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Traveling Around Italy!!! Ciao! Arrivederci! Buona Sera! Students: You will go to an adventure trip to the Italy. You will acquire information about the government, culture, life style, history and geography.

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To develop great WebQuests, you need to develop a thorough understanding of the different possibilities open to you as you create web-based lessons. One way for you to get there is to critically analyze a number of webquest examples and discuss them from multiple perspectives. That's your task in this exercise.

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It's likely that the task in a given WebQuest will combine elements of two or more of these task categories.

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Introduction to the nature and content of a WebQuest, instructions on how to write a quest, how to find internet resources

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Introduction

Since early in 1995, teachers everywhere have learned how to use the web well by adopting the WebQuest format to create inquiry-oriented lessons. But what exactly is a WebQuest? What does it feel like to do one? How do you know a good one when you see it? In the space of 90 minutes, you're going to grapple with these questions and more.

The Task

To develop great WebQuests, you need to develop a thorough understanding of the different possibilities open to you as you create web-based lessons. One way for you to get there is to critically analyze a number of webquest examples and discuss them from multiple perspectives. That's your task in this exercise.

By the end of this lesson, you and your group will answer these questions:

1. Which two of example WebQuests listed below are the best ones? Why?

2. Which two are the worst? Why?

3. What do best and worst mean to you?

The Process

1. First, each participant will have a hard copy of the worksheet. To answer the questions given above, you'll break into groups of four. Within the group, each of you will take on one of the following roles:

The Efficiency Expert: You value time a great deal. You believe that too much time is wasted in today's classrooms on unfocused activity and learners not knowing what they should be doing at a given moment. To you, a good WebQuest is one that delivers the most learning bang for the buck. If it's a short, unambitious activity that teaches a small thing well, then you like it. If it's a longterm activity, it had better deliver a deep understanding of the topic it covers, in your view.

The Affiliator: To you, the best learning activities are those in which students learn to work together. WebQuests that force collaboration and create a need for discussion and consensus are the best in your view. If a WebQuest could be done by a student working alone, it leaves you cold.

The Altitudinist: Higher level thinking is everything to you. There's too much emphasis on factual recall in schools today. The only justification for bringing technology into schools is if it opens up the possibility that students will have to analyze information, synthesize multiple perspectives, and take a stance on the merits of something. You also value sites that allow for some creative expression on the part of the learner.

The Technophile: You love this internet thang. To you, the best WebQuest is one that makes the best use of the technology of the Web. If a WebQuest has attractive colors, animated gifs, and lots of links to interesting sites, you love it. If it makes minimal use of the Web, you'd rather use a worksheet.

2. Individually, you'll examine each of the sites below and use the worksheet to jot down some notes of your opinions of each from the perspective of your role. You'll need to examine each site fairly quickly. Don't spend more than 7 minutes on any one site. Your instructor will keep time using this clock:

Here are the sites you'll be analyzing:

3. When everyone in the group has seen all the sites, it's time to get together to answer the questions. One way to proceed would be to go around and poll each team member for the best two and worst two from their perspective. Pay attention to each of the other perspectives, even if at first you think you might disagree with them.

4. There will probably not be unanimous agreement, so the next step is to talk together to hammer out a compromise consensus about your team's nominations for best and worst. Pool your perspectives and see if you can agree on what's best for the learner. DO NOT JUST TALLY UP THE VOTES AND DECLARE A WINNER. Instead, begin to put aside your individual perspective and come to an agreement that takes into account all four perspectives.

5. One person in each group should record the group's thoughts.

6. When debriefing time is called, report your results to the whole class. Do you think the other groups will agree with your conclusions?

Conclusion

Ideally, this exercise will provide you with a larger pool of ideas to work with as you develop your WebQuest-making skills. The best WebQuest is yet to be written. It might be yours!

Last updated on April 9, 2009

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Since early in 1995, teachers everywhere have learned how to use the web well by adopting the WebQuest format to create inquiry-oriented lessons. But what exactly is a WebQuest? What does it feel like to do one? How do you know a good one when you see it?

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San Diego State University or Tom March's site calledWebQuests & More .

