Sunday, August 16, 2009

WebQuests

WebQuests are inquiry-oriented activities, that use Internet resources, which encourage students to use 'higher order thinking skills to solve a real messy problem' (WebQuest Direct, 2009). There are six essential components:
  1. Introduction
  2. Task
  3. Resources
  4. Process
  5. Evaluation
  6. Conclusion
There is also a Teacher's Guide which allows other teachers to see if the WebQuest meets their requirements. This contains a description of the grade level, curriculum standards, duration and implementation strategies (WebQuests Direct, 2009).

WebQuests support a Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach, as students are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning and help develop skills and attributes along with the relevant content. PBL provides 'realistic and authentic problem situations' (CQU, 2002) and aims to develop problem-solving skills, which are considered essential qualities for the individual later in life.

A well designed WebQuest caters for the needs of all learners and can be used by individuals, small groups or whole classes. They can be completed in a few lessons or used for a long term project however Learning Managers need to ensure that curriculum requirements are met through alignment with the Essential Learnings. One of the advantages of using a WebQuest compared to a more traditional approach is that there is no need for the students to waste time searching for information, it is all provided for them.

I believe that the use of WebQuests as a pedagogical tool supports Kearsley and Schneiderman's (1999) Engagement Theory and the Relate-Create-Donate components in the following way.

Relate-investigate the issues of the problem or task
Create-apply this new knowledge to the problem or task and create an authentic product
Donate-make a useful contribution back into the task (class cohort)

The following link provides an example of a WebQuest where students are required to research animals and their habitats. Although there are parts that would be beyond the students in my grade 1 class I feel that there are some good ideas for future reference Break-out at Rolling Hills WebQuest


References:
Central Queensland University. (2002). Problem based learning: Why PBL? Retrieved August 16, 2009, from http://pbl.cqu.edu.au/content/students/why_am_i_doing_pbl.htm

Kearsley, G., & Shneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved August 15, 2009, from
http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

WebQuests Direct. (2009). What is a WebQuest. Retrieved August 16, 2009, from http://www.webquestdirect.com.au/whatis_awq.asp

2 comments:

  1. Hi again Nari,

    Don't you just love Webquests! I will never forget the pain we were all going through to complete them last year, but heh, the outcomes were fantastic.

    A good Webquest can cater for so many needs and address so much of the curriculum. They can be time consuming to create, however, i can really see the benefits and most students love them!

    Chat again soon,
    Kerri : )

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  2. Hi Kerri,
    I have to agree with you, they are a fantastic teaching tool and cater for a variety of learning styles. The time element to create one is a bit of a negative but once it is completed it could be placed in you MediaFire account and made readily available. It can be shared with other teachers at the school too.
    Regards,
    Nari

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