WebQuests (ICT Integration)
Building blocks of a WebQuest
Introduction
The purpose of this section is to both prepare and hook the reader. The student is the intended audience.
This should be an attention grabber and make the learners interested in doing the WebQuest. You are writing to the learners. Write a short paragraph here to introduce the activity to the learners. If there is a role or scenario involved (e.g., "You are a town councillor who is protesting the lack of a police station.") then here is where you'll set the stage. If there's no motivational intro like that, use this section to provide a short overview. Remember that the purpose of this section is to both prepare and hook the reader. It is also in this section that you'll communicate the critical question that the whole WebQuest is centered around.
Examples
It is 1830 in Wahoo, Kentucky. You and your family have been called to a town meetin' by Mr. Imin Charge, the mayor of Wahoo.
The mayor is concerned because he has heard talk from the citizens of Wahoo, about leaving this fine town and headin' west.
He has informed everyone that they will have a formal meetin' in one weeks time. At that time, all townfolk must come prepared to share their decision of whether they will stay or go. Westward Ho! Will you go?
Hey, kids! Let's go to the beach!
Wait a second... there's a sign that reads, "Danger, Beach Closed. Enter at your own risk."
Can you figure out why the ocean's in trouble?
You're tired of being cold, wet and scared, but it's been worth it. Those years of hiding in the mountains, not seeing your family, have finally paid off. You, and a small group of dedicated revolutionaries, have managed to overthrow the dictator who ruled your country for the last 10 years. Your dream is to establish a democracy, in which the citizens make the laws and aren't afraid of their government. But where do you start? There are so many things to think about...
After a late-night meeting in the now-deserted Presidential Palace, you and your advisors decide to observe some democratic countries to see how they have organized their governments. You'll report back to your country what you learn about successful democracies, so that you and your team can create the best government possible.
Bothered by curfew? Can't find a place to skateboard?
Frustrated with censorship?
Who's controlling your life?
Know your rights! Get involved! Decisions are made by adults every day that affect your life and your future. Today you have been given the opportunity to take an active role in changing your world. Rock the vote!
The National Youth Commission has been established to solicit the viewpoints of today's young people. The commission in conjunction with MTV has formed a partnership to produce a series of television ads directed to young people. The theme of the broadcasts will be "Meeting Today's Needs With Yesterday's Words." The purpose is to let young adults know that America's Bill of Rights affects their lives everyday. You have been selected by the commission to participate in the creation of MTV's first ads in the series.
Task
Describe clearly and briefly what the end result of the learners' activities will be. The task could be (amongst others) a:
- problem or mystery to be solved;
- position to be formulated and defended;
- product to be designed (e.g. a Powerpoint presentation or a web site or a newsletter);
- personal insight to be communicated;
- summary to be created;
- persuasive message or journalistic account to be crafted;
- a creative work, or
- anything that requires the learners to process and transform the information they've gathered.
Don't list the steps that students will go through to get to the end point. That belongs in the Process section.
Examples
You will have two tasks to complete:
Imagine yourself as an insect. Your habitat is about to be destroyed by humans. If you could communicate with humans,
- what would you write in a letter and
- how would you design a poster
to convince an exterminator that you should live?
The City Council is trying to make a fair decision on the Children's Pool issue.
They need to be informed on all sides of the debate.
You will participate in a DEBATE as a representative of your special interest group.
There are other groups of people who also have interests in the issue and will not share your views.
The City Council will use the information and opinions you present to make a decision.
Therefore, the quality of your contribution in the debate will influence their decisions. Make a good case in PERSUADING the City Council towards your position.
There is no right or wrong answer to this very difficult issue. The class will use this debate to explore the different perspectives in order to help make sense of environment and human interactions.
For this webquest you will develop a persuasive argument with the intent of convincing your classmates when the new millennium will start (January 1, 2000 or January 1, 2001). Your argument must be presented in one of the following forms:
- Poster highlighting your position for 2000 or 2001
- 1 Minute Public Service "Commercial" Video
- Verbal presentation in the form of a defense (2000) or district attorney (2001) summation
- Newspaper editorial (not an article, you must state and defend your position)
The SNAPSHOT IN TIME COMMITTEE has been established by the American Historical Foundation to select pictures and documents to best represent the culture of today's youth.
As select members of this distinguished committee, you and your peers must search, evaluate and identify the selections to be included in the foundation's electronic time capsule. You will defend your choices in an explanatory essay.and present the final selections to the American Historical Foundation.
Process
This is the scaffold for the students. It explains what steps the learners should go through. Use the numbered list format in your web editor to automatically number the steps in the procedure. Describing this section well will also help other teachers to see how your lesson flows and how they might adapt it for their own use, so the more detail and care you put into this, the better. Remember that this whole document is addressed to the student, however, so describe the steps using the second person.
Most WebQuests involve role playing (see examples). You will introduce the roles here and give detail for each role. You could have different process instructions for each role in addition to the general process instructions.
Learners will access the online resources that you've identifed as they go through the Process. You may have a set of links that everyone looks at as a way of developing background information, or not. If you break learners into groups, include the links that each group will look at within the description of that stage of the process.
In the Process block, you might also provide some guidance on how to organize the information gathered. This advice could be suggestions to use flowcharts, summary tables, concept maps, or other organizing structures. The advice could also take the form of a checklist of questions to analyze the information with, or things to notice or think about.
Resources
You could list the resources separately before or after the Process, but it is preferable to integrate the resources with the process instructions. You will notice how this is dealt with in different examples.
Resources do not all have to be web resources.
Examples
Step 1: Read The Mitten by Jan Brett with your class.
Step 2: Learn about Jan Brett, the author and illustrator of The Mitten.
Step 3: Learn about the winter setting of the story.
Step 4: Learn about the animal characters in the story.
