WebQuests Course Outline for College Credit

Course Title: Creating WebQuests

Credit: 2 graduate credit hours

Audience: K-12 Teachers

Instructor: Janine Lim

Course Description:

This online course focuses on the design and implementation of Internet WebQuests.  Course will include: Effective search strategies, designing lesson plans and assessment, designing Internet research, and creating WebQuests for classroom use.

This course was chosen as an exemplary course by a WebCT study in 2000.

Course Objectives: Participants will:

• Be able to define and describe a WebQuest.
• Experience various WebQuests to determine their worth.
• Learn the six basic components of a WebQuest.
• Examine Tasks to determine what makes a good WebQuest.
• Examine the criteria that make up a high-quality WebQuest.
• Determine the topic, title and design task for their WebQuest.
• Evaluate student learning when using WebQuests and develop an evaluation tool.
• Collect and organize resources for the WebQuest.
• Design the process students will use to complete the WebQuest.
• Examine class WebQuests and respond to online colleagues.
• Summarize and evaluate their online class experience.

• Big Ideas: Readings, WebQuest background information, tutorials on parts of the WebQuest.
• Discuss: Share responses to reading.
• Practice/Create: Experience and create WebQuests. Post work for feedback from colleagues.
• Tips & Tricks: Extra learning opportunities and resources for assisting your work.
• Feedback: Give feedback on how you're doing in the course.

Presenters:

Janine Lim, Instructional Technology Consultant, BCISD.

Teaches courses on technology curriculum integration (such as Internet and content specific software), and coordinates distance learning and online courses.

Course Requirements:

1. Each week there will be questions based on the Big Ideas reading. Since much of your learning will take place as a result of the level of dialogue we engender, the following should act as guidelines to your "posts": a) include accounts of your own experience, b) ask expansive questions - ones with no right or wrong answer - ones to stimulate thinking and lead to deeper understandings, c) build on previous "posts" by agreeing, disagreeing, giving examples, asking questions, defining issues/terms, d) suggest metaphors. It is expected that you will spend 2-3 hours per week on the web interacting with others. I highly recommend that you login at least half an hour daily to keep up with the discussion.

   25 pts weekly: 15 pts for initial post; 10 pts for response to others

2. Early in the course, you will be practicing what you are learning and exploring WebQuests. You will share and discuss the results of that practice in another discussion area. Starting with week three, you will actually be creating parts of the WebQuest each week. As you write parts of the WebQuest, you will share that with the class so that you can receive helpful feedback from colleagues as you develop the WebQuest. In addition, in this section you are expected to give helpful feedback to your colleagues. Suggested starter words for your feedback:

   I particularly liked . . .
   You might want to look at these resources . . .
   Did you think about . . .
   I wondered about . . .
   I’ve been successful with similar activities when . . .

   25 pts weekly: 10 pts for initial post; 15 pts for response to others (Note the switch in priority from Discuss. Your feedback to each other is critical to creating excellent WebQuests.)

3. Create a WebQuest and present it to the class. 200 pts.

   500 pts total

Method(s) of Evaluation/Grading:

100-90%   A
89-80%     B
79-70%     C
69-60%     D