WebQuest Reflection and Analysis

"A real WebQuest is a scaffolded learning structure that uses links to essential resources on the World Wide Web and an authentic task to motivate students’ investigation of an open-ended question, development of individual expertise, and participation in a group process that transforms newly acquired information into a more sophisticated understanding. The best WebQuests inspire students to see richer thematic relationships, to contribute to the real world of learning, and to reflect on their own metacognitive processes."- Tom March


Based on the 6 characteristics given in The Learning Power of WebQuests by Tom March, our WebQuest (Roman Government Systems) meets all the criteria for being effective. I have chosen 3 of the characteristics to explain in more detail, and display how our WebQuest effectively meets those standards.

• Use of Essential Internet Resources: Real WebQuests make good use of the Web for effective learning. Traditional assignments often do not take advantage of interactive or media-rich activities and modern perspectives  A good WebQuest should make learning the content more effective than a traditional assignment by use of these resources.

• Our WebQuest takes full advantage of digital media and web literacy. Not only does the assignment rely almost exclusively on internet-based research, it also employs online media tools to facilitate the research process and final project (Google Forms, Prezi, Flash Cards App). Even the assignment process and instructions integrate digital resources (YouTube) to explain the requirements and provide essential background information.

• Individual Expertise: A real WebQuest typically has "roles" for the students to take on. This allows individual students to become and expert in a particular area. By working from a specialized perspective, the team is more likely to reflect "how knowledge is obtained and applied in everyday situations". Individual understanding reflects how everyone can contribute something different when trying to solve problems.

• Our WebQuest assigns each individual member with a role. Each member is responsible for researching one form of government, before coming together as a group to decide which form is best. By allowing each member to be responsible for one specialized area, they become an "expert" with that topic. Therefore, when it is time for the group to come together, the individuals are held responsible for their particular assigned form of government by each other. This promotes self-responsibility as well as personal satisfaction and value that each member is a vital part of the group, and everyone's information, though different, is equally important to the overall goal.

• Transformative Group Process: When considering if a WebQuest's group process is effective, it is helpful to ask two questions: First, Could the answer be copied and pasted? Second, Does the task require students to make something new out of what they have learned? If both these questions are are met, chances are the WebQuest does promote effective group processing. By making students engage in a quest that makes them put their acquired knowledge into action, students will have a deeper understanding of the topic. 

• Our WebQuest not only asks the question "which form of government worked best for ancient Rome"  but also "which form of government would you choose for a new country (that students must create)?". By doing so, we employ a transformative WebQuest strategy of asking why a particular option will thrive best in a given situation. This forces the students to go beyond a yes-or-no question, and face a more interesting challenge. Allowing them to create their own country and make decisions for it is also empowering, and promotes group learning since they must work together to come to a decision. This takes them beyond just learning the curriculum content, and promotes effective networking and problem solving skills. Forcing them to "choose a side" also brings higher level thinking into the assignment.