WEBQUESTS:
What to do with the WEB
 now that we have it!

Think of WEBQUESTS as a new kind of web-centered classroom Internet project.  It is a learning activity in which some or all of the information that students interact with comes from sites on the Internet.  WEBQUESTS can either focus on a single topic or they can be multidisciplinary.  There are two types of WEBQUESTS:  short-term and long-term.

In a short-term WEBQUEST, the instruction goal is knowledge acquisition and integration.  Each student obtains and processes the new information and makes sense of  it usually by creating a Web page.  They are typically completed in one to three class periods.

In a long-term WEBQUEST, the instructional goal increases one level, challenging students to extend and refine the knowledge they find online and in the real world.  The knowledge is analyzed and integrated into their knowledge base and their understanding is demonstrated  by presenting to the class a Web page(s).  They are typically completed in one week to a month.

Successful WEBQUESTS always contain six components:

• An introductory paragraph which should:
  *orient the learner about what is coming
  *raise some interest in the learner

• A central task should contain:
  *a description of what the learner will have done at the end of the quest
  *whether the task will be a product or a verbal presentation

• A set of informational sources which:
  *lists web pages that the instructor has located that will help the learner accomplish the task
  *include resources both on the web and not on the web
  *allows the learner to use some or all of the resources

• A description of the entire process students should go through to complete the task which:
  *is clearly described in steps
  *lets the learner know the process to follow to be successful

• Guidance on how to organize the information acquired by:
  *guiding questions
  *directions to complete the tasks

• A conclusion which:
  *brings closure to the quest
  *reminds the learner about what has been learned
  *encourages the learners to extend the experiences into other domains

The end result of a WEBQUEST is usually to publish the results of your students' thinking on the Internet in the form of Web pages. This allows students to learn tangible and hi-tech tasks, gives them an audience to create for and affords the opportunity for feedback from a distant audience in the form of e-mail.

Spend a little time examining successful WEBQUESTS.  Here are three resources that are highly regarded:
          ~Bernie Dodge's WebQuest Page

          ~Blue Web'n Collection of Classroom Web Activities

          ~WebQuests in Our Future:  A Teacher's Role in CyberSpace

           ~WEBQUEST development help

Not ready to venture out quite that far?  Take a look at these two and I think you will be "hooked" on WEBQUESTS!

On the elementary level, consider sending your student learner to the zoo and watching a panda...live and in "real time".  This is one of my favorite WEBQUESTS because it takes me on a trip! 
It is a shorter version of the sophisticated WEBQUEST and is called (by the creator), a Web-Bit.  The quest is called Panda Mania.  Click on Panda Mania and select Panda.

For middle school and high school teachers, this site offers a  unique way to study the depression and could be easily adapted to the interest and ability level of your learners .  Click the title, scroll down to WebQuests and select "Brother Can You Spare Me a Dime?"  (number 28)

                 WEB PAGE 

To  establish your own WEB page, we have been using BigChalk, a teacher-friendly site with a step-by-step procedure that will enable you to be successful in just a few minutes.  When you have completed your WEB page and your educational WEBQUEST is ready for viewing,  inform your building webmaster.  Your page will be linked to your building's home page for easy access by students and parents.

HAPPY CREATING!

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