Technology Integration

Strategies to use when creating a WebQuest for students.

            Through this course, I have learned the importance of challenging the minds? of my students.  To challenge someone means to provide them with questions and tasks that require them to tap into their higher-order thinking skills and makes them step outside of their comfort zone.  Simple questions and problems such as: multiple-choice questions without student lead discussions or writing a book report merely requiring students to paraphrase an author?s views are not the types of assignments meant to foster higher-order thinking.  In order to achieve the development of critical thinking skills, more student-centered inquiry based projects must be employed in classroom instruction. The majority of all inquiry oriented projects or activities require the use of the Web and a student?s ability to wisely decipher through the wealth of information found on the Web.  For me to ask my students to do this, entails me being able to teach them the necessary skills to do so.  A WebQuest is a wonderful tool to employ in the classroom that supports ?learners? thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation (Dodge)?.  A WebQuest is an inquiry-based activity that provides information, mostly from the Web, to learners so that their time is spent using information as opposed to looking for it.  It?s not the concept of using a WebQuest that causes me to want to implement it into my classrooms.  Rather, it is the focus on how to create resourceful WebQuests that will indeed provide structure for my students.

In the article Five Rules for Writing a Great WebQuest, by Bernie Dodge, he lists five pieces of advice (F.O.C.U.S) to consider when creating a WebQuest.  He further explains each of them and finds that when used correctly, the availability in the number of higher-quality WebQuests will increase for the educational use of teachers and students.

(1)   Find Great Sites. Look for sites that are readable and interesting to my students; accurate and reliable; and that contain sources rarely encountered in school.  Use web-based bookmark servers to store sites as well.

(2)   Orchestrate Your Learners and Resources.  When computer access is limited to all students, organize your activities so that whatever access is available, time at or away from computers is meaningful.

(3)   Challenge Your Learners to Think.  Think of alternative ways to frame what we ask learners to do with information. 

(4)   Use the Medium.  Realize that the Internet is not just a network of computers, but, a network of computers as well.  Instead of creating a WebQuests that only contains websites, try including human experts, parent volunteers, ePALS, and conversation tools as well.

(5)   Scaffold High Expectations.  Temporarily provide structure to help learners become more skilled, ultimately raising the bar.  Reception provides guidance; transformation requires students to transform knowledge gained into a new form; and production allows students to create new things with the help of templates (optional).

I have never used or created a WebQuest before.  After reading this article, I believe WebQuests can help my students to narrow the amount of time they normally spend searching for information to complete an assigned task.  This tool would focus their attention on relevant and reliable information, therefore providing more time to analyze and synthesize information.  There is one project that comes to mind when I think about the use of WebQuests in my classroom.  My Computer Applications I students are required to research careers in Informational Technology.  And once they have chosen a specific career, they prepare a report (or some other form of presentation) of that career.  I could actually create a WebQuest, while keeping Dodge?s five tips in mind, which would incorporate useful sites, interviews and expert knowledge from professionals for my students? use in preparing their reports/presentations.  My goal would be to provide guidance and structure for my students and to eliminate students? frustrations.

Natasha Deese

Posted at 08:02PM Jun 19, 2006 by nvivey in General  |  Comments[0]