“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” (Dodge, 1997) •
Why use a WebQuest? • Students like computers (and many need to learn to use them for something constructive) • Inquiry based by nature – effective for most students since the students are active • 21st century skills – Information and Media Literacy – Promotes Global Awareness – Often include Critical Thinking – Career skills for the Information Age • Administrators like technology
When should you use a WebQuest? • Only when you are teaching a subject that has internet resources… • In other words – for anything! – To introduce a unit or topic – To reinforce what you already taught another way – As a form of assessment (formative or summative!)
Are WebQuests effective? • Students like them (Abbit & Ophus, 2008; Lipscomb, 2003) • Differentiation – effective for disabled (Skylar, Higgins, & Boone, 2007) to gifted (Schweizer & Kossow, 2007) students • Difficulties in comparing teaching methods (Abbit & Ophus, 2008; Strickland, 2005)
Examples of common WebQuests: • Scavenger hunt • Watch videos/listen to podcasts/read text online and then answer questions/complete tables/etc. • Online games/activities • Online quizzes or tests • A combination of all of the above
How do you create a WebQuest? • “Borrow” one and then modify it OR
Find resources online that help you teach your subject.
Create an activity around the resources.
• Pick a place in your unit. • Decide on a level of structure and length (10 minutes to whole unit or even whole class). • Plan your assessment.
Common mistakes (that Ryan made): 1. Forcing students to type long website names • Ex. http://www.starsandseas.com/SAS%20Cells/SAS%20cellphysiol/celltranspor.htm • How many students would type this in wrong? • http://bit.ly/ssoe-bio • Use LINKS! 2. Assuming websites that work on your home computer will work on school computers • School internet filters • Software – Programs – Plug-ins 3. Assuming all student computers have the same software • They don’t (especially plug-ins) • Animations usually require Adobe Flash and/or other plug-ins • Students usually cannot install any software on their accounts 4. Making a WebQuest that can be answered too easily • Be very careful with scavenger hunt WebQuests • Why? • Ask.com, Answers.com, Google, etc. • Students typing questions into boxes and writing down the answers is not terribly effective learning. • Include higher-level questions and questions that can only be answered by going through an activity or website 5. Not having a back-up plan • Technical difficulties – School’s wireless internet down – Computer use conflicts – Computers extremely slow/long log-in (profile building) • Murphy’s Law – this will happen when you are being observed or the superintendent is visiting your classroom, etc. • "Murphy was an optimist.“ (Unknown)
Summary of advice: • Use links. • Try the WebQuest yourself on as many student computers as possible. • Have a back-up plan. • Use higher level questions.
Questions for everyone to think about: • What are some potential barriers to using WebQuests and web resources in the classroom? • How will you prevent students from visiting inappropriate (for school) websites such as Facebook while on the web? (Note that proxy servers will bypass internet filters that your school may have in place.) • How important is it for students to learn to use computers without immediately going to Facebook before entering the workforce? • How could you combine WebQuests with some of the other teaching strategies we have learned about thus far? • What topic in your subject area would WebQuests be particularly effective in teaching?
References Abbit, J., & Ophus, J. (2008). What we know about the impacts of web-quests: a review of research. AACE Journal, 16(4), 441-456. Dodge, B. (1997, May 5). Some thoughts about webquests. Retrieved from http://webquest.sdsu.edu/about_webquests.html Lipscomb, G. (2003). I guess it was pretty fun: using webquests in the middle school classroom. The Clearing House, 76(3), 152-155. Schweizer, H., & Kossow, B. (2007). Webquests: tools for differentiation. Gifted Child Today, 30(1), 29-35. Skylar, AA., Higgins, K., & Boone, R. (2007). Strategies for adapting webquests for students with learning disabilities. Intervention in School and Clinic, 43(20), 20-28. Strickland, J. (2005). Using webquests to teach content: comparing instructional strategies. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 5(2), 138-148.
WebQuests
by Travis Smith and Ryan Bartlett
“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” (Dodge, 1997) •
Why use a WebQuest?
• Students like computers (and many need to learn to use them for something constructive)
• Inquiry based by nature – effective for most students since the students are active
• 21st century skills
– Information and Media Literacy
– Promotes Global Awareness
– Often include Critical Thinking
– Career skills for the Information Age
• Administrators like technology
When should you use a WebQuest?
• Only when you are teaching a subject that has internet resources…
• In other words – for anything!
– To introduce a unit or topic
– To reinforce what you already taught another way
– As a form of assessment (formative or summative!)
Are WebQuests effective?
• Students like them (Abbit & Ophus, 2008; Lipscomb, 2003)
• Differentiation – effective for disabled (Skylar, Higgins, & Boone, 2007) to gifted (Schweizer & Kossow, 2007) students
• Difficulties in comparing teaching methods (Abbit & Ophus, 2008; Strickland, 2005)
Examples of common WebQuests:
• Scavenger hunt
• Watch videos/listen to podcasts/read text online and then answer questions/complete tables/etc.
