No Face-to-Face Class 7/28 and 7/29 DO THIS ONLINE ACITVITY INSTEAD

The following activity should be done in lieu of a face-to-face class
(July 28th for section 21 or July 29th for section 22).

To do this activity follow the numbered directions and answer the lettered questions below. Send me your answers in an email – put “WebQuest Reflections” in the email “subject” field.

How to reply to MG? - You may want to copy this blog post, paste it into a fresh word document, answer the questions there, and attach it – or you may simply want to put your answers into the body of the email…

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WebQuests: High Value Learning Activities or Classroom-based Wild Goose Chases?
No review of contemporary Educational Technology would be complete without the inclusion of The WebQuest, a highly favored and respected practice.

1) Follow this link to get an overview of the history and description of WebQuests: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebQuest
Be sure to read the section "How to develop a WebQuest"


2) Let’s find out what colleagues have to say about this practice. Watch the video linked below…Why Use Webquests?? (A YouTube video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuZ949Zi0TY

3) Here’s more from Tom March, one of the fathers of WebQuests – review the material on this website: http://www.internet4classrooms.com/why_webquest.htm
Those of you without access to much technology in your classrooms CURRENTLY may want to take particular note of March's suggestions toward the bottom on doing WebQuests without much technology.


Sound like a good practice? Let’s find out about how WebQuests actually work…

5) What is the structure of a WebQuest? To find out the key elements of a WebQuest follow this link: http://www.thematzats.com/webquests/page3.html
Be certain to examine an example given for each element (in the site above). It’s may be most fruitful to follow the examples of a single title (i.e. Snakes) through each element. But then again, you may find it more interesting to mix and match… your choice. But be sure to look at an example for each element…

6) OK… let’s play the role of student and do a WebQuest. Here's 1 that's been designed for teachers to learn about WebQuests. Choose one and then answer the following:

* http://warrensburg.k12.mo.us/webquest/teacher_quest/index.htm


Question a: Did you find this WebQuest informative and useful?
Question b: Which elements did you find to be most effective?
Question c: What (if anything) about WebQuests did you hope to find out from this resource that you didn’t get adequate information about?

How would you go about bringing WebQuests into your teaching practice?
One approach would be for you to look through the very extensive libraries of existing WebQuests that other teachers have developed already and have posted online for colleagues like you to adopt and adapt and use as a model in creating their own.

Here are some links to WebQuest collections (A Google search will certainly turn up more!)
- eMints http://www.emints.org/webquest/3-5health.shtml
- University of Richmond http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/education/projects/
- Kathy Schrock’s library http://kathyschrock.net/webquests/index.htm
- Best WebQuests http://bestwebquests.com/

Peruse the library and then choose one that you feel you could use ‘as is’ or better yet adapt for use in your own teaching practice.

Question d: Which one did you choose?

Question e: How would you adapt it? What would you create to support your special population students in using it?

Another approach would be for you to create your own WebQuest from scratch. There are online tools to support teachers in doing this

Here’s 1 – you’ll find others in the resources list below

Let's start with a YouTube Tutorial on this approach and the recommended resource:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnJ2moNmbdk

And the resource in the tutorial… http://webquest.sdsu.edu/designpatterns/all.htm

Question f: Watch the video, explore the resource, and give your opinion of both: (or select another WebQuest creation tool/resource and give your opinion of that.)

You now have a good overview of what WebQuests are and why so many of your teaching colleagues have gravitated toward them as one of the first technology-based teaching practices of high value. One more thing before we wrap this up… Here’s a recently recorded podcast interview with Bernie Dodge the man who is credited with having invented the WebQuest back in 1995. In this interview (roughly 15 – 20 minutes) Bernie reflects back on the popularity, place, and future of the WebQuest. He also reflects on what’s going on in Education currently and the function technology will continue to have in providing value.

Bernie Dodge Interview Podcast URL: http://www.intelligenic.com/blog/?p=103


Listen to the podcast and then share:
Question g: What did you hear Bernie Dodge say that you feel was enlightening, valuable, surprising to you?

Question h: And, having spent a few hours now studying WebQuests, what do you feel about this practice?
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WebQuest Resources

What is a WebQuest?

http://www.teachersfirst.com/summer/webquest/quest-b.shtml

http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/webquests/index.html

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/webquest/webquest.html

WebQuest resources:http://webquest.org/index.php

http://webquest.org/index-resources.php

http://bestwebquests.com/

Create a WebQuest:http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech011.shtml

WebQuests: An Online Introduction
http://www.thematzats.com/webquests/intro.html


Practitioner websites:
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/webquests/demonstration.html


Lesson Plans
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/webquests/demo_sub1.html