Planning to spread the word about WebQuests?
This page can guide you through a basic in-service session on WebQuests. This way you can pass on you new found ideas about WebQuests. Pretty soon you can have your whole staff using the internet in a whole new way!
Goals
• The goal of this activity would be to provide teachers with a
tool to teach students how to be problem-solvers/critical thinkers while
keeping students motivated and addressing state standards at the same
time.
Objectives
• Teachers will understand characteristics of a WebQuest.
• Teachers will be able to evaluate a WebQuest.
• Teachers can create their own WebQuests.
Agenda
• Introduction of facilitators (5 minutes)
• Ice breaker activity of participant teacher scavenger hunt
(10 minutes)
Click on Scavenger
Hunt for a copy.
• Review of norms (5 minutes)
• Pass out note cards (5 minutes)
Ask participants to write down any questions/expectations
of the session.
This will be revisited at the end of the session.
• Review what the definition of WebQuests (10-15 minutes)
By visiting Tom March’s site on WebQuests called
Ozline you can review the ins and
outs of
WebQuests.
• Teacher evaluate sample WebQuests (25-30 minutes)
Find a couple of WebQuests that your particpants can evaluate
by using the WebQuest
rubric provided. This will allow participants to better understand
what makes an effectiveness WebQuest.
Participants should be allowed to evaluate at least one good and one bad
WebQuest. You are more than welcome to use the WebQuest we designed here
on grammar rules. Just click on the WebQuest link in the blue column to
the left.
• Brainstorm for topics. (20-30 minutes)
Teachers work in same subject/grade to brainstorm ideas
on topics for their
own WebQuest
• Teachers work in pairs or teams to build their own WebQuests.
(30-40 minutes)
You can download the WebQuest
outline to give to your particpants as a guide.
• Teachers will save their work. (5 minutes)
At this point teachers should be given their floppy disks
so that they can save their WebQuests to take home.
• Assessing WebQuests. (15 minutes)
Teachers trade computers and evaluate another teacher's
WebQuest and note
likes and suggestions for improvement. It may be helpful to use the rubric
used earlier as a guide.
• Question and Answer session. (10 minutes)
Note cards passed out at the beginning are reviewed.
• Staff development evaluation is completed (5 minutes)
If you would like to download a general PowerPoint presentation that goes along with this agenda click on Sample PowerPoint.
Plans for Assessment
• Immediate- Teachers will show their understanding of
WebQuests by creating their own WebQuests during the in-service. Once
the WebQuests are complete, the WebQuests will be evaluated by other teachers
in the inservice based upon the rubrics.
• Short-term- Teachers will implement the WebQuest in their
classrooms. After the WebQuests are implemented, teachers can provide
feedback, including suggestions for modifications and success rates, in
an online synchronous setting on a predetermined date.
• Long-term- One month, after the in-service, teachers
will reconvene in a face-to-face setting to share a newly created WebQuests
that they created for their grade level or department curriculum, request
and provide feedback, and supply learning experiences they have gained
when using their WebQuests.
• There needs
to be a computer lab for this training.
• Each participant will also need a floppy disk in order to save
their WebQuest.
• Teachers should have their own computer to use.
• Coffee, drinks and snacks should be provided to eliminate lengthy
breaks and to make the participant teachers feel welcome.
• Norms should be reviewed during the presentation of the agenda.
Cells phones should be off and short breaks are not scheduled, but on
the teacher's own as needed.
Room Arrangement
• The computer tables should be arranged facing forward towards
the screen that will have an LCD projector attached for the presenter
to demonstrate the various aspects of web design needed to create a WebQuest.
• Lights in the room need to have the ability to dim to help with
glare on monitors and the viewing of the screen.
Kristina Roys, Samantha McLeod, and Koreen
Gonzales 