WebQuests 1

Teachers' attitudes toward WebQuests as a method of teaching

Submitted to the Computers in the School

Robert Perkins

School of Education

College of Charleston

Charleston, SC 29424

843-953-5699

Margaret McKnight

Sanders Clyde Elementary

805 Morrison Drive

Charleston, SC 29403

Abstract

One of the latest uses of technology gaining popular status in education is the WebQuest, a process that involves students using the World Wide Web to solve a problem. The goals of this project are to: 1.) determine if teachers are using WebQuests in their classrooms;2.) ascertain whether teachers feel WebQuests are effective for teaching students;3.) determine some of the problems associated with using WebQuests; and,4.) discover the relationship between teachers' comfort level using WebQuests and the degree to which they are integrating WebQuests into classroom curriculum, by using the Stages of Concern Questionnaire.

WebQuests, WWW, Computers in Education

Robert Perkins received a B. A. In Political Science from the University of Massachusetts, an M. A. T. in Special Education and an Ed. D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a minor in Computer Education at West Virginia University. He is currently Department Chair for Foundations, Secondary and Special Education at the College of Charleston.

Margaret McKnight received her B. S. in Elementary Education and her M. Ed. in Science and Math for Teachers at the College of Charleston. She is currently a fifth grade teacher at SandersClydeElementary School in Charleston, South Carolina.

WebQuests 1

Teachers' attitudes toward WebQuests as a method of teaching?

Introduction

Many useful ideas integrating computer use in classrooms have been proposed since personal computers firstappeared in classrooms. Some of these proposed uses have come and gone, while others are still used today. Because of the expenses associated with computers and Internet access and the recent demand for accountability, educators should take a serious look at the validity of these uses before implementing them into the classroom curricula. One of the latest implementations to gain popular status is the WebQuest, which involves having students access the web to complete a task or solve a problem. The WebQuest is created by determining a problem to be solved, defining the steps involved in solving the problem,and providing resources for students to use. In the process of problem-solving, students learn skills in an interactive, involved manner rather than in isolation.

The purposes of the present study are to:

  1. determine if teachers are using WebQuests in their classrooms;
  2. ascertain whether teachers feel WebQuests are effective for teaching students;
  3. identify some of the problems associated with using WebQuests; and,
  4. discover the relationship between teachers' comfort level using WebQuests and the degree to which they are integrating WebQuests into classroom curricula, by using the Stages of Concern Questionnaire.

Review of the Literature

WebQuest, a term coined by Dodge and March (Dodge, 2001), is one of the latest practices in classroom use of the Internet and World Wide Web. “A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet, optionally supplemented with videoconferencing” (Dodge, 2001, para. 2).

According to Dodge’s web site at San DiegoStateUniversity, the following are critical attributes of a WebQuest:

WebQuests of either short or long duration are deliberately designed to make the best use of a learner's time. There is questionable educational benefit in having learners surfing the net without a clear task in mind, and most schools must strictly ration student connect time. To achieve that efficiency and clarity of purpose stated that WebQuests should contain at least the following parts:

  1. An introduction that sets the stage and provides some background information.
  2. A task that is doable and interesting.
  3. A set of information sources needed to complete the task. Many (though not necessarily all) of the resources are embedded in the WebQuest document itself as anchors pointing to information on the World Wide Web. Information sources might include web documents, experts available via e-mail or real-time conferencing, searchable databases on the net, and books and other documents physically available in the learner's setting. Because pointers to resources are included, the learner is not left to wander through webspace completely adrift.
  4. A description of the process the learners should go through in accomplishing the task. The process should be broken out into clearly described steps.
  5. Guidance on how to organize the information acquired. This can take the form of guiding questions, or directions to complete organizational frameworks such as timelines, concept maps, or cause-and-effect diagrams as described by Marzano (1988, 1992) and Clarke (1990).
  6. A conclusion that brings closure to the quest, reminds the learners about what they've learned, and perhaps encourages them to extend the experience into other domains , Dodge (1997, para. 5).

"WebQuests challenge student intellectual and academic ability rather than web searching skills"(Vidoni & Maddux, 2002, p.1904). Vidoni and Maddux use Weinstein's critical thinking framework to demonstrate how WebQuests foster critical thinking by:

  1. Stating that critical thinking is skillful thinking, students have to evaluate the sites that are used for useful information while eliminating misinformation.
  2. Making the connection between critical thinking and community. Students use primary sources of information such as local state and national laws, community service agencies.
  3. Using non-routine or alternative thinking. WebQuests are nonlinear and interdisciplinary requiring students to recognize the multifaceted nature of the complex issues that they deal with within the WebQuests.

