WebQuests and Beyond! Competition

Webquests and beyond competition banner

Each year the School Library Association of Victoria and the Victorian Education Channel celebrate WebQuests created by Victorian teachers through the WebQuest of the Year event. This year the competition has been expanded to incorporate web 2.0 tools and renamed 'WebQuests and Beyond!' The winner and runner up receive an Interactive Whiteboard.

Entries for the Victorian WebQuests and Beyond! Award close Wednesday 15 October 2008 and winners will be announced at the International School Libraries Day Awards Dinner on Monday 27 October 2008.

Questions? Comments? Ready to submit your application form (Word - 39Kb)? Email: channel.manager@edumail.vic.gov.au

Studies of Asia

The Victorian Studies of Asia program is pleased to sponsor the 2008 WebQuests and Beyond competition.

A studies of Asia program embeds the study of history, geography, literature, popular culture and traditional arts of the countries of Asia within the domains of Humanities, English and The Arts.

The use of the web and web 2.0 technologies are key to providing students with contemporary knowledge and understanding of 21^st century Asia and to enable students from across cultures to communicate together.

Entries that have a studies of Asia focus will be in the running for the following prizes:

1. $750 of Curriculum Corporation Access Asia resources

2. $500 of Curriculum Corporation Access Asia resources

3. $250 of Curriculum Corporation Access Asia

Why web 2.0?

Web 2.0 applications such as blogs, wikis, podcasting and other tools have allowed a more responsive and interactive approach to WebQuests. Tom March, one of the original promoters of WebQuests, wrote about this on his blog in 2007.

Students now have the opportunity to comment, collaborate and share their learning in an online environment with an ease never before possible. There is enormous potential for teaching and learning. How will you respond?

Rather than creating a WebQuest, you might choose to work in a team to develop an online collaborative project incorporating use of a blog and/or wiki or other web 2.0 technologies. Not familiar with these technologies? Try this A-Z of web 2.0.

You might focus on one or more discipline-based learning domains for example history or science. They can also be based on an issue, event or area of interest.

Your online learning sequence or WebQuest should provide opportunities for communication and collaboration by teachers and students. The winning entrants from 2007 are included below.

Criteria

What makes a good online learning sequence, project or WebQuest? Projects should provide rich learning experiences for students and address the following VELS-based criteria:

Interpersonal – students should work in teams and have opportunities to develop speaking, listening, decision making and conflict management skills. They should also have specific roles and responsibilities in relation to those of others and the overall team goal.
Personal – Students learn to seek and use feedback from their teachers and peers and draw on other members of the community who may provide feedback, knowledge and advice about skills that support their learning.
Communication – development of literacy skills and opportunities to present information, ideas and opinions in a range of forms eg verbal, written, graphic, multimedia and performance.
ICT – opportunities to communicate and collaborate and develop new thinking and learning skills in creative ways.
Thinking - An explicit focus on thinking and the teaching of thinking skills to develop students’ thinking to a qualitatively higher level with opportunities for creative problem solving, decision making and conceptualising.

Projects will also be assessed for effective use of websites and web 2.0 tools, creativity, clarity of instructions and overall presentation.

The project and supporting materials should be presented in such a way that other teachers could follow the instructions and use/adapt the project with their own students.

Structure

Teachers are free to choose the structure of their projects for the competition this year. You could use the WebQuest Designer's Checklist:

An Engaging Opening
The Question / Task
Background for Everyone
Roles / Expertise
Use of the Web
Transformative Thinking
Real World Feedback
Conclusion

These websites provide additional information specific to WebQuests:

Tom March’s Best WebQuests
Bernie Dodge's The WebQuest Page
Worcestershire LEA Webquest UK

Use the optional planning form (Word - 441Kb) to help structure your thinking.

What do I need to do?

To submit your project for consideration complete the application form (Word - 39Kb).

Develop a sequence of learning that utilises a range of online resources, allows students to work in teams and allows opportunities for online communication or collaboration.
Develop your project in collaboration with a group of teachers or students within Victoria. You can work with others anywhere in the world but the prizes will be given to a Victorian school.
Select any topic - but we ask that it fits within the school's curriculum and is intended for use within the school.
Your project must be ‘public’ so that anyone can view it (though you may not wish for everyone to contribute to it, initially). ‘Private’ wikis or blogs will not be considered unless they are opened at the completion of the project.
You must be willing to have your collaborative project or WebQuest highlighted on and linked to from the Victorian Education Channel.
You will need to consider your CyberSafety responsibilities – review the Working with the Web website to assist with this.
To ensure that all schools in Victoria can access your project or WebQuest, any links featured within your project must be included in Victorian Education Channel www.education.vic.gov.au/teacher

What if they aren’t in there? We can add them!

to check links go to http://www.education.vic.gov.au/teacher/advanced_search.htm
and use the URL search
to request new sites for inclusion go to Site Suggestion Sites are subject to a Quality Assurance (QA) process and are checked for safety considerations

2007 Winners

Africa's Child: a global responsibility, Web Quest

Africa's child: A global responsibility and the lives of children in Africa

Pam Macdonald and Melinda FitzGerald, Lyndhurst Secondary College

Energise me! Research an alternative energy source

Matthew Jackson, Andrew Haley, Lesley Phillips, Marie Yanni & Ben Bryant, Overport PrimarySchool

More Victorian WebQuests

Oetzi the Iceman, Alida Bonotto, Vince Antonetti, Heather Wilson, Reservoir District Secondary College.
Globalisation - what does it mean for me? a webquest by Lisa Hayman , Bendigo Senior Secondary College.
Student Restaurant Rules, Claire Bloom and Judy Steel, Warrandyte High School.
The Way Things Work, Emma Chiera, Ali Warton, Kerrie Opray, Cinzia Angelico, Sarah Cooper, Kim Bride & Susan Grigg, Boroondara Park Primary School.
To Kill a Mockingbird, Rosalind Kentwell, Dianne Ruffles, Marie Buckland, Lisa Andersen, Melbourne High School.
Did the Punishment Fit the Crime? Dianne Ruffles with Josie Belvedere & Marie Buckland, Melbourne High School.
Catering for Camp, Naomi Pankotsch, Sarah Warren, Kieran McCrohan & Jen Cole, Southmoor Primary School.
Ancient Greeks, Peter Cattapan, Liz McLaren, Alida Bonotto, Andree Poulter, Reservoir District Secondary College.

Victorian Education Channel - Teacher