Webquest

A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the internet.   There are two levels of WebQuests:

Short Term WebQuests

• Instructional goal: knowledge acquisition and integration (Dimension 2: acquiring and integrating knowledge - Marzano)
• Learner will have grappled with a significant amount of new information and made sense of it.
• To be completed in one to three class periods

Longer Term WebQuest

• Instructional goal:  extending and refining knowledge (Dimension 3: extending and refining knowledge - Marzano)
• Learner would have analyzed a body of knowledge deeply, transformed it in some way, and demonstrated an understanding of the material by creating something that others can respond to, on-line or off-line.
• Typically takes between one week and a month in a classroom setting.

Note: a WebQuest is not a scavenger hunt.

Sources

Some Thoughts About WebQuests. 5 May 1997. San Diego State University. 7 Dec. 2003 <http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec596/about_webquests.html>. 

Dimensions of Learning . Ed. Robert Marzano. Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning  (McREL). Archived - Appendix IV Regional Education Laboratories. 7 Dec. 2003  <http://www.ed.gov/pubs/triedandtrue/dimen.html>.