WEBQUESTS IN THE CLASSROOM

1
WEBQUESTS IN THE CLASSROOM

• Presented by
• Molly Aschoff
• Valentine Elementary School

2

• How can you use the World Wide Web as a
  motivating force in your classroom?
• How can you deal with administrators and parents
  who are worried about its irresponsible use in
  classrooms?
• How can a teacher hold students attention
  throughout a lesson?

3
THE ANSWER IS..

• WEBQUESTS

4
History of WebQuests

• In 1995, San Diego State Universitys Bernie
  Dodge and Tom March developed a type of lesson
  plan--what they termed a WebQuest--that
  incorporated links to, from, and along the World
  Wide Web.

5
What is a WebQuest?

• A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in
  which some or all of the information that
  learners interact with comes from resources on
  the internet.

6
What does a WebQuest look like?

• http//www.dist126.k12.il.us/stony/socialstudies/g
  rade4/civilwar/
• http//www.teachersfirst.com/getsource.cfm?id7309
  
• http//www.wfu.edu/mccoy/NCTM99/

7
Critical Attributes of WebQuest

• An introduction that sets the stage and provides
  some background information
• A task that is doable and interesting.
• A set of information sources needed to complete
  the task. Many of the resources are embedded in
  the WebQuest document itself as anchors pointing
  to information on the WWW--the learner is not
  left to wander through webspace completely adrift.

8
Critical Attributes of WebQuest

• A description of the process the learner goes
  through in accomplishing the task. The process
  should be broken out into clearly described
  steps.
• Some guidance on how to organize the information
  acquired. This can take the form of guiding
  questions, or directions to complete
  organizational frameworks such as timelines,
  concept maps, or cause-and-effect diagrams as
  described by Marzano.

9
Critical Attributes of WebQuest

• A conclusion that brings closure to the quest,
  reminds the learners about what theyve learned,
  and perhaps encourages them to extend the
  experience into other domains.

10
Other Attributes of WebQuests

• Group activities
• Motivational roles to play
• Single discipline
• Interdisciplinary
• Rubrics

11

• A WebQuest about WebQuests http//webquest.sdsu.ed
  u/webquestwebquest-ms.html
• A Portal of WebQuests http//webquest.org/search/i
  ndex.php