Webquest 101
Presenting the results
Students learn in different ways, and webquests are a great way to let students follow their interests or play to their strengths within an assigned theme. Small group projects allow students to do the portion of the task that address their “intelligences” (see Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. Individual projects make it easier for the teacher to determine who did the actual work, however.
The most effective webquests have a “real world” task that students try to accomplish: a presentation to the board of directors of the Art Museum, a design for a war memorial, etc. These tasks require the students to take the new knowledge they have gained and synthesize it into a “product” of some kind. The exact product will depend on your time available, skills you are trying to teach, and the age level of the students.
Try to provide the opportunity for students to show their strengths by taking different roles within their group or different project options. We have included both traditional projects and interactive tool/sites:
- Written projects, such as reports, booklets, scripts, letters, editorials, blogs, wikis, concept maps, PowerPoints or an online slideshow maker, and many more!
- Multimedia presentations (see a complete list of multimedia ideas here). Find tools to create timelines, slideshows, animations, and much more. Some of our personal favorites include: My Fake Wall, where you can create a fake Facebook Wall for sharing information about a person or place. Use the site Smore to create multimedia fliers. Present.Me allows you to add voice, video, and even record your presentation to share with students, friends, and/or family.
- Visual/artistic displays, traditional posters, online posters, and more. Students can create a talking avatar using Voki. Use a simple animation tool to share your presentation. Another option... create an online drawing.
- Performances or role-playing are great too! Have students create a Voicethread. This allows students to narrate a photo/image. Students can create a short skit or even news broadcast and video the show. Share the videos on a site such as TeacherTube.
- Mathematical spreadsheets or charts are great for your logical/mathematical students. Have students use a tool such as Edit Grid to create online spreadsheets. Other great tools to check out include Open Heat Map, Instacalc, and of course Google Docs, which includes a variety of presentation methods.
For tips on using the interactive tools listed above, check out the General Tips for Using Edge Tools.
If you provide a clear rubric of the expectations for the different options, your students can use their imaginations to meet expectations their own way.