Designing Rich Instructional Content Using WebQuests...Due 5/25/2006

A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which most or all of the information used by learners is drawn from the Web. WebQuests are designed to use learners' time well, to focus on using information rather than looking for it, and to support learners' thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The model was developed in early 1995 at San Diego State University by Bernie Dodge with Tom March.

WebQuests are not new to teachers in Loudoun County, but the availability to utilize our CMS system to create and host a WebQuest is new.   Traditionally teachers that created WebQuests were those teachers who were knowlageable in Web Page creation and file transfer protocol (FTP) in order to upload their pages to the web.  The CMS takes the grunt work out of WebQuest creation and allows the teacher to focus on the important aspects of planning content and learning activities where students construct meaning.

Elements of WebQuests

Webquests pose an essential question, provide opportunities for students to explore further, and ask students to apply their knowledge with a hands-on activity.

Typically a WebQuest includes:

·  An introduction

·  A Task

·  A Process

·  Resources

·  Evaluation