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Web Quester

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posted Tuesday, 10 June 2008
As others have stated in their blogs, I had never heard of a web quest before.  I did however love the concept once I learned about them.  Professor Dodge's slide show was extremely helpful and to the point.  One question that I had regarding web quests, is there a host site like there is for blogs or does the teacher have to purchase a domain name?  When viewing the posted web quests I was delightfully surprised, they are basically an online scavenger hunt for knowledge.  I LOVE a good scavenger hunt.  I was very into it.  I found them to be very user friendly as well as kid or student friendly, I also liked that there were tasks to complete prior to having an answer for the question. I guess that is where the "quest" part comes in.  What I thought to be the coolest part about the web quests is that they can be created for any subject or topic.  By using technology to access information, students can journey through the WORLD WIDE WEB and uncover information about topics in seconds rather then shuffling through books at the library.   Another awesome aspect of web quest is that they can be fit into instruction time at any point in a lesson, made into a lesson, or used as a review of a lesson as long as they are created correctly.  I also think that assessing learning for a web quest could be quite simple.  I thought that Professor Dodge made a good point about creating the rubric prior to the web quest, and in terms of rubrics I would try to develop one similar to the one on the Bald Eagle web quest although I would gear it towards whatever topic the students were on a quest for.  Overall, I like the idea of implementing web quests into a typically longer unit, this way it can be a fun learning activity that has relevance to the topic being studied.Quest on!!

 


comments (5)


1. katemrob left...
Tuesday, 10 June 2008 11:22 pm

Peter, I love your connection to Scavenger Hunts! I hadn't thought of it that way, but you're completely right. I'm surprised you have never heard of a webquest before. Your school seems so up to date with current technology, so it seems like webquests would be in there somewhere. Do you think you would use a webquest in your own classroom?


2. peter2964 left...
Tuesday, 10 June 2008 11:26 pm

I would absolutely use one in my class. I think I will bring it up at our technology training on fri. Thanks for the comment kate


3. Terry Smith left...
Wednesday, 11 June 2008 5:38 am

Peter - webquests on Questgarden are hosted there, but you can also download them to your computer. There are forms at Questgarden to fill in to guide you through the creation of a webquest, and then the publishing of it. It can be accessed from anywhere by the Internet address of the final quest. Good point on how to fit a webquest in - I agree, it can fit where ever you desire - I've found that review is great with a webquest. Long after the kids have done one, I can send them back for something specific and since they have been there before, they are usually immediately successful in finding what they were looking for.


4. jackrich25 left...
Thursday, 12 June 2008 12:37 am

Peter,

I have being using the term online research project, but your sounds better. I also like the idea of a scavenger hunt as well. I also felt that web quest could be easily implemented with my existing class.


5. Laura Davis left...
Thursday, 12 June 2008 1:34 pm

Peter,

I think you point out an important feature of the WebQuest model when you hit on the adaptability of the format to suit a lesson's/unit's/teacher's needs. One of the reasons I feel that WebQuests may actually *make* it into my curriculum in my first year of teaching (which is bound to be semi-disastrous) is the open endedness with which I can approach designing the tasks. I, too, love a good scavenger hunt, and I think that children today lack that inquiry experience... the idea that learning can come from a process or a hunt. Now, information is spoon fed in small bites, and students can't connect the idea that LEARNING comes from a PROCESS... that all of the things we learn and study were initially discovered ... outside of a textbook experience. People sought answers in a frightening and unknown universe, and the products of their labors, their understanding, is what we have passed down for children to learn about. If we can create that same inquiry and sense of discovery through processes like WEB QUESTS, I think we may be able to regain some of what we have lost.