**MS. Ricker and mr. O'connor Podcast on Inquiry learning and web quest**
WEB QUEST
The most commonly used method of inquiry learning through the use of technology is a web quest. "A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented online tool for learning, says workshop expert Bernie Dodge.This means it is a classroom-based lesson in which most or all of the information that students explore and evaluate comes from the World Wide Web. Beyond that, WebQuests:
- can be as short as a single class period or as long as a month-long unit;
- usually (though not always) involve group work, with division of labor among students who take on specific roles or perspectives;
- are built around resources that are preselected by the teacher. Students spend their time USING information, not LOOKING for it."
(from http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/webquests/index.html)
(sorry about the highlighter...Diigo does that to text...)
oconnorwebquest.doc |
I thought about implementing this type of learning for a long time. I think it is an imperative that education begin moving toward alternative approaches to education. This has to begin from the bottom to the top, from kindergarten to the University level. Flipping the Classroom and web quests are just the beginning techniques. Education is slow to change, but the world outside is not. It is important that educators begin to develop the kind of student who can think critically about a problem and come up with a solution. After all, when a person steps into a career, they will find nothing but problems to solve. A doctor or a mechanic both are faced with difficulties to overcome in their respective fields. Students need to be urged to become proactive and own their education. We need to ready our students for their future. Technology, married with the use of the inquiry learning technique will allow educators to do this.