What is a Web Quest?
The inventor of the Web Quest is Bernie Dodge. He defined his new learning method as an “inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from recourses on the Internet.” In other words, it is a didactic concept within which explorative activities with the Internet are planned by the teacher and he/she transforms from a teacher into a guider of the learning process. The aim is the autonomous acquisition and presentation of knowledge.
A good Web Quest has the following structure:
• Introduction – it aims to motivate the pupils about the topic in a visually interesting and thrilling way.
• Task – explanation what they have to do in every lesson.
• Process – detailed step-by-step instructions how to do their tasks.
• Recourses – all internet addresses used in the Web Quest.
• Evaluation – pupils use it for self-evaluation and then the teacher evaluates them using the same evaluation criteria.
• Conclusion – concludes the result of the successfully finished work. What pupils know now and how they could use taht knowledge in their lives.
• Teacher's Page – information about the teacher who has designed the Web Quest and about the Web Quest itself.
What skills does a pupil need to develop in order to work with a Web Quest?
Working on a particular Web Quest means that a pupil has to:
• follow strictly their teacher’s instructions
• work with particular internet addresses
• find particular information
• work on this information with a partner
• find the answers on particular questions by themselves or in a team
• make a final project (in a group)
• self-evaluation.