WEBQUEST

What is WebQuest?

WebQuest, originally created by Bernie Dodge at San Diego State University in 1995, are "inquiry-oriented" activities self-contained on the web. WebQuest are "designed to support the learners' thinking at levels of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation" by using information provided rather than focusing on obtaining it themselves (Dodge, 2004).
The WebQuest model didn't fall out of the sky from the planet Krypton. It's just a particular packaging of concepts and techniques like cooperative learning, advance organizers, scaffolding, problem-based learning, and so on each of which has a huge literature base. So when it comes time to do a lit review in preparation for a WebQuest study, you construct it based on whatever aspects of WebQuest that you're interested in. (Dodge, 2004).

The Importance of WebQuest

WebQuest bring together the most effective instructional practices into one activity, including:
1. Student Motivation -- Students who participate in WebQuest are often more motivated because they are engaged in trying to understand or solve real-world problems, helping students assume ownership in their learning. Students become more motivated when they have opportunities to use authentic resources rather than outdated textbooks and library resources; have access to experts; can explore a range of current documents and reports; search a variety of databases and relevant material; and, have the opportunity to make choices and decisions in the learning process.
2. Authentic Learning -- WebQuest often pose authentic situations and provide opportunities for students to role play. Students' work together by role playing others in the community and sharing in their beliefs, opinions, and values in an effort to understand or solve a given problem. Students who are faced with understanding or solving an authentic task in school have their learning validated; rather than many of those students who work on isolated skills and facts and see learning as disjointed from the real world. An example of this might be to have students role play being scientists, environmentalists, land developers, city council members, and consumers to determine alternative solutions to the deforestation and effects on a community that is rapidly growing and expanding.
3. Developing Thinking Skills -- WebQuest are based on the strategies of cognitive psychology and constructivism and pose questions to students that cannot be simply answered through rote rehearsal and memorization. Students are required to dissect the task and attack sub-tasks sifting through information, thereby facilitating deeper and more advanced thinking that connects to prior knowledge. These new connections can be strengthened when the topic is encountered again in the future.
4. Cooperative Learning -- A WebQuest naturally creates cooperative learning opportunities. WebQuest creates opportunities for learning about complex subjects, making it impossible for every student to know about or master every aspect of the given situation.
5. Respecting Diversity -- The WebQuest provides a natural setting for promoting respect for diversity. Groups of students naturally vary in gender, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and religious beliefs. Working together students sift through complex information and encounter opinions from others as well as among their own group members in an effort to work together to facilitate a deeper and more advanced understanding about the topic. By sifting through complex information as well as diverse opinions, connections to their prior knowledge not only builds new connections that can be strengthened later but diverse opinions and new ways of understanding and knowing are brought to the forefront, and similarities and differences aid in understanding and solving the problem.
6. Alternative Assessment -- As students complete their WebQuest there may be many different answers to the same problem and rationales that accompany the different answers. Alternative assessment measures other than the traditional paper/pencil test are often more effective in understanding students' thought processes and conclusions. Alternative assessment measures may include students presenting their conclusions in a speech, debate, PowerPoint presentation, poster presentation, video tape, audio tape, or even a multimedia presentation.

WebQuest in the Philippine Education

WebQuest is very helpful, not only for students, but also for teachers, that they can develop their cognitive skill, at the same time develop one of their intelligences, which is the "Intrapersonal". This could help our education system and our current education curriculum attain more of its objectives and goals. But is WebQuest really applicable in the Philippine Education? Years ago, DepEd implemented "cybereducation" throughout the nation, but we can't deny the fact that 'til now, there are still schools, especially those that are located in rural areas, which have no enough technologies, like computers. Students of these schools are not exposed to these technologies, and will possibly become computer illiterate. Will these students become competent professionals in the future? On the other hand, if DepEd officials will consider this factor, and will find solutions, as early as possible, it will be really "realistic" that we can adapt WebQuest as an aid in educating the learners.