Craig A. Cunningham, Ph.D.
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WebQuests
FIRST, three powerpoint presentations, then:
Form groups of 4. Choose from among the following "roles" for each of the 4 members of your group:
The Efficiency Expert: You value time a great deal. You believe that too much time is wasted in today's classrooms on unfocused activity and learners not knowing what they should be doing at a given moment. To you, a good WebQuest is one that delivers the most learning bang for the buck. If it's a short, unambitious activity that teaches a small thing well, then you like it. If it's a longterm activity, it had better deliver a deep understanding of the topic it covers, in your view. |
The Affiliator: To you, the best learning activities are those in which students learn to work together. WebQuests that force collaboration and create a need for discussion and consensus are the best in your view. If a WebQuest could be done by a student working alone, it leaves you cold. |
The Altitudinist: Higher level thinking is everything to you. There's too much emphasis on factual recall in schools today. The only justification for bringing technology into schools is if it opens up the possibility that students will have to analyze information, synthesize multiple perspectives, and take a stance on the merits of something. You also value sites that allow for some creative expression on the part of the learner. |
The Technophile: You love this internet thang. To you, the best WebQuest is one that makes the best use of the technology of the Web. If a WebQuest has attractive colors, animated gifs, and lots of links to interesting sites, you love it. If it makes minimal use of the Web, you'd rather use a worksheet. |
Each group will decide whether to look at K-2, 3-4, middle school, middle and high school, or humanities 7-12 WebQuests. (It should be a group consensus.) Once you've decided, you will work together to complete one of the following WebQuests about WebQuests:
K-2: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquestwebquest-es.html
3-4: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquestwebquest-3-4.html
Middle school: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquestwebquest-ms.html
Middle and high school: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquestwebquest-hs.html
7-12 humanities: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquestwebquest-hum.html
Be prepared to give a 5 minute report to the group about what you found out.
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