Transcript Document

1) General Introduction to
WebQuests
a) What is a WebQuest?
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.
The model was developed in early 1995 at
San Diego State University by Bernie Dodge
with Tom March."
b) The Pro’s and Cons of Webquests
Pro’s:
Effective & structured use of Internet time.
Capture student’s imagination.
Accommodate students' diverse learning needs.
Allows students to explore in a guided, meaningful
manner.
Individual and group work.
b) The Pro’s and Cons of Webquests
Pro’s:
Many to chose from. Variety of curriculum
areas.
Free.
Great links and lists of resources.
You can create your own WebQuest or use
existing ones.
b) The Pro’s and Cons of Webquests
Pro’s:
Fun and motivating for students.
Can be done as home assignment.
Similar structure in all WebQuests. Ease of
use.
b) The Pro’s and Cons of Webquests
Con’s:
Link rot – dead end links. Web sites not
available
Content is predominately American.
Takes lots of time to create one.
Tend to use only Web as a resource, not other
library resources.
c) Examples:
Check these out:
Note the structure – Introduction, Task, etc.
Example #1:
The American Revolution
Explore the American Revolution from various viewpoints
(Patriot/Loyalist/British Government), conduct "interviews",
develop your own viewpoint.
http://teacherweb.com/NY/NiagaraFallsHighSchool/MsFortin'
sWebquest/
Example#2:
Lord of the Flies
Design a survival strategy and bill of rights.
http://www.longwood.k12.ny.us/lhs/teach/webq/lmasterjohn
lord/
Example#3:
Earthquake!
Learn more about earthquakes and where they are most
likely to happen. Find a “safe zone” for some earthquake
refugees.
http://sd67.bc.ca/schools/sss/Science/webquest/index.htm
d) The Structure of WebQuests
Most webquests follow this structure:
1. Top (Overview or Home): Title, designers
name, e-mail address, etc.
2. Introduction: To prepare and hook the
student. Introduce the activity or lesson.
3. Task (Quest or Quest[ion]): End result
of student’s activity.
4. Procedure (Process): The steps to
accomplish the task.
5. Evaluation: How student’s performance will
be evaluated.
6. Conclusion: What student will have
accomplished.
7. Teacher Page: Information to help
teachers understand the WebQuest.
8. Credits: List of sources and their links.
Thank-you’s.
(Note: some WebQuests include a
page too)
Resources
Here are some links to find out
more details:
WebQuest Template
http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/tpss99/
mywebquest/index.htm
Building Blocks for WebQuests
http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/building
blocks/p-index.htm
A variety of WebQuest Templates
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/LessonTemplate.html
2) WebQuests Available as a
Resource to Teachers
a) Looking for a WebQuest that you can use
in your classes?
Whatever your subject area, there’s probably one
out there you can use.
Here’s some ways you can find out what’s
available:
i)
Try a WebQuest Matrix:
Most subject areas covered.
Grade levels: K to adult.
(Danger! You can explore for hours in these
sites.)
The WebQuest Page, Matrix of Examples
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/matrix.html
These are lists of WebQuests created in various
settings, mostly University courses and
workshops.
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquest_collections.ht
m
Matrix of Examples
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/matrix-old.html
More WebQuests
http://www.plainfield.k12.in.us/hschool/webquest
.htm
ii)
Use a WebQuest “search engine” and type in
your search topic:
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/wqSearch.html
Note: Another way to get to the search engine
above ….. it is linked to the WebQuest Page.
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquest.html
Click on the site directly above, then click on
the word “Search”
III) You may use search engines such as
Metacrawler, Alta Vista or Google. Type in the
subject followed by the word WebQuest.
Exploration #1
Double click on:
#1 My Network Places
#2 Schools on Entire Network
#3 SSS
#4 Staff Data
#5 Department Data
#6 Student Services
#7 Library
#8 Salter WebQuest
#9 WebQuest Workshop
#10 Go to slide 15 (left hand column).
#11 Click on the “Slide Show” button (bottom
left hand corner).
b) Teacher-Librarians Role:
The Teacher-Librarian can be of help in several ways:
i)
Searching for specific WebQuest subjects for
classroom teachers.
ii)
Bookmarking WebQuests that look useful. This could be
done by grade level and subject. Let your T-L know if you
have found a great site. It can be “bookmarked” in a
collection for others to use.
iii)
Helping teachers to develop their own WebQuests. Pointing
teachers in the right direction for resources on
how to create
a WebQuest and where to go for technical assistance.
iv)
Helping teachers and students to find non-print and print
resources that will help with WebQuests.
3) Developing WebQuests
a) Importance of Content/Design:
i) Here are some of the steps you will use to
create a WebQuest:
1) Choose a topic or goal.
2) Brainstorm ideas about the topic.
3) Develop a task that you would like
students to accomplish. This task should
fit a curriculum standard and engage
students in a higher level of thinking.
(More about this later)
4) Assign roles to students who will be doing the
WebQuest.
5) Create a persona that will grab students’
interests.
6) Search out, evaluate, bookmark, and
organize websites and other resources.
7) Describe the steps students will go through in
order to complete the task.
8) Develop a teacher page that will give extra
instructions to teachers as needed.
9) Develop a Credits page to acknowledge
sources and helpers.
