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April 1, 2002
How to Succeed with WebQuests
By Adam Garry and Parry Graham
Many educators from all over the world have been led to or found the gem of the Internet for teachers: WebQuests. The WebQuest process is by far the best in place on the Internet to encourage higher-order thinking skills and emphasize the utilization of information in authentic ways. But is finding a WebQuest and giving it to your students enough to ensure that this process will transfer to the levels that we want? In order to make sure that you use the process correctly, and that you can achieve the desired educational objectives, some things must be in place.
The Basics
It is important that we understand what a WebQuest is and what it isn't. By definition, a WebQuest is an inquiry-based activity where all or most of the information comes from the Internet (Dodge 1995). A WebQuest is not a stand-alone activity or piece of curriculum-it must be supported by introductory activities and lessons that scaffold learning to put students in a position where they can complete the WebQuest successfully. In addition, a WebQuest should fit cleanly into a larger curriculum, building on previous lessons in a way that naturally deepens and extends the learning process.
Teachers have been successfully using WebQuests to ensure that students can show mastery of standards by applying skills in different ways. Mastery doesn't occur until students apply the learning. The teacher is still a very important part of this process. In the beginning stages the teacher can be building background knowledge with a variety of activities and teaching styles. Some of the resources found within the WebQuest provide great introductory activities and lesson enhancers. The teacher has to ensure that when the students begin the Quest they have enough background knowledge to use the data to answer hard questions.
Reflecting Standards
In today's schools there is no time to do "something else." With the emphasis on standards and standardized testing we must make sure that anything we do in our curriculum will be tied to the standards. You should always start your creation of or search for WebQuests with the standards in mind: look through them and pick out the key concepts. After you have your concepts, then you should begin to create or find a WebQuest for your students. Start with the standards first!
Enabling Skills Need to Be Taught
Teachers need to identify the underlying skills and knowledge that their students will need in order to complete the WebQuest (whether content knowledge or Internet browsing skills) and ensure that those are in place before beginning the WebQuest.
In order for students to be successful with the concepts they are trying to learn, we must set the students up for success. Although WebQuests provide everything for the teacher, the teacher is still an important part of the process. In order for students to apply what they will be studying, they need to be taught some enabling skills, which include using the Internet, searching, using data from the Internet, software training, background knowledge, procedural activities, and anything else that we do as teachers. Whether or not students get started off on the right foot can make or break the WebQuest.
Computer Time vs. Non-Computer Time
The struggle to structure a WebQuest can be a large part of the battle. It's very important that you strike a good balance between computer time and non-computer time. Before students start the WebQuest you should already have a good idea of the amount of computer time that it will require, what can be done off of the computer, how you will structure the computer time, if you need a lab for some parts of the WebQuest, whether or not you should project from an LCD or a TV, and how much time the entire process will take.
If you don't have enough computers in your classroom for constant computer time, you will have to add an extra task to the WebQuest that requires the students to do some work off the computer. Other suggestions to address computer shortages are to rotate teams of students through the computer station and to send small groups of students to the library. Another suggestion is to build in some activities that require the students to use the data to answer the questions with different performance tasks. A good idea, especially for younger grades, is to use a projection device and do whole class instruction with some of the information.
We also need to change our thinking about student time on computers. We should realize that it is okay for them to be on the computer during their scheduled time even if it cuts into another lesson; we can restructure so that the students make up the lesson but don't lose their time on the computer.
Go Through the WebQuest First
You should always work through the WebQuest before you attempt to use it with your students. Try to pinpoint possible areas where there will be confusion, and work through those things with the students. Look for dead links and replace them with new ones or find another WebQuest. Becoming familiar with the WebQuest will only make you a better facilitator of the process.
Let's Look at an Example
When Mrs. Scheps used the Snapshot in Time WebQuest with her 10th grade social studies students, she had already spent two weeks working with her students on defining cultural identity, cultural artifacts, and the role of historians. The class had examined artifacts from various cultures and time periods, and discussed the ways in which those artifacts accurately or inaccurately represented people from that time period and geographic region. The Snapshot in Time WebQuest then became an opportunity for students to build upon those concepts by examining their own culture and cultural artifacts, extending the learning by personalizing the process and putting students in the objective role of actual historians.
The WebQuest was the culminating activity, allowing students to demonstrate, through the WebQuest's final task, that they had mastered the learning objectives and content standards identified by Mrs. Scheps at the outset of their unit. By using the WebQuest, Mrs. Scheps was able to save herself planning time, allow her students to follow their interests within the framework of the assignment, create a powerful and authentic culminating task, build upon the skills and knowledge already covered, and provide her students with quick, organized access to more information than they could possibly have found through other, non-online media.
Simply finding a WebQuest that goes along with the concepts you are teaching doesn't mean you are creating a better learning experience for students: It is important that we structure the WebQuest so that the students get the best out of the experience. Ensuring that you choose a WebQuest that will challenge students to think critically about the information they collect will lead to mastery of standards and authentic learning. Just as in any other learning experience that we provide for our students, some preparation will be required to make a WebQuest successful, but the outcomes of a WebQuest done the correct way will put a smile on any teacher's face.
Resources
Dodge, Bernie, "Some Thoughts About WebQuests," 1995.
WebQuest Homepage
Co-nect's Regional WebQuest site
Articles about the one-computer classroom
Email: Adam Garry
Technology Specialist/School Consultant, Co-nect
Email: Parry Graham
Product Manager, Co-nect
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