Using WebQuests in

the Classroom
By Marwa Bakri
American University of Science and Technology

WebQuests are the most talked-about and widely used

Web-based activities in todays classrooms.
(Starr, 2000)

Lets look at this video first

Utilizing a WebQuest in the Classroom

Outline
Define WebQuests
Identify the key parts of WebQuests
Why use WebQuests in class?
Limitations to Consider
The Three Rs of WebQuests
Tips for teachers
How we design WebQuests
Example
Coffee break 5 minutes
Process
Wrap up

Objective
By the end of this workshop,
teachers will be able to design an
effective webQuests to be used in
their classroom.

What are WebQuests?

A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which
students interact with information gathered primarily
from resources on the internet.
(Bernie Dodge, 1997)
The lessons material or information that learners work
with comes from the web.
By providing relevant links to complete the quest,
students will be able to focus on the material rather
than spend time looking for it.

WebQuest Key Parts

Introduction: sets the stage and provides background information and purpose of

the activity
Task: doable and interesting formal description of what students will produce
Resources: a set of sources needed to complete the task to help students focus on

information processing (links).

Process: describing the steps that learners should go through to complete the task
Evaluation: questions to answer/ quiz to ensure understanding and evaluate

performance. The standards should be fair, clear and specific.

Conclusion: Praise students work, Gives time for reflection and discussion.

Why Use WebQuests in Class?

(Benefits)
1. Promotes critical thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis and
evaluation
2. Scaffolds the students online inquiry by identifying resources
3. Takes advantage of the information on the web
4. Practices important research skills
5. Provides clear tasks and objectives
6. Promotes Cooperative Learning
7. Ideal for inclusion classrooms (apply DI)

Limitations
Not appropriate for every learning goal.
Weak in teaching factual total recall and definitions
Require good reading skills
Need much preparation, especially for inclusion
classrooms

The Three Rs of WebQuests

Real: Are students looking at a topic that concerns
people in the real world?
Rich: Are students given problems to solve? Are there
opportunities for rich discussion? Are there enough
resources to use?
Relevant: Does it allow students to find themselves,
their concerns or interests in the scenarios given to
them?

Tips for Teachers

Use a fun background
Include interesting pictures
Focus the students in a specific direction
Give specific websites
Allow freedom for exploration
Keep students on task

How to Design WebQuests

Choose a learning outcome or objective
Draft a task
Find suitable sites to use for information
Develop a resources page according to task
Give steps of the process students must follow to
complete the task
Develop a rubric for evaluation
Write an introduction that will hook the students

Example
http://questgarden.com/52/36/4/070612201403/index.htm

Choose a Topic
How do you choose an effective topic for a
WebQuest? Start with your standards. Ask
yourself the following questions to help
you identify a topic.
What do you teach?
What needs outside info?
What needs shared?
What needs thought?
What's difficult?

Process

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/lesson-template.htm

Lets Try
Building a
WebQuest!

Web Page Builders

Scholastic Teacher Toolkit
https://my.scholastic.com/
Easy to use resources for classroom pages.
SchoolNotes
http://schoolnotes.com/
Popular service for teachers
Teacher Web
http://teacherweb.com/
They have a template for building a WebQuest. Free trial.
Web Wizard
http://wizard.4teachers.org/
Fill in the blanks and create a WebQuest. They will store your page.

Some people don't have skills in developing web pages, but are
very comfortable using PowerPoint. Why not create a WebQuest
using PowerPoint? A PowerQuest isn't a presentation with a bunch
of bullet points. It's a way to use the advanced hyperlink functions
of PowerPoint to create a dynamic environment for inquiry-based
learning.

Wrap Up
The goal of a webQuest is knowledge acquisition and
integration.
At the end of a webQuest, a learner will have grappled
with a big amount of information and made sense of it.
A webQuest can be done in one or two to three
sessions.
A teacher is one who makes him/herself progressively
unnecessary.
(Thomas Carruthers)

For futher information or any

questions, feel free to
contact me:
Mobile: +961 76 948505
Email:
bakrimarwa@gmail.com
Your assignment is due on
Monday 25th of April
Email it to:
ndandashly@aust.edu.lb
Need more clarification?
Watch this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxoeuAZXoFY

References
WebQuest. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2016, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebQuest
WebQuest. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2016, from http://
webquest.org/sdsu/templates/lesson-template1.htm
Creating WebQuests. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2016, from
http://webquest.org/index-create.php
The WebQuest Design Process. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2016, from http://
webquest.org/sdsu/designsteps/index.html
Dinosaurs Before Dark. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2016, from http://
questgarden.com/52/36/4/070612201403/index.htm
WebQuest Creation. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2016, from http://
eduscapes.com/sessions/travel/create.htm
WebQuests: Explanation. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2016, from http://
www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/webquests/index_sub1.html