Using WebQuests to Enhance Learning

1. Using WebQueststo Enhance Learning Alice A. Christie, Ph.D. Arizona State University West

2. Overview • Definitions • Durations • Constructivism • Components • Benefits • Examples WebQuests

3. What is a WebQuest? • Term coined by Bernie Dodge of UCSD • An interactive learning experience that: • explores a theme or question • enhances learning through use of: • Internet resources • print resources when appropriate

4. Learning • Maximize student learning by: • organizing the learning process into tangible tasks • providing links to appropriate Internet sites • providing learning advice • providing clear expectations to students

5. Net Resources • Searchable databases • Documents that provide information or elicit analysis of a situation • Microworlds that can be navigated • Interactive stories • Case studies • On-line interview simulations

6. Other Resources • Print materials • Newspapers • Magazines • Brochures • Personal interviews • Opinion surveys

7. Duration • Short-term (1-3 class periods): • acquiring and integrating knowledge • making sense of a large amount of information • Long-term (1-12 weeks): • extending and refining knowledge • transforming information and demonstrating what is learned

8. Constructivism • Engagement in a problem-based process • An interdisciplinary approach requiring: • open-minded and critical thinking • interpreting, analyzing, evaluating and drawing inferences • problem-solving • reflection

9. Constructivism • Active involvement of students in the learning process • Collaboration with others • Structured ways for students: • to guide themselves through discovery of new material • to apply new learning to past experiences • to evaluate Internet information

10. Introduction The Task The Process Resources Evaluation Conclusion Reflection Extension Notes to the Teacher Components of WebQuests

11. Introduction • Purpose: • to explain the WebQuest process • to raise the learner’s interest in the WebQuest • to provide an overview of the content of the WebQuest • to provide background information about the content of the WebQuest

12. The Task • A description of what the learner will accomplish during the WebQuest • Possible tasks should be viable and interesting and may include: • HyperStudio stack or a PowerPoint presentation • a speech or letter to the editor • a skit, poster or brochure • a fair or celebration for sharing

13. The Process • Steps that learners takes to complete the task • Strategies for dividing the task into subtasks • Descriptions of roles to be played or perspectives to be taken by each learner • Learning advice • Interpersonal process advice

14. Resources • Web pages or links that the instructor has located that will help the learner accomplish the task • Pre-selected sites or links that help learners focus attention on the topic rather than searching for sites aimlessly • Useful print resources

15. Evaluation • Rubrics rather than multiple choice tests for learner evaluation • Process • Product • Evaluation of both lower order and higher order thinking skills

16. Conclusion • Brings closure to the WebQuest • Reminds learners of their discoveries • Encourages learners to apply their WebQuest experiences to other situations • Helps learners summarize and reflect on their WebQuest experiences

17. Reflection • Encourages learners to reflect about: • which resources were most helpful • the validity and relevance of the resources used • content (new understandings) • process (collaboration, roles, how learning occurred)

18. Extension • Opportunities to extend learning beyond the WebQuest both in and outside the classroom • Opportunities for students to create their own WebQuests to share with their peers

19. Notes to the Teacher • Goals and objectives of the WebQuest • Linkage to state and national standards • Hints on managing the WebQuest • Extensive resources for the teacher in planning and implementing the WebQuest • Other appropriate on- and off-line materials

20. Benefits of WebQuests • Interdisciplinary Learning • Higher Order Thinking Skills • Social Skills • Collaborative Learning • Diverse Thinking • Reflection

21. Interdisciplinary Learning • Students make essential connections between and across content • Connections help students relate learning to real-life experiences • Students have deeper understanding and more meaningful learning with: • rich content • authentic problem-solving

22. Thinking Skills • Students • Decide what to believe about an issue • Evaluate the beliefs of others • Interpret the significance of collected information • Synthesize information to generate hypotheses, form conclusions, and complete specific tasks • Identify the similarities and differences among Internet resources

23. Evaluation Skills: CARS • Students evaluate: • Credibility of the information, author, or host • Accuracy of information, including timeliness and completeness • Reasonableness of the information - freedom from bias, balance, and objectivity • Support for the site - availability of confirming information, sources, and contact information

24. Social Skills • Students develop social skills including: • listening, cooperating, and affirming others • giving and taking constructive criticism • accepting differing view points • expressing opinions effectively • using language that will appeal to specific audiences

25. Collaborative Learning • Students: • use a collaborative process of discovery to facilitate learning • take ownership of their learning • Collaborative learning fosters: • a communal learning environment • constant comprehension checks • opportunities for exchanging ideas

26. Diversity • Students are: • exposed to multiple ways of viewing ideas or content • encouraged to develop open-minded thinking • able to understand and respect diversity and people from cultures different than their own

27. Careful, Deliberate Reflection • Students: • make sense of what they experience and how to proceed • evaluate their own thinking and problem-solving processes • A shift of emphasis: • from the product - or answers to specific questions • to the process of constructing knowledge

28. Examples of WebQuests • Alice Christie’s WebQuest Page • Alice Christie’s WebQuest Matrix • Bernie Dodge’s WebQuest Page • Bernie Dodge’s Matrix • Examples of Evaluation Rubrics

29. Enjoy Using WebQuests Alice A. Christie, Ph.D. alice.christie@asu.edu http://www.west.asu.edu/achristie/