Developing A WebQuest For Your Classroom

Definition | Basic Form | Evaluation |Collections | Choosing a Topic
Locating Resources | Constructing A WebQuest | Rubrics
Using Your WebQuest

Definition

The originator of this format for web based lessons, Dr. Bernie Dodge, says that 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..." (Dodge, 1995). WebQuests are designed to use learners' time well, to focus on using information rather than looking for it, and to support learners' thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The model was developed in early 1995 at San Diego State University by Bernie Dodge with Tom March.

Basic Form

There are five basic components of an average WebQuest

  • set the stage for the activity
  • catch the reader's attention to draw them into the quest
  • provide background information
  • state what the students will be required to do
  • avoid surprises down the road
  • detail what products will be expected and the tools that are to be used to produce them.
  • give a step-by-step description, concise and clearly laid out
  • provide links to Internet sites interwoven within the steps.
  • display a rubric to measure the product as objectively as possible
  • leave little room for question
  • summarize the experience
  • allow reflection about the process.
  • add higher level questions that may be researched at another time.
  • give food for thought as to where they can go with the info they have learned, using it in a different situation.

For a more complete description of each component go to Building Blocks of a WebQuest by Bernie Dodge.

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Evaluation

If you have not had experience designing your own Internet based lessons before, it would be helpful for you to see a sample of webquests currently available on the Internet. To accomplish this, you will go on a WebQuest about WebQuests. In this activity you will be asked to determine the best two webquests and the worst two.

You should also look critically at the WebQuests. To evaluate webquests already out on the Internet, use A Rubric for Evaluating WebQuests or the WebQuest Rubric to see if that webquest is as good as it could be.

Collections

There are a growing number of collections of WebQuests available on the Internet.

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Choosing A Topic

Dr. Dodge says, "Well begun is more than half done. It's critical in the early stages of WebQuest development that you stack the decks in favor of your own success. You need to identify a topic that is worth your spending time on and one that takes advantage of the Web and the WebQuest format." To that end, he has provided an evaluation rubric for you to grade your topic. Look at the rubric and judge your tentative topic. Topics which make the best WebQuests generally fall into one of two patterns; difficult problems which call for creative solutions, and subjects about which there is genuine disagreement.

Locating Resources

Learn search rules at a limited number of search engines and do most of your searching from those sites.

Bookmark liberally. Set up a "webquest" folder in your Favorite or Bookmarks list, and drag bookmarks to that list. Before you actually start writing your WebQuest, it is far better to have too many book marked sites than not enough. For example, a WebQuest on tropical rain forests had more than four dozen sites book marked, but only ten were incorporated into the WebQuest.

For more about searching see Search Techniques from The WebQuest Page:

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Constructing A WebQuest

Dr. Dodge has provided templates for you to modify. Many WebQuests you see around the Internet have a similar look because most people use his template. Let's look at some templates:

Rubrics

What is the best way to measure student learning and results in the webquest model? Rubrics are often used as they can focus on the process in terms of teamwork and evaluation. Evaluation rubrics can take a different form depending on the kind of task given to the learner. Below is a list of sites related to developing rubrics and rubric examples.

Using Your WebQuest

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.

  1. Preview your WebQuest before you use it.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

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