Using a WebQuest in Education

In reference to Scot Aldred's WebQuest, "Antarctic Ice to Water Australia", and Tom March's WebQuest, "Freedom Fighter or Terrorist":
I was really drawn in by both these WebQuests. I intended on just reading over them for this assessment question but I ended up 'getting involved' with them. They are very interesting topics. Truthfully, I am a bit disappointed I will not be going on the Quests for real. I love having the choice of taking on a role, in particular, and learning how that person works and looks at the world. This is because I like to be imaginative, step outside myself, and 'live' another way for a time. Because children are inclined to live in their imaginations, is this not an effortless way of teaching them declarative knowledge? For Scot's and Tom's topics, the declarative knowledge is about the environment, and ideologies, for example. Everything is there on the Quest for the learner. There are procedural instructions including instructions on how to work in a group, links for information-gathering, links to professionals in the field, and templates for drafts and reporting. In this respect, the learner needs no prior knowledge of the workings of a WebQuest. It is all there for him/her in the design on the screen.

One implication for teachers in the way they would go about using a WebQuest is having to prepare learners beforehand, skilling them in digital, visual, viewing, reading, and writing literacies. Included, here, would be typing skills, also. In light of this, I assume that a WebQuest is mostly suited to learners who are reasonably competent at such skills, so a WebQuest is not for every learner.

A second implication for teachers is one that I noticed in Scot's and Tom's WebQuests. They had explicit teaching in there. Teachers have to know what learners need to be taught explicitly and weave it into the Quest. Scot instructs learners how group work should be done, telling them they must be tolerant of others' perspectives.

Compared to a more traditional approach of teaching, learners can learn from any computer outside of the classroom, and at any time. Group members need not meet together all the time. Computers would be the focal point of the classroom. Chairs and desks would be arranged around the computers because the computer replaces, for the most part, the pencil, paper, and text book. The classroom would be noisy because learners are having discussions about the task.

As I said above, a WebQuest is a great tool for teaching declarative knowledge. Applicable to learning through a WebQuest is Project-Based Learning, Problem-Based Learning, Engagement Theory, Engaged Learning, Connectivism, Networking, Active Learning, Dale's Cone, the Learning Pyramid, Multiple Intelligences, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Constructivism, enhancing learning for the disadvantaged with the effective use of ICTs, and Multimedia - just to name those we are studying now in Managing E-learning. If a WebQuest is not effective learning, then I do not know what is!

It would take some time to make a WebQuest. You have to find and read through many links to information pertaining to the topic, from many perspectives of the topic. You might have to find and ask an outside expert if he/she will participate. But before all that, you must choose your curriculum outcomes, and work out how learners will be assessed. Once you have your WebQuest up and running, it will be a time effective method to traditional methods. All the hard and long hours of work is done and saved to be used repeatedly. Because learners can do it outside of the classroom, like at home, class time is saved for trouble-shooting discussions or even for other subjects.