Webquest

Our colleagues mentioned that they would like one of our blogs to be dedicated to Zunal, so here it is!

First things first: what on earth is a webquest?
A webquest is a way of teaching that is activating and interactive. The lesson is mainly focussed on research (kind of like a scavenger hunt) and the information should be completely or mostly accessible through the internet, according to Wikipedia. Students learn to look for and study information that they can use for their final product. Participants in a webquest usually have roles that will help them create said final product. The information they need is structured by their teacher, who are also the creators of the webquest. A webquest usually consists of seven parts:

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Task
• 3. Sources
• 4. Process
• 5. Evaluation
• 6. Conclusion
• 7. Teacher page

This allows students to work on their own and they should be able to work on bigger projects. These projects can be assignments, but a website or a portfolio would also work really well. A webquest can take up as many lessons as you would like: you can do one in one lesson, but it can also run through an entire term. Each and every teacher can create a webquest and you can choose any subject you would like.

Click here for an example webquest on decorating a cake

Advantages of using webquests

1. Participating in a webquest teaches students to use the internet effectively. A teacher should't send students to a website for some copy-pasting but students should be directed to a page where they really have to give some thought to the topic of the webquest.
2. Using webquests can have a positive influence on student motivation. Students have claimed they like this way of learning because it appeals to their curiosity (Abbit & Ophus, 2008).
3. A webquest calls for collaboration and therefore trains students in this skill. Because they are working in groups, students can give input on several levels, such as the activation of prior knowledge, skills,and attitude.
4. Webquests give teachers the opportunity to differentiate where content and work process are involved.
5. Teachers can also differentiate in the final product
6. Using a webquests is a way to integrate technology in lessons and in learning.
7. Students with disabilities appear to be more motivated and finish more assignments when technology is incorporated in lessons.
8. Webquests make it easier to help students with dyslexia because text and lay out can easily be adjusted (think of fonts, size of letters, underlining, or even websites that read text out loud to students)
9. A webquest provides students with

• a well-structured environment
• clear step by step guides to the final product
• a list of suitable sources
• instructions for gathering information for a project.

How do you come up with a webquest idea?

1. Pick a subject you think needs to be worked on and on which information is easily accessible on the internet.
2. What do you want students to be able to do after completing the webquest?
3. How do you want students to complete the assignments?
4. What will the webquest yield/what is the final product? A report? A presentation?
5. Which sources can be used? Find at least five suitable websites.
6. How will you grade the assignment? Add a rubric if you have one.
7. Come up with a way to evaluate the assignment and the webquest.
8. Write down important information for teachers on the teacher page. Students have no business on this page..

Where can I create a webquest?
There are many places to create online webquests, but I will focus on Zunal for this blog. If you want to try another one you can go to Google and look for 'make webquest online' for example.

Step by step guide to your first webquest!

Step 1: Go to www.zunal.com and click the pink button that says 'Register Free'.

Step 2: Create an account. Zunal only allows you to have one account which should only be used by you. You can collaborate with others but only if you all have separate accounts. A free account lets you create one webquest. If you would like to have several webquests up and running at the same time you can upgrade to a Pro account ($20, which is about 15 euros, for three years). If you do not want this, you can obviously create multiple accounts by using multiple e-mail addresses. I have to say that I found this a bit of a shame...

Step 3: Finished? Press Click Here and log in! You will see the following screen: 

Click the pink button to create your first webquest. 

Step 4: Click the blue button that says 'Create a webquest from scratch'. This means you are going to create a webquest that requires you to fill out every page. You can update them after you've finished, so there is no need to be a perfectionist ;)

Step 5: You will now see a pop up screen in which you can write the title of your webquest. Click 'Create now' to continue. If you want to continue working, click 'Continue'... Nooooooo surely not!!! Yes, please do..

Step 6: You have now arrived at the Welcome page. In the middle of your screen are a couple of gray buttons: Update Image (allows you to add an image), Update webquest Information (to specify the information) and Add Resources (to add... resources, basically). If you click 'Update Webquest Information'  you will see that it is quite clear what is expected of you...

Zunal does this on every page: it give you a chapter and tells you exactly what kind of information should be in there. Perfection! Look at the Task page for example:

Step 7: So imagine: you have filled out theWelcome page and you now want to add an English-Dutch dictionary as a link for your students to use. To do this, you have to click the Add Resources button. You will see a pop up appear and this pop up contains several options. I mostly use Add Website, Attach a file en Attach a Photo.  For an online dictionary, choose option 2: Add Website URL. Choose a title, paste the link and if you want to, enter a description. Click Save Now and your link has been added to your webquest.

Many things are possible so I suggest you just go ahead and click on some random buttons to see what happens. Zunal gives you examples for almost everything, so there's not much that can go wrong...

PS: webquests mix very well with Edmodo and with Flipping the Classroom!