The opinions expressed here are the personal views of Karl Fisch and do not (necessarily) reflect the views of my employer.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Reaction to Webquests
What is your reaction to the webquest presentation today? Do you see ways you can use this in your classes? Do you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions for others?
I was glad that we had some time to explore webquests and the differences between okay webquests and good to great webquests. However, I would have liked to see more about how to actually create our own. I know with the time limits this probably was not possible, but it is something I am interested in pursuing. Maybe next semester or next year after having implemented them into our classes, we will have a better grasp on what will work well and what we want to avoid.
I love the idea. I found some very interesting quests on different pieces opf literature. I could implement these in class, but I need the know how regarding how to actually make one. thanks for giving us time to explore.
I did several webquests when I taught 7th grade in Cherry Creek, and I think that my students enjoyed them overall. To bring the idea to the high school level will take some adjustments in my thinking. Seventh grade webquests were very direct, specific, and kids typically produced very similar projects. I really liked the webquests that challenged kids to take a stand, voice an opinion, choose a product, etc. So there will probably need to be a balance between enough structure to give kids direction and enough freedom to let them really think and make the project their own.
I like they way that we learned about webquests by talking about it in small groups and playing with different webquests. I think that this will take a lot more planning to implement but it can be a good learning tool.
I liked seeing these webquests and was able to think of some ways in which to bring these into my classroom. I would eventually like to create my own, but at this time in my career, I like to see examples that I can use.
There are definitely projects that I already use that could be converted into webquests. One issue is whether the effort would be justified. Is there anything they would get out of it that they don't already receive? I guess it depends on the project. I do like the idea that teachers from all over the country have access to each other's webquests and can use or modify the ideas they find.
Having used webquests during student teaching, I would offer a word of caution. It is tempting to say that you will use one that someone else has created, but if you really want the assignment to be relevant to your students, you need to create your own, or at least MODIFY one created by someone else. Also, you have to make the "jobs" assigned to different students meaningful, or else it just becomes like every other group project, wherein some kids do the work and others do not.
I think some of what I do could be a webqwest. But, like some others said, I like how I already do it better. I wish we would have done more with how to create it. All, i all - this seemed like a thing to add to class, but not revolutionary.
I think that the activities that I have done in the past were actually scavenger hunts and not webquests. The webquests that we looked at were helpful in determining what good activities look like. The time that we were given to look at webquests was also very helpful. I would like to have some time in the large group to continue to develop webquests.
I definitely see ways that I could use that in my classroom. Every year we do an Invertebrate Project where students research a particular phyla of invertebrates. A webquest would be an outstanding way to guide their learning. It would also be a way that we could allow the students to put there own creativity into the project.
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ReplyDeleteI was glad that we had some time to explore webquests and the differences between okay webquests and good to great webquests. However, I would have liked to see more about how to actually create our own. I know with the time limits this probably was not possible, but it is something I am interested in pursuing. Maybe next semester or next year after having implemented them into our classes, we will have a better grasp on what will work well and what we want to avoid.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea. I found some very interesting quests on different pieces opf literature. I could implement these in class, but I need the know how regarding how to actually make one. thanks for giving us time to explore.
ReplyDeleteI did several webquests when I taught 7th grade in Cherry Creek, and I think that my students enjoyed them overall. To bring the idea to the high school level will take some adjustments in my thinking. Seventh grade webquests were very direct, specific, and kids typically produced very similar projects. I really liked the webquests that challenged kids to take a stand, voice an opinion, choose a product, etc. So there will probably need to be a balance between enough structure to give kids direction and enough freedom to let them really think and make the project their own.
ReplyDeleteI like they way that we learned about webquests by talking about it in small groups and playing with different webquests. I think that this will take a lot more planning to implement but it can be a good learning tool.
ReplyDeleteI liked seeing these webquests and was able to think of some ways in which to bring these into my classroom. I would eventually like to create my own, but at this time in my career, I like to see examples that I can use.
ReplyDeleteThere are definitely projects that I already use that could be converted into webquests. One issue is whether the effort would be justified. Is there anything they would get out of it that they don't already receive? I guess it depends on the project. I do like the idea that teachers from all over the country have access to each other's webquests and can use or modify the ideas they find.
ReplyDeleteHaving used webquests during student teaching, I would offer a word of caution. It is tempting to say that you will use one that someone else has created, but if you really want the assignment to be relevant to your students, you need to create your own, or at least MODIFY one created by someone else. Also, you have to make the "jobs" assigned to different students meaningful, or else it just becomes like every other group project, wherein some kids do the work and others do not.
ReplyDeleteI think some of what I do could be a webqwest. But, like some others said, I like how I already do it better. I wish we would have done more with how to create it. All, i all - this seemed like a thing to add to class, but not revolutionary.
ReplyDeleteI think that the activities that I have done in the past were actually scavenger hunts and not webquests. The webquests that we looked at were helpful in determining what good activities look like. The time that we were given to look at webquests was also very helpful. I would like to have some time in the large group to continue to develop webquests.
ReplyDeleteI definitely see ways that I could use that in my classroom. Every year we do an Invertebrate Project where students research a particular phyla of invertebrates. A webquest would be an outstanding way to guide their learning. It would also be a way that we could allow the students to put there own creativity into the project.
ReplyDelete