Musings on the Online WebQuest article:
The article asserts the purpose of a WebQuest is to bring alive the content for the student, facilitate the reading experience, help children meet standards and address essential questions. I agree through problem solving, information processing and collaboration, the students should grow in knowledge, and more importantly, develop metacognitively by engaging in activities which promote skills ‘good readers do’, (for example, identify unknown vocabulary). Students should also be provided with opportunities to transfer newly acquired knowledge to new applications. The webquest links I browsed today offered such learning. I noticed the Winn Dixie Quest used materials and ideas for lessons I employ in my classroom now, but as hard copies and not necessarily as sequenced, linked tasks. I believe using the delivery system of the Quest enhances the lessons for the children in a number of ways. For example, the students are aware from the beginning there are a series of tasks to complete in a certain order, allowing them to see the big picture, including a rubric outlining expectations. These tasks invite the students to read and respond by accessing the Quest via a computer, (computer use being an incentive for most children in and of itself!) Visiting the Quest, the students find directions for the tasks, the tasks themselves in a template-like format, space for response writing, and invitations through hyperlinks to engage in extension activities, (in this Quest identified as Just for Kicks.) The Quest successfully promotes the exploration of the book, author and genre, through both collaboration on tasks and practice of independent learning skills. I was also impressed with the quality of text support materials included, (such as a Story Frame, Story Pyramid, author website link, etc.) While I believe the tasks included were meaningful and supported reader comprehension, the connection to the literature in some of the Just for Kicks links were a little bit of a stretch. However, having said that, I believe the author intended these links for extension and not as essential tasks. One example is a visit to the Weather Channel site to look up your local weather. The author included this link by referencing a thunderstorm in the book . . . a little loose, huh? Also included is a link to the Kennel Club site to browse information on dogs, and as most of you know, Winn Dixie is a dog. While I found these sites had little direct connection to the text, I recognize their inclusion as a means of igniting interest in the project, as an incentive to work through the tasks, and of internet use learning for the students, which they make apply in various applications in the future. Thus, the included links promote independent exploration and give students a taste of what the internet offers for researching, by providing the students with safe links, only a keystroke away.
Have you used webquests in your classroom? I have used a Native American quest, which was created by a teammate of mine. When I tried it, we had limited computers for our use, which made it challenging. I now have better access to computers, (more in my classroom and a new computer lab in the library), and am eager to try it again in the fall with my students. Please share any experiences you have had with webquests, especially, pitfalls, challenges and successes!