"Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
- Lewis Carroll

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

A call for better webquests

I am really interested in the potential that webquests have to offer for an English class. I see them as being great launching pads for research projects, or even better, as means to delve into a great piece of writing. Additionally, they not only get students exploring the context of literature, but engaging technology as well, which is a necessity in current society. The probability is high that I will use them when I teach.

However, I feel unsatisfied with many of the examples of webquests I've seen thus far. After searching the web and participating in the class evaluation of examples, most of them seem to be outdated, over-worked, or unnecessary. I feel a good webquest needs to be more than just a "see look, I'm using technology" approach to teaching. Not only does it need to be relevant, but it needs to accomplish something more than a worksheet with the same information printed on it could. For example, including videos or links to interactive websites justifies the use of a webquest. Oppositely, a project description with instructions does not.

Lastly, in regards to a good webquest....it doesn't hurt to have decent graphics either!

2 comments:

  1. Excellent thoughts and reflection here! I am thinking you will have to create your own really good WQs! :-)

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  2. I know exactly what you mean! I felt like someone promised a cookie for every animated graphic to whoever designed the garden webquest. I'm still trying to sort out my opinion on them, but I have come around to the idea that they can provide a basis for inquiry-driven learning while also serving as a place to keep students on task for the assignment.

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