The best way of learning is
if it is embedded in the context
of the learners' lives or if
it is close to their experiences,
so they can relate to it. One
way of achieving this is working
with web quests. A lot of work
on web quests has been done
at the San Diego State University
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/.
The idea behind web quests is
that learners are given a specific
task that they can solve by
researching referenced online
resources. The tutor prepares
the list of resources, which
obviously requires a certain
amount of time spent on researching
websites. In our printed good
practice guide (published in
summer/autumn 2004) you can
learn more about how to use
and design web quests for Adult
Learning. In this online guide
we are going to focus on how
you can design web quests within
this resource.
To start creating a web quest, you should think about
a scenario. For example, having a baby, being unemployed,
being bereaved. Once you have decided on the scenario,
you may want to start thinking about the different problems
or issues that the individual has to face. For example,
where to go to for benefits, budgeting, repaying debt,
etc.
What you
can do now is to take a look
at our section life changes
(available in the left navigation
bar). Here you can find 9 different
life scenarios. For each of
these scenarios you can find
an introductory page, which
sets the context for the scenario
and then a guided tour, which
provides a list of links that
we recommend to visit. Based
on this you can now prepare
some web quests. You can start
from the scenario and develop
some questions that the participants
are supposed to answer. If you
wish to go further than 'Money
Matters to Me', you can provide
your learners with additional
web pages , e.g. of the Inland
Revenue , Department
for Work and Pensions, etc.
If you
create web quests that are designed
to happen within the resource
you can run the full quest within
a couple of hours. A more extensive
quest will take up more time
and you can design it as a project
over a set period of time, e.g.
two weeks. The end of the web
quest should be the feedback
of the findings.
There is another valuable aspect
about web quests; web quests
work really well in small groups.
Each task can be assigned to
a group instead of individuals.
This way you can support collaborative
learning and mutual support.
When the small groups do the
quest, they are likely to discuss
during the process, which supports
their understanding and learning.
By assigning a joint task of
a web quest it can be quite
easy to initiate group work.
Good practice check
list
Initiate active learning
Let learners create their own knowledge
and be a supporter in their process
You can
find additional information
on web quests at www.aclearn.net.
TIP: Remember,
you can usually find lots of useful information from
other tutors and practitioners in the Forum.
If you have any ideas, links or files you want to
share then the forum is the place to post them.