There are many good reasons for using WebQuests when students are accessing the web to address a question. There is concern with students having free access to the Internet;WebQuests address that concern (Summerville, 2000; Yoder, 1999). There are many controversial sites on the Internet, WebQuests do not require students to use search engines, and this reduces the chance that students will access inappropriate material. Considering that search engines provide a large amount of information that could be potentially found on the Internet (Vidoni & Maddux, 2002). WebQuests are useful in that they include links to only the applicable online resources. This provides an efficient and focused lesson on the part of the student.

WebQuests can also be used by students with disabilities within the general education classroom (Kelly, 2000). Using read-aloud programs like the Kurzweil 3000, the lesson is available to students with learning disabilities and visual disabilities. Homebound students can also have access to the lesson and links to the teachers' e-mail addresses (Kelly).

Creators of WebQuests must take into consideration many variables; just developing a WebQuest is not enough. It is necessary to incorporate instructional strategies that avoid the learner losing direction in the WebQuest (Lin & Hsieh, 2001). It is important to approach the learner control of lessons very cautiously(Lin & Hsieh). By providing too much control to the student, they may become confused. The creator must also includea way for students to find their way back to an index or the original web.

Summerville (2000) states that teachers must also be aware of other problems that exist within WebQuests. It is possible that students may still access inappropriate sites; accidentally or on purpose. Filtering technology is available for teachers to prevent this from occurring. Developing WebQuests also take time, and the amount depends on the teacher's web page developing skills and the length of time students are expected to spend conducting the WebQuest. The last problem mentioned is the occurrence of dead links, which are links that worked previously but do not at the time the WebQuest is undertaken. Since the web is constantly changing, teachers will need to check their WebQuest links before students attempt to use them.

Additional problems integrating WebQuests were reported by Dutt-Doner, Wilmer, Stevens & Hartmann (2000). They used a WebQuestin their classroom as part of their compliance with the state of Maine Learning Results and Technology standards. A WebQuest was used to integrate technology into their curriculum, focus the learners' time on using information rather than finding it, and taking students to a more in-depth level of analysis, synthesis and evaluation of learning. Problems encountered in their project included: students obtained inaccurate information, teachers tried to manage many students on the computers at one time, and logistical problems for first time WebQuesters.

With all the factors involved in creating and using WebQuests, are they a useful technique to incorporate into today’s classrooms? What factors are likely to contribute to teachers using or creating their own WebQuests? What comments do teachers make regarding the incorporation of this process into their classes?

Methodology

Design

A survey was developed that incorporated demographic information, knowledge of and implementation of WebQuests, and an adapted Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ). The Stages of Concern Questionnaire is a survey that measures individuals' concern over implementation of an innovation, in this case, WebQuests. This version of the survey wascreated to be available online. The results of the Stages of Concern Questionnaire were compared to the demographic information to determine relationships.

Participants

The subjects for this survey involved882 people who attended a state instructional technology conference. Participants attending the conference were primarily K-12 teachers, but also included some higher education faculty, district level administrators and technology vendors. Since this population was most likely to be familiar with innovative instructional technology, just by virtue of choosing to attend the conference, it was felt that they could provide the most useful data. The survey was completed by 139 individuals, but the data from five were not incorporated since the SoCQ was not completed, these individuals felt that they could not address those questions since they were not users of WebQuests, providing a return rate of fifteen percent. Such a low return rate can be explained by many emails from individuals stating that they did not use WebQuests and they felt that they were unable to provide data.

Materials

A survey was developed that included the following demographic-related questions: Do you have a computer at home?; Do you have a computer in the classroom?; Do you have more than one computer in the classroom?; Do you have access to a computer lab?; Do you use the Web for your own purposes?; Do you have students develop their own web pages?; Do you use WebQuests in your classroom?; Do you create WebQuests for your students?; What is your age?, gender?; degree?; or, school type (rural, suburban, urban)? Also incorporated into the survey was a modified version of the Stages of Concern Questionnaire (described below) that was available through the survey web site. The participants were emailed the address where it was located and asked to complete it.

The Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ) was developed to measure concerns related to innovations (Hall, George, & Rutherford, 1977). "To be concerned means to be in a mentally aroused state about something. The intensity of the arousal will depend on the person's past experiences and associations with the subject of the arousal" (Hall, et al., p. 5). Hall et, al. state that it is the perception that stimulates concern, not the reality. Certain concerns are more intense than others, which places the respondent at a particular stage.

