1 Introduction and Definition of WebQuests

WebQuests are web-based activities that are used in today's classrooms to enhance learning.

A "WebQuest" is a term coined by Bernie Dodge.  It is an interactive learning experience that is carried out via the Internet.  Essentially it:

• explores a theme or question;
• focuses on a variety of Internet resources;
• uses print resources when appropriate;
• maximizes student learning by organizing the process into real tasks.

It allows students to use their imaginations and problem-solving skills.  The answers need to be discovered or created.

Using WebQuests that are available on the Internet is a wonderfully effective way for teachers to easily harness the power of the Internet in their classroom.

There are two types of WebQuests determined by duration.

• Short-term duration of between 1-5 class periods.  This allows for the acquiring and integrating of knowledge and making sense of a large amount of information.
• Long-term duration  requiring 2 - 9 weeks (one term).  This allows for extending and refining knowledge and then transforming information and demonstrating what is learned. 

2 Background

In 1995, Bernie Dodge began experimenting with creative ways to integrate the Web with other successful learning strategies and thus was born the WebQuest.  The idea was to help students use recently acquired knowledge to construct meaning on a complex topic in a real world context.

Bernie Dodge based the design of the WebQuest on Bloom's Taxonomy.  The WebQuest is able to target different levels of learning by setting clear learning goals and related activities.  Dodge bases the WebQuest on constructivism, co-operative learning and scaffolding with technology integration. The constructivism approach to learning gets the student to construct their own knowledge and then use it to solve the WebQuest. Co-operative learning allows the student to bring his knowledge to the team to help in solving the problem.  Scaffolding allows the WebQuest to be learner-oriented with the tasks, process and resources all designed to guide the student through the learning experience of the WebQuest. 

Tom March worked with Bernie Dodge and recommends the use of WebQuests because it creates a learning environment that involves the students in research-based learning using the power of the Internet.  

3 Appeal to Students

Computers play a huge part in the life of today's youth.  Computers, for the most part, are the learning tool that most learners enjoy using. The primary role of the student is to learn, and they learn by doing something they enjoy and by pursuing an instructional goal. WebQuests have high appeal to most learners.  They can be used in the classroom situation with the teacher becoming the guide to the learning or it can form part of a flexible learning program that can be used by distance students. 

WebQuests provide the motivation and encourage active learning.  Through structured learning activities the students are able to plan their work and develop the ability to analyze and apply the information acquired.  The students are given real resources to work with and authentic problems to solve.  They can be given roles within a co-operative group, and must develop expertise on a particular aspect of a topic.  They may take the role of the scientist, oil worker or tourist and their teammates rely on them to bring back and share their expertise.  The answer or solution to the WebQuest that the student teams develop can be presented to real people for feedback and evaluation.

The students become responsible for their own learning by personally searching for knowledge and understanding when searching for answers to guided questions.  Most students feel energized by learning and are excited, intrigued and motivated to solve the tasks and make new answers.  To them their work feels important and worthwhile.  They are able to make thoughtful choices from using different strategies to consider their best option to problem solve.  By engaging in collaborative learning, the students work with others in a coordinated manner, splitting up the work according to a plan and sharing good ideas during the search for understanding.

4 Integration into the classroom

The WebQuest can be integrated into the classroom.  It should be linked to previous and subsequent activities so the WebQuest is not an isolated experience disconnected from the rest of the your curriculum.  It can provide the research-based component of an unit of work   The WebQuest can be followed during class time with the teacher allowing the students to be learner-oriented and the teacher becoming a guide or mentor to further assist with the tasks.  As the WebQuest is posted on the Internet, the students are able to work on them from home or it may be accessed by the isolated or distance education student.

When integrating the Web for learning, the teacher needs to collect sites that your students will find to be most useful, interesting and peculiar.  Surfing is not a practical option for those teachers who find there is already too little time to cover the curriculum.  WebQuests provide a path teachers can follow with students and they provide resources that have tested for quality and safety.

WebQuests provide clear instructions, activities focus on higher level thinking.  They also follow the phases of  The Research Cycle  They do take an enormous time and effort to develop, but the finished product can be shared by numerous teachers world-wide.  The most time consuming aspect is the location of appropriate and relevant and safe Internet sites for the students to access.

WebQuests work for teachers as the students become motivated by solving "real world" problems.  The WebQuests have very clear directions and focus on selected websites where they work with guided search and information literacy skills.  The scaffolding of WebQuests help students to find their way and use their time efficiently and productively.  Ultimately we would like to see our students make their way independently as lifelong learners who require no scaffolding, and this is where the WebQuest provides a developmental process with generous structuring. It is an introductory experience which is meant to provide the students with information research skills. It is here we see the students develop higher order learning skills from Bloom's Taxonomy.

5 Design of the WebQuest

A well designed WebQuest demands that students go beyond information gathering. It asks them to analyze a variety of resources and use their creativity and critical-thinking skills to derive solutions to a problem.  The problem is often "real-world", that needs a genuine and reasonable solution.

