Mini-WebQuests

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Creating Web Scavenger Hunts

If you want to find a collection of web sites to support a unit of study but aren't ready to design a full-blown WebQuest, consider creating a Web scavenger hunt.

Define Your Purpose

As you develop your Web scavenger hunt, ask yourself the following questions about the purpose of this Web hunt:
  • Is the Internet the best source of information for this activity?
  • Will your hunt be informational in nature or will students have to create/complete activities?
  • Do you want your students to explore information about a specific topic?
  • Is the exploration intended to expose or introduce new information?
  • Should the exploration go deeper than that, perhaps even serving as an assessment tool?
  • Is your purpose to help your students explore the ways information is both presented and collected on Web sites?


Choose a Topic

  • Avoid choosing something that is too narrow or one that is too broad.
  • Keep in mind the correlation between choosing a topic and finding the sites that are appropriate.

Harvest Your Sites

  • Begin with Pioneer and UEN. The information here is reputable, reliable, doesn't have advertisements, and is safe.
  • Remember Readability. Finding sites on your topic might not be difficult, but if they're written for college students, they might not work for your learners.
  • Web Site Evaluation Checklist

    * Authority: Who owns the Web site and why?
    * Content: Is the information accurate and reliable?
    * Design and Navigation: Does the Web site function efficiently?
    * Curriculum Connections: Does the site enhance or support the curriculum?
    * Learning Environments: Does the site incorporate the unique capabilities of the Web?
  • Use Page Links. If you find a good site, look to see if it has a links page. Many well-developed sites have links to outstanding sites. Be sure you investigate each site. Don't just assume that because you have found an excellent Web page that every link off that site is equally acceptable.
  • How Many Web Sites Are Enough?
    The number of sites you need depends on how much time you want your learners to spend on the hunt, the complexity of the topic, the purpose of the hunt, the age of your students, etc.
    It is better to have five excellent Web sites, each with different information, than a great many mediocre ones.
  • Develop a System that Works for You.
    Have two windows open: your Web browser and a word processing document. When you find a good site, copy the URL from the address bar and paste it into your word processor. Note the title of the Web site as well as a few important features.

 

Create Your Questions
  • Go back to your educational goals: what is that you want your students to learn from this Web hunt experience?
  • Design questions as if you were designing them for a comprehension check after any reading selection. Make sure they pick out the crucial information.
  • Don't just include the lower level questions of Knowledge, Recall, and Comprehension. Ask them Application, Synthesis, and Evaluation questions, too.

Implement

  • Keep in mind that the logistics of the hunt will determine how much time it takes to complete.
  • Use your hunt as a take-home assignment.
  • It can be a group activity to be completed in the library.
  • Post it on your class web site as an extra credit option.
Evaluate
  • At the end of the Web hunt, be sure to evaluate what worked and what didn't.
  • Consider criteria such as time constraints, computer and network issues, how well your prompts and questions worked, Web site choices, etc.
  • If it worked well you may want to consider expanding your Web Scavenger Hunt into a full-scale WebQuest.

Adapted from Classroom Connect Newsletter, Vol.9, No.7. by Deirdre Kelly.

 


 


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