WebQuests

Sometimes, teachers have interesting lessons for their students, but just need that extra motivation to really get the students interested and capture their attentions.  WebQuests can be an excellent tool in the classroom as they are most certainly fun for students and encourage student engagement.  Of course, not every classroom topic can be appropriate for the format of a WebQuest.  To discover more about this use of technology in the classroom, there are many WebQuests available online for which teachers can search to get ideas, or even to use these WebQuests in their own classrooms.  A couple of these include http://technological-teaching-aids.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_plan_a_webquest and http://www.webquestdirect.com.au/whatis_use.asp.

In addition to the benefits a WebQuest has for both teachers and students, this form of learning also meets several standards.  Many of the National Educational Technology Standards for both teachers and students are achieved.  Depending on the activities involved in the WebQuest, even more may be met and Common Core Standards as well as other state and national standards can also be attained.  Even standards regarding research can be accomplished with the use of WebQuests.  This is an excellent technique for incorporating technology in the classroom.

Before creating my first WebQuest, I was a bit anxious since I did not know what to expect.  From the WebQuests I had reviewed online, it looked like a very difficult process.  Using the Quest Garden website, though, I was quite relieved since this site took me through each step of creating a WebQuest and finally, put everything in its place for me.  I would highly recommend this site to teachers or anyone else who is interested in developing their own WebQuest.

Obviously, there were still some slight difficulties in constructing my WebQuest.  I had to familiarize myself with the website and the features involved in the development of a WebQuest.  Unfortunately, I had entered most of my information (and saved it) just to later find out that it had all disappeared.  That was rather disappointing, but certainly fixable.  In addition, I found it complicating to insert images and place them exactly where I wanted the images among the text.  I was eventually able to assemble it all successfully, though.  My WebQuest focuses on poetry including learning about and how to write haikus, limericks, cinquains, and free verse poems.  It targets fourth and/or fifth grade English/Language Arts students.  This WebQuest can be found at http://questgarden.com/127/77/1/110611190508/.

I would absolutely recommend the use of WebQuests in any classroom, whether that WebQuest be constructed by the teacher or taken from an already existing WebQuest online.  These can be very valuable learning tools for all students as they promote motivation, interest, and engagement while also meeting many standards.  With all of the requirements which mandate the use of technology, why not use the most effective technological tools available with students in the classroom?

Image from http://myeslcorner.blogspot.com/2008/11/webquests.html