Review on Webquest

Review on Web Quest

A web quest is an enquiry-based learning tool which encourages students to become responsible for their own learning. Students are provided with a specific task and the activities to support that task. They are given links to information available on the web which they use to acquire knowledge. A web quest can fit well into a scheme of work – varying from a single lesson’s duration to a series of lessons within a topic.

Bernie Dodge of San Diego State University was amongst the first to attempt to define and structure this kind of learning activity: ‘an inquiry-based activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the internet’.

There are numbers of reason why should we use this web quest. I am including some reasons here:

• They are an easy way to incorporate the Internet into the classroom. No specialist knowledge is needed to either produce or use them.
• They lend themselves well to group activities.
• They lend themselves well to cross-curriculum projects.
• They encourage critical thinking skills. Learners are not able to simply regurgitate information, but are guided towards a transformation of that information.
• They can be both motivating and authentic tasks, encouraging learners to feel they are doing something ‘real’ or ‘useful’.

To create a web quest we should follow these procedures:

1. Introduction
Your pupils need to know exactly what their task is. They need to be interested and motivated - you could provide them with a role-play scenario to make the task more ‘real’.

It’s important to set the scene for the quest, providing background information, linking the topic to previous lessons and making sure your pupils know what they will learn from the quest, and what skills they’ll develop. There should be a focus around which to base the activities, with the final outcome of the quest being an overall task such as producing a presentation or newspaper or web page.

2. The task
Explain clearly and precisely what the learners have to do. They may need to work in groups and decide among themselves how to divide up the task. You may need to provide general ICT advice such as how to open up links in a new window.

3. The process

This stage guides the learners through a set of activities and research tasks, using a set of predefined resources.
Links should be embedded in the web quest to sites, pages, databases, search engines and so on. There is no reason why pupils shouldn’t use printed resources and books as well, since this widens the skills they need to complete the task. Guidance should be given on how to present findings; for example, maps, graphs, essays, wall displays and diagrams.

4. Conclusion

To conclude the web quest, pupils must be aware of what they have learned from the activity. They should have a final piece of work to present to the class or display on the wall. Space should be allowed to expand the topic and encourage pupils to use web quests for future pieces of work.

The use of web quest:

Web quests can be a versatile tool for teaching students. They can be used to introduce new knowledge, to deepen knowledge, or to allow students to test hypotheses as part of a final interaction with knowledge. The integration of computers and the Internet also increase students’ competency with technology. By having specific task lists, students can stay on task. By having specific sources of information, students can focus on using resources to answer questions rather than vetting resources to use which is a different skill altogether.

Limitations of web quests:

We quests are only one tool in a teacher's toolboxes. They are not appropriate to every learning goal. In particular, they are weak in teaching factual total recall, simple procedures, and definitions.

Web quests also usually require good reading skills, so are not appropriate to the youngest classrooms or to students with language and reading difficulties without accommodations. One might ask an adult to assist with the reading or use screen-reading technologies, such as VoiceOver or Jaws.

There are several websites that are specifically geared towards creating web quests. Quest garden, Zunal, and Teacherweb all allow teachers to create accounts, and these websites walk them through the process of creating a web quest. Open Web quest is a similar service, although it is based in Greece and much of the website is in Greek. These websites offer little control over design, but they make the creation process very simple and straightforward.

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