Choose Your Tool

Dear Dr. Hensley,

I have been rejuvenated with fresh and exciting new ways to use technology as a result of my involvement in a Teaching With Technology course at the University of Louisville. In the class I have been exposed to many interesting and engaging ways to use emerging technology in the classroom. What I have found through using some of these tools is that students are highly motivated to work with technology and as a result end up learning much more of the content contained in lessons that incorporate technology. This is great news given how important technology literacy will continue to be as the 21st century moves on.

Recently I have been using a new web-based tool that I predict will change the way that many teachers think about teaching and many students think about learning. It is called Webquest, and it is essentially a safe environment (not open to student browsing of unintended websites) where a teacher can post an entire assignment or project online so that students can use it and refer to it at their own rate of learning. It is set up so that the student is taken through a lesson step by step so that there is no confusion as to what is expected of the student and what the exact directions are. The student can go back to parts of the lesson or directions as often as he/she sees fit to clarify confusions.

With Webquest, the teacher can provide an assignment overview, step-by-step directions, a rubric, links inside the lesson for students to use in researching a subject area, how the assignment is to be carried out, and a rationale for doing the assignment. As simple as this might sound, it could save teachers hours during a given work week which could be used to work with struggling students in small groups and individually as necessary. Everything that an elementary teacher might need to implement an engaging lesson can be assembled and made available through a Webquest, and I find this a very exciting proposition. Naturally, addressing the diverse learning needs and learning styles of students is easily met through using this fantastic tool.

Another great facet of Webquest is how easily it lends itself to teacher collaboration. One section of the Webquest is for teachers to explain their rationale for the lesson, core content addressed, and how/why it was developed. It would be so simple for a teacher to create a Webquest on a subject of his/her expertise and send it, for example, to a new teacher who is struggling with that subject to use with his/her students. The possibilities for collaboration and improving instruction in this way are virtually endless.

I think you will enjoy what Webquest has to offer your teachers. Give it a test spin at the following site (http://questgarden.com/46/54/6/070210123705/t-index.htm) and let me know what you think. I’m sure you will quickly think of many valuable applications for this tool, and will be recommending it to your teachers in short order.

Thanks much, Kevin Coultas