Webquests

Dear Principal,

This summer I have taken a teaching with technology course, and we have learned about many different technology tools that would enhance the learning of our students. One of these is webquests.

Webquests are an organized means by which students research a topic on the internet within a rigid set of boundaries. They lead students through the process of web-based research step-by-step with multiple check points along the way. In doing this, students learn how to effectively and efficiently utilize the internet in a minimum amount of time. A teacher can thus use webquests as a scaffolding device to independent research projects while still providing students with a meaningful task.

More specifically, a webquest begins with a (usually interdisciplinary) hook that engages students with its real-life connections. This hook is followed by a section clearly labeled "the process," and each step gives students specific questions to answer and specific websites they can use, all while still giving them some choice in what they study. The webquest is completed with a final assessment piece of some sort - or the entire webquest itself may be the assessment - that has a very specific rubric. (You can see one example here.)

By being so specific, the webquest is a great tool to use as students first start experiencing and experimenting with technology. This would be of great benefit to many of our students, as many are not prepared to be sent straight into the vast world of Google, Wikipedia, and the like. Additionally, a multi-day webquest can also function as the structure for creating student portfolio pieces, as can be seen in the example linked to above that culminates with an editorial. This would serve to make science content area pieces far more advanced than they were last year, for it provided the structure many students need to lead them to a well researched and nuanced argument about a particular topic.

I hope this post allows you to see the great benefit webquests could be for student performance and achievement, and I urge you to advocate for their use in our classrooms.

Sincerely,
Me