Designing a WebQuest is not unlike designing units of work to be used with your class.  A WebQuest has 6 components:-

• Introduction - this requires getting your learners oriented by setting the stage and providing some background information;
• Task - giving your learners an interesting, achievable and doable tasks;
• Process - giving your learners the guidance to complete the task by providing a set of clearly prescribed steps;
• Resources - providing the Internet resources the learners need within the WebQuest;
• Evaluation - telling the learners how they will be evaluated (Rubric evaluation);
• Conclusion - this brings closure to the WebQuest, reminding the learners what they have learned, and perhaps encouraging them to extend their experience .

Optional components may include Extension activities and Notes to the Teacher to extend the unit of work or ideas for other learning activities.

As the Task is the single most important part of a WebQuest, there is a range of tasks that include mystery tasks, scientific tasks, journalistic or design tasks.

6 Personal experience

Advantages of using WebQuests

• learner-oriented;
• teacher guided;
• designed to make best use of the learner's time as resources are provided for students;
• pointers to Internet resources are included, therefore the learner does not wander through the Web;
• current information that provide students with up-to-date information;
• stimulating graphics and interactive sites that can create excitement for the student;
• various reading levels where students using WebQuests can find information at their reading level;
• multiple intelligences using different mediums to reach all types of learners;
• safety issues of the student staying within the WebQuest to see teacher previewed sites;
• a description of the process is put into clearly defined steps;
• some guidance is provided on how to organize the information acquired eg. guiding questions, completing tables, timelines, concept maps; 
• change in the way teachers teach.  A more active, hands-on, constructivist approach combined with effective use of technology as a part of these changes, is required to engage today's children in learning;
• children take part in constructivist learning where they construct their knowledge; and learn new skills such as creative thinking, judgment, interpretation, objectivity and problem solving.

There are some disadvantages in obtaining information from WebQuests.  It is necessary to check the validity of the information provided in the WebQuest, and make sure the students are not being subjected to inappropriate materials or being influenced by the advertising posted on screen by the host.

I have used WebQuests with my Year 5 and 6 students in the classroom situation.  The Year 6 students have attempted WebQuests on the Olympics, Alternate Sources of Energy and are currently doing the water WebQuest.  Year 5 are doing Online Modules on Australian Special Days and Federation.  The students really enjoy doing these units of work as they love working directly from computers and on the Internet.  They find the tasks are quite doable and achievable and they feel successful in achieving them.  The Water WebQuest has made the students think how precious and valuable water is to many peoples in the world.  They were amazed to discover of all the water in the world how little is really usable.  It is a real world problem they are working with. 

7 Conclusion

WebQuests make the most of the strengths of the Web, while providing a hedge against some of its limitations.  They provide an excellent education resource for teachers, parents and students.  They have the ability to motivate students from many different learning styles with selected and safe web links, current information and exciting graphics.                                     

Bibliography:-

Dodge, Bernie, 1997. "The WebQuest Page" at http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webquest.html accessed on 19 May, 2001.

Dodge, Bernie 1999. "WebQuest Taskonomy: A Taxonomy of Tasks" at http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/taskonomy.html accessed on 2 February, 2001.

Dodge, Bernie, 1998. "WebQuests: A Strategy for Scaffolding Higher Level Learning" at http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/necc98.htm accessed on 21 May, 2001.

Durant, Matthew, 1999. "A WebQuest About WebQuest" at http://users.massed.net/~mdurant/webquest.htm accessed on 30 May, 2001.

Lane, Carla "Bloom's Taxonomy" at http://www.tecweb.org/eddevel/blooms.html accessed on 30 May, 2001.

March, Tom, 2000. "WebQuests 101 Tips on choosing and assessing WebQuests" Multimedia Schools, Oct. 2000 at http://www.infotoday.com/MMschools/oct00/march.htm accessed on 10 June, 2001.

March, Tom 1998. "WebQuests for learning.  Why WebQuests?, an introduction" at http://www.ozline.com/webquests/intro.html accessed on 22 May, 2001.

Martin, Bill 1999, "Using WebQuests for Constructivist Learning" at http://members.tripod.com/drwilliampmartin/introduction.html accessed on 30 May, 2001.

McKenzie, Jamie 1997. "Making the Net Work for Schools: Online Research Modules", From Now On, Vol 7, No 1, September, 1997 at http://www.fno.org/index.html accessed on 3 May, 2001.

Warters, Bill 2000. "Using WebQuests to promote integrative thinking in conflict studies" in Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, Vol.1, No.4 Nov/Dec 2000 at http://www.culma.wayne.edu/CMHER/Articles/CSWebQuest.html accessed on 10 June, 2001.

Other WebQuest Sites

The WebQuest Page links to WebQuest examples, training materials and new development at http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webquest.html

Filamentality helps teachers create Web-based learning activities at http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/

Online Research Modules from the NSW Country Areas Programs. The units of work are in the syllabi of the NSW Department of Education curriculums at http://www.cap.nsw.edu.au/bb_site_intro/bbcap_intro.html

WebQuests with links to many WebQuests at http://www.aea2.k12.ia.us/curriculum/webquests.html#index

WebQuests and more supported by Tom March with links to WebQuests at http://www.ozline.com/learning/index.htm

Blue Web'N is a library of learning sites on the Web at http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/