Teaching with Technology

Five Rules for Writing a Great WebQuest by, Bernie Dodge.

Description

A WebQuest is an inquiry based activity with most information being used from the web so that students can focus on thinking about the information rather than finding it. WebQuests are designed by teachers to give structure and guidance and promote higher-level thinking skills. They consist of an introduction the stage is set and learner interest is peaked. The task describes what the learner will accomplish by the end of the lesson. The process is where each step is explained. Next there are the resources or information to be used by the learner. Last there is an evaluation and conclusion.

Findings

Bernie Dodge gives five ?bits of advice? for creating WebQuests.

Find great sites

Orchestrate your learners and resources

Challenge your learners to think

Use the medium

Scaffold high expectations

In order to find great sites you must master a search engine by learning the advanced search techniques to get the information you want faster. Do not stop at search engines, search archives of newspaper and magazine articles, databases of images and documents, directories, etc. It is also important not to loose what you find. Keep track of information using a web-based bookmark server such as Backflip where you can set up categories and subcategories to organize your information.

Orchestrating learners and resources involves organization. The number of computers you have access to will determine how you organize your resources. If there is only one computer with internet access then this can be used to drive whole-class discussion and exploration with the teacher. If there are a couple of computers with internet access then learning stations can be set up for students to take turns while the rest of the class works offline. Organizing people involves having teams and roles for students which in turn leads to group work.

Challenging learners involves adults analyzing and synthesizing information and coming up with a great task that asks learners to ?do? something with the information. Using the medium consists of using multiple types of resources available such as audio, video and images but only when it adds to learning and does not distract.

Finally, Bernie Dodge suggests scaffolding high expectations. By this, he means giving students a temporary structure where students can ?act more skilled than they really are.? Teachers can do this by providing resources they may not have seen before, helping students compare information and find patterns, and provide templates, prompts and multimedia elements to guide production.

Reflection

I believe WebQuests can be used with just about any grade level or objective. If I teach second grade again I plan on using WebQuests during centers weekly. There are so many great WebQuests that are already out there that address several standards. I believe with modeling the process at the beginning of the year with the whole class, students can try these projects with partners during independent time. It would be really beneficial to have a parent volunteer or my assistant available for questions during this time. Last year, my assistant was in my room during centers and able to help with questions.