Webquests

     According to Discovery Education, a webquest is "an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that students interact with comes from the internet."  That definition can be expounded upon somewhat to include the idea that a webquest promotes a constructivist environment and allows students to explore a topic more than they normally would through a textbook.
    In my high school math classroom, webquests could be used to make many dull topics more interesting.  Most students find math boring and irrelevant but with a webquest and a little creativity, math can become exciting.  For example, I have created a webquest that covers linear equations.  In this exercise, a terrorist group has devised a plan to blow up the moon and the only way the students can save the moon is to deepen their understanding of linear equations so they can fire a rocket on a linear path to counter the terrorists' rocket.
     One of the positives of webquests is that they are a break from the ordinary.  Most of the time students enjoy something different from boring classroom lectures.  Another positive aspect of webquests is that they involve some degree of freedom for the students.  This allows them to use their creativity and allows them to feel as though they have control over the project.  This also allows students to operate in their comfort zone.  Young people live in a digital world and spend much of their time on the computer so this allows them to feel comfortable in what they are doing.
     One of the negatives of using webquests in the classroom would be the amount of time.  An in-depth webquest could take as much as several weeks to complete.  Another negative aspect of using webquests could be the total dependence on the computer.  If the internet connection is down or you do not have access to enough computers for each student or group of students, there may be a problem.