WHAT IS IT?
Philip Benz describes a webquest as "a Constructivist approach to learning". From his point of view, "students not only collate and organize information they've found on the web, they orient their activities towards a specific goal they've been given, often associated with one or more roles modeled on adult professions."
To put it more simple, webquests are mini-projects in which a large percentage of the input and material comes from the web. These projects can be teacher-made or learner-made.
REASONS FOR USING WEBQUESTS
They are an easy way for teachers to incorporate the Internet into the language classroom (no technical knowledge is needed to produce or use them)
They are group activities that tend to lead to communication and knowledge sharing.
They can be used as a linguistic tool, but can also be interdisciplinary
They encourage critical thinking skills
They can present motivating and authentic tasks.
STRUCTURE OF A WEBQUEST
There are usually four main sections to a webquest:
The Introduction stage is normally used to introduce the overall theme of the webquest and to raise students' interest. It involves giving background information on the topic. Also, it often introduces key vocabulary and concepts which learners will need to understand in order to complete the tasks involved.
The Task section of the webquest explains clearly what the learners will have to do as they work their way through the webquest. The task is essentially the learning goal that the students are trying to achieve. It should be motivating and interesting for the learners, and should have real-life relevance.
The Process stage of a webquest guides the learners through a set of activities and research tasks, using a set of predefined resources. These resources are predominately web-based, and are usually presented in clickable form within the task document. In the case of a language-based webquest, the Process stage of the webquest may introduce (or recycle) lexical areas or grammatical points which are essential to the Task. The Process stage of the webquest will usually have one (or sometimes several) 'product' which the learners are expected to present at the end. These 'products' will often form the basis of the Evaluation stage.
The Evaluation stage can involve learners in self-evaluation, comparing and contrasting what they have produced with other learners and giving feedback on what they feel they have learnt, achieved, etc. It will also involve teacher evaluation of the same, and good webquests will give guidance to the teacher for this particular part of the process.
STEPS TO DESIGN A WEBQUEST
Define the topic area and the 'end product'
Find web resources which are suitable (content-wise and linguistically)
Group the resources according to stages of the Task
Structure the Process - tasks, resources, lexical areas, grammatical areas
Design the Evaluation stages and concepts
TYPES OF WEBQUESTS
LONG-TERM WEBQUEST: big project that is usually assigned towards the end of a unit. Students should have the opportunity to analyze information and make conclusions on the topic. Long-term WebQuests can be used for:
Summative evaluation
In-depth analysis
End of unit assessment
SHORT-TERM WEBQUEST: is meant to be completed in a smaller amount of time. I tis used for a brief review of a large amount of information or as an introduction to new topics in class, Example:
To introduce a new topic
To explore a new idea
Review of anterior knowledge
Review for an evaluation
EXAMPLE OF WEBQUEST
This is a Webquest that I have created using Zunal, take a look at it so as to have a clear example of all the theory already mentioned:
SOURCES
Dudeney, G., & Hockly, N. (n.d.). Webquests. British Council TeachingEnglish. Retrieved August 7, 2022, from https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/webques
Kurt, S. (2021, January 27). WebQuest: An Inquiry-oriented Approach in Learning. Educational Technology. https://educationaltechnology.net/webquest-an-inquiry-oriented-approach-in-learning/
What is a Web Quest? How Do Teachers Use Them? (n.d.). TeAchnology. Retrieved August 07, 2022, from https://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/web_quests