Hall et al. (1977) use the following stages in their questionnaire:

0 Awareness: Little concern about or involvement with the innovation is indicated.

1 Informational: A general awareness of the innovation and interest in learning more detail about it is indicated. The person seems to be unworried about herself/himself in relation to the innovation. She/he is interested in substantive aspects of the innovation in a selfless manner such as general characteristics, effects, and requirements for use.

2 Personal: Individual is uncertain about the demands of the innovation, her/his inadequacy to meet those demands, and her/his role with the innovation. This includes analysis of her/his role in relation to the reward structure of the organization, decision making, and consideration of the potential conflicts with existing structures or personal commitment. Financial or status implications of the program for self and colleagues may also be reflected.

3 Management: Attention is focused on the processes and tasks of using the innovation and the best use of information and resources. Issues related to efficiency, organizing, managing, scheduling, and time demands are utmost.

4. Consequence: Attention focuses on impact of the innovation on students in her/his immediate sphere of influence. The focus is on the relevance of the innovation for students, evaluation of student outcomes, including performance and competencies, and changes needed to increase student outcomes.

5. Collaboration: The focus is on coordination and cooperation with others regarding use of the innovation.

6. Refocusing: The focus is on exploration of more universal benefits from the innovation, including the possibility of major changes or replacement with a more powerful alternative. Individual has definite ideas about alternatives to the proposed or existing form of the innovation (Hall, et al., p. 7).

The questionnaire consists of 35 questions that are mixed together. Each of the stages is represented by combining the results of five questions. Statements in the survey included: I am concerned about people's attitudes toward WebQuests; I now know of several approaches for how I might go about using WebQuests; I don't even know what a WebQuest is; I am concerned about not having enough time to learn about WebQuests so that I can use them effectively; and, I would like to help other people use WebQuests. The participants responded to a seven point Likert scale from: Not true of me now (0-1), Somewhat true of me now (2-5) and Very true of me now (6-7).

The results can be statistically compared to demographic information. Hall, et al. (1977) suggest using raw data for any analysis, but reporting percentiles for graphic displays. They also provide graphs of typical result- novices (higher concerns at the earlier stages) to experts (higher at the later stages).

The SoCQ has been used to measure a variety of innovations related to educational technology. Hope (1997) administered the SoCQ to teachers to understand their emotional responses to microcomputer technology. Wells & Anderson (1997) and Anderson and Reed (1998) used the SoCQ to measure changes in concern after instruction in an Internet course.

Results

An ANOVA was done to determine if there were differences between demographic data and the SoCQ for teachers using or creating WebQuests. Comparing the teachers who are using WebQuests versus those who do not with the following demographic data had no statistical difference: having a computer at home; having a computer in the classroom; having more than one computer in the classroom;having access to a computer lab; using the Web for their own purposes; having students develop their own web pages; the teacher’s age, gender or degree; or, school type (rural, suburban, urban).What was significantly different was that those who have developed their own web pages had a higher mean than those who do not (see Table 1).

Group / n / Mean / SD / F(1,130) / p
Teachers using WebQuests / 88 / 1.273 / .467 / 27.566 / .0001
Teachers not using WebQuests / 44 / 1.496 / .502

Table 1. Teachers who create their own web pages

Similarly, when comparing teachers who create their own WebQuests versus those who do not create them to the following demographic data, there again was not statistical difference: having a computer at home; having a computer in the classroom; having more than one computer in the classroom;having access to a computer lab; using the Web for their own purposes; having students develop their own web pages; teacher’s age, gender, or degree; or, school type (rural, suburban, urban). However, those who have developed their own web pages are more likely to create WebQuests than those who do not (see Table 2); and those who use web pages with students are more likely to create WebQuests than those who do not (see Table 3).

Group / n / Mean / SD / F(1,130) / p
Teachers create WebQuests / 88 / 1.182 / .39 / 31.09 / .0001
Teachers do not WebQuests / 44 / 1.648 / .48

Table 2. Teachers who create their own web pages

Group / n / Mean / SD / F(1,130) / p
Teachers create WebQuests / 92 / 1.325 / .474 / 6.664 / .0109
Teachers do not WebQuests / 40 / 1.565 / .498

Table 3. Teachers who create their own web pages

Using the Stages of Concern Questionnaire, teachers who have used WebQuests are lower at the Awareness, Informational, Personal, and Management stages than those who have not used WebQuests but are higher at the Consequence, Collaboration and Refocusing stages than those who have not used WebQuests (see Table 4). The graphs and tables are reported in percentiles where the statistical analysis was conducted on raw data, which is the way the authors of the Stages of Concern Questionnaire suggested (Hall, et. al, 1977).