WebQuests

You've learned to search the Internet and have found several sites that provide information related to your curriculum. How can you incorporate use of those sites into your lessons, especially if you have only one computer in your classroom?

Bernie Dodge, a professor at San Diego State University, created WebQuest to address this situation. The WebQuest design provides structure to students' use of the Internet and challenges students to use the Internet to develop a product. According to Dodge, "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."

Access the following links to learn more about the WebQuest activity model, to gain access to WebQuests developed by practicing teachers, and to learn how to develop WebQuests to address your curricular needs.

Tools for Creating WebQuests: Created by Dr. Dodge, this site provides resources for creating WebQuests: building blocks, rubrics, examples, and professional development tools. Click on Training and look for the following

	Building Blocks for WebQuests
	A WebQuest about WebQuests
	WebQuest Design Patterns
	The WebQuest Design Process
	Process Checklist
	Creating Student Rubrics
	A Rubric for Evaluating WebQuests

Best WebQuests: This site evaluates WebQuests and provides a matrix to effective examples. '

Inquiry Web Page. To learn more about Inquiry, visit this site maintained at the University of Illinois at Urbana but developed by a wide group of educators. The site houses a database of inquiry based units and provides resources to create your own Inquiry units.

Criteria for Assessing WebQuests

Tips for creating WebQuests by Tom March, presented at NECC 2002 in San Antonio.

The question. There should be no one right answer to the WebQuest question. Take me on Vacation
The task. Completing the task should not be a mere copy/paste activity. Literary Fan Club
The task. The project should be real, rich, and relevant 2030 Homesteading Mars
The background. The response should require instruction to complete. Amazing Americans
The roles. The project should not be able to be created by one person Antartica
The roles. The project should require all team members to collaborate Peace Proposal Consensus
The process. The project should provide for cognitive dissonance and a solution. A Separate Peace

During his presentation, March also reminded us that WebQuests support the following learning theories:

	Motivation theory
	Questioning techniques
	Learning centered strategies
	Novice-Expert scaffolding
	Cooperative learning
	Negotiated meaning
	Constructivism
	Authentic assessment
	Metacognition

"Putting a WebQuest in the classroom is like giving a family a car to take a vacation. Is it an old car? Who is driving? Is there a road map? Where are you going?" Tom March, June 2002, NECC 2002