Using WebQuests
As you can imagine,
having the students complete a WebQuest can be a wonderful experience. Here
are some tips to help you start and succeed with your first few.
- Preview your
WebQuest before you use it.
- Change the
WebQuest so that it will meet the needs of your class. Sometimes you may have
to alter the procedure to suit the one-computer classroom or break up the
steps.
- It is helpful
to perform the initial WebQuest as a group so that the students may become
familiar with the process and ask any questions as you proceed.
- Remember to
let the students explore and have fun. There will be times when the WebQuest
does not proceed the way you intended, but learning is still taking place.
WebQuests can
be easily adapted for your classroom setting.
- WebQuests are
most likely to be group activities, although one could imagine solo quests
that might be applicable in distance education or library settings.
- They can be
designed within a single discipline or they can be interdisciplinary.
- A single computer
can be used to drive whole-class discussion and exploration with the teacher,
not the students, controlling the pace.
- One to 10 computers
can be used as learning stations for students to cycle through while others
work offline.
- If the only
access to the Internet students have is by a scheduled (and limited) set of
lab periods, then a well-orchestrated lesson proceeds that lab visit with
offline activities so students are prepared to use lab time well.
- If all computers
don’t have Internet access, then students can access Web archives created
on another computer and saved on their hard drives.
Return
to Learning With Webquests