Introduction

A WebQuest is defined as:

The Task

To develop great WebQuests, you need to develop a thorough understanding of the different possibilities open to you as you create web-based lessons. One way for you to get there is to critically analyze a number of WebQuest examples and discuss them from multiple perspectives. That's your task in this exercise.

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

1. Which two of example WebQuests listed below are the best ones? Why?
2. Which two are the worst? Why?
3. What do best and worst mean to you?

The Process

1. First, each participant will have a hard copy of the worksheet. To answer the questions given above, you'll break into groups of four. Within the group, each of you will take on one of the following roles:
   
   

   The Efficiency Expert: You value time a great deal. You believe that too much time is wasted in today's classrooms on unfocused activity and learners not knowing what they should be doing at a given moment. To you, a good WebQuest is one that delivers the most learning bang for the buck. If it's a short, un-ambitious activity that teaches a small thing well, then you like it. If it's a long-term activity, it had better deliver a deep understanding of the topic it covers, in your view.

   The Affiliator: To you, the best learning activities are those in which students learn to work together. WebQuests that force collaboration and create a need for discussion and consensus are the best in your view. If a WebQuest could be done by a student working alone, it leaves you cold.

   The Altitudinist: Higher level thinking is everything to you. There's too much emphasis on factual recall in schools today. The only justification for bringing technology into schools is if it opens up the possibility that students will have to analyze information, synthesize multiple perspectives, and take a stance on the merits of something. You also value sites that allow for some creative expression on the part of the learner.

   The Technophile: You love this Internet thang. To you, the best WebQuest is one that makes the best use of the technology of the Web. If a WebQuest has attractive colors, animated gifs, and lots of links to interesting sites, you love it. If it makes minimal use of the Web, you'd rather use a worksheet.

   1. Individually, you'll examine each of the sites on the list of resources and use the worksheet to jot down some notes of your opinions of each from the perspective of your role. You'll need to examine each site fairly quickly. Don't spend more than 10 minutes on any one site.
      
   2. When everyone in the 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 for the best two and worst two from their perspective. Pay attention to each of the other perspectives, even if at first you think you might disagree with them.
      
   3. There will probably not be unanimous agreement, so the next step is to talk together to hammer out a compromise consensus about your team's nominations for best and worst. Pool your perspectives and see if you can agree on what's best for the learner.
      
   4. One person in each group should open up SimpleText or Inspiration to record the group's thoughts.
      
   5. 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?

   Here are the sites you'll be analyzing:

   • Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker...what will my next career be? - Find out how to select a career.
   • The Decision to Drop the Bomb - Prepare for a debate on the question "Should the United States have dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?"
   • Making a Difference With the Power of One -Do you have the power to make a difference and change the world? All you need is the Power of One! YOU!
   • Glass Slippers Just Won't Do! -comparing the past and present attitudes, fashions, and roles of women
   • Radio Days - Take a journey back to the "Golden Age of Radio" as you learn about Radio Days.
   • Tuskegee Tragedy - A WebQuest Exploring The Powerful and their Victims

   Conclusion

   Ideally, this exercise will provide you with a larger pool of ideas to work with on your final project. The best WebQuest is yet to be written. It might be yours!

Written by Bernie Dodge. Modified by Bill Byles and Susan Brooks on July 14, 2005
The page which this was modified from can be found linked to the WebQuest page

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