Step 5: Choose a job to help create the play and work with your team to complete your job.
Step 6: Put on a performance of the play for your classmates and families.
These steps will help you to learn about teeth, so that you and a partner can make a poster that will help Arthur to understand his teeth better.
- Step 1. Start thinking about teeth by reading adventure stories and playing games.
- Step 2. Now that you've been thinking about teeth, what do you know?
- Step 3. What questions do you want to learn more about? Look through the sites that answer your questions with your partner (and a tutor).
- Step 4. Listen to, read, or look at the teeth books you have in your library (and try to answer your question) with your partner.
- Step 5. Ask dentists the question that you and your partner want to learn more about.
- Step 6. What information did you learn about teeth that will help Arthur understand his teeth better?
- Step 7. Use the cluster map from Step 2 and the paper you used to write down what you learned about your questions to help you and your partner create a poster that will help Arthur understand his teeth.
Step 1: Choose an insect.
- Form a group of 4.
- Each of you will research a different insect. To help you choose, click on each insect below.
ant, cockroach, bee or termite - Which one do you want to become? You will research only this insect.
Step 2: Research your insect.
Find out
- Where it lives (habitat)
- What it eats
- How long it lives (lifespan)
- How it is helpful or necessary to the environment
- How it is harmful
Step 3: Have a group discussion.
Answer these questions. Make sure you explain why you feel the way you do.
- Do you like your insect?
- Are insects needed by humans and the environment?
- Do you think the insect that you researched should be killed?
Step 4: Write a letter to Terminix.
Defend yourself and your insect friends! Write a letter to the Terminix Man to explain how you are helpful to the environment and why you and certain other insects should not be exterminated. [Note: This is an individual assignment.]
Step 5: Design a group poster.
On the poster you will be sending to the Terminix man, you will need to include your letter, habitat, and a picture of your insect.
Assessment
List the relevant assessment standards. Describe to the learners how their performance will be assessed. Specify whether there will be a common grade for group work vs. individual grades. You should include assessment of the process (e.g. group work, evidence of thinking etc) as well as the final outcome (e.g. content of the final report, presentation skills etc).
| Exemplary 4 | Accomplished 3 | Developing 2 | Beginning 1 | Score | |
| Performance Criteria | Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting the highest level of performance. | Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting mastery of performance. | Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting development and movement toward mastery of performance. | Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting a beginning level of performance. |
Examples
How well did you learn?
- Did you follow directions?
- Did you cooperate with your partner?
- Did you use your resources?
- Did you complete your poem?
- Did you present your poem to the class?
Rebus Poem
Your poem should have included the following information:
- the name of the country you are representing
- a map picture
- the name of the language spoken in your country
- a picture of your countries flag
- a picture of the kind of money used in your country
- pictures of three landmarks
- pictures of three modes of transportation used in your country
- two pictures of the geography of your country
Participation
- Did you follow all directions given? (5 pts.)
- Did you complete all activities on time? (5 pts.)
- Were you self-motivated? (5 pts.)
- Did you work cooperatively? (5 pts.)
- Were you a good listener?(5 pts.)
Brainstorm and Notes
- Did you add at least 10 ideas to your brainstorm before you started the Webquest? (10 pts.)
- Did you visit every site on the Resources page? (5 pts.)
- Did you find at least 3 pieces of information from every site? (15 pts.)
Concept Map
- Does your concept map show at least 15 relationships between humans, animals, and the ocean? (10 pts.)
- Does your concept map show what you learned? (5 pts.)
- Is your concept map organized so it looks good and is easy to understand? (5 pts.)
- Can you explain your concept map to someone who has never used one before? (5 pts.)
Poster
- Did you choose an important fact or helpful tip to illustrate? (5 pts.)
- Is your poster neat and colorful? (10 pts.)
- Did you make sure that everything is spelled correctly? (5 pts.)
Conclusion
Write a couple of sentences here that summarize what the learner will have accomplished or learned by completing this activity or lesson. You might also include some rhetorical questions or additional links to encourage them to extend their thinking into other content beyond this lesson.
Examples
They came first for the Communists...but I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews...but I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the Unionists...but I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Unionist.
Then they came for the Catholic...but I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Catholic.
Then they came for me...and by that time...there was no-one left to speak up for me.
Rev. Martin Niemoller, commenting on events in Germany 1933-1939
They say that unless one learns from one's mistakes, history repeats itself. Genocide is a real threat to ethnic groups in our world. We, as a caring society, need to fight against the complacency of people who choose to ignore this horrifying cleansing act.
By completing this challenging webquest you have gained a tremendous amount of information that most people either do not know, or chose to forget. Be assured that genocide does go on, even now, in many places in the world. You as a citizen of the world need to be constantly aware of injustices that are going on, not just in foreign countries, but in your own back yard.
Elie Wiesel said that "indifference can be tempting...It is so much easier to look away from victims. It is so much easier to avoid such rude interruptions to our work, our dreams, our hopes. It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person's pain and despair."
May indifference will never be tempting to you.
Congratulations! You have successfully completed your first training mission as a colonist on the International Space Station.
In this training you learned about the advances in technology of space construction and transportation. You learned about what it takes to live and work in space while performing research on the Internet. You also learned to effectively present your research using graphic organizers and desktop presentation software.
We appreciate your effort . If you think of any topics for research regarding the International Space Station that we might use for future colonists, please let us know.
In closing, we would like you to consider this quote:
Where are the secrets to the universe kept?
The answers do not lie in technology.
Technology is but a stepping stone to the next question.
We are fueled by a restless imagination; an endless sense of wonder that has brought our world closer together and led us ever deeper into space.
What we've discovered along the way is that all the secrets to the universe are contained in the boundless reaches of the human mind.
Popular Science, May 1998
