About BestWebQuests
BestWebQuests.com springs from the fact that people have been creating "WebQuests" since 1995. Somehow this term has become a buzzword in the world of education. Couple "buzzword" with "time" (as measured in Web years) and you've got an exponential number of WebQuests. Or do you?
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Many educators have expressed frustration that some "WebQuests"... aren't. Because time is always in short supply, teachers wanted a place to go where they could know for certain that the WebQuests listed, not only involve some higher order thinking, but require students to "transform" what they have learned.
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This is not to say that the only good online learning activity is a true WebQuest. Part of Tom March's contribution has been the design of an array of learning activities. It just makes good instructional sense, that if we say an activity will prompt transformational thinking (or an affective connection, the attainment of a concept, or acquisition of knowledge, etc.) that we choose the right format to make this more likely.
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It should be noted as well that many people refer to all Web-based lessons as "WebQuests." If it involves the Web and learning, it must be a WebQuest. This is not true. Not every steak's a filet. Not every Chevrolet's a Corvette. Not every flower's a rose. Also not every fruit's an apple or every guitar's meant for picking. The point goes back to Socrates: Define your terms. There's nothing holy about 'Vettes or Stratocasters (or WebQuests), but when our terms are accurate so are our expectations.
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Imagine if a class of students use another teacher's "WebQuest" and only hang around the lower levels of Bloom's Taxonomy? Nothing wrong with this if the goal was for students to acquire knowledge. But if the classroom teacher chose a WebQuest because she wanted an activity to help students construct new meaning, then the activity would be a failure.
BestWebQuests.com was initially designed as a site to celebrate the work of thousands of educators. We still plan to do that. It's just that a couple things have had to happen before that's a reality. First, we're sifting (some would say slowly even for a philanthropic undertaking... ;-) through the online directories of "WebQuests." We've found three main categories of activities. A large minority are not WebQuests at all because their goal is for students to acquire knowledge - usually in a "step-and-fetch-it" manner. Another large minority are killer WebQuests right off the shelf. Over 50% could easily slot into this category with a little extra attention paid to the Group Process / Transformation part of the WebQuest. Typically, students learn a terrific amount as background information or in the roles of experts, but then this knowledge isn't used to create new meaning or construct knowledge, isn't transformed or applied to a new situation. And this is the heart of a true WebQuest. So says Tom March. So who's Tom March and what makes him the arbiter of what's hot and what's not?
| Tom was in the room when WebQuests were born - never claiming to be the "Father of WebQuests," he sees himself more as the crazy uncle. Lucky enough to be team-teaching with Bernie Dodge in early 1995, Tom then spent three years on a fellowship at San Diego State University. The objective of this stint was to develop Web-based learning activities. Early on, Tom wrote the first WebQuest designed for use outside a SDSU classroom. This was the first version of Searching for China. Since then, Tom has continued to write about, develop his own, and facilitate others in creating WebQuests. His is a distinctive flavor that has evolved since that first hypothesis, "Some Thoughts About WebQuests."
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Ozline.com readers and MyWebQuests subscribers have access to an increasingly comprehensive series of articles focused on helping educators to develop WebQuests, written from the inside, by one who creates them as part of his living. Also, three elements of Tom's personality incline him toward launching BestWebQuests.com. First, as David Jonassen has said, the purpose of the educator in the learning-centered classroom is not to support, encourage or inspire, but to "perturb." When learners have reached a cognitive plateau in their understanding, the teacher's job is to create some friendly dissonance, that precursor to assimilation and the "ah-ha" of new understanding.
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Second, Tom's never been satisfied to leave well enough alone. As he gets feedback from teachers, sees new opportunities, or reads more learning theory, he can't resist adding new cool bits to the WebQuest model, evolving it to integrate even more promising practices. That's why Tom's flavor of WebQuest uses Questions (not only tasks), why he brought in role-play, the "Background for Everyone" and "Real World Feedback" sections. |
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Third, as Tom's email sig file has always quoted, "There's nothing more important than the right-rearing and education of children." The classroom is now the Webspace and Tom has always tried to make a contribution. Web sites such as ozline.com, Filamentality, and Web-and-Flow are examples of this dedication. Given these tools, strategies and articles, it's possible Tom has helped more people write WebQuests than anyone on the Planet. Finally, it would take an educator to use his own money to support BestWebQuests as business folks seem to have disappeared since the Dot Bomb...
So the short answer to "Why Tom March?" is "because he can and no one else wants to."
The time's come when we no longer have to settle for WebQuests that are merely good. We can celebrate the best. We encourage those whose WebQuests aren't included to review the criteria, double-check the Group Process / Transformation stage, make any needed changes (sometimes a matter of a paragraph) and submit your BestWebQuest for inclusion.
Look to this site for a matrix of the best WebQuests arranged by content area and learners' age. You'll be able to read what we think makes a great WebQuest, submit yours for consideration, and get tips on WebQuest design.
BestWebQuests is brought to you by Tom March.
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