Why and how to solve Web-Quest?
According to my observations, after the advent of various technologies in our lives, for example, computers, the older generation increasingly begins to spy on children: “Why did we buy a computer for you? For study or for toys? