SOSE Webquest

Another student and I worked on a Webquest for our SOSE assessment. The thought of a Webquest certainly sounded daunting although with careful planning, choosing a topic, planning the slides, and deciding in advance the outcomes required for student assessment, our Webquest was successful. Admittedly the end product could have been improved.

The format for a Webquest simply is a powerpoint with hyperlinks throughout the document that carry the reader through a series of stages, ending in assessment. These hyperlinks are links made to other slides in the powerpoint and to external internet sites. I say simply only because of my ever evolving digital literacy, when understanding how the Webquest is developed through a powerpoint I gained a greater comprehension of the task and gained more confidence in my own ability to develop it.

This type of presentation requires alot of planning and concentration. Also remembering that as Learning Managers we must be aware of the change in digital language, Digital Natives vs Digital Immigrants. There needs to be a clear outcome as to what you want to achieve through this resource, is it user friendly, does it engage students easily, and importantly is their learning experience a rich one filled with new knowledge and prior learning. They are fun and entertaining which aides in the learning journey. Therefore the journey must be engaging....not just at the beginning of the lesson but throughout that lesson.

It was an enjoyable experience and again I learnt the issue with new types technology literacy is about going through the processes required to learn it stage by stage. When one looks at the whole picture without understanding it appears too difficult, once it is broken down into smaller pieces, understanding is achieved. It was an enjoyable process and I hope to use this type of Teacher delivery systems in my own classroom.

These Webquests can be used cross curricular with some planning, make them enjoyable and applicable to subject matter and they are a great tool in the classroom.



Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives digital immigrants. [electronic version] On the Horizon (MCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001)