Introduction to WebQuests

WebQuests (as developed by Dodge and March) are an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet. WebQuests are not “treasure hunts” in which learners are set loose on the Internet without a clear task in mind or a list of relevant references to start with. Their main goal is to improve learners’ ability to use information, not find information. There are two types of WebQuests:

Short-term WebQuests require no more than three class periods to complete and are designed to help learners acquire and integrate knowledge.
Long-term WebQuests take several weeks to complete and are designed to help learners analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information.

Standard WebQuests consist of five standard components that learners must work with in a sequential process:

Introduction- Introduces learners to the exercise, including the Big Question to be addressed.
Task- Describes what the end result of the exercise will be.
Process- Describes the steps that learners must take to complete the exercise.
Evaluation- Describes how learners' performance will be assessed.
Conclusion- Summarizes what learners will have accomplished after completing the exercise.

I have adapted these steps to reflect the schema commonly used by accounting professionals to organize their research:

Facts- Introduces learners to the subject of the exercise.
Issues- Describes the targeted outcomes of the exercise.
Authorities- Identifies the web-based resources to be used to complete the exercise.
Conclusion- Elicits learner responses to questions about the resources.

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WebQuests- Course Applications

I have developed and continue to develop WebQuests for the following courses:

I also have developed tax research exercises using the same basic model as the WebQuest, but restricted to CCH Tax Research Network that is available on the CWU Library system:

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