Creating a Webquest

Objective:
This job aid will guide you through the steps of creating a Webquest for your students.
 
 
What is a Webquest?
 

"WebQuests are online curriculum modules which engage students in learning about an authentic topic or problem. The WebQuest itself provides structure to the investigation of the authentic topic, thereby increasing the ability of students to successfully navigate a highly unstructured environment such as the Internet." ( www.ozline.com) WebQuests include six sections which get the learners oriented, give a task, provide resources, guide through the process, describe evaluation, and summarize the exercise.
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquest.html
 
 
Step one: Introduction
 

Choose a topic related to an uncovered area of the curriculum or a current event which is appropriate for a web based search approach. Explain the objectives of a WebQuest by
1. Informing the learner of the content area and relevance to the topic 2. Developing a question that will provoke students to think about a topic based on their perspective.
3. Pursuing responses regarding past experiences, future goals, global issues, and problem solving.
 
 
 
Step two: Task
 
Describe the end product for the exercise. Tasks may include the development of presentations such as Power Point or HyperStudio presentations. Categories of tasks maybe mystery, persuasion, or judgment tasks.
 
 
 

Step three: Process

 

Provide the steps learner should perform to complete the task. Give strategies to assist the learner in dividing the task into smaller, manageable parts and offer different approaches to the information. Provide advice on new concepts which may be associated with the task such as brainstorming or the use of concept maps.
 
 
 

Step four: Resources

 
Provide learners with a list of web pages with relative information to the task. The list allows the learner to allocate their time to topic and task. The list may be divided into topics to assist the learner in organization of the task.
 
 
 

Step five: Evaluation

 

The type of evaluation will be determined by the type of task assigned. Review of the task should be relative to the criteria and end product discussed in the task section.

 
 
 

Step six: Conclusion

 

Summarize the WebQuest activity and learning material. Encourage the learners to review the task and define what was learned.
 
 
Sources:
 

webquest.sdsu.edu/webquest.html
edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/matrix.html
www.macomb.k12.mi.us/wq/webqindx.htm
www.ozline.com/learning/