Post #8- Webquests, "I Guess It Was Pretty Fun"

Webquests

I think this article gives great insight on what a WebQuest is for anyone who would like to use it in the classroom and needs to know more information about them.  Just like other web 2.0 teaching techniques we’ve been learning about, I think that the following quote in this article goes very well with everything we’ve been learning about, not just WebQuests: “in addition to knowledge of pedagogical theories, preservice teachers are also expected to be competent in the use of technology for teaching and learning (pg 109).”  I think that WebQuests could be a very important and useful tool to use in the classroom to supplement the teaching going on in the classroom, but of course before students can dive into using the WebQuests it is very important that the teacher learns about them as well as the positives and negatives, as highlighted in this article.  I like that WebQuests are basically tasks that are designed around major themes of a topic to be learned (pg 110), and these tasks could be very motivational for students, as it includes technology instead of using the same old textbook to look for answers to questions.  Just like with any aspect of Web 2.0, there are negatives or weaknesses to everything; I think one of the strongest weaknesses of WebQuests is that students who don’t understand the work or aren’t at grade level in reading will have difficulty with some of the tasks or be unmotivated if the work is too difficult.  It is the teacher’s, as well as all the students in the class, responsibility to collaborate and work together to get through the tasks of the WebQuests.

“I Guess It Was Pretty Fun” 

This article gave great insight on how to use the technology of WebQuests in a middle school setting, and I thought this article really hit home.  When I was student teaching in a 6^th grade classroom, I had the opportunity to use the Smart board with my lessons and the students really liked it.  I think with any opportunity to use technology in the classroom as a supplement to a core classroom lesson really helps the students focus on the tasks and collaborate with their classmates.  One problem I did find during the article was on page 153, where “some students jumped right into the sites that contained primary sources, while others had to visit secondary source sites to find background information about the war.”  I think that having students visit other sources besides the ones that are on the WebQuest could be useful, but it subtracts from the time spent on doing the actual activities by poking around websites that won’t even be as useful.  That part goes along with number 6 on page 154: Maximize class time on the computer.  When students aren’t prepared or are poking around different websites trying to find information, they aren’t on task and won’t be able to get the tasks done in the time allotted.  Number 7 on page 154 also goes hand-in-hand with maximizing the class time on the computer- clarifying student rules in the computer lab and what is expected of them on the WebQuest is also extremely important.  Students should be using their time wisely in order to get the tasks done as well as learn something from the activities they’ve been doing.  I think this article is very helpful and informative on using new technologies in the classroom and especially how to use them in a middle school setting, since they are usually the toughest to please lesson-wise.