WebQuests.

A WebQuest is “an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet” (Dodge, 1995). Prior to engaging with the courseware of this course Managing e.Learning, I was familiar with what a WebQuest was as I was required to make one last year during the Sustainable Communities (S.O.S.E) course. As part of our second assessment task for that course we were required to work with a peer (Sheila Challacombe) to create a WebQuest based upon a sustainability topic. Our WebQuest was based around Water Conservation, and if you would like to view my WebQuest you can do so by clicking the following link.

Water Conservation WebQuest:
http://www.webquestdirect.com.au/webquest.asp?id=908

There was one main disadvantage which I found when creating the Water Conservation WebQuest, and that was the issue of time as I did find it quite time consuming as you were required to extensively research information about a topic, rephrase the information and then create the WebQuest using the free program on WebQuest Direct, whilst keeping in mind that the pages needed to be appealing to the students. Therefore, I feel that teachers would also experience the same disadvantage of time when designing WebQuests to use within their classroom. As it does take a bit of time to create a WebQuest, a fair amount of curriculum, therefore, outcomes from the Essential Learning’s, would need to be covered in the WebQuest in order to make the WebQuest which you have designed a “time effective alternative to traditional methods” (Central Queensland University, 2009). For example, if you made a WebQuest and it only covered a very small amount of the curriculum and took a while to complete, it would be more beneficial for teachers to stick to traditional methods of teaching as more outcomes of the curriculum could be achieved in the same time frame.

In regard to how classrooms might operate compared to a more ‘traditional approach’, by using a WebQuest ICT’s are incorporated into an engaging learning experience for students which consists of students completing an authentic task in order to enhance their learning, rather than, working in a ‘traditional approach’ by enhancing their learning in tasks which do not incorporate the use of ICT’S and are therefore most likely unengaging for the students (Central Queensland University, 2009). In my future role as a learning manager, if I feel that I do not have enough time to create my own WebQuest from scratch, in order to incorporate the use of ICT’s into learning experiences by using WebQuests I will consider using one of the many WebQuests available to use on the internet which have been made by other people.

Reference List:
Central Queensland University (CQU). (2009). FAHE11001- Managing E-Learning: Moodle site. Rockhampton, QLD, Australia: Scot Aldred.

Dodge, B. (1995). Some thoughts about WebQuests. Retrieved August 16, 2009, from
http://tommarch.com/writings/wq_power.php