Students as the mediators of the learning process.
QuestGarden Revisited
The story so far.
In 1995, teachers all around the world learned how to incorporate the web into their teaching practice. By adopting the WebQuest format of task-based/project based learning they were able to transform the learning process in a profound way. However, questions such as:
1. What exactly is a WebQuest and
2. What are the pre-conditions of creating a WebQuest, still manage to thoroughly "tantalise" the education scenery with an admittedly high number of failed attempts.
So, in the next few lines, I will explain the processes, mechanics, underpinning theory and feelings that derive from creating a good WebQuest. At this point, I must admit that in my efforts to create one, I soon found out that I had to go back to the drawing board. And this is because in order to make a very good WebQuest you first need to develop a critical perspective about them. This is probably why on the very first day of our introductory course on WebQuests, Mrs Tilly (she doesn't like me to address her as "Professor"), told us to go through a vast array of WebQuests and provide with a critical review. Little did I know, that this "waste of time" (that was what I thought of it, at that time) was helping me develop a thorough understanding on the endless possibilities that were on offer. Analysing the various WebQuests in terms of interactivity, output, pedagogical values and various other perspectives, helped me gain a sense of "what is a good WebQuest". With the mirroring process of reflective practice being (now) more than evident, I feel compelled to disseminate my "revelation".So, in short: Explore! Critically Assess and always ask why! Why is this WebQuest good or bad and then move on, onto the next level, jotting down the various factors that - according to you - make a tool, good or bad.
The Mechanics.
In a nutshell - and to my best understanding - the main prerequisites for creating a good WebQuest are:
2. Discovery of data through live links.
3. Authentic, relevant, salient, motivating, engaging and investigative tasks.
4. Open-ended questions that trigger the "quest".
5. Individual work that linearly develops from pairing activities and assessment of data and ends-up in group co-construction of knowledge and feedback.
6. Grading, assessing and creatively incorporating data. Transition from a quantitative to a much more qualitative approach in handling information and using it.
7. Holistic approach that initially takes into consideration the "whole" and then moves on to examining the "particular".
8. Metadata deriving from "real life/hands-on experience" matters and
9. Considerable precognitive and metacognitive evaluation that assists reflective practice.
However, just by taking a closer look in the aforementioned prerequisites, I quickly became aware of why my Professor chose not to just "touch upon " this "old and outdated" ICT tool and instead devoted a complete thematic lecture/workshop of 3 hours. Since the creation of this blog, I tried to illustrate that the emergence of Web 2.0 technologies created a necessity for a structured approach into handling data. The vastness of the internet and the plethora of tools available made technology inherently disruptive and potentially harmful to learners. However, interestingly enough, this "negative side" of technology doesn't seem to affect WebQuests, which thrive on making a smooth, seamless transition from a large quantity of data to a much more focused, qualitative approach into knowledge acquisition. In more simple words, learners through WebQuests learn how to effectively "filter", assess and evaluate information, eventually teaching themselves how to co-construct the "puzzle" of knowledge. And what does this spell? Higher Order Thinking Skills (in their best form, I might add).
So, to put things into perspective, in an attempt to create my own definition: "WebQuests use a linear, seamless, progressive approach to Second Language Acquisition, by building upon the "inherent disruptiveness" of Web 2.0 environments and at the same time manage to bypass teacher-led/centred activities by enabling learners assume the position of the mediator, in a qualitative focused multi-modal learning experience ". (This is actually my first attempt to create a definition on something, so I sincerely hope that you will appreciate the fancy rhetoric!!!).
QuestGarden: Addendum
Ever since, I subscribed to a 2 year membership in QuestGarden (best $20 I ever spent), I was placed in a unique learning environment that fosters and promotes real pedagogical values but at the same time - but perhaps even more importantly for us, as educators - it enables language professionals to adhere in "culturally responsive teaching practices" to use a term introduced by Zaretta Hammond in her new book (Hammond, Z. 2015) which focuses on how to promote authentic engagement and rigour amongst culturally and linguistically diverse students.
So in an attempt to build on her theory of "cultural responsiveness", I tried to adapt the materials and incorporate them into the design "framework"of a WebQuest. During that process, I tried to successfully identify the various cultural capital and tools that students of specific origin brought to the classroom. Subsequently, I was able to respond to students' use of these cultural learning tools positively by noticing, naming, and affirming when students use them in the service of learning. The most common cultural tools for processing information utilize the brain's memory systems (music, repetition, metaphor, recitation, physical manipulation of content, and ritual). In this way and after the WebQuest was over, (theoretically), I would be in a much better position to be "responsive" and mirror these ways of learning in my instruction giving, using similar strategies to scaffold learning.
