Some Thoughts About WebQuests

I have taken the title of Bernie Dodge’s article (Bernie Dodge, San Diego State University)
http:// http://webquest.sdsu.edu/about_webquests.html/ as the title for my present post, as this is the first time I have heard about WebQuests. At the beginning I was scared of this term and thought it was something intricate and complex. But having read this Article, alongside with other readings on this topic, it became absolutely clear to me what the goals and the ways of application of WebQuests were: This is exactly what we are doing at our present course with Oregon University. This is the way our weekly assignments are arranged. And due to this very thoughtful organization of the material, we can swim peacefully in the ocean of information and reach the shore safely at the end of each week.

Now, I would like to sum up what I have learned about WebQuests:

A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the internet, optionally supplemented with videoconferencing. There are at least two levels of WebQuests that should be distinguished from one another. The instructional goal of a short term WebQuest is knowledge acquisition and integration. The instructional goal of a longer term WebQuest is extending and refining knowledge.


Components of efficient Web Quests:
1. Introduction – to provides some background information.
2. A doable and interesting task.
3. Information sources to complete the task
4. A description of the clear, step-by-step process to accomplish the task.
5. A conclusion – to bring closure to the quest, reminding the learners about what they've learned

Besides these, there are also some additional ideas provided by Dodge, i.e. a) WebQuests are most likely to be group activities, b) WebQuests might be enhanced by wrapping motivational elements, c) WebQuests can be designed within a single discipline or they can be interdisciplinary.

How to design a WebQuest


1. The first stage for a teacher is to become familiar with the resources available on-line in their own content area. A very useful link is provided here: http:// http://edweb.sdsu.edu/links/index.html/.
2. The next step is to organize one's knowledge of what's out there. This task is very much similar to what we have done in Delicious Bookmarking tasks.
3. Following that, teachers should identify topics that fit in with their curriculum and for which there are appropriate materials on-line. The following links can be very helpful: http:// http://webquest.sdsu.edu/designsteps/index.html/.
http:// http://webquest.sdsu.edu/designpatterns/all.htm/.

As a conclusion to my readings and reflections on WebQuests, I can only say:

I Love Webquests!

All the best

Bella