MOVING WebQuests FORWARD IN A CONNECTED WORLD: A CASE STUDY USING THE EDIACARAN FAUNA

WebQuests are web-based educational resources, usually designed for a K-12 audience. Students are challenged to explore, understand, and resolve an issue individually and/or in groups. They are provided with background information and guidance to resources on the web in order to adequately address their issue. WebQuests engage students, increase their factual and conceptual knowledge of a given topic, and improve their critical use of the Internet. WebQuests and other similar web-based educational activities are growing more common as teachers make an effort to take advantage of the technology increasingly available both at school and at home. While WebQuests have been around since the mid 1990’s, the ‘web 2.0’ era of social media provides many new opportunities to promote understanding through dialogue. Our team has produced the first in a three-part WebQuest series (found at www.complex-life.org) centered around the Ediacaran and the organisms that lived in the world’s seas during this time period. These WebQuests are distinguished because: 1) we have added novel content, including graphics and extensive video clips, to complement pre-existing web resources; 2) we have worked with research scientists in the development of the WebQuest from concept to content to ensure that the data in the activity is accurate, up to date, and exciting; 3) we incorporate varied content and “web 2.0” capabilities in the WebQuest including video, Google Earth, screen casting, customized Google search bars, surveys, and a wiki-style glossary page; 4) we encourage students to upload their WebQuest projects to the web and share them with others inside and outside their classroom. Our approach has many pedagogical benefits including increasing critical thinking skills, learning how to apply acquired knowledge, determining the validity of web-based information, and engaging in the process of communicating scientific ideas to others. WebQuests are a flexible, powerful, yet under-utilized means in which scientists and educators can collaborate to create innovative online content to excite and inspire the next generation.