short term:

designed to be completed in 1-3 class periods
Long term:

typically takes from 1-4 weeks in a classroom
setting.
Short Term
Knowledge acquisition and integration
Learners make sense of a significant
amount of new information
Long Term


Extending and refining knowledge
Learner
analyzes a body of knowledge deeply,
transforms it in some way, and
demonstrates an understanding of the
material by creating something that others
can respond to

Online or Offline product
Why WebQuests?
Questionable educational benefit to having
learners surf the net without a clear task in
mind
Most schools must ration student
connection time severely
WebQuests…
Are designed to make the best use of a
learner's time,
Should address large, complex or
controversial topics,
To achieve efficiency and clarity of
purpose, should contain the following
parts:
Critical Attribute: Introduction
Sets the stage
Provides some background information.
Critical Attribute: Task
What the student is expected to have
completed at the end of the project
(expectations)
Should be doable and interesting.
Product can be a presentation, web site,
etc.
Critical Attribute: Info Sources
Most resources are embedded
(Learner is not left to wander through Web
space completely adrift.)
May include web documents, experts
available via e-mail or real-time
conferencing, searchable databases on
the net, and books
Critical Attribute: Process
A description of what the learners should
go through in accomplishing the task
Should be broken out into clearly
described steps that a student will go
through to get to the end-point
Critical Attribute: Guidance
How to organize the information acquired.
Can take the form of guiding questions, or
directions to complete organizational
frameworks such as



timelines,
concept maps, or
cause-and-effect diagrams
Critical Attribute: Evaluation
Describes the evaluation criteria needed to
meet performance and content standards
Often takes the form of an assessment
rubric
Should align with the culminating project
or performance
Group or individual grade?
Critical Attribute: Conclusion
Brings closure to the quest
Reminds the learners about what they've
learned
Ideally, should encourage learners to
extend the experience into other domains
Non-Critical Attributes
Most are designed as group activities
Can be enhanced by wrapping motivational
elements around the basic structure



Give the learners a role to play (e.g., scientist, detective,
reporter),
Provide a simulated personae to interact with via e-mail and/or
Provide a scenario to work within (e.g., you've been asked by the
Secretary General of the UN to brief him on what's happening in
sub-Saharan Africa this week.)
Can be designed within a single discipline or
can be interdisciplinary
Why WebQuests?
Bring together the most effective
instructional practices into one integrated
student activity



Motivation & Authenticity
Developing Thinking Skills
Cooperative Learning
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/