Webquests

= WebQuests = Sarah Lytle media type="custom" key="18908244" width="90" height="90" align="right" =Description and Uses of Technology = A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which students work together to answer open-ended questions using the Internet for their research. Teachers use WebQuests across the curriculum and with students of all ages to foster critical thinking and creative problem solving. In designing WebQuests, teachers set a task and pre-select websites for students to use in completing that task. Typically they also give students specific jobs within their groups. For example, two high school science teachers asked their students to find out [|"What is the best alternative fuel?"] Group members were assigned the roles of environmentalists, big business leaders, government officials and consumers, and asked to create presentations highlighting the benefits of their chosen fuel. The original model, as developed by Bernie Dodge and Tom March in 1995, included certain set elements: Teachers have used this model to create a huge range of WebQuests for use in their own classrooms, as well as sharing them with other teachers on the Internet. In my own research on [|QuestGarden], it is clear that some teachers adhere to the original intent of the designers of the WebQuest model and design WebQuests that require higher-order thinking skills, and some use them for more basic research. While March ranks WebQuests as of higher and lower quality, one could argue that if teachers are embracing the model and taking the time to create WebQuests that they think will interest and engage their students, we should not castigate the ways they have adapted the original conception. (March, 2003/2004) Teachers can design WebQuests that can be used as short or long-term projects. Like other multi-stage endeavors, WebQuests may require teachers to provide mini-lessons to support students' work along the way. For example, instructors might need to teach students about how to examine primary sources, send an email with questions to an expert, or read maps and tables depending on the requirements of the WebQuest. Although WebQuests have been adapted for children of all ages, they are more suited for children who can read. WebQuests provide multiple opportunities for teachers, and by extension for their students. First, t eachers can create their own WebQuests or utilize those developed by others, tens of thousands of which are available on the web. Second, for teachers who are just beginning to incorporate technology into their classrooms, WebQuests can be a manageable early lesson because they build on familiar teaching strategies like research projects and collaborative learning. Third, with all of the recent advances in information technology, teachers have a range of options for physically creating their own WebQuests; making a WebQuest can be as simple as creating a Word document in Google Docs which includes hyperlinks. Finally, while WebQuests require a lot of work upfront, once designed they allow teachers to operate as coaches while students take the driver's seat in constructing their own learning. (Concept to Classroom: Workshop: WebQuests) =Important Findings on Student Outcomes =
 * **Introduction** - Gives background information and the rationale for the project.
 * ** Task ** - Describes the end product students are being asked to generate.
 * ** Process ** - Details the steps students will need to complete along the way.
 * ** Resources ** - Provides links to particular websites that students should use to complete the Webquest.
 * ** Evaluation ** - Lets students know how their work will be evaluated by linking to a rubric or other evaluation method, including delineating individual and group responsibilities.
 * ** Conclusion ** - Summarizes what students will hopefully have gained by completing the Webquest and poses ideas, questions, and resources for further thought.

WebQuests provide five key benefits for students. First, they help students make better use of the Internet as a resource. Research suggests that, "[t]he major problems associated with learning on the Internet include navigational disorientation, information overload, and distraction". (Ikpeze and Boyd, 2007, p. 645.) In this context, WebQuests offer a useful way for teachers to narrow students' focus and therefore enable them to learn more deeply and to use classroom time more efficiently. Put another way, WebQuests help students, "stay on task and away from inappropriate Web sites". (Vidoni & Maddux, 2002, p.114) Studies suggest that WebQuests help students locate more informative resources and help them locate important information within those resources. (Abbit & Ophus, 2008, p.448)

Second, WebQuests teach content knowledge, media literacy, and information technology skills simultaneously. Ikpeze and Boyd found that, "WebQuests represent an important bridge between content learning and technological literacy... participants had to learn navigation, search, and retrieval skills, as well as multimedia and hypertext reading. In addition, they learned to evaluate information from various sources". (Ikpeze & Boyd, 2007, p.651) When students use communication technology skills to complete tasks associated with the WebQuest, they report that they feel they have improved their skills with the assigned technology. (Abbit & Ophus, 2008, p.448)

Third, WebQuests foster collaboration among students. Students in one study on WebQuests reported that while working in groups was at times frustrating and more difficult than they had anticipated, they saw the benefit in developing their ability to work with others and felt satisfied with their experience. (Abbit & Ophus, 2008, p.449) Vast amounts of research on the benefits of cooperative learning have shown that properly structured, cooperative learning can increase achievement, the "quality of interpersonal relationships, and psychological health". (Johnson & Johnson, 2009, p. 375)

Fourth, because the WebQuest model encourages teachers to be clear about their expectations and the processes students should follow to succeed, students feel more confident about their ability to get a good grade on the project. (Abbit & Ophus, 2008, p.448)

Finally, students find WebQuests to be engaging and express a preference for WebQuests as compared to traditional lecture-based lessons. Perhaps they would have a similar preference for another type of inquiry-based, technology-rich, collaborative activity, but the fact remains that WebQuests provide all of these elements. There have been limited studies on the impact of WebQuests on student achievement, but some studies suggest that students who complete WebQuests do not necessarily learn more about a given content area than they would through other types of projects. (Gaskill, McNulty & Brooks, 2006) Again, the relevant question is not "Are WebQuests superior to all other forms of instruction?" but "Are WebQuests a useful form of instruction?" While the answer to the first question is "no", the research certainly demonstrates that the answer to the second question is "yes".