• Online games/activities
• Online quizzes or tests
• A combination of all of the above
How do you create a WebQuest?
• “Borrow” one and then modify it
OR
- Find resources online that help you teach your subject.
- Create an activity around the resources.
• Pick a place in your unit.• Decide on a level of structure and length (10 minutes to whole unit or even whole class).
• Plan your assessment.
Example: Machines
Introduction To Machines WebQuest
Example Rubric For Machines WebQuest
Example Graded Rubric
Additional Example WebQuests:
• Biology: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vbCeibeRa_do9nfHu5gGmZ1xEIlWv_sGbB0xpLPPfYQ/edit?hl=en&authkey=CIaw4KMJ
• Earth Science: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FoEy5bPDqYVooE2MmCd71yd4EFszgrVKYnpWxN7Marw/edit?hl=en&authkey=CNv2vLkC
• Language Arts: http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/webquests/storyteller/storyteller.htm
• Math: http://www.wfu.edu/~mccoy/NCTM00/amy.html
• Science: http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/groundup/
• History: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/projects/history/
• http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-twoworlds-lessons/1981
• Spanish: http://www.zunal.com/webquest.php?w=72984
Common mistakes (that Ryan made):
1. Forcing students to type long website names
• Ex. http://www.starsandseas.com/SAS%20Cells/SAS%20cellphysiol/celltranspor.htm
• How many students would type this in wrong?
• http://bit.ly/ssoe-bio
• Use LINKS!
2. Assuming websites that work on your home computer will work on school computers
• School internet filters
• Software
– Programs
– Plug-ins
3. Assuming all student computers have the same software
• They don’t (especially plug-ins)
• Animations usually require Adobe Flash and/or other plug-ins
• Students usually cannot install any software on their accounts
4. Making a WebQuest that can be answered too easily
• Be very careful with scavenger hunt WebQuests
• Why?
• Ask.com, Answers.com, Google, etc.
• Students typing questions into boxes and writing down the answers is not terribly effective learning.
• Include higher-level questions and questions that can only be answered by going through an activity or website
5. Not having a back-up plan
• Technical difficulties
– School’s wireless internet down
– Computer use conflicts
– Computers extremely slow/long log-in (profile building)
• Murphy’s Law – this will happen when you are being observed or the superintendent is visiting your classroom, etc.
• "Murphy was an optimist.“ (Unknown)
Summary of advice:
• Use links.
• Try the WebQuest yourself on as many student computers as possible.
• Have a back-up plan.
• Use higher level questions.
Links (note the WebQuest creator/templates for creating your own WebQuests on zunal.com, the other sites have WebQuests you can use in your classroom):
• Math WebQuests:
• http://www.wfu.edu/~mccoy/NCTM00/exampleshi.html (mostly High School)
• http://www.meridian.wednet.edu/~dshick/webquest.htm (mostly High School)
• Social Studies WebQuests:
• http://www.ushistorysite.com/webquests.php (mostly High School)
• http://thwt.org/webqueststhinkquests.html (all grades)
• http://www.kathimitchell.com/quests.htm (Elementary and Middle School)
• Language Arts WebQuests:
• http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/projects/literature.html (all grades)
• http://bestwebquests.com/bwq/listcrosstab.asp?wqcatid=3&edid=4 (High School)
• All areas:
• http://www.webquest.org/search/index.php (all grades)
• http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/webquests/index.htm (all grades)
• http://www.catawba.k12.nc.us/webquest/ (all grades)
• http://www.learnnc.org/lessons/ (WebQuests and other lessons, all grades)
• http://zunal.com/ (all areas, includes web-based WebQuest creator)
• http://questgarden.com/ (all grades, subscription but free trial)
• http://education.iupui.edu/webquests/home.htm (all grades)
Questions for everyone to think about:
• What are some potential barriers to using WebQuests and web resources in the classroom?
• How will you prevent students from visiting inappropriate (for school) websites such as Facebook while on the web? (Note that proxy servers will bypass internet filters that your school may have in place.)
• How important is it for students to learn to use computers without immediately going to Facebook before entering the workforce?
• How could you combine WebQuests with some of the other teaching strategies we have learned about thus far?
• What topic in your subject area would WebQuests be particularly effective in teaching?
References
Abbit, J., & Ophus, J. (2008). What we know about the impacts of web-quests: a review of research. AACE Journal, 16(4), 441-456.
Dodge, B. (1997, May 5). Some thoughts about webquests. Retrieved from http://webquest.sdsu.edu/about_webquests.html
Lipscomb, G. (2003). I guess it was pretty fun: using webquests in the middle school classroom. The Clearing House, 76(3), 152-155.
Schweizer, H., & Kossow, B. (2007). Webquests: tools for differentiation. Gifted Child Today, 30(1), 29-35.
Skylar, AA., Higgins, K., & Boone, R. (2007). Strategies for adapting webquests for students with learning disabilities. Intervention in School and Clinic, 43(20), 20-28.
Strickland, J. (2005). Using webquests to teach content: comparing instructional strategies. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 5(2), 138-148.