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WebQuest Overview
A WebQuest presents students with a challenging task, scenario, or problem to solve. It's not just about "surfing the web to find stuff" or even using websites to answer simple questions. It is a much more complex process. Students begin by learning some common background knowledge. Then they divide into groups, assume various roles that relate to the issue, and the real task begins. It's best to choose topics that are under dispute or that at least offer a couple different perspectives. Current events, controversial social and environmental topics work well. Each student or pair of students has a particular role, task, or perspective to master. They effectively become experts on that one aspect of a topic. Students complete a WebQuest by a summarizing act such as e-mailing congressional representatives or presenting their interpretation to the world in some form. WebQuests are considered projects according to our "Quick Definition of Application Types" because the goals and outcomes are broad and activity duration is long-term (usually several months).
WebQuests created for Knowledge Network Explorer
Below is a chronology of WebQuests with an indication of what new aspect was added to push the envelope and continue to evolve WebQuests to meet the ongoing needs of teachers, librarians, and learners.
- Big Wide World WebQuest
for grades K - 4, to look beyond facts. Encourages seeing how things work, impact each other, and interrelate.
- Look Who's Footing the Bill!
Interactive Web sites help students to explore the U.S. national debt. The first appearance of the QuickQuest. (created 1996, revised 2002)
- Tuskegee Tragedy
Exploring the relationship between the powerful and their victims. More specific scaffolding was added to the Group Process. (created 1998)
- Little Rock 9, Integration 0?
Transformation Builders developed to support the transformative learning that takes place in the Group Process stage. (created in 1999)
- Searching for China
This updated version of the first WebQuest developed for mass consumption. This is where Individual Roles and Real World Feedback first appeared. (created 1995, revised 1998)
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Does the Tiger Eat her Cubs?*
An experiment in appealing to younger students in a low-tech classroom. Jobs were used in place of Roles. (created 1996)
- Donner Online
Using a role play to develop a HyperStudio stack that prompts higher order thinking. (created 1996)
Make Your Own WebQuest with Filamentality
You can make your own WebQuest using our fill-in-the blank tool, Filamentality. It guides you through the process and in the end, you'll have your own WebQuest on the Internet for free. You can learn more about the various formats (Hotlists, Treasure Hunts, Subject Samplers, and Electronic Scrapbooks) you can create with Filamentality, or use the Guided Tour and handouts to see a visual overview of the process.
Search Filamentality or Blue Web'n
You can search Filamentality to see the WebQuests that others have already created. Each week we add 4-6 new sites to Blue Web'n, our online library of sites for teachers and librarians. Lots of these sites are WebQuests. You can use the Blue Web'n search page to search by grade, subject, and Dewey Decimal Numer as well as by format (hotlist, treasure hunt, webquest, etc.).
Try these sites:
Credits
In 1995, Professor Bernie Dodge came up with the first WebQuest for a class he taught at San Diego State University. He was also one of the faculty advisors for our original project, Education First, and he worked with the EdFirst Fellows, the folks who originally created the Knowledge Network Explorer. In this role, Bernie and Tom March worked closely for over three years developing the WebQuest strategy.
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First posted 1995.
Last modified
Thursday December 04, 2008
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