WebQuests

      Before this assignment, myself, like probably most of the world, had no idea what a WebQuest was.  As it turns out the concept and idea of a WebQuest is a smart and effective one.  It can be used anywhere where there is an internet connection whether it be school, home, public, or private, and they can be really successful indicators of thought.  As I browsed the site that hosts thousands of WebQuests, I stumbled upon some good ones, some bad ones, and some exemplary ones.  

     But what is a WebQuest you may ask.  Well, a WebQuest is simply an online lesson plan that spells out what a student's task is, what is expected of them, resources for them to use online, and a rubric to help self evaluate themselves as it goes along.  The lesson or task at hand needs to be completed by a student or a group of students by following the directions given.  There are tabs on the left hand side of the page that helps the student navigate what the should be doing and what the task comprises of.  I actually think the idea of WebQuests are great tools for extended vacations where you can give the students one assignment to complete.  It allows the student to reflect back on the assignment as often as they like and the goal of the teacher or creator of the WebQuest is to make is as clear as possible.  

     So think of it like this: you are a teacher and you need to give your students and assignment.  You want them to build knowledge,  you want to induce higher ordered thinking, you want them to use online resources to help them gain said knowledge, then a WebQuest is the type of lesson plan for you.  It allows children to work at home on their own and understand the entire task because it is spelled out for them.  With the Evaluation tab at hand, children have no reason to not know what to expect when they are graded on the already given rubric.

    But users beware; there are good ones and bad ones (as is the same with any lesson plan or anything in the world for that matter).  It takes a lot of weeding through the so-so and bad WebQuests online if you do not want to create one yourself.  But many tasks are great for a variety of students and there is no shortage of them by any means. I would definitely use one during my teaching career and experiment once to see if I liked it.