screen capture of webquest

WebQuests

An inquiry-oriented activity in which most or all of the information used by learners is drawn from the web

Samples

Digital Camera Selection

Learners research and recommend a digital still camera for use by a company's photographers.

Source Andrew Goreff
URL http://fp.ainet.com/edit4710/
Use Multimedia/Photography learners
Delivery WebQuests are relatively simple to construct. The main difficulty lies in managing the group process as learners work through the tasks and process.
Customisation This website cannot be customised.
Availability This webquest is available from the above URL

Climate change: Swamped or saved

Learners research how to assist Pacific Islanders manage the impact of climate change

Source AusAid
URL http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/
Use Lower secondary learners
Delivery WebQuests are relatively simple to construct. The main difficulty lies in managing the group process as learners work through the tasks and process.
Customisation This website cannot be customised.
Availability This webquest is available from the above URL

Lorikeet Lodge

Learners research and assess the viability of a tourist operation

Source Developed by a Jan Clewett – a learner - as part of her webquest was developed as an assessment item for FET5621 Introduction to Web Production Included here is a rationale and learning design for the webquest, which includes the development of a learner portfolio of evidence.
URL http://studentweb.usq.edu.au/home/D7481153/lorikeetlodge/html/teachers.html
Use Information Technology - ICA 20105, Business Services BSB20101
Delivery WebQuests are relatively simple to construct. The main difficulty lies in managing the group process as learners work through the tasks and process.
Customisation This website cannot be customised.
Availability This webquest is available from the above URL

The Great Job Hunt

This WebQuest is designed to familiarize learners with some of the online resources that can you help them in the quest to find jobs.

Source Website for students seeking jobs, developed by Marco Lizarra, David Bayne and Bruce Moon
URL http://imet.csus.edu/imet5/marco/webquest2/html/index.html
Use adult learners seeking jobs
Delivery WebQuests are relatively simple to construct. The main difficulty lies in managing the group process as learners work through the tasks and process. Needs a webserver to host the web pages or web pages can be uploaded into a Learning Management System such as WebCT or Blackboard.
Customisation This website cannot be customised.
Availability  

Career Webquest

This webquest is designed senior secondary students exploring career and skill options.

Source Career Webquest
URL http://www.sfx.act.edu.au/Careers/
Use Students in Years 10 - 12 investigating careers and their own career path. In teams of four, students are given various client profiles. Students have to advise the company, which are the appropriate careers for these students, should undertake.
Delivery From above URL. Developed by Webquest Direct - http://www.webquestdirect.com.au/
Customisation This website cannot be customised.
Availability NA
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Why include WebQuests?

WebQuests are designed to make effective use of learners' time by focussing on using information rather than looking for it, and by support learners' to analyse, synthesise and evaluate information.

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Integrating WebQuests

Design steps

  1. Prepare an introduction. A clear, concise introduction that provides necessary information and sets up the activity.
  2. Central to the development of effective WebQuests is the development of a series of tasks that can be either completed by individual learners or in groups. The design of these tasks is really only limited by the imagination of the trainer/designer. The following link lists a taxonomy of different types of tasks which can be included: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/taskonomy.html
  3. Describe the process to complete the task.
  4. Provide a collection of information resources needed, listed on either a handout, webpage, LMS, wiki or blog for your learners.
  5. Provide information to the learners on how the information acquired should be organises or published
  6. Describe to the learners how their performance will be assessed.
  7. Summarize what the learners will have accomplished or learned by completing this activity or lesson.

Visit this plan for further ideas

Assessment

One way of managing the assessment process is to develop a rubric. The advantages of using rubrics in assessment are that they:

  • allow assessment to be more objective and consistent
  • focus the trainer on the performance criteria
  • outline to the learners in advance how their work will be evaluated and what is expected
  • promote learner awareness of the criteria which aids them in assessing peer performance
  • provide benchmarks against which to measure and document progress.

Rubrics can be created in a variety of forms and levels of complexity, but they tend to have some common features which:

  • focus on measuring a stated criteria and performance outcome
  • use a range to rate performance
  • contain specific performance characteristics arranged in levels indicating the degree to which a standard has been met.

A useful site on using rubrics for assessment of WebQuests
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/rubrics/weblessons.htm . Check out their webquest rubric here.

Technical notes

You will need to be able to access technology or a software platform on which your learners can upload and view their WebQuest. This may involve:

  • developing your web pages in application such as Frontpage or Dreamweaver. You will find some useful WebQuest templates at the following site: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/LessonTemplate.html
  • publishing your WebQuest to a subject delivery system such as Moodle, Blackboard or Janison. This option has the benefit of a suite of tools which may be used within during the WebQuest. Discussion boards, chat tools and assessment tools may add to the collaborative environment of the WebQuest.
  • a dedicated website where you can publish your web pages.
  • Preparing your webquest in a word processing document and emailing it to your learners
  • Using a blog or wiki to publish your webquest and collect feedback from learners.
  • Using audio and video to describe the task and to provide resources using podcasting

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See also

Tools and resources

Social bookmark for this strategy

http://del.icio.us/designelearn/webquests

Last modified: 15/9/08