Cuyamaca College

Webquests

INTRODUCTION
(this page)

SUMMARY OF RESEARCH

INTRODUCTION

Purpose
The purpose of this website is to embed the teaching of information competency skills within the framework of the college curriculum. The instructional media I have chosen to investigate are called Webquests.

Webquests and information competency
In today's business environment, being able to access and effectively use information is more important than ever. Students need information competency skills, which is the ability to access, analyze and effectively use information. The Cuyamaca College has established clear educational objectives and student learning outcomes for information competency. Webquests are another instructional tool to promote information competency.

Webquest
A Webquest is an activity in which students utilize World Wide Web resources to obtain information that is then used in a group project. A Webquest is a project which uses internet resources to obtain relevant data which is then analyzed and used in various exercises. Webquests involve reasoning and critical thinking by data collection on the Web and this in turn allows the student to reach conclusions or answer questions. The Webquests will prepare students to develop information competency skills necessary to writing a research paper.

SUMMARY OF RESEARCH

Four challenging areas of Webquest research and innovation.

1 )The first challenge was to research and investigate the Webquest history and its creators and teaching effectiveness in the classroom. The Webquest "vision" was developed in early 1995 at San Diego State University (SDSU) by Professor Bernie Dodge and Professor Tom March.

2) The second challenge was to research Webquest module development.
My research has shown that Webquest development is prolific at the K-12 level. T
he Webquests at the K-12 level are created by classroom instructors, not librarians. Instructors at the K-12 level have created innovative Webquests.

3)The third challenge was to educate myself on Webquest creation. I was able to find wonderful Webquest tutorials to train myself.

4) The fourth challenge was to create a prototype Webquest. I chose to focus on two classes, ESL 98 and Business 128. I selected the ESL class because it gave me the opportunity to design a basic skills Webquest. I selected the Business 128 class because it gave me the opportunity to design a career-workplace skills oriented Webquest. The Webquests were developed in collaboration efforts with teaching faculty and webmaster. The prototype Webquests are ESL 98 and Business 128.

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