Introduction

The Web can be a scary place...and if this is your first time using the internet to design a lesson, it is hard to know where to start. This WebQuest will give you direction and support as you explore the world of online lesson design.

The Task

On completion of this WebQuest, the beginning teacher will develop points of integration and corresponding resources (for a lesson they already teach) on the World Wide Web.

The Process

Your first step in this WebQuest is to select a lesson or topic that is part of the curriculum you teach. In this new online setting, you are limited somewhat by your own knowledge base and the tremendous amount of information "out there." At the same time, you are less limited because you now have access to hundreds of other teacher's knowledge bases!

Considering the lesson you have chosen, make a few notes about the objectives, goals or activities you have used in the past. Examine this lesson for the following:

• In your classroom, lessons generally begin with a question/situation/stimulation (anticipatory set, if you will) that is designed to engage the students in the upcoming learning. What is the usual "hook" you use with this lesson?
• What existing knowledge are students building on?
• What new information is learned?
• What are the objectives, goals and activities of the existing lesson?
• What sort of feedback do you provide and how is performance assessed?
• How is the new learning practiced and reinforced?

    NOTE: You may wish to jot down the above items from your existing lesson.

Ready?  With your existing curriculum in mind, here we go!

1. There are literally thousands of lessons out there just waiting for you! At this point,  you could, I suppose, quit this process and merely select one of those lessons for your own initial integration of technology. That's fine (no, it's not cheating!). This WebQuest, however, assumes that you will continue with the process of revising your own lesson to include technology. Click on this link and revel in the sheer numbers of lessons available at your fingertips! Click the "Back" button on your browser to return to this WebQuest.  Insert URL

1. Did you see anything you really liked? As educators, we are accustomed to 'borrowing' ideas, pictures, poetry, etc. for use in our classes. On the web, however, copyright issues are quite dirrerent. Read this description of Internet Copyright rules before adding anything to an online site (including the one at your school or district!) Click the "Back" button on your browser to return to this WebQuest Insert URL

1. Moving step by step through the bullets above, you will now begin to swap pieces of your existing lesson for online alternatives. Don't be afraid to try something totally new - but be sure to practice before using it with students! - or be prepared to lose face! The first bullet above is the attention-getter. On the web, you are likely to have several students working at the same time, and, if there are no headphones, you might not want to use sound as a part of your online "hook!" http://www.yahooligans.com    At this site, you will do a search for the topic of your lesson. This search engine is both web-friendly and kid-friendly! The next section of thie WebQuest (Resources) contains a list of other search engines for kids.

1. Existing knowledge provides the springboard for the next learning steps for all learners. You know your own students, you know your curriculum...you are the professional and as such can reflect on the uses you have made in the past of the knowledge base that is already present in your class. so, online that means directing your students to a website that reflects something they already know. Look at you notes, see what you have done in the past to build on what they have and select a few keywords. Go to Insert URL and  search for your keywords. As you search, note the URLs you encounter that seem to fill the bill for your students and their current skill set. Be sure to follow links out from any page you plan to use with kids to guard against improper websites.

1. Learners will access the on-line resources that you've identified as they go through the Process. You may have a set of links that everyone looks at as a way of developing background information, or not. If you break learners into groups, embed the links that each group will look at within the description of that stage of the process. (Note, this is a change from the older WebQuest templates which included a separate Resources section. It's now clear that the resources belong in the Process section rather than alone.)

In the Process block, you might also provide some guidance on how to organize the information gathered. This advice could suggestions to use flowcharts, summary tables, concept maps, or other organizing structures. The advice could also take the form of a checklist of questions to analyze the information with, or things to notice or think about. If you have identified or prepared guide documents on the Web that cover specific skills needed for this lesson (e.g. how to brainstorm, how to prepare to interview an expert), link them to this section.

Resources
  Teacher Search Engines
  AltaVista
       Excite
       GoTo.com
       Infoseek
       LookSmart
       Lycos
       Netscape Search

   Student Search Engines
   Yahooligans
            http://www.yahooligans.com
        Ask Jeeves for Kids
            http://www.ajkids.com
        AOL NetFind for Kids Only
            http://www.aol.com/netfind/kids/
        Awesome Library - Search Enging for Kids
            http://www.neat-schoolhouse.org/searchek.html
        KidsClick! - Web Search
            http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/kidsclick!
        KidSearch!
            http://www.bvsd.k12.co.us/schools/unihill/kidsearch/
                    kidsfind.htm
        Lycos Kids Guide
            http://www.lycos.com/kids
        StudyWeb
            http://studyweb.com
 

       Practitioner's Guide to "Designing Instruction for Web-Based Distance Learning"
       Desigining Instruction for Web-Based Distance Learning
       The WebQuest Page
       Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators - WebQuest
       WebQuest Resources
       webquest
       WebQuest Links
       WebQuest
       WebQuest
       ozline.com - working the web for education
       WebQuest
       WebQuest
       TeachersFirst - Webquest 101
       quest-a.shtml
       Welcome to Interact!
       ITSCO | WebQuests
 

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Evaluation
 
 

Describe to the learners how their performance will be evaluated. Specify whether there will be a common grade for group work vs. individual grades.

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Conclusion
Congratulations! You are on your way to integrating technology into the curriculum you already teach!As you continue to explore the web you will discover priceless jewels to enhance your teaching and your students' learning.

Here is a caution: as nifty as technology is, it is not necessarily the best tool for a given situation. For instance, you probably wouldn't want to keep your grocery list on your computer - it would be awkward to get at and the print-out would be much too large to carry with you! As much as anything else, as technology becomes more pervasive in our lives, we need to be able to decide: is this the best tool for this job?
 
 

Credits & References

List here the sources of any images, music or text that you're using. Provide links back to the original source. Say thanks to anyone who provided resources or help.

List any books and other analog media that you used as information sources as well.