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Find Webquest Generators for Teachers: Free Tools For the Classroom

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Find Webquest Generators for Teachers: Free Tools For the Classroom

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Where to Begin?

Using the webquest generator list below is a great way to start creating webquests for your class. Some simply generate an HTML page for you to upload to your own website, but others create and publish the webquest online for you. However, all of them follow the original webquest format of including an introduction, task, process, resources, evaluation and conclusion. So, if you are looking for a straightforward way to get your webquest ideas organized into a easily customizable template, the websites listed in this article will do just that.

1. QuestGarden

QuestGarden.com is the official webquest generator of the webquest.org portal. With QuestGarden you get to micro-manage almost everything you could hope to change when you create a webquest. The helpful design wizard walks you through all the stages and helps you decide what to write in each of the sections. It even includes examples from published webquests to help jumpstart your inspiration. Finished webquests are published on the QuestGarden website, complete with a shortened URL for easy access.

You can sign up for a free 30-day trial, or subscribe for two years with a one-time payment of $20.

2. Zunal WebQuest Maker

The Zunal webquest generator has a wealth of options, and generates a slick-looking final product that looks very professional. Webquests can be displayed in up to eight languages, have a variety of background images, and can have a selection of color themes applied. Additional pages include space for a student quiz, a review page, a teacher page, and an 'about the author' page. Page statistics can be viewed, files can be added, and YouTube videos can be embedded. Once your webquest is finished, it can be published live on the Zunal site, or exported as a Word, PDF or Excel file. It also works with your mobile device.

Teachers can register for free, but this only gives you access to one webquest. Registering for the pro version, however, is very cost effective. For $20 you get a three-year membership to Zunal, the ability to create and edit an unlimited number of webquests, and an ad-free experience for the teacher and any visitors to your webquests. Sample webquests can be found on the Zunal homepage.

3. Teachnology Web Quest Maker

Simplicity is the key with the free webquest generator from Teachnology. Simply fill in the boxes in the ready made template, and click the button at the bottom of the page and you will have created your first webquest. Options to customize your websquests are limited. You cannot add or delete pages, change fonts or other such things, but you can add a picture to the top of your page.

It is possibly the quickest way to create a webquest, but it is also one of the simplest in terms of presentation. Right click on your completed page to save it as an HTML page, and you can upload it to your blog, website or file host when you are ready. You can view a sample webquest that I created with this website here.

4. Aula21 - 1, 2, 3 Your Webquest for Free

Like the Teachnology webquest generator, Aula21's tool is free to use, and needs no subscriptions or registrations. However, unlike the Teachnology site, you do get more options with regards to presentation and customization when you use 1, 2, 3 Your Webquest for Free.

You have six language options, 12 different fonts, 15 text colors, and 28 background colors to choose from. There is also the ability to upload an image of your choice. All the usual template boxes are included, along with a sample paragraph to remind you what you should have in each section, and you simply click the button at the bottom to see your finished webquest and save it as an HTML file.

The Best Webquest Generator?

Ultimately, you get what you pay for with a webquest generator. When you pay for a subscription with Zunal or QuestGarden, you get some stylish premade templates and the option to publish them online direct from their sites. The free options from Aula21 and Teachnology are much simpler, and require you to either have, or find, a place to upload the generated HTML file.

If you are new to webquests and just want to try one or two, then by all means start with the free generators. However, the price of the paid versions represents great value for money, and you will soon find that it is easier to make and publish your webquests by using either Zunal or QuestGarden. You also have the added bonus of being able to go back and edit your webquests to update dead links or add more challenges. For me, Zunal offers the best balance of style, detail and simplicity, but both can be used on a trial basis before spending any money on a subscription, and I would encourage you to try both to see which best fits your personal tastes.

Webquests for the Classroom

What is a webquest, and how can you best use them in your classroom? This series gives teachers tips and advice on how to use webquests at school.

1. A Webquest Guide

2. Teaching With Webquests: Use a Webquest Maker to Make Your Own

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Find Webquest Generators for Teachers: Free Tools For the Classroom

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Using the webquest generator list below is a great way to start creating webquests for your class. Some simply generate an HTML page for you to upload to your own website, but others create and publish the webquest online for you.