What is a WebQuest?
A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which most or all of the information used by learners is drawn from the Web. WebQuests are designed to use learners' time well, to focus on using information rather than looking for it, and to support learners' thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The model was developed in early 1995 at San Diego State University by Bernie Dodge and Tom March.
Since then, scores of workshops around the country have been offered to teachers on the WebQuest format. There are many examples of effective WebQuests available on the WebQuest Page at webquest.org as well as from other collections nationwide. 

At EduTech, we feel that the WebQuest format is an effective format for integrating technology into the curriculum and for aligning those technology based lessons with the New York State Standards. We have created a 3 day workshop which will immerse participants in the concepts of WebQuests. The following is covered during the course:

 Explore!
Become familiar with the WebQuest format and how it is in alignment with the NYS Standards. Spend part of the day reviewing existing WebQuests and finding the ones which match your curriculum goals. Time can also be spent planning for the use of one of these WebQuests in your classroom.

Create!
Design a WebQuest of your own, matching it to the NYS Standards and to your curriculum goals. Your WebQuest will include the student page which guides your students through their task, and a teacher page which gives all the educational background behind the project. When tracking down the Internet resources to include in the student page, the class instructor (s) will be available to assist you in your search.

 Publish!
Internet based projects are meant to be shared with the global community. Publish your work to the Internet for the use of other educators and also for easy access by your students anywhere, anytime. We will be using  FrontPage to publish our work to the web. A period of time exists between day 2 and day 3 so that participants can further polish their work (if desired) before publishing it to the web.
 

 
Who is this course appropriate for?
This course will meet the instructional needs of all classroom teachers, librarians, special area teachers (K- 12) who have access to the Internet either in the classroom or in a building computer lab. The course is designed for teachers who wish to further align their curriculum with the NYS Standards and the new assessments. It will allow teachers to more easily integrate technology and the Internet into classroom activities. Computer Coordinators would also find this course helpful in their efforts to lead their staff into further integration of technology.
 

 
An example…
Click on Our Examples to see great examples of work done by area teachers in the WebQuest course.
 

 
Questions?
Please feel free to contact Mary Kirsch or Kelli Eckdahl if you have questions about this course at mkirsch@edutech.org  or keckdahl@edutech.org or
1-800-722-5797