WEBQUEST

Hi there, classmates!

I’m Elena Joaquin and I am going to present a wonderful project called “Let’s plan a trip to London!” for 6th Graders.To be honest, it was a bit difficult for me to think with something that goes further than just creating a game, but finally I came up with a project that I hope you like it and enjoy it as same as me and, of course, a project that you can carry out in your classroom.

In order to do this project, I’ve created a WEBQUEST, which must be used with laptops. What do you know about it? I will give you a brief description just for you to have an idea about it.

With WebQuests, students create meaningful projects that they share with others via oral presentations, posting to the web, etc. WebQuest tasks go beyond simply answering questions; they require higher order thinking skills such as creativity, analysis, synthesis, judgment and problem solving.

Another key component of WebQuests is that the students’ have to be focus on using information rather than looking for it. The teacher gives this information previously. Many teachers avoid using Internet resources with their students because of how long it can take students to actually find useful information when searching the Web. They also worry about students accessing inappropriate sites. WebQuests avoid these roadblocks because the Internet resources are identified and evaluated by the WebQuest designer (teacher) ahead of time. This eliminates the need for wasteful searching by the students.

In terms of creating one, requires a lot of hours but it worth it, trust me! A part of creating one for the ICT’s subject, I created one 4 years ago and put it into practice with my students. It was just amazing because it was something new for them and it increased incredibly their motivation about what we were working on.

Believe me, when students are motivated, they are likely to put in more effort, and their minds are more alert and ready to make connections. 

The webquest that I’ve designed is to address problems that students have to solve it using real, timely resources instead of dated textbooks and materials that are only presented from one point of view. It allows them to use:

- Higher level thinking

- Critical thinking

- Cooperative learning

- Up to day information and resources

- Integrate technology into the classroom in an effective way

When using WebQuest, the limitations might be:

- Limited Internet access.

- Devices do not allow access to the websites needed, in case they are working outside of the class.

- The timing the WeQquest is going to take depending on what you are asking to do to your students.

If you click here, you'll be able to see the WebQuest I've created and see what kind of activities they have to do. I took a screenshot of the introduction just for you to have an idea about it.

This project takes into account the four skills because they must listen the teacher instructions, his/her advices to work on. They must read the tasks from the WebQuest in order to do their cooperative work, read through all the information that they need to find, speak and discuss each other to do their best, and agree with the answers, and create and write a final presentation. 

In terms of Bloom's Digital Taxonomy, this project offers the opportunity to put into a practice everything.

- Remembering specific vocabulary related to a journey, choosing the relevant information depending what task they are in charge, showing real prices, places and so on.

- Understanding the oral message and the written one.

- Applying and practicing the previous vocabulary depending on their findings.

- Creating their own presentation related on their findings to demonstrate what they have done. 

In relation to assessment, they would be assessed through observation during the activities individually and cooperative work. They would have the chance to assess themselves through rubrics. 

Hope you like what I've created, and let me know about the improvements, please!