About WebQuests

Making WebQuests

WebQuest Resources

A WebQuest is an instructional tool designed to motivate and engage students in the learning process. Students use information from the Web (this may be distributed in the form of handouts) to perform an interesting task, such as to solve a mystery or create a solution.

WebQuests generally contain the following attributes:

• Introduction (sets the stage for the project)
• Task (should be doable and interesting)
• Process (clearly defined steps)
• Resources (information needed to complete the project)
• Evaluation (how the student's work will be graded)
• Conclusion (summary of what the student has learned; encouragement to continue)

The WebQuest concept was developed by Bernie Dodge and Tom March in 1995 at San Diego University. The use of WebQuests is growing increasingly popular worldwide. WebQuests may be short-term projects (over a few class periods) or long-term (over several weeks).

The didactic goals underlying the WebQuest concept are these:

• motivation and authenticity (interesting and realistic tasks)
• cooperative learning (students work individually and in groups)
• critical thinking (students synthesize information and solve problems)
• process and access (tasks are linked to other classroom activities; all students have access to information/resources)

Making a WebQuest