According to WebQuest.org, a WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. These can be created using various programs, including a simple word processing document that includes links to websites.
Use in Education
Elementary Education
Research demonstrates that using WebQuests at the elementary level can be beneficial to students. Depending on the age group of the learners, teachers can design WebQuests that are more general or specific in nature. The key to designing an effective WebQuest is to have a clear purpose and objective in mind.
WebQuests can be designed to be an effective use of student time by being organized and focused on using information instead of searching for it. These two factors contribute to ensuring that students remain on task while online. WebQuests extend the students' thinking to the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy; analysis, synthesis and evaluation. WebQuests also support a variety of instructional and cognitive practices such as critical thinking and problem solving through authentic assessment, cooperative learning, scaffolding and technology integration.
Teachers may incorporate WebQuests into their instruction to introduce a unit or to conclude a unit, as a culmination activity. WebQuests may also be used to foster cooperative learning through collaborative activities with a group project. Teachers use WebQuests to encourage independent thinking and to motivate students; thus increasing learning. Finally, WebQuests can be designed to help enhance students’ technological competencies.
Webquests are valuable tools for differentiating instruction. Teachers are able to provide multiple websites to use as reading content, allowing students to use the resource that works best for their level of understanding. Gifted students are able to research a topic deeply, while other students are exposed to the same websites. Students can then utilize the appropriate information for their abilities in order to complete the WebQuest. Providing a choice of final product to demonstrate understanding is another form of differentiation imbedded into a WebQuest. Webquests also encourage accountability. Specific task guidelines and/or rubrics are provided from the beginning of the WebQuest project, so that all students are aware of exactly what is expected of them.
Secondary Education
Webquests in secondary education include the same components as in primary education. Focus is on understanding a concept through the use of the Internet. Students have met the objective when they have gathered information and are able to show what they have learned. Webquests at the secondary level can be used across the curriculum. Secondary teachers can choose to adapt an existing Webquest some examples can be accessed at the following sites:Secondary teachers can also make their own Webquest. Developing a good webquest requires that teachers analyze several webquests to become familiar with the components and format.
"The more meaningful, the more deeply or elaboratively processed, the more situated in content, and the more rooted in cultural, background, metacognitive, and personal knowledge an event is, the more readily it is understood, learned, and remembered." (Iran-Nejad, McKeachie, and Berliner, 1990, p. 511)
WebQuests are reflective, fluid, and dynamic. They provide teachers with the opportunity to integrate Internet technology into the course curriculum by allowing students to experience learning as they construct their perceptions, beliefs, and values out of their experiences (Beane, 1997). A WebQuest activity presents students with access to a plethora of resources that have been pre-screened by the WebQuest's creator. The way the activity is designed discourages students from simply surfing the Web in an open-ended, unstructured manner. The WebQuest activity is a useful tool for enhancing the development of transferable skills and helping students to bridge the gap between school and "real world" experiences. WebQuests provide a practical way for students to acquire information, debate issues, participate in meaningful discussions, engage in role play simulations, solve problems, and, perhaps most importantly, become connected and involved learners. While the use of WebQuests in the middle school curriculum presents an opportunity for classroom teachers to take a fresh approach toward meeting the demands of the curriculum, it is important to remember that their use constitutes one tool among many to be used in the classroom. According to Dodge's original publication 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, optionally supplemented with videoconferencing" (Dodge, 1995a; Dodge, 1995b).