Because teachers pre-select the resources students use during WebQuests, some researchers have voiced concerns that the model does not teach students to evaluate the quality and trustworthiness of Internet sources. Another recognized limitation of the WebQuest model is students' lack of involvement in defining the research questions as well as the research process to be followed. (Gibson, 2009)

=Emerging Trends and Open Issues=

WebQuests were originally created in a Web 1.0 world and as a result of the over 200,000 WebQuests available online many of them have "substandard design elements" that contrast with the popular websites students are accustomed to visiting. This may negatively impact students' interest in completing WebQuests. Scholars have therefore suggested that teachers use blogs and wikis to create their WebQuests so that they can take advantage of the available templates to improve their visual appeal. Blogs and wikis offer the added advantage of interactive features so that students can post questions, comments, and findings throughout the course of the project and more easily collaborate with other group members. (Kurt, 2009)

An additional trend is the development of the concept of Web Inquiry Projects or WIPS. In response to concerns that WebQuests do not afford students enough agency in determining the focus and development of their own research projects, WIPS invite __students__ to define the tasks and procedures they want to pursue. The focus in WIPS is on students utilizing raw data available on the web to do original research. The underlying assumption is that as students become more adept at web-based research, teachers can remove some of the scaffolding they provided earlier and allow students to take more responsibility for all stages of the process. (Gibson, 2009)

In conclusion, while some teachers have begun to stretch the WebQuest format in new directions, others continue to use the original design. In either case, WebQuests provide a useful conceptual model for teachers who want to take advantage of the richness of the Internet to foster student learning.

=References=

Abbitt, J., & Ophus, J. (2008). What we know about the impacts of Web-Quests: A review of research. //AACE Journal, 16//(4), 441-456. Retrieved from []

Gaskill, M., McNulty, A. & Brooks, D.W. (2006). Learning from WebQuests. //Journal of Science Education and Technology, 15//(2), 133-136. DOI: 10.1007/s10956-006-9005-7

Gibson, S. (2009). Developing digital literacy skills with WebQuests and web inquiry projects. In L. Tan Wee Hin & R. Subramaniam (Eds.), //Handbook of Research on New Media Literacy at the K-12 Level: Issues and Challenges// (403-418). Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-120-9.ch026

Ikpeze, C.H., & Boyd, F.B. (2007). Web-based inquiry learning: Facilitating thoughtful literacy with WebQuests. //The Reading Teacher, 60//(7), 644-654. DOI: 10.1598/RT.60.7.5

Kurt, S. (2009). Web2Quests: Updating a popular web-based inquiry-oriented activity. //Educational Technology 49//(5), 35-37. Retrieved from []

Johnson, D.W. & Johnson, R.T. (2009) An educational psychology success story: Social interdependence theory and cooperative learning. //Educational Researcher, 38//(5), 365-379. DOI: 10.3102/0013189x09339057.

March, T. (2003/2004). The learning power of WebQuests. //Educational Leadership 61//(4), 42-47. Retrieved from []

Mulligan, A., Strong, M., Crabbe, J., & Steen, P. (2006) Paving the Road to Technology Integration. //Learning and Leading with Technology, 33//(8), 14-17. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA145928901&v=2.1&u=ucinc_main&it=r&p=CDB&sw=w

Salsovic, A. (2009). Designing a WebQuest. //The Mathematics Teacher, 102//(9), 666-671. Permalink http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/detail?accno=EJ838953

Segers, E., & Verhoeven, L. (2009). Learning in a sheltered Internet environment: The use of WebQuests. //Learning and Instruction, 19//, 423-432. DOI: @http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2009.02.017

Tuan, L.T. (2011). Teaching Reading through WebQuest. //Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2//(3), 664-673. DOI:10.4304/jltr.2.3.664-673

Vidoni, K.L. & Maddux, C.D. (2002). WebQuests: Can They Be Used to Improve Critical Thinking Skills in Students? //Computers in the Schools, 19//(1/2), 101-117. DOI:10.1300/J025v19n01_09

Reviewed By: (John Kelly, Paula Schoeff 2)