What is a WebQuest?

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A webquest is an inquiry-based study that uses the Internet to answer questions and discover information. Especially enjoyed by children who are adept at reading and have good computer skills, this adventure on the web is used to educate. There are short quests that can take a few hours and long ones that can take a week or more to complete.

In February 1995, Professor Bernie Dodge, of San Diego University, came up with the idea to integrate the resources of the web with the classroom. With the assistance of Tom March, one of Dodge’s students, they began to brainstorm and work out the specifics of how this integration would occur. Although it would take some time, and from the early stages it would grow and evolve to one of the most effective forms of engaging students in the learning process, a specific definition was handed down by Tom March in 2003. Today, their website attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors monthly and is the overall authority in helping teachers and students harness the power of the Internet.

A good webquest will include the following:

• An engaging opening: this is the bait that attracts the student to the topic; the first page of a webquest.


• The task or question to be answered: this section will outline in detail what the student will be doing to achieve the goal of learning the webquest topic or answering a question through active research.


• Background: since the goal of the quest is to engage students into thorough learning of a subject, this is the place where everyone will be given a complete history or information on the topic, relevant to their roles in the webquest. This can be accomplished in the classroom through lectures, group activities and discussions, or assigned reading.


• Roles/Expertise: this should evolve in the design process of creating the webquest. The roles the students will assume need to be authentic to allow students to become experts in their individual tasks or functions. The purpose is to bring reality into the learning environment.


• Website Usage: this is key in the webquest (why else create one?). Digging out interactive sites that employ the students in their respective roles is essential. However, go beyond that to images, rich content, opinions, and new ideology that precedes its printed form in libraries and textbooks, stimulating critical thought and engaging reads.


• Transforming Thought: this is where the successful webquest differs from the not-so-successful ones. Whatever the goal was in the study of the topic, it was for students to become so immersed in their tasks and acquiring previously unlearned information along the way, that their minds grasped the concepts with an “Ah-ha!” The purpose is for them to arrive at an understanding of the subject, not just to assimilate data.


• Feedback from the Real World: this is the part where a student’s hypothesis should be checked against real people who would know and understand the subject of their quest. It doesn’t have to come from the internet either. Letters to editors of newspapers and magazines, feedback from parents, peers, and faculty—all of these qualify. If students do use the web for feedback, it should never be to ask for everything a professional knows on the subject. It should be pointed and direct on the specific ideology learned from the quest and seek to confirm or refute the conclusions.


• Conclusion: a good idea is to make the quest come full-circle by returning to the hook that began the quest. Discuss the skills students used and see if they can apply these to other areas. Helping them see the transfer of skills from one subject to another multiplies what they’ve learned and hopefully, they are on the road to the adventure of self-motivation where educating themselves is the journey they will come to enjoy.

Additional Resources:

• Make Your Own Webquest – AT&T’s extensive page on webquests and their project, in conjunction with Professor Bernie Dodge, Knowledge Network Explorer. This encompassed a complete network of webquests, lesson plans, and curriculum developed to aide teachers and librarians in educating students.


• Teachers First – is an instruction manual for teachers on the background and uses of designing a webquest for students, with a step-by-step tutorial and the tools to create one.


• Quest Garden – Bernie Dodge’s virtual garden of growing webquests. This is an online authoring area for educators over the age of 18. Two-year subscriptions are $20 and a free 30-day trial is available to teachers of webquest classes who want to expose students to the world of webquest development for the short-term. Excellent peer-to-peer network of builders and editors of webquests.


• Wikipedia – the information and links on webquests and the progressive trends still going on with them.


• History & Social Studies Webquests – Teaching History with Technology’s site for teachers with numerous links to webquests on topics of history and social studies.


• Math Webquests – a hotlist of quests using math problem solving integrated with other subjects.


• Teachnology – an educator’s library of webquests for language arts.


• University of Richmond’s Quest List – an extensive listing of webquests, categorized by subject.


• Finding Your Career – a webquest for middle and high school students to explore various careers and help ascertain those within their interests and abilities.


• Literature-Based Webquests – list of known webquests based on books for kindergarten through 3^rd grade.


• Teacher Tap – offers teachers insight into webquests and their use in the classroom. Several links to find the webquest needed for their subject matter.


• Discovery Education – a part of the Discovery Channel websites, Kathy Schrock’s page on webquests covers everything for the teacher to discover about using, finding, and creating webquests for the classroom.

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Get more facts and information about Internet from A Dictionary of Computing at Encyclopedia.com.