About WebQuests

Definition - A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that students interact with comes from resources on the Internet.

Goal - The goal of a WebQuest is knowledge acquisition and integration.

Critical Attributes - (Bernie Dodge) (WebQuest Page) (WebQuest Building Blocks)

To achieve that efficiency and clarity of purpose, WebQuests should contain the following six parts:

1. An introduction that sets the stage and provides some background information.

2. A task that is doable and interesting.

3. A description of the process the learners should go through in accomplishing the task. The process should be broken out into clearly described steps.

4. A set of resources are needed to complete the task. Many (though not necessarily all) of the resources are embedded in the WebQuest document itself as anchors pointing to information on the World Wide Web.

5. The evaluation section describes the criteria needed to meet performance and content standards. The best assessment tool is a rubric.

6. A conclusion that brings closure to the quest, reminds the learners about what they've learned, and perhaps encourages them to extend the experience into other domains.

Non-critical attributes of a WebQuest include:

1. WebQuests are most likely to be group activities, although one could imagine solo quests that might be applicable in distance education or library settings
.
2. WebQuests might be enhanced by wrapping motivational elements around the basic structure by giving the learners a role to play (e.g., scientist, detective, reporter).

3. WebQuests can be designed within a single discipline or they can be interdisciplinary. Given that designing effective interdisciplinary instruction is more of a challenge than designing for a single content area, WebQuest creators should probably start with the latter until they are comfortable with the format.

Thinking Skills - WebQuests use all levels of Blooms Taxonomy.
In creating a WebQuest students use lower to higher order
thinking skills.
Blooms Taxonomy
Competence
Skills Demonstrated
Knowledge
  • observation and recall of information
    knowledge of dates, events, places
    knowledge of major ideas
    mastery of subject matter
    .
Comprehension
  • understanding information
    grasp meaning
    translate knowledge into new context
    interpret facts, compare, contrast
    order, group, infer causes
    predict consequences
Application
  • use information
    use methods, concepts, theories in new situations
    solve problems using required skills or knowledge
Analysis
  • seeing patterns
    organization of parts
    recognition of hidden meanings
    identification of components
Synthesis
  • use old ideas to create new ones
    generalize from given facts
    relate knowledge from several areas
    predict, draw conclusions
Evaluation
  • compare and discriminate between ideas
    assess value of theories, presentations
    make choices based on reasoned argument
    verify value of evidence
    recognize subjectivity
* Adapted from: Bloom, B.S. (Ed.) (1956) Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals: Handbook I, cognitive domain. New York ; Toronto: Longmans, Green.