Webquest

Webquest uses online information and resources to design learning activities which requires high-level thinking skills. With Webquest teachers are able to carry out more project, problem, inquiry-based activities. The four samples provided have well elaborated how students solve problems, or use the internet resources to look for questions being asked. For example, in Dinosaurs before Dark, students need to document the Dinosaurs they meet in the book. Guided questions are well set. For example, students need to search if Frog Creek, Pennsylvania is a real place using the US postal service. Please refer to http://questgarden.com/52/36/4/070612201403/process.htm. By doing this, students can relate the reading to the real life. Webquest bridges well the classroom learning with the real life. Compared with the first sample, the rest three samples have tasks which are more demanding and require more problem solving skills. They require more collaboration work between peers.
I think Webquest implies integrative CALL because with the tool have successfully show a good way how students are able to pick up the technologies and the language together. Definitely I would try to implement it in my daily teaching. It is very useful to the project learning with all the learning materials and outcomes well filed. But when I design my own webquest file, I must select the resources carefully and provide clear and direct references so that my students, a group of low –achieving ESL learners, will not be scared by links full of incomprehensible English. Moreover, the four samples mainly provide reading and writing exercises. For my own webquest, I would try to use the video files as well so that students are able to practice their listening and reading skills. For example, sound tracks can be added to each chapter in the first sample, Dinosaurs before Dark.
Besides, I would have a try on other online programs such as Filamentality, zWebQuest ,and PHPWebQuest. I am the most interested on Filamentality because both teachers and learners in the 21st century are facing one problem, namely, how to search the relevant information in the era of information explosion.