Introduction to WebQuests
adapted from Building Blocks of a WebQuest

While the Web is an incredible resource for research, it can be too big!!  Without a certain amount of goal-oriented guidance, students can get lost in the ocean of information known as the World Wide Web. A WebQuest is a collaborative, inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners use comes from resources on the Internet.

WebQuests:

• provide learners with an interesting and doable task that involves research and evaluation.
• provide support for all levels of learners.
• foster collaboration between learners.
• are simple in structure but can be complex in task.
• can be designed to be completed in one to three class periods (Short Term WebQuest) or as long as a week to a month to complete (Long Term WebQuest

Creating a WebQuest is not much different than creating any kind of lesson. A WebQuest contains 7 parts:  Introduction, Task, Process, Resources, Evaluation, Conclusion, and Teacher Page.  Read through the explanations of the parts and visit the sample sites to explore how this strategy can be used to make learning active, relevant, and exciting!

A successful WebQuest takes proper planning and execution. The most difficult part of creating a WebQuest is identifying a task.

Here is an example WebQuest about visiting Poznan, Poland.

The Task is the most important part of the WebQuest. It provides direction and meaning for the student. Bernie Dodge (one of the originators of the WebQuest) at San Diego State University created the Taskonomy which lists 12 different types of WebQuest tasks. This is a great site to explore WebQuest possibilities. Taskonomy in Pictures

(WARNING: The Web is changing all of the time and some links may not be active. Don't worry about it and go to the next one.)

Updated: February 23, 2009