10) Provide students with a clear
understanding of the grading criteria which
will be used to evaluate their efforts.
ii) One of the best ways to start the process of
creating a WebQuest is to work through a
presentation by one of their originators, Bernie
Dodge. He calls his presentation “A Road Map for
Designing WebQuests.” Each design step has links
to further information or templates you can
download and use free. Just remember to give
Bernie recognition on your “Credits” page.
iii) Another helpful resource is the link to
Spartanburg, District 3, County Schools. At the
end of this site’s first paragraph are some links
that you may find helpful. Look for the following:
Diagram that is an introductory overview of a
WebQuest
A WebQuest development guide
View a sample diagram on brainstorming
ideas
 An example concept map WebQuest Word
document
Here are some further links to Readings
and Training Materials for creating
WebQuests:
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/materials.htm
Exploration #2
#1 Go to slide 22.
#2 Click on “A Road Map for Designing WebQuests.
#3 Explore Bernie Dodge’s steps for creating a
WebQuest.
#4 Go to slide 24.
#5 Click on the link above the picture.
#6 Explore “Reading and Training Materials”.
b) Templates:
When you create your own WebQuest you can
either begin by opening a new Word document
(eg. Microsoft Word) or use a template that tells
you what information to include and where to put
it. Here are some links to Templates.
Again use the link to Spartanburg, District 3,
County Schools and then in the second
paragraph use the link called:
a template to assist teachers
Here are some other links to templates:
WebQuest Template
http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/tpss99/m
ywebquest/index.htm
Building Blocks for WebQuests
http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/buildingbl
ocks/p-index.htm
A variety of WebQuest Templates
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/LessonTemplate.html
c) Higher Level of Thinking:
It is important that your WebQuest engages students in a
higher level of thinking, not just collecting data from the
Web. The WebQuest should require students to solve a
problem, form an opinion, analyze, persuade, etc.
Here are some links to help you choose a higher
level of thinking:
WebQuest Taskonomy: A Taxonomy of Tasks
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/taskonomy.html
A WebQuest Taxonomy Cluster
http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/tpss99/tasksimap/
WebQuests: A Strategy for Scaffolding Higher Level Learning
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/necc98.htm
Exploration #3
#1 Go to slide 28.
#2 Explore any of the links to help you choose a
higher level of thinking to use in a WebQuest.
d) Background and Rationale:
If you want to read about the background and
rationale for WebQuests from their originators,
Bernie Dodge and Tom March, here are some
links:
"Some Thoughts about WebQuests" articles and
links by Bernie Dodge, San Diego State University.
new article on WebQuests “WebQuests for
Learning” by Tom March, San Diego State
University.
e) “Information for Teachers” Section:
Not all Webquests include this section, but it is very
useful when they do. It usually includes instructions
and suggestions that might help teachers as they plan
to use the WebQuest. It can be added into the text of
the WebQuest, but on a different page than the
students will read. Here is the way I included it in my
own WebQuest called “Earthquake!”. Note that you
may need to change your screen resolution size to
1024x768
before you will see the Teacher Page link on the
bottom left side.
http://sd67.bc.ca/schools/sss/Science/webquest/in
dex.htm Earthquake!
Exploration #4
#1 Go to slide #31.
#2 Click on the link at the bottom of the slide for
earthquake WebQuest.
#3 Under “Teacher Page” click on “Tasks”.
#4 Choose “Task 5”, note “Information for Teachers”
(in green).
#5 Compare to same task in Student Page. Note
Information for Teachers is omitted.
#6 Take a few minutes to read over some of the
“Information for Teachers” sections in some of the
tasks.
f) Tech Support:
Unless you are a wizard at making webpages, you
will need lots of help (like I did) to get your
WebQuest from the word document stage to the
“ready for the Internet stage”. This requires
someone who is very familiar and practiced with
Flash, Front Page, or similar HTML based
programs that turn word documents into Web
documents.
Your tech support person will find and install
an appropriate background for you, change
your word document into active Web text,
create and organize all the links you need, and
get your WebQuest connected to the World
Wide Web. It is very helpful if your tech person
knows how to use HTML because this can
speed up the process. You will need to work
closely with this person, and perhaps leave
printed instructions, to let him or her know
exactly what you want.
Saundra Priester and her work experience
students were an invaluable tech support for me
when I did the Earthquake WebQuest. Saundra
spent about 4 hours and one of her work
experience students, Riley Yeoman, spent about
15 hours helping me. Saundra says she, and her
students, are willing to help other SSS teachers
who need tech support for creating WebQuests,
as long as she has plenty of advance notice.
If you have the time and are the type of person
who likes do-it-yourself challenges, then you
might find this link useful for getting your
WebQuest on the web:
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil
Filamentality: helping you add your own
Filament to the web of learning.
4) Evaluation Criteria for
students:
You may want to include some evaluation
criteria in your WebQuest so students (and
you) have a good idea of how to be successful
in their quest.
You can make up your own criteria or use the
rubrics available from the link below.
I used this site. I found it pretty easy to use
and was able to customise the rubrics to fit
the tasks in my WebQuest.
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/ Rubistar: Create
Rubrics for Project Based Learning Activities.
Here are some other rubrics links:
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/rubrics/webless
ons.htm Rubrics for Web Lessons
http://www.theeducatorsnetwork.com/utt/rubrics
general.htm Rona’s Ultimate Teaching Tools
http://www.teachervision.com/lessonplans/lesson4521.htmlhttp://www.teachervision.com/lessonplans/lesson-4521.html Rubrics: Inspire your
Students and Foster Critical Thinking
Exploration #5
#1 Go to slide #39.
#2 Explore the links to evaluation rubrics.
#3 If you find one you like, for practice, cut and paste
it to a word document.
5) Evaluating your own
WebQuest:
If you would like to evaluate your own
WebQuest, or someone else’s, or have students
or colleagues evaluate it, this link might be
useful:
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webquestrubric
.html Rubrics for evaluating webquests.
THE END
Of the Quest