WebQuests

An inquiry oriented activity where part of the resources come from the Internet." This paraphrase of Bernie Dodge's definition of a WebQuest conjures up many different visions of student-learning activities. Team or small group learning, individual research and entire class projects fit into this definition. Research skills, visual literacy, information literacy and critical thinking skills are also woven into this exciting, challenging and engaging activity called a WebQuest. Start the school year by exploring this concept of Internet use and try some of the excellent examples you will find. [|**http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webquest.html**] Begin by visiting this WebQuest page. This is the official home of the WebQuest and is created by Bernie Dodge. Here you will find a number of superb examples, templates for developing your own WebQuests and training materials for helping colleagues work with this Internet-based activity. [|**http://ozline.com/webquests/**] WebQuest beginners will also want to visit Tom March's WebQuests for Learning for some practical and philosophical reasons to use WebQuests as teaching tools. A recent addition to this site is an excellent rubric for assessing your own creation or those of others. [|**http://edweb.sdsu.edu/T2ARP/Webqst.T2arp.12.98/ Hops,%20LisaWQ/Webquest _-_Hops, _Lisa.html**] Literature teachers will find a number of examples as they search the Internet with the words WebQuests and literature. Some examples include one based on Steinbeck's Grapes of wrath. This WebQuest encourages students to share the experiences of the Joad family as they travel to California. Students create a scrapbook filled with journal entries, an interview, reactions to news events and a flyer that inspired the trip to California. [|**http://edweb.sdsu.edu/T2ARP/Webqst.T2arp.12.98/ The%20QUEST.Kimmel/wqsh akespeare.htm**] Another option transports students back in time to the days of William Shakespeare. Here the users learn about the life and times of Shakespeare, investigate the Globe Theatre, and write a review of a play seen at the Globe. A day in the life and times of Shakespeare can be found at this web site. [|**http://www.berksiu.k12.pa.us/webquest/ whitefield/default.htm**] A third option is an Author Search, that sends readers into the Internet to find information on their favorite author and preview an interview based on the information they find. [|**http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/lewis/litf/**] A fourth activity revolves around the novel The light in the forest. Students develop a Lenni Lenape identity for each of the outsiders captured. Groups adopt Hannah Dustin, Margaret Eberhardt, Jonathan Alder or Joseph Studebaker, and assimilate the adopted individual into the tribe, teach him or her how to become a happy and productive member of the tribe, and create a mandala to engender an identity for the captive. [|**http://edweb.sdsu.edu/T2ARP/Webqst.T2arp. 12.98/Seastridge-Webquest.htm l**] Yet another option is an interdisciplinary activity called Sensationalize the Spanish-American War. Here the student assumes the role of a beat writer for The World published by Joseph Pulitzer or The Journal published by William Randolph Hearst. Your job is to sensationalize one event from the Spanish-American War so that readers will buy that newspaper. You are to engage in yellow journalism to accomplish this task. [|**http://www.plainfield.k12.in.us/hschool/ webq/webq67/**] Social studies teachers will also find a number of WebQuests already developed for their use. Students will examine the art of campaigning and presidential elections by adopting the personas of two former presidents and undergoing a mock campaign, pretending that these former presidents are real-life contenders for the year 2000 election. Presidential Campaigning: Past and Present, has students work in four groups. Each group works with presidents from one of four different time periods: early 1800s, mid 1800s, late 1800s and early 1900s. [|**http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/lewis/rock/**] Another option, Rock the Vote, also has students working in groups. These groups serve as a television ad production crew who analyze the Bill of Rights, identify current social/political issues that are connected to the Bill of Rights, select an issue and develop a television ad that takes a stand and encourages other students to get involved. A third activity investigates the Spanish-American War to decide if it was a "splendid little war" as proclaimed by John Hay. Teams do research, develop a thesis and create a product to report the results of the research. [|**http://www.ideal-training.com/holly/careerwebquest.htm**] Career education is also a place where WebQuests can prove useful. CareerQuest guides the user through making a number of decisions about her future. The student develops a portfolio of information about specific careers. Job descriptions, salaries, projections for the future of this job, information on colleges, financial aid plans and a career assessment option are all part of the activities done when completing this WebQuest. [|**http://students.itec.sfsu.edu/edt628/minabenn/save %26invest.index.html**] Another career or life education option is Max's Investment World. Based on helping the user gather information about saving and investing, this team-based activity has the group develop a reason for investing and provides an imaginary $2,000 toward achieving the goal. Each group must choose four types of investments to use while reaching the target investment amount. Research and economic skills are put into play as the groups work toward their goal and develop a presentation to explain their investment strategies. [|**http://edweb.sdsu.edu/T2ARP/Webqst.T2arp.12.98/J .%20Pacis%20WebQuest/W ebquest**] Science teachers have also developed a number of excellent teaching tools. Wildlife Protection Park has students study the ecosystems that support wildlife. Each group of four students researches a number of ecosystems before deciding which to use for the semester-long project. The final goal of the project is to develop an enclosure that will allow the animals in the chosen ecosystem to avoid extinction. [|**http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/kearny/ cybermag/assignsht.html**] A second option, Cyber Science Mag, has students write articles for a fictional science magazine and also take roles for the production of the magazine. [|**http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/chavez/ batquest/batquest.html**] Elementary teachers will delight in using In Search of Stellaluna's Family, where elementary students learn about bats. Youngsters work in pairs after reading the book about Stellaluna. The pairs investigate the different types of bats, how bat mothers care for their babies, echolocation and why bats are important to the world. [|**http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/grant/ aquarium/tasks.html**] Another elementary option, Dive Right In, is suitable either for pair work or as a project involving the entire class. Students learn about tide pool animals, visit ocean habitats and aquariums on the web, talk with a sea life expert and create an aquarium book. [|**http://www.northernlight.com/**] If you are interested in looking for more WebQuests, try using Northern Light and searching for the phrase Webquest and your curriculum area. You will be amazed at the wealth of resources available in the educationally sound tool for using the Internet.