WebQuest

Click the image above to view our WebQuest!

Our WebQuest can be considered a real WebQuest through the use of essential internet resources, open-ended questions, and individual expertise.

"Activities that point students only to encyclopedic briefs, textbook digests, or worse—word searches and coloring books—do not take advantage of Internet resources that are interactive, media-rich, contemporary, contextualized, or of varied perspectives."

 It perfects the use of essential internet resources by requiring that students research all information. Students are also encouraged to use multiple sources, both digital and traditional print if it can be found, to ensure the validity of their stories. They are also using Voki, which is an interactive website designed around avatar worlds. The interactive part allows the students to create an avatar to tell their news stories. This engages the students further to let them be creative while learning. Each researched event will have a different take on the event, but the students are looking to see that the facts should remain the same, regardless of varied opinion.

"Open-ended questions activate students’ prior knowledge and create a personal curiosity that inspires investigation and brings about a more robust understanding of the material."

In our evaluation section, the students are asked to fill out a google form containing four open-ended questions about the sixties, their connection with the book The Outsiders before and after their research, and the comparison between modern age and the times back then. This allows the students to actually know the material they are studying; not  just glance over it or guess with multiple choice questions. It also will hopefully encourage them to pay attention to their research and want to gain a better understanding of life in the sixties. 

"A preliminary stage, which we call Background for Everyone, helps all students gain a common foundation of knowledge in the general subject before developing expertise from one perspective."

Last, our WebQuest works brilliantly to perfect the use of individual expertise. Each student begins the same amount of knowledge. They are all asked to read S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders. They are then asked to watch a short video review and answer questions. After they are broken into groups, each students is asked to research one section. There are four altogether: the sixties, The Outsiders, sixties entertainment, and sixties sports. Each student will become extremely familiar with their section and the stories they decide to work with. After they check facts and know their stories, they create a Voki of the information they have learned. The stories are real-life situations and each student (the different groups, at least two students in the class will have the same topic) will have a different opinion on how or why the event began.