Introduction to WebquestsColegio Americano de Guatemala, March 17 2009

By Michael Peters, Technology Integration Specialist

And away we go!

• What is a webquest?• The Basic Structure• Principles of Webquest Design• Online services to make your life easy

What is a Webquest?

• Briefly: A webquest is an activity that asks students to use online resources.

• Should be inquiry oriented• Can be as short as a single class period or as long as a

month-long unit;• Usually (though not always) involve group work, with

division of labor among students who take on specific roles or perspectives;

• Are built around resources that are preselected by the teacher. Students spend their time USING information, not LOOKING for it.

Source: 13Ed Online: Webquest Workshop

The Basic StructureAll Webquests have a similar, long-established structure.

1. Title / IntroductionGoal: Motivate, engage, excite!

2. TaskGoal: A formal description of what students will have accomplished by the end of the WebQuest.

3. ProcessGoal: Provide the detailed description of the steps learners should go through in accomplishing the task, with links embedded in each step.

4. Evaluation Goal: Provide the students with the assessment tool (usually a rubric) that will be used to assess their work.

5. Conclusion Goal: Provide the students with an opportunity for reflection and discussion.

Some Principles of Webquest Design

• The MOST important principle is that the activity should be a rich, inquiry-based, activity. Students should not simply be researching facts, but solving problems or answering higher order questions about the topic.

• Spend lots of time selecting and screening resources. Because in a webquest students are restricted to the resources that you provide, the success of the activity depends on the quality of those resources.

• Provide time for face-to-face interaction and discussion. Yes, this is largely a computer-based activity, and should be completed with some degree of independence. But it is still important to provide students with the opportunity to share and synthesize the knowledge they have constucted.

Online Services

Traditionally, webquests were built using web-design. Today, you could just as easily use a blog or wiki, since internet links and resources can be easily embedded. Also, there are a couple online services for building and hosting.

•Zunal.Com (My favorite: free accounts get one free webquest, great place to start)•Quest Garden (Some nice features, but you only get a 30-day trial account for free)

More Great Links• 13ED Online Workshop: Webquests: Concept to

Classroom• Webquest.Org: Useful Resources