Dodge, B. (2007). Useful WebQuest resources. Retireved August 1, 2008
from WebQuest.org web site: http://webquest.org/index-resources.php
Search for WebQuests
Dodge, B. (2007). Search for WebQuests. Retireved August 1, 2008
from WebQuest.org web site: http://www.webquest.org/search/index.php
Johnson, L., & Lamb, A. (2007). Locate and evaluate webquests Retrieved July 26, 2008,
from Teacher Tap: Professional Development for Educators & Librarians web site:
http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic4.htm
Creating WebQuests
Technologically, creating a WebQuest can be very simple. As long as you can create a document with hyperlinks, you can create a WebQuest. That means that a WebQuest can be created in Word, PowerPoint, and even Excel! If you're going to call it a WebQuest, though, be sure that it has all the critical attributes.
A real WebQuest....
is wrapped around a doable and interesting task that is ideally a scaled down version of things that adults do as citizens or workers.
requires higher level thinking, not simply summarizing. This includes synthesis, analysis, problem-solving, creativity and judgment.
makes good use of the web. A WebQuest that isn't based on real resources from the web is probably just a traditional lesson in disguise. (Of course, books and other media can be used within a WebQuest, but if the web isn't at the heart of the lesson, it's not a WebQuest.)
isn't a research report or a step-by-step science or math procedure. Having learners simply distilling web sites and making a presentation about them isn't enough.
isn't just a series of web-based experiences. Having learners go look at this page, then go play this game, then go here and turn your name into hieroglyphs doesn't require higher level thinking skills and so, by definition, isn't a WebQuest.
To make it easier to create great WebQuests without having to master a web editor, QuestGarden was created by Bernie Dodge. QuestGarden provides step-by-step direction and examples. Supporting documents in Inspiration, Word, PowerPoint, etc can be attached to your WebQuest. Hosting is provided, and you can also download a zipped archive of your lesson and move it to another server. Subscribers can also start with an existing WebQuest created by one of QuestGarden's 52,000 members and modify it easily to meet their needs. Enter the site here. Cost: $20 for 2 year subscription. 30-day free trial.
Sample WebQuests created with QuestGarden:
Filamentality is a fill-in-the-blank tool that guides you through picking a topic, searching the Internet, gathering good Internet links, and turning them into online learning activities. Support is built-in along the way through Mentality Tips. In the end, you'll create a web-based activity you can share with others even if you don't know anything about HTML or serving web pages. Cost: Free. Sample Product: Eyes on Art
zWebquest is a web-based software for creating WebQuests in a short time. When you use zWebquest, you will not need any of writing HTML code or using any web editor software. zWebquest creates all the necessary files and puts them on the server automatically. Hosting is FREE! Take a look at their WebQuest Matrix
WebQuest Templates
The old-school way of creating a WebQuest is to download a template that includes prompts for each section, open it up in a web editor, write your heart out, save it and then upload it to a server somewhere. Lots of effort on purely tech-y things required, and that effort often displaces the time needed to create good pedagogy. Still, if you already know how to use Dreamweaver or Nvu, templates are the way to go. Here are some sources:
You might find some very old (1997-ish) templates out there (like this) that have separate sections for Resources and Learning Advice. My advice: don't use these. A decade of experience has shown us that those things are much better sprinkled within the Process section.
Once you have a template you like, just follow the steps in the WebQuest Design Process.
Adapted from:
Dodge, B. (2007). Creating WebQuests. Retireved August 1, 2008
from WebQuest.org web site: http://www.webquest.org/index-create.php
The 7 Red Flags:
Warning Signs when Sifting WebQuests
by Tom March
At BestWebQuests.com we use an assessment matrix and star system to rate WebQuests included in the database. However, we also learn a lot about great WebQuests by seeing how some very promising learning activities fall just short of this mark. As the first Tip for members, I thought it would be helpful to provide a series of questions that can be applied to any Web-based activity to see if in fact it is a great WebQuest.
These are NOT WebQuests
Step & Fetch it
Is there a Right Answer?
Is this a traditional lesson plan dressed up as a Web page? If the question / task involves the retrieval of a defined, known body of knowledge, this is not a WebQuest. WebQuests are use in ill-structured domains, places with lots of gray and little "black and white." The idea is for students to argue an opinion, not mumble back someone else's thinking. A BestWebQuest: Take Me on Vacation!
Anything Goes
Could it be done without instruction?
Sometimes an online activity will challenge students to do something creative or to solve a problem. This is positive! The downfall to the "Anything Goes" approach, is that to complete the task, students don't have to draw from any of the previous instruction. The fix to this near WebQuest is to ask students to apply a set of criteria to their creation. Rather than write any play or poem, or problem-solve any solution, invoke criteria that require students to integrate the new learning into their product. A BestWebQuest: Influencing Your Photographic Eye
Tag Team PowerPoint
Do the roles stay separate?
This is a common mistake that almost everyone has fallen into at some point. Students work together as teams and each member contributes, but their work stays in isolation from each other. Each member knows what he or she knows, but there's no group process that forces a synthesis of this wealth of knowledge. The classic example is where each team member is responsible for one slide in a presentation, one card in a stack, or one quadrant in a newsletter. It's not hard to take it that one extra step and have a true WebQuest out of all this time, effort and learning. And it's a shame not to. A BestWebQuest: Quest for Peace: An Internet WebQuest on Kashmir Peace Proposal Consensus
This is a WebQuest, but it could be GREAT!
Ho-Hum
Are there Ah-Ha's & Assimilation?
Whereas a Tunnel Vision approach doesn't access the wealth of the Web's contexts and juxtapositions, a Ho-Hum WebQuest may expose students to interesting contrasts and comparisons during the roles phase, but the final group process doesn't produce anything from this rich mixture and cognitive dissonance. When students struggle to assimilate new information and perspectives, they are creating new schema, achieving the cognitive ah-ha's that are the heart of transformative learning. By applying a new model, set of constraints, or varying the scenario, learners have the map of a conceptual pattern to help shape the development of new schema. A BestWebQuest: A Separate Peace: A Teenager Experiences World War II
APA citation: Russell, R. (2016, July 04, 04:54 pm). Resources. Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.rupert.id.au/tutorials/webquest/resources/index.php
To make it easier to create great WebQuests without having to master a web editor, QuestGarden was created by Bernie Dodge. QuestGarden provides step-by-step direction and examples. Supporting documents in Inspiration, Word, PowerPoint, etc can be attached to your WebQuest. Hosting is provided, and you can also download a zipped archive of your lesson and move it to another server. Subscribers can also start with an existing WebQuest created by one of QuestGarden's 52,000 members and modify it easily to meet their needs. Enter the site here. Cost: $20 for 2 year subscription. 30-day free trial. 
The old-school way of creating a WebQuest is to download a template that includes prompts for each section, open it up in a web editor, write your heart out, save it and then upload it to a server somewhere. Lots of effort on purely tech-y things required, and that effort often displaces the time needed to create good pedagogy. Still, if you already know how to use 
