Week of August 28

This reading, as well as our discussion in class, has been quite insightful. I had never heard of a web quest before, much less used one in my classroom. A webquest, as defined by Bernie Dodge of San Diego State University, is "an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the internet." Some of the basic aspects of a webquest include: introduction, task, information sources, process, guidance, and conclusion. Web quests are usually done in groups and can be either short-term or long-term. The purpose of web quests is to promote higher-order thinking.

Although I am a younger elementary teacher (1st grade), I do believe web quests could be useful in my classroom. It is important that children learn how to safely navigate the internet, and it is also important that they learn to work together as a team. I have always enjoyed using cooperative learning activities in my class, and now I have another great tool with which to work. You have said that it is easy to create one of these pages, so perhaps later in the course this will be something I can introduce to the teachers at my school!