WebQuests

According to Dodge (2007) a WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson design in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. The model was developed by Bernie Dodge and Tom March at San Diego State University in February, 1995. Teachers and educators from all over the world have embraced WebQuests as a way to create excellent use of the internet while engaging their students in the kinds of thinking that the 21st century learner requires.
Authentic WebQuests are a scaffolded web structure that uses links to resources on the World Wide Web and a authentic task to stimulate students exploration of an open ended question (March, 2007).
A webquest task should have a connection to the real world, be real and relevant. The Productive Pedagogies framework states that lessons should have "value and meaning beyond the instructional context, making a connection to the wider social context within which students live" (Queensland Department of Education,2002).
Last year I created a WebQuest with a fellow colleague for the first time aimed at grade 2 students about 'Why are the frogs disappearing from our local area?. Students where required to investigate the causes of their disappearance. They then had to design a sustainable environment suitable for frogs to live. One of the last tasks was to report their findings and concerns to the wider community such as the local government. Throughout the webquest specific links were set up to guide the students investigations through the World Wide Web and Word Documents. We did find the process was very time consuming however well worth the effort to set up. There is also a bank of webquests on the internet to explore and use.

References
Dodge, B (2007)Research About WebQuests. Department of Educational Technology, San Diego State University. Retrieved on August 16, 2009 from http://www.webquest.org/index-research.php
March, T. (2003)The Learning Power of WebQuests. Association for Supervision and Curricculum Development. retrieved August 16, 2009 from http://coe.nevada.edu/nstrudler/MarchWQ03.pdf
Queensland Department of Education.(2002). Productive Pedagogies: Classroom reflection manual. Retrieved August 16, 2009 from http://education.qld.gov.au/public_media/reportscurriculum-framework/productive-pedagogies/