The WebQuest is an important web 2 learning tool that is gaining recognition and popularity. The main attraction of the tool is that it is based on internet resources. Not only that, but WebQuests also utilize an inquiry-based approach that encourages the students to engage in authentic activities and help them learn and expand their knowledge through the process.
According to Tom March (2004), “A real WebQuest is a scaffolded learning structure that uses links to essential resources on the World Wide Web and an authentic task to motivate students' investigation of an open-ended question, development of individual expertise, and participation in a group process that transforms newly acquired information into a more sophisticated understanding. The best WebQuests inspire students to see richer thematic relationships, to contribute to the real world of learning, and to reflect on their own metacognitive processes. Let us examine these powerful strategies more closely” (p.42).[1]
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Keeping
these concepts in mind, I have designed a WebQuest by the title “Travelling to
New York”. This WebQuest is intended
for English language Learners (ELLs) grades 7-12th, and spans five days of
fifty-minute classes. The WebQuest
integrates English language learning with technology and aims to give the students
an opportunity to practice their linguistic skills using an authentic activity
that they experienced before or will experience in the future.
Many ELLs have
done some travelling in the past and have a firsthand experience of the steps
taken to go on a trip. Some students may
be planning to embark on another journey with their family in the near
future. This WebQuest utilizes this
experience to engage the ELLs in authentic activities and discussions to
develop their linguistic skills when faced with such a real life event. Furthermore, the WebQuest provides them with
opportunities to develop their decision making and critical thinking skills
when confronted with different choices and difficult situations in real life.
This WebQuest
also aims to show the student the rich language learning tools available on the
internet and the many web tools available for them. Thus this WebQuest encourages students to
take learning outside the classroom and tries to inject some degree of autonomy
in the students’ learning process.
Finally, the
student will be creating a post card or a travel brochure using web tools to
transfer what they have learned into actual work and show the connection
between the WebQuest and the real world.
The WebQuest can
be found in the following link: http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=318885
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