QuestGarden: Teacher Education Classic Award Winner

1. QuestGarden:Teacher Education Classic Award Winner Bernie Dodge, PhD San Diego State University

2. Outline • Definitions • What problem does QuestGarden solve? • Demonstration • Future plans • Q & A

3. What is QuestGarden? • QuestGarden is an online authoring tool and hosting service for the creation of WebQuests. • It’s a learning object that creates learning objects

4. OK, What’s a WebQuest? • A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which the information that learners use comes mostly from the web. • A WebQuest is wrapped around a doable, interesting (ideally authentic) task that requires higher level thinking.

5. What ISN’T a WebQuest? • Online scavenger hunts • Research reports • Procedural activities like labs, calculations • Awareness activities that just involve looking at a set of web sites

6. They’re Out There! 3,200,000!

7. Some Examples

23. Why is this so hard to do?

24. I can’t seem to locate the saved WebQuests that I’ve started…Everytime I try to import an image, the whole program just locks. The Problem

25. The Problem …then when I was finished, I was scared to death to “publish” it because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to fix the mistakes I had not seen.

26. The Problem …I’d like to develop another WebQuest but I don’t know if I’d have the patience or time to be be able to create one during the school year.

27. The Problem …the typical uploading doesn’t seem to be working for me, I will be saving my files to disk and and uploading it from school.

28. Survey of WebQuest Authors • Solicited from the WebQuest list, classes & organizations that use WebQuests • N = 110

29. Hours Spent

30. What Was Hard / Tedious? • Finding good web sites • Mechanics of making the pages • Creating navigation buttons • Making it pretty • Process steps • Scaffolding • Aligning the evaluation with task, standards

31. What Was Hard / Tedious • Uploading from home • Not losing pieces • Higher-order thinking

32. WebQuest Creation Technical Knowledge

33. WebQuest Creation Technical Knowledge Pedagogical Knowledge

34. WebQuest Creation Technical Knowledge Pedagogical Knowledge Web Editing FTP Aesthetics Searching

35. WebQuest Creation Technical Knowledge Pedagogical Knowledge Web Editing FTP Constructivism Scaffolding Aesthetics Higher Level Thinking Searching Cooperative Learning

36. Solution: QuestGarden

39. Early Development • Debut at TCEA 2005 • Tested in workshops throughout the Spring and Summer • Announced at NECC, July, 2005 • Opened to anyone September 1, 2005.

40. QuestGarden: Present • Over 54,000 users in 120 countries • Over 22,000 WebQuests created

42. Demonstration

43. Features of QuestGarden • Step-by-step prompted guidance on creating a WebQuest • Browser-based… no software needed • Emphasis on sharing resources and advice • Ability for WebQuest workshop leaders to monitor progress

44. Features of QuestGarden • WYSIWYG text formatting • Ability to upload pictures and supplementary files • Based on design patterns

45. QuestGarden: Future • Free until September 1, 2007 • $20 for a 2 year subscription after that • 30 day free trial, so you can use in your own courses without cost

46. Features Coming Soon Will be translated into Mandarin, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish and Catalan (so far) • Peer Ratings and Feedback • Scaffolding extras built in • Integrated Quiz/Drill/Game

47. Q & A ? ? ?

50. QuestGarden:Teacher Education Classic Award Winner Bernie Dodge, PhD San Diego State University