To make a really long story short (I am really trying not to make you fall asleep) WebQuests :
1.Capitalize on the intrinsic motivation fostered by Web 2.0 technologies,
2.Function as a highly structured "mind mapping" framework that promotes HOTS and especially critical thinking, reasoning and evaluation,
3.Use a constructivist, multi-modal, resource-oriented approach into SLA, that manages to build upon the "negative aspect of the Internet", (there is nothing wrong in recreating the feeling of "free-internet surfing" that takes place within a well though-out and "confined-protected-screened" virtual space), and last but not least
4.There is considerable ground for improving the scaffolding process that takes place in WebQuests. More specifically, while brainstorming for my dissertation subject, I considered ways to improve the almost "static nature" of the 'Introduction and Task' stage that seems to be inconsistent with the progressive nature of todays' World Wide Web. So, my thoughts went towards incorporating the use of ICT tools that promote mainly student autonomy and empower students to be their own "mediators" in the learning process.
An initial inquiry of the literature revealed that Thomas's March CEQALL model (March, T. 2007) meets all the above aforementioned criteria. March cites 5 different elements that assist in making the transition from traditional learning practices towards the modern notion of 'Personal Learning Networks'. These five elements are Choice, Effort, Quality, Attitude and Labour of Love.
In an attempt to answer the question of what technology to use within WebQuests to bring about this shift, I started experimenting with incorporating ICT tools such as:
1.Blogs, (Blogger)
2.Mind mapping tools, (Popplet)
3.Brainstoring tools, (Tricider)
4.Screen casting tools, (Screencast-o-matic)
5.Augmented reality tools, (Aurasma)
6.Presentation tools (Prezi, PowerPoint, Present.me, Nearpod)
7.RSS feeds to keep the content "fresh" and place learners in a position to evaluate "new data" and decide whether to incorporate it, and finally
8.Social Bookmarking tools, which act as a quick reference library. (Scoop.it)
A.The difficulty in persuading learners to use their oral competency in front of others,
B.The exam oriented nature of English Language Teaching in Greece,
C.The "botched up" curricula and extra curricular activities that inherently de-motivates, stresses-out and exhausts learners.
However, with the recession becoming even more evident over the past 2 years, the financial weight to meet the extra cost of selecting and choosing the top 10 institutes, submitting, monitoring the application procedure and finally accepting the conditional/unconditional offer of a placement became almost unbearable.
While skimming and scanning through the basic bibliography I came across many of Bernie's Dodge (he is the originator of the WebQuest concept) writings-views. However, the one that caught my eye was that a WebQuest "is an inquiry-oriented (web) activity.....[..]........designed to use learners' time well, to focus on using information rather than on looking for it, and to support learners' thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation." Even more so, according to Kenton Letkeman (leading educator and creator of a number of great WebQuests) "students feel that they are sucking up information and regurgitating it onto paper for no other reason than to get a good grade.
Wow! So far, I had managed to address 2 of the 4 criteria cited directly above. (time management issues, exam oriented ELT). The only thing missing to create my first super WebQuest was to address the issue of the added cost of applying into some of the UK's leading reputable institutes of higher education. And thus my first WebQuest was born.
So in an attempt to build on her theory of "cultural responsiveness", I tried to adapt the materials and incorporate them into the design "framework"of a WebQuest. During that process, I tried to successfully identify the various cultural capital and tools that students of specific origin brought to the classroom. Subsequently, I was able to respond to students' use of these cultural learning tools positively by noticing, naming, and affirming when students use them in the service of learning. The most common cultural tools for processing information utilize the brain's memory systems (music, repetition, metaphor, recitation, physical manipulation of content, and ritual). In this way and after the WebQuest was over, (theoretically), I would be in a much better position to be "responsive" and mirror these ways of learning in my instruction giving, using similar strategies to scaffold learning.
