WebQuest

A WebQuest is defined by Bernie Dodge at San Diego State University, as: "an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet."

The Internet or World Wide Web is a new and dynamic instructional medium and allows for active learning to take place in real-world environments.

WebQuests can help facilitate active learning and provide the support needed to navigate the Web.

Built into the process are the learning strategies of Cognitive Psychology and Constructivism.

WebQuests use scaffolding, fading, prompting and cooperative learning to facilitate more advanced thinking.

The WebQuest learning environment is designed to develop a deeper understanding of a topic, as opposed to rote learning, isolated skills and superficial knowledge.

In this module we will cover the process of creating a WebQuest; how to locate useful information on the Web, work collaboratively, and evaluate an active learning lesson that will engage students in higher order thinking.

Objectives

• Describe the attributes of WebQuest activities.
• Distinguish between Short Term WebQuests and Longer Term WebQuests.
• Identify the six Critical Parts of short or long duration WebQuests.
• Summarize the WebQuest strategy.
• Create a WebQuest.