Webquest about Webquests

INTRODUCTION
President George W. Bush is very focused on education. He has just selected you to be on the team of teachers who will explore using new technologies in the twenty-first century. Your job is to explore the use of Webquests. What makes a GREAT Webquest?

TASK
To develop great WebQuests, you need to develop a thorough understanding what one is.

By the end of this lesson, you and your group will answer these questions:

What exactly is a WebQuest?
What are the elements that make up a Webquest?
What makes up a good Webquest?
What makes up a poor Webquest?
Locate 1-3 Webquest that you could use with your students.


RESOURCES
A description of the six essential sections of a WebQuest.
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/bdodge/webquest/buildingblocks.html

Some thoughts about Webquest by Bernie Dodge.
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec596/about_webquests.html

Webquest 101.
http://www.teachersfirst.com/summer/webquest/quest-b.shtml

This rubric will help your evaluate Webquests.
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webquestrubric.html

A listing of many Webquests organized by subject and grade level.
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/matrix.html

The WebQuest Page by Bernie Dodge
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquest.html

Creating a WebQuest: It's easier than You Think!
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech011.shtml


THE PROCESS
1. Individually, you'll examine each of the sites on the list of resources and use a blank piece of paper to jot down some notes. You'll need to examine each site fairly quickly. Don’t spend more than 6-10 minutes at each site. You will have 30 minutes total.

2. When everyone in your group has seen all the sites, it's time to get together to answer the questions. One way to proceed would be to go around and poll each team member

3. One person in each group should open up Microsoft Word and record the group’s answers and thoughts.

4. When debriefing time is called, use this file to speak from as you report your results to the whole class. Do you think the other groups will agree with your conclusions?


EVALUATION
Has your team answered the following questions thoroughly and completely?
What exactly is a WebQuest?
What are the elements that make up a Webquest?
What makes up a good Webquest?
What makes up a poor Webquest?
Locate 1-3 Webquest that you could use with K-3 students.


CONCLUSION
Now is the time for you and your team to put into action what you have learned. Use the template to create a Webquest that you could use in with your students.



Template to use when you create your own Webquest.
Filamentality - fill in the blank Web activities.
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/intro.html