I am overwhelmed with the amount of work it took to create the final webquest. As I was reviewing webquests earlier in this course, I saw that not all of the steps were being taken. Some of the webquests were not inquiry based and were basically cutting and pasting of information. I have also seen within my district during sharing meetings that it is common to call an activity a webquest, but it is just an online worksheet with links and questions to answer.
The initial planning of the project seemed to take the longest. I now see that it was important to have a good foundation and plan when developing the task for the students and the goals desired. So often, we plan an activity or lesson for students not fully thinking about the goals and standards. This project forced us to think about what we wanted out of the project before developing a final product.
Webquests take a lot of work on the front end, but if developed well, will become a wonderful activity for students. Our district is moving quickly towards more inquiry based education and discouraging cutting and pasting of information during their research. My final project was a webquest for 5th grade that I will use when they come to see me in the LMC. In the future, I would like to see well planned webquests for each grade level so that all students at my school can experience this type of learning opportunity.
Overall, I was glad to have created something this extensive knowing I will use it in the next school year. The 5th grade teachers at my school are already thrilled! My biggest challenge will now be to create more in subject areas that I'm not as familiar. As I collaborate with the classroom teachers this fall, I will be taking notes on what they would like to see in a webquest and goals for their students.
Ellen,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on finishing all of your work! :) It all looks wonderful and I am wishing that I was in your shoes right now. I know that the students at Ivy Hill are going to continue to be blessed by you as you work with them in a different capacity as librarian. As I looked at your webquest I though wow...we should have talked before either one of us started our planning. I think I would have picked a different topic and in the end, benefited from having two quality 5th grade webquests for science. My webquest is focusing on volcanoes and earthquakes so again our minds were on the same wavelength. :) Have fun as a librarian and hopefully we will have the opportunity to keep in touch. ~Kristen
Ellen, I love your photo! I feel like that right now. As I am wrapping up the last few detail, I am down to the wire, of course. I agreee that webquests take much longer than I realized, especially if you want to do a good one. I agree that the foundation is key; the structure is what will keep you going. When I was floundering, it was because I was not staying focused. Your whole site looks amazing! Great job!
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