To make a really long story short (I am really trying not to make you fall asleep) WebQuests :
1.Capitalize on the intrinsic motivation fostered by Web 2.0 technologies,
2.Function as a highly structured "mind mapping" framework that promotes HOTS and especially critical thinking, reasoning and evaluation,
3.Use a constructivist, multi-modal, resource-oriented approach into SLA, that manages to build upon the "negative aspect of the Internet", (there is nothing wrong in recreating the feeling of "free-internet surfing" that takes place within a well though-out and "confined-protected-screened" virtual space), and last but not least
4.There is considerable ground for improving the scaffolding process that takes place in WebQuests. More specifically, while brainstorming for my dissertation subject, I considered ways to improve the almost "static nature" of the 'Introduction and Task' stage that seems to be inconsistent with the progressive nature of todays' World Wide Web. So, my thoughts went towards incorporating the use of ICT tools that promote mainly student autonomy and empower students to be their own "mediators" in the learning process.
An initial inquiry of the literature revealed that Thomas's March CEQALL model (March, T. 2007) meets all the above aforementioned criteria. March cites 5 different elements that assist in making the transition from traditional learning practices towards the modern notion of 'Personal Learning Networks'. These five elements are Choice, Effort, Quality, Attitude and Labour of Love.
In an attempt to answer the question of what technology to use within WebQuests to bring about this shift, I started experimenting with incorporating ICT tools such as:
1.Blogs, (Blogger)
2.Mind mapping tools, (Popplet)
3.Brainstoring tools, (Tricider)
4.Screen casting tools, (Screencast-o-matic)
5.Augmented reality tools, (Aurasma)
6.Presentation tools (Prezi, PowerPoint, Present.me, Nearpod)
7.RSS feeds to keep the content "fresh" and place learners in a position to evaluate "new data" and decide whether to incorporate it, and finally
8.Social Bookmarking tools, which act as a quick reference library. (Scoop.it)
My context
Ever since I started teaching 7 years ago, I realized that the main inhibitory factors that would prevent me from developing a successful teaching practice would be:A.The difficulty in persuading learners to use their oral competency in front of others,
B.The exam oriented nature of English Language Teaching in Greece,
C.The "botched up" curricula and extra curricular activities that inherently de-motivates, stresses-out and exhausts learners.
However, with the recession becoming even more evident over the past 2 years, the financial weight to meet the extra cost of selecting and choosing the top 10 institutes, submitting, monitoring the application procedure and finally accepting the conditional/unconditional offer of a placement became almost unbearable.
While skimming and scanning through the basic bibliography I came across many of Bernie's Dodge (he is the originator of the WebQuest concept) writings-views. However, the one that caught my eye was that a WebQuest "is an inquiry-oriented (web) activity.....[..]........designed to use learners' time well, to focus on using information rather than on looking for it, and to support learners' thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation." Even more so, according to Kenton Letkeman (leading educator and creator of a number of great WebQuests) "students feel that they are sucking up information and regurgitating it onto paper for no other reason than to get a good grade.
Wow! So far, I had managed to address 2 of the 4 criteria cited directly above. (time management issues, exam oriented ELT). The only thing missing to create my first super WebQuest was to address the issue of the added cost of applying into some of the UK's leading reputable institutes of higher education. And thus my first WebQuest was born.
My WebQuest
Keeping in mind that when creating a WebQuest the answers are not predefined and therefore must be discovered or created in order to "gently" push learners to use their own creative-thinking and problem-solving skills to find solutions to a REAL problem, I decided to create a WebQuest to address the whole procedure of:
A.Identifying the various institutions of higher education in the UK
i.e UCAS
British Council etc
B.Selecting the top ten UK Universities by using RSS feeds from various sources
ie. Times Higher Education - The World University Rankings
Top Universities
Forbes
The Academic ranking of World Universities
The Guardian
The Centre for World University rankings etc
C.Applying - filling the application forms, drafting of the motivation letter,
D.Monitoring procedures - emails with the various enrolment teams about documents (i.e CV's, conditional offers, validating previous degrees etc)
E.Accepting a final offer and choosing a University
F.Follow up procedure - more emails to Faculty, enrolment team and finance services
G.Getting there - travel arrangements, first expenses, securing lodging.
H.Being a student in the UK. Course curriculum and extra curricular activities, students life (i.e student union, parties, societies, sports etc)
However, due to the immense length of the whole task, each section will form its own WebQuest with the first one being - for strictly motivational purposes!!!! - "Student Life in UK Universities". The six building blocks of the WebQuest are going to be :
1.The Introduction orients students and captures their interest.
2.The Task describes the activity's end product.
3.The Process explains strategies students should use to complete the task.
4.The Resources are the Web sites students will use to complete the task.
5.The Evaluation measures the results of the activity.
6.The Conclusion sums up the activity and encourages students to reflect on its process and results
Target Group: EAP students preparing to sit their IELTS academic module exams. Age 17+, Private School-English Language Centre/EU streamed education. English is mandatory in formal mainstream education. Summer Intensive lessons.
Task
Each individual student will be assigned the "journalistic task" (according to Dodge's taxonomy of tasks) of having to skim and scan through 10 Universities to locate the different societies that exist in these institutions. They will have to go through their individual pages and decide which one will possibly suit their needs as prospective university students. They will have to take into account the various parameters of a balanced social life and educational life as well as their individual criteria that matches their character. They will then present their findings providing a rough outline of the activities on offer, their individual choices and lastly provide with a rationale as to why they made these choices. They will then compare and contrast their findings and receive questions on the various activities offered by the societies that they have chosen.
Process
Assign Editorship:
Each student will have access to his own individual WebQuest that will contain:
1.Live RSS feeds (from the 10 universities and their faculties social network webpages!!!!),
2.An embedded classroom blog link (for later use)
3.An embedded Tricider questionnaire to provide with initial brainstorming (guess what this picture is about and receive comments on these thoughts),
4.Links to some relevant articles on student life (mixed genres containing i.e 10 weirdest societies in British Universities or Procrastination etc)
5.Embedded link to Visual.ly for students to create their own infographic of their top10 of activites.
6.Embedded link to Screencast-o-matic for students to create their own presentation of findings, narrate their choices and embed in classroom blog for dissemination and group discussion.
7.Embedded link to group Paddlet to "drag and drop" a picture of their favourite activity they located in their favourite society using social media RSS feeds again.
8.Embedded link to Nearpod to create a 2 minute final recap-presentation with a main focus to elicit feedback from peers through the use of open-ended questions and questionnaires that will kick-start classroom discussion.
Research:
Students will conduct Internet research in their 10 allocated universities and claim this area as their field of speciality.
Editorial Meeting:
The Learners will meet both on-line and off-line (in a synchronous and asynchronous environment) share research results and create final lists research activities. They will discuss the various activities and reach a consensus about which activities could be potentially disruptive and may inflict on their studies. Special focus will be given in establishing common criteria about what is disruptiveness in student life and what is deemed as necessary fun activities. My position will be to maybe intervene by asking them why, what and how can something be disruptive in pursuing their education (an admittedly open ended question which will hopefully activate their critical reasoning skills a.k.a HOTS).
Writing:
Each student will write a short paragraph in the form of a blog post containing his initial thoughts on student life and his intentions as a prospective university student. This will hopefully trigger a "hefty" amount of correspondence from peers.
Editing:
The students will meet in class to share their findings using drafts of their work. An infographic and a Padlet activity will assist learners in scaffolding (or even better sharpening) their oral skills in preparation for their main presentation and lively dialogue at the end of this WebQuest.
Oral Presentation:
The final stage will include a small, short but coherent presentation of 10 amazing student life activities custom tailored to the students wants and needs. The use of Nearpod will elicit real time feedback and the use of this amazing and powerful technology will hopefully boost engagement levels to their maximum potential.
Conclusion
At the end of the presentation, a small Nearpod presentation by me, will introduce the course curriculum, containing the structured WebQuest course. Hopefully, students will then share my enthusiasm in making a decisive step towards realizing their dream to live and study in a British university.
List of citations
(The list is pretty much endless however this is what "triggered" my small scale research project).1. Zaretta Hammond Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain. Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students e-book
2.Thomas March Revisiting WebQuests in a Web 2 World. How developments in technology and pedagogy combine to scaffold personal learning. Interactive Educational Multimedia, Number 15 (October, 2007), pp. 1-17
3. M. José Luzón and M. Noelia Ruiz-Madrid (2008). Learning to Learn in a Digital Context: Language Learning Webtasks for an Autonomising “Wreading” Competence. CORELL: Computer Resources for Language Learning 2, 28-45
4. Drew Polly and Leigh Ausband (2009). Developing Higher-Order Thinking Skills through WebQuests. Journal of Computing in Teacher Education. Volume 26 / Number 1
Hi Tasos! Hard work here - the article is really long. You provide a broad view of the tool Webquest. As you’ve specified the difficulties in you teaching context, I am interested to know how you would use Webquest to specifically address these difficulties. Thanks!
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