Have you ever wanted to engage your students in a project but didn't know what to do? Then this post will be very useful for you!
In this post I'm going to describe briefly what Internet-based projects and webquests are about.
Let's begin with INTERNET-BASED PROJECT WORK.
In theses type of projects learners are involved in research and analysis of data in order to achieve a final outcome. All the data collected will be retrieved from the Internet, critically preselected by the teacher.
In order to plan an internet project-based you have to follow these steps:
- CHOOSE A MOTIVATIN TOPIC FOR STUDENTS.
It must be suitable for their level of language and suitable for the course syllabus.
- WRITE A CLEAR TASK.
Make sure you are clear enough when you establish the of information they are expected to gather.
- FIND THE RESOURCES
Select and analyse the possible websites. In order to evaluate the websites, you should take the guidelines suggested by Dudeney and Hockley, which I'm going to deal with at the end of this post.
- DECIDE ON OUTCOME
Think of what the final purpose of the project will be. Ask to yourself: what are my students going to do with the information they collected?
Example:
Lesson 1: learners brainstorm ideas about global warming using a chart with different categories.
Lesson 2: learners are assigned roles such as scientists, TV presenter, environmental campaigners, or audience. They have to do further research to defend their opinions in a debate.
Lesson 3: learners are engaged in the actual debate.
Let's continue with WEBQUESTS!
Dodge defines webquests as "inquiry-oriented activities in wich some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from the Internet." In simple words, they are projects that learners carry out individually via Internet. The project is quite structured and it is planned by the teacher. Even though the teacher will not be present during the process, the teacher will develop and write the webquest in a friendly, clear and easy-reading way in order to keep students engaged. Most activities are research-related and again, all the sources are preselected by the teacher.
There are short-term and long-term webquests. They differ in the complexity and the number of lessons they would take. As I said before, a webquest is strictly-structured so make sure you don't forget any of its part.
Introduction: here you are going to specify the topic and some background information relatd, such as key concepts and key vocabulary.
Task: you are going to provide learners with a clear and precise task. It has to be really motivating and relevant to their interests. Specify what is the final outcome.
Process: here learners go step by step, completing the different activities suggested by the teachers. They should be organised in a logical way. Here you are going to include the websites they are supposed to interact with. Make sure you analyse all of them taking into account Dudeney and Hockley's guidelines (see below). All the activities will lead to the final product.
Evaluation: learners are involved in self-evaluation. They are going to test their knowledge or reflect upon what they've learned.
Conclusion: leave an encouraging message for your learners and summarise what they were expected to achieve.
Here is my own example of a webquest.
Hope you find it useful!
Last but not least, it is a must you consider this
guideline in order to evaluate websites.
There are short-term and long-term webquests. They differ in the complexity and the number of lessons they would take. As I said before, a webquest is strictly-structured so make sure you don't forget any of its part.
Introduction: here you are going to specify the topic and some background information relatd, such as key concepts and key vocabulary.
Task: you are going to provide learners with a clear and precise task. It has to be really motivating and relevant to their interests. Specify what is the final outcome.
Process: here learners go step by step, completing the different activities suggested by the teachers. They should be organised in a logical way. Here you are going to include the websites they are supposed to interact with. Make sure you analyse all of them taking into account Dudeney and Hockley's guidelines (see below). All the activities will lead to the final product.
Evaluation: learners are involved in self-evaluation. They are going to test their knowledge or reflect upon what they've learned.
Conclusion: leave an encouraging message for your learners and summarise what they were expected to achieve.
Here is my own example of a webquest.
Hope you find it useful!
Last but not least, it is a must you consider this
guideline in order to evaluate websites.
Accuracy
Currency
Are websites up-to-date? You always check at the bottom of the websites the date of updating so that the content learners are going to interact with is not outdated.
Content
You should make sure the websites you choose are suitable for your learners' age and level. Even if the content on the webpages are labelled by category and level, I suggest you take some time to consider this criteria by yourself.
Functionality
Check whether all the links lead to links that function. Avoid using websites which lead to deadlinks.
Hope you find all this information useful for your own classes!
Hope you find all this information useful for your own classes!
