The concept of a Webquest is one that is relevant for both students and educators...
Webquests are relevant for educators in a number of different ways. they can be used in a way that allows for students to discover the information they are learning on their own. Although when developing a Webquest the educator decides the websites the students will be using, at least for the majority of them, the students are responsible for exploring the different provided websites in order to gather and apply the necessary content. This can be an example of indirect instruction where the information is provided by the teacher but the students must do their own exploration of the content in order to make sense of it and to learn from it. This means that Webquests are more interactive and engaging generally for students allowing for the lesson in general to be more engaging and memorable for students as they have to construct the information and they are not just sitting and listening to the teacher. Finally, teachers can scaffold Webquests in order to meet the needs of every student while still providing them with the same experience and allowing them to construct their own knowledge of the topic.
Webquests are also relevant for students. The students are responsible for finding, analyzing, and applying the different information they find when completing the different Webquests. This means that the students are constructing their own information from what the teacher has provided; therefore, it is a more engaging and beneficial lesson. Of course every student may not discover all of the important information so it may be necessary for a follow up activity to be done but the information they do discover will likely be remembered more as they were actively engaged when they were learning it.
I agree that WebQuests are so relevant for students! I think that they increase student motivation by allowing collaborative learning and teamwork. I really like how you included that students are constructing their own information from what the teacher provides through the WebQuest - this promotes higher thinking skills in students, rather than just asking them to spit back information from a website. I remember so much more of the material that I learned through WebQuests in my school days, and I hardly remember anything that I was lectured about! I think this is due to my engagement in the material. In a WebQuest a student becomes so deeply involved in the learning process that the learning experience is transferred to long term memory. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I always have been a supporter of constructive learning because the students can take ownership of the information and like you said, they will be more likely to remember the information!
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