White+Paper+on+WebQuests

Developed by TESOL Technology Advisory Committee (TAC)
 * White Paper on Technology**

Where to build them and store them: Filamentality: http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/ (Very basic) QuestGarden: http://questgarden.com/ (More complete) “ A WebQuest is an [|inquiry-oriented] online tool for learning, says workshop expert Bernie Dodge. This means it is a classroom-based lesson in which most or all of the information that students explore and evaluate comes from the World Wide Web. Beyond that, WebQuests: WebQuests are ideal activities to incorporate the Internet into classes. They icrease student motivation since they often deal with real-life issues and timely resources. They are also cooperative activities which give students realistic practice time using the language as they develop their Quests. Most importantly, WebQuests are designed to help develop higher-level thinking and critical thinking skills. Blue Web’n: http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn Best WebQuests: [|http://bestwebquests.com] The WebQuest Page: [|http://webquest.sdsu.edu] And some examples for ESL classes: And if the Aztecs had prevailed (advanced): http://webquest.org/questgarden/lessons/00756-051123141656 Saving the gorillas (intermediate): http://webquest.org/questgarden/lessons/00756-051117133742 That’s a possibility: UFO’s (intermediate/advanced): http://webquest.org/questgarden/lessons/00756-060104130034 Your vacation in New York (beginners): http://webquest.org/questgarden/lessons/00756-060112142713 , Building Blocks of WebQuests. Educational Technology Department, San Diego City Schools. http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/buildingblocks/p-index.htm // The different stages of a WebQuest with examples. // Dodge, B. J. The WebQuest Design Process http://webquest.sdsu.edu/designsteps/index.html // A how-to page with links to useful articles // , Concept to Classroom: Webquests. Educational Broadcasting Company, 2004, http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/webquests/index.html // WebQuests, step-by-step // [6] Dodge, B. J. WebQuest Taskonomy: A Taxonomy of Tasks. 2002. http://webquest.sdsu.edu/taskonomy.html // Types of WebQuests // The best way to get started is to go to QuestGarden (http://questgarden.com/ ). You have to sign in. You are given a free 30-day trial. A two-year subscription is $ 50 US. If you want a free site, go to Filamentality: ([|http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/).] QuestGarden guides you through the process of writing a WebQuest as you do it. It even helps you come up with an idea. It’s easy to use and your product is saved on the site so all you have to do is give the students the link. You can also download your Quest as a zip file. 1. Log on to [|Quest Garden] 2. Click on **Create a New WebQuest**
 * Topic:** WebQuests
 * URL or URLs:**
 * Purpose of White Paper: **
 * can be as short as a single class period or as long as a month-long unit;
 * usually (though not always) involve group work, with division of labor among students who take on specific roles or perspectives;
 * are built around resources that are preselected by the teacher. Students spend their time USING information, not LOOKING for it. “ [7]
 * Why you need this information: **
 * Links to example sites: **
 * Background information: **
 * How to get started (Using QuestGarden) ** :
 * Step-by-Step: (Thanks to Paula Emmert and the WebQuest EVO session for inspiration. Much of the information comes directly from the QuestGarden page.) **
 * To begin: **

Goals and Context
3. Fill in your topic in the box and the bottom of this page. **Click submit!** You must save each page you work on by hitting the submit button. This program being web-based will time out after one hour of inactivity. 4. ** Use the left side bar to move to the next step **. The step after project selection above is **Title/Author.** Fill in the title, authors, description, keywords and age and subject area. Since ESL is not included, you may choose between English and Foreign Language, depending on the student environment you are creating the WebQuest for. **Click submit!** 5. The next area on the sidebar is **Learners**. Take time to fill out clearly who you are creating this WebQuest for. This will be included in your teacher’s page so that other teachers and instructors can determine if your WebQuest would suit their own needs. If your area uses Standards, fill in the appropriate information in the **Standards** tab. If you don’t use them, just leave this area blank. 6. Cick on **design pattern** and choose the design pattern from the pull down menu that fits your topic best. It’s not too late to change, but choose wisely since there are chosen suggestions for each area. 7. If you have chosen a specific design pattern, the Quest Garden includes specific advice on creating your task. Keeping in mind the ESOL balance of both content and skill areas, take time to write your task. 8. WebQuests have beautiful rubrics built in and they take the form of **evaluations**. Take time now to figure out how you will evaluate your students. Again, rubrics presented in the Quest Garden are based on the design pattern that you have chosen. There are other options for creating rubrics outside of this site and they are listed in the introduction on this page.
 * Task & Assessment **

Process
There are three phases to the process. 9. __Process-Phase 1__ “In Phase 1, you provide learners with the information they'll need to perform the task. You may want to have everyone reading one set of pages, and then break them into groups with separate roles, each with a different set of links to look at. To help them to learn a complex body of material, you may want to use the [|Jigsaw Technique].” From the Quest Garden Here is where you give directions, in an ESOL WQ, this could be clearly defined steps that are required to do the research to complete the task. For example, having them choose roles and then do the reading associated with that role. As you work, think about the steps you want to students to follow in your WebQuest. 10. __Process-Phase 2__ “In Phase 2 of the Process, the thinking work takes place. Your students have now examined the information and now they need to transform it in some way. Here is where they play with ideas, make decisions, and so on.” Here is where the task comes to life. This is where your students must utilize critical thinking to combine their information gained in Phase 1 to answer the question, solve the problem or whatever you indicated in the task.” This part of the process should take the form of steps that need to be completed, and in the ESOL environment the more non-critical attributes, such as handouts, links to clarify information, tips on grammar (though WQ’s should only utilize the no-grammar approach), dictionaries, and anything else that can go the extra mile to ensure content and skill area (writing, reading, speaking and listening) comprehension should be utilized. “ 11.  __ Process-Phase 3 __ “In the last Phase of the Process, learners actually produce something that reflects the thinking they did in Phase 2. They may be writing a position paper, preparing a debate, creating a model... the end result was described in the Task section and might take many forms. Will they need help in producing this result? You might want to provide some writing prompts or other forms of guidance to help them act more skilled than they presently are.” Once you've finished Phase 3, you should look back over all three phases of the Process with the [|Process Checker] in hand. You can refer back to the WebQuest Handout for ideas about the final product. Remember that something like a PowerPoint tutorial is another example of a non-critical attribute that can assist an ESOL group to succeed. Once you have completed the process, you are ready to move on.” = Final Details =

Conclusion- Utilize the conclusion to sum up the work the students have done and to pose a question or situation that also elicits thinking about the impacts on the future.
12. Introduction- “Now that you're almost done creating your WebQuest, you're ready to introduce it. Only now can you be sure of what you're introducing. This part is all about the starting line, the excitement of a new challenge ahead.” The Quest Garden Read what follows the above statement for more recommendations from Dr. Bernie Dodge. 13. Teacher Introduction, Resources, Process and Credits will complete your Teachers Page, which is an extremely valuable tool for explaining to other teachers or to your department or district at any given educational establishment what the WebQuest is best used for. 14. Utilize the Quest Garden to: - Add Images - Create Appearance - Preview - Publish- yeah!!!! - Write Comments References ** [1], Building Blocks of WebQuests. Educational Technology Department, San Diego City Schools. http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/buildingblocks/p-index.htm [2], Concept to Classroom: Webquests. Educational Broadcasting Company, 2004, http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/webquests/index.html [3], QuestGarden http://questgarden.com/ [4], The WebQuest Page, Educational Technology Department, San Diego City Schools. http://webquest.sdsu.edu/ [5] Dodge, B. J. The WebQuest Design Process http://webquest.sdsu.edu/designsteps/index.html [6] Dodge, B. J. WebQuest Taskonomy: A Taxonomy of Tasks. 2002. http://webquest.sdsu.edu/taskonomy.html [7] Educational Broadcasting Corporation, Concept to Classroom, Workshop: WebQuests http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/webquests/index.html. [8] Matzat, Cynthia. The WebQuest Place, http://www.thematzats.com/webquests/index.html.
 * Publish and Improve **