Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Webquest
The concept of a webquest is something new to me but I personally think that it is a great idea since nowadays the Internet is more accessible to students and teachers are using it as an instructional tool. Webquests appear to be a fun way to help students discover new facts and events while improving engagement and motivation. Since I will be teaching ESL students, I believe this will help me scaffold the material to their level by providing not only content information but language support as well. I can also use a webquest to, help them activate and/or create the necessary background knowledge they are going to need as a point of reference for their understanding.
The fact that a webquest can be accomplished cooperatively is also very beneficial for students especially English Language Learners. Many times ELLs have a high affective filter and are simply not ready to interact with classmates in a big classroom setting. Providing them the opportunity to work collaboratively with small groups, will help them become more confident and practice their language skills in a group environment more conducive for learning. All students will have to learn to work together and support each other since they all are in the same group.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Ximena, I think you have some excellent points about using Webquests, and I really appreciate your focus on its use with ELLs. Cooperative groups could definitely help students of all backgrounds and levels (ELLs and fluent English-speakers alike) in addition to presenting new information in a fun and engaging way.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, do you think there are any downfalls to using of Webquests in the classroom? In what situations would they be ineffective or difficult to use with ELLs? Do you think they would be beneficial to all ages and English levels? Thankfully, an Internet assignment does allow students to have access to different supports (translators, etc), which could either help or hinder the goal of the exercise.
This is my first time using a Webquest, so in many ways I am still getting the hang of using it, but I think that it could be a really fun way to incorporate content in a lesson.
Katie...I guess great minds think alike! :) As a matter of fact I was just thinking about the downfalls of using webquests. I believe that sometimes students rely too much on the Internet as opposed to more traditional alternatives. When using a webquest we must remember to encourage our students to draw conclusions and make important connections as opposed to just retrieving facts. Sadly, students (more often than not) are under the false impression that everything in the Internet is a fact (if the Internet said it then it must be true). As educators we must teach students how to recognize scholarly sources and the differences between an opinion piece and something that has validity. I think that the use of webquests will be ineffective for ELLs when you are introducing a new concept. ELLs might need more explicit instruction, and interaction with a webquest might not be enough. However, webquests will be a great way to practice and deepen the understanding of a concept. About your third question, I believe that webquests can be used with all levels and ages IF its design and purpose is appropriate for the students. In other words, the webquests should be scaffolded and differentiated for all students.
ReplyDeleteXimena,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree about ELLs needing explicit instruction with some new activities. Even working with partners or having different roles within cooperative groups may need to be taught and practiced with students before sending them to work independently on an assignment
What do you think about using a Webquest to introduce a unit, and not as the culminating activity? While I think that it could be used as an independent research project before going more in depth later in class, I agree that the research may be more meaningful with more developed background knowledge of the topic, which would allow students know what they are researching and looking for as they are completing the Webquest.
Thinking about the adults that I work with, I was interested in what you thought about using the technology with all ages and levels. Some of the older students in my classroom have never once touched a computer (imagine my difficulties when I tried to describe what Google was to someone who had never used the Internet before! Eek!). Obviously this is an extreme example, and since I currently, and unfortunately, do not have Internet access where I teach, Webquests are not currently practical for me. At the same time, I think that we should encourage younger students to become familiar with computers and using the vast amount of information available to them--as long as, as you said, we are also teaching them how to distinguish between fact and what looks like fact.
Also- YES and yay! to scaffolding and differentiating to benefit all students! :)