She invited me to come to her EDU555 class, a required tech course for the MAEd at Union University, and share with her students —Webquest. She had had some very positive experiences with Webquests as a grad student and as a classroom teacher, and she thought Webquest would be a good tech-fit for the students. For me, I was a little distraught, having had very little Webquest experience. However, that was the plan and it needed to unfold!
Research started --
One of the first things I read was, “ WebQuests are among the most fascinating applications on the Internet for K-12 educators. Student centered and inquiry based, a WebQuest challenges students to explore the web for information and it is an excellent way to integrate the Internet into the classroom.” (http://www.techtrekers.com/webquests)
I was hooked! Hang on, it just got better!
In 1995, Bernie Dodge with Tom March developed the WebQuest model to help learners focus on using online information rather than looking for it. By the earliest definition a WebQuest is "an inquiry-oriented activity in which most of the information learners work with comes from the web. WebQuests are developed by teachers and are used by students to structure the process of the inquiry-oriented activity defined by the teacher.
Students follow the five components — Introduction, Task, Process, Evaluation, Conclusion, and Credit and References. Teacher is added for additional information.
What a fun time! Teachers were fired up! Creativity scurried throughout the air, and questions and answers bounced back and forth! Tennessee Curriculum Standards/Science and Social Studies were falling into the Webquest ideas like hot flies, as those teachers began to make plans for their very first Webquest! Watch out students — these teachers are on a quest and your are going to be webbing it! No holding back, now! Yahoo!
I am always amazed when things like this unfold for me and I grow even more, professionally! Just love it!
BTW: They created a Weebly Website and will call it home, for the Webquest.