webquest

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**What is a webquest?**

From Bernie Dodge, San Diego State University (1995 - download the complete document - to visit the website click here)

=**Definitions**= 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. There are at least two levels of WebQuests that should be distinguished from one another.

The instructional goal of a WebQuest is what is intended as an issue extending and refining knowledge. After completing a WebQuest, a learner would have analyzed a body of knowledge deeply, transformed it in some way, and demonstrated an understanding of the material.

=**Critical Attributes**= WebQuests of either short or long duration are deliberately designed to make the best use of a learner's time. There is questionable educational benefit in having learners surfing the net without a clear task in mind, and most schools must ration student connect time severely. To achieve that efficiency and clarity of purpose, WebQuests should contain at least the following parts:


 * 1) An //introduction// that sets the stage and provides some background information.
 * 2) A //task// that is doable and interesting.
 * 3) A //set of information sources needed to complete the task// . Many (though not necessarily all) of the resources are embedded in the WebQuest document itself as anchors pointing to information on the World Wide Web. Information sources might include web documents, experts available via e-mail or realtime conferencing, searchable databases on the net, and books and other documents physically available in the learner's setting. Because pointers to resources are included, the learner is not left to wander through webspace completely adrift.
 * 4) A //description of the process// the learners should go through in accomplishing the task. The process should be broken out into clearly described steps.
 * 5) 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 time lines, concept maps, or cause-and-effect diagrams.
 * 6) A //conclusion// that brings closure to the quest, reminds the learners about what they've learned, and perhaps encourages them to extend the experience into other domains.

(In 1997 Bernie Dodge updated the building blocks of a webquest.) "The //Evaluation// block is a new addition to the WebQuest model. Clearly, if we're going to justify the expense of using the web for learning, we need to be able to measure results. Since the learning we're looking for is at the loftier reaches of Bloom's Taxonomy, we can't gauge it (readily) with a multiple-choice test. Therefore, an alternate evaluation is needed, such as a rubric. The rubric is an authentic assessment tool which is particularly useful in assessing criteria which are complex and subjective" (see examples: in Farmer, Farmer everywhere - A comparative study).

Thinking skills that a WebQuest activity might require include these:
 * 1) Comparing: Identifying and articulating similarities and differences between things.
 * 2) Classifying: Grouping things into definable categories on the basis of their attributes.
 * 3) Inducing: Inferring unknown generalizations or principles from observations or analysis.
 * 4) Deducing: Inferring unstated consequences and conditions from given principles and generalizations.
 * 5) Analyzing errors: Identifying and articulating errors in one’s own or others’ thinking.
 * 6) Constructing support: Constructing a system of support or proof for an assertion.
 * 7) Abstraction: Identifying and articulating the underlying theme or general pattern of information.
 * 8) Analyzing perspectives: Identifying and articulating personal perspectives about issues.

The webquest is a typical example of a didatic methodology as the students have an active role when researching. A well designed webquest is much more than a simple research session as it develops more cognitive and metacognitive skills having been worked out on the idea of the students making use of those cognitive skills needed in areas of comparison, classification, induction, deduction, analysis of mistakes, thesis discussion, abstraction and analysis of possible future prospects. In fact the students are required not only to find the information needed but also to analise it so as to use it in order to find the solution of the assigned task. Therefore the information they find results to be nothing more than "a basic knowledge on which they build hypothetical possibilities which are the bricks they need to construct a cognitive architecture the responsibity of which resides in the students themselves. As the webquest takes place through a research process of discovery, the students learn to create a conceptual structure of their own which results to be solid but also ready to take on later developments so as to be able to investigate further research areas.

Due to the lack of resources and their scarce variety before the use of cybernetic space, it was rather difficult for teachers to organise activities as we see now employed in a webquest.Today all is needed is a click to explore an incredible number and a vast variety of opportunites. As a consequence this ease changes the teaching methods as less and less ways of teaching used in the past are adopted, even if different from those we can find in a traditional "lesson".

=Examples of webquest= This search engine shows WebQuests created in QuestGarden which the authors have published and made public. QuestGarden members can import those WebQuests into their workspace and modify them to meet their needs. || ||
 * = [[image:studentresearcher/es_mediterraneo.jpg width="226" height="65" align="right" link="@http://members.tripod.com/jill_crawford/index.html"]] ||= [[image:studentresearcher/history.jpg width="109" height="72" link="@http://library.thinkquest.org/10805/index.html"]] ||
 * = ** Discover the Mediterranean **>>> ||= Resources ||
 * **| Comparative Democracy | Ancient China webquest | [|Immigration and cultural diversity webquest] |** ||
 * [[image:studentresearcher/ocean.jpg align="center" link="@http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/grant/oceanpollution/index.html"]] ||
 * **The Ocean's in trouble** ||  ||
 * **QuestGarden Search Page**
 * **The Ocean's in trouble** ||  ||
 * **QuestGarden Search Page**

= **Video** =

media type="custom" key="21926542" align="center" ||
 * What is a webquest? An interview with B. Dodge ||
 * = media type="custom" key="21926498" align="center" ||
 * = What is a webquest ||
 * = media type="custom" key="21926500" align="center" ||
 * = How to make a webquest ||