Web Quests are a way to present new information and
to engage students in assignments via the Internet. Students are assigned a
role and are encouraged to visit a series of websites, videos, etc as they
accomplish the assignment. An introduction, grading rubric, and much more is
available to guide students through the tasks.
A website that I found to be interesting and
helpful was Quest Garden where
many different Web Quests were shared for other teachers. There is a search
engine so you can look into any topics you wish. One of my favorite books, To Kill A Mockingbird, prompted me to
look to see what other teachers have come up with for a Web Quest.
Upon my search I began to notice both the
advantages and the disadvantages of Web Quests. I loved that you have the
freedom to come up with so much for these. As a teacher, you have the
opportunity to create many of these throughout the year and still reuse them in
later years. Students will be engaged and will love the organization and
structure that is presented. I also enjoyed that teachers are able to share
their Web Quests for everyone to use. I think that is the epitome of teaching,
where we can help each other out in curriculum.
I was a little worried by the risks with Web
Quests. Some colors and backgrounds were irrelevant and some were hard to read.
Spelling errors were an occasional problem and should be fixed because students
will always catch them when we least expect it. Sometimes I felt that the
assignment would have made more sense if it was presented on a single worksheet
to the student. We have all heard the saying, “Keep it simple, stupid (KISS).”
I think that if you do have a very extravagant project for students (especially
in secondary education!) then you can definitely take advantage of a WebQuest,
other times, it may just be easier to use worksheets. Also I noticed that it can be difficult to make
sure that all links work. Sometimes the websites I clicked on were old or
incorrect. So beware! and always double check the links.
Overall, I think if you double check the work, and
make sure that everything flows well, then Web Quests are amazing. They are an
awesome way to engage students to become intrinsically motivated in the topic
and to learn something new while using one of the greatest in-class helpers:
the computer.
For more information concerning WebQuests: http://questgarden.com/
Blog you later,
Ms. Watkins
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