IBP AND WEBQUEST

According to Hockly & Dudeney (2007), Internet-Based Projects are units of work that "involve the use of the Internet over a series of lessons. (...) In the context of doing a project work, the Internet can be thought of an enormous encyclopedia because it gives our learners quick access to a wealth of information which they can use to carry out their project tasks" (p. 44-45). Such project tasks can range "from a simple low-level project like making a poster presentation about a famous person to high-level investigative work where learners research a subject and present polemical views and opinions in a report or debate" (Hockly & Dudeney, 2007, p. 45). These projects are "more often than not, group activities, and, as a result, lend themselves to communication and the sharing of knowledge, two principal goals of language teaching itself. The use of projects encourages cooperative learning, and therefore, stimulates interaction" (Hockly & Dudeney, 2007, p.  44). In addition to this interaction, ss' engage in critical-thinking tasks, where "learners are not required to simply regurgitate information they find, but have to transform that information in order to achieve a given task" (Hockly & Dudeney, 2007, p.  44). To

What types of webquests are there?

Bernie Dodge identifies two types of quests: 

1. "Short-term webquests. At the end of a short-term webquest, a learner will have grappled with a significant amount of new information and made sense of it. A short-term webquest may spread over a period of a couple of classes or so, and will involve learners in visiting a selection of sites to find information, and using that information in class to achieve a set of learning aims. 

2. Long-term webquests. After completing a long-term webquest, a learner will have analysed a body of knowledge deeply, transforming it in some way. They will have demonstrated an understanding of the material by creating something that others can respond to, online or offline. This is the big difference between long-term webquests and short-term webquests: learners have to transform the information they acquire, turning it into a new product: a report, a presentation, an interview and a survey" (Hockly & Dudeney, 2007, p.   54). 

What makes webquests different from projects in general?

What makes webquests different from projects or simulations is the fairly rigid structure they have evolved over the years" (Hockly & Dudeney, 2007, p. 54). This structured format is the following:  

1. "Introduction: Sets the stage for the quest, introducing the scenario and objectives" (Yavelverg, 2025). In this step, Hockly & Dudeney (2007) suggest "giving background information on the topic and, in the language learning context, often introducing key vocabulary and concepts which learners will need to understand in order to complete the tasks involved" (p. 54). Some examples of activities include "visuals to activate prior knowledge, some questions to set your students thinking and to motivate their interest, or even some quotes to illustrate the topic" (Ledesma, 2017, p.  5).

2. "Task: Clearly defines what learners need to accomplish" (Yavelverg, 2025). In this step, "it is necessary to say clearly what students will need to do after they complete the quest. That means that once they have explored the web,  finished some research, practised some language or even played some games with  the target language, they will be able to apply the concepts and language used in a final product. This final product does not need to be done with technology at all. It may very well be an oral presentation, a role-play, a puppet show or even a poster to display in the classroom, among many other possibilities" (Ledesma, 2017, p.  6). 

3. "Process: Outlines step-by-step guidance and resources" (Yavelverg, 2025). For Ledesma (2017), "The process section is where The teacher will provide students  with the necessary links to the websites he/she wants them to explore, and will assign  to them what activities they must complete with each website. This may include  completing a task sheet created by the teacher, answering some questions, taking  notes, making mind maps with the information they find, or just clicking on the right  answers of some online grammar exercises. The kind of activity will depend on the  teacher’s purpose and on how relevant the input is for the final task. In this section,  teachers must apply the necessary criteria to select the appropriate websites" (p.  6).

4. "Evaluation: Provides rubrics or metrics for assessing performance" (Yavelverg, 2025). "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 and achieved" (Hockly & Dudeney, 2007, p. 56). "For this purpose, it is necessary to set  clear assessment criteria that reflects the purpose of the webquest. For example, teacher can state if they are assessing their students’ accuracy in the use of a given structure,  the use of specific vocabulary or the proper organization of a written text, depending  on the main objective of the final task. In addition to this, many webquests also include a conclusion section, where the teacher writes a follow-up message to close  the project. Sometimes this section is also accompanied by audiovisual materials as  a kind of reward to be seen once students finish the whole process" (Ledesma, 2017, p.  6).