WebQuestsWebQuests Donna Gronn EDTS100 & COMP103 Lecture 10

WebQuests began… In 1995 Professor Bernie Dodge began developing the WebQuest Strategy at San Diego State University to help teachers integrate the power of the web with student learning. He wanted to give his students a format for online lessons that would make the best use of student time while fostering higher- level thinking skills. Tom March (ozline.com) joined him in this pursuit and together they began creating sample WebQuests and putting them online for teachers around the world to use.

WebQuests Based on the ideas of inquiry & constructivism Incorporate cooperative and collaborative learning, as students are encouraged to work on projects in groups.

What are WebQuests? A guided exploration of the Internet to solve a student centred problem An inquiry-oriented online tool for learning In other words: Classroom based lessons in which most or all of the information that students explore and evaluate come from the World Wide Web.

By using multimedia WebQuests help cater for multiple intelligences. WebQuests are tools, not educational theories, so they can be used in any classroom with appropriate computer access.

WebQuests Can be as short as a single period or as long as a month long unit Usually, though not always, involve group work with division of labour among students who take on specific roles or perspectives Are built around resources that are preselected by the teacher. Students spend their time using information not looking for it!

Building Blocks for WebQuests Introduction –The purpose of this section is to both prepare and hook the reader. The student is the intended audience. Tasks –The task focuses learners on what they are going to do - specifically, the culminating performance or product that drives all of the learning activities. Process –This section outlines how the learners will accomplish the task. Scaffolding includes clear steps, resources, and tools for organizing information. Evaluation –This section describes the evaluation criteria needed to meet performance and content standards. Conclusion –The conclusion brings closure and encourages reflection. Teacher Page –The teacher page includes information to help other teachers implement the Webquest, including: target learners, standards, notes for teaching the unit, and, in some cases, examples of student work.

A WebQuest about WebQuests Focus - Years 3-4 Ideally, this exercise will provide you with a larger pool of ideas to work with as you develop your WebQuest-making skills. The best WebQuest is yet to be written. It might be yours! 4 groups in the room…

Roles The Efficiency Expert: You value time a great deal. You believe that too much time is wasted in today's classrooms on unfocused activity and learners not knowing what they should be doing at a given moment. To you, a good WebQuest is one that delivers the most learning bang for the buck. If it's a short, unambitious activity that teaches a small thing well, then you like it. If it's a long term activity, it had better deliver a deep understanding of the topic it covers, in your view. The Affiliator: To you, the best learning activities are those in which students learn to work together. WebQuests that force collaboration and create a need for discussion and consensus are the best in your view. If a WebQuest could be done by a student working alone, it leaves you cold. The Altitudinist: Higher level thinking is everything to you. There's too much emphasis on factual recall in schools today. The only justification for bringing technology into schools is if it opens up the possibility that students will have to analyze information, synthesize multiple perspectives, and take a stance on the merits of something. You also value sites that allow for some creative expression on the part of the learner. The Technophile: You love this internet thing. To you, the best WebQuest is one that makes the best use of the technology of the Web. If a WebQuest has attractive colors, animated gifs, and lots of links to interesting sites, you love it. If it makes minimal use of the Web, you'd rather use a worksheet.

Activity As a group, we'll examine each of the sites. Jot down some notes of your opinions of each (from the perspective of your role). We will examine each site fairly quickly. We won't spend more than 5 minutes on any one site.

The sites we'll be analyzing Stitch in Time Create a cultural quilt patchStitch in Time Our Sun-Sational Star Learn about the SunOur Sun-Sational Star Journey Back in Time Portray colonial lifeJourney Back in Time Tempests of Fiction and Fact Write up an account of a shipwreckTempests of Fiction and Fact Penguins Learn about these funny birdsPenguins

Sharing evaluations 1. Individually order the five sites from best to worst 2. Do you think the other groups will agree with your conclusions? 3. Vote…

Results Show of hands for each website Efficiency Best Efficiency Worst Affiliator Best Affiliator Worst Altitudinist Best Altitudinist Worst Technophile Best Technophile Worst Stitch in Time Our Sun- Sational Star Journey Back in Time Tempests of Fiction and Fact Penguins

Sites to visit An Introduction An Alternate Introduction Bernie Dodge’s Webquest site Tom March’s oz site

Some more sites to visit The Webquest Homepage Teacher Resources Themes and Ideas Some practical hints and ideas Webquest Building blocks index.htmhttp://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/buildingblocks/p- index.htm

In your tutorials – Some checks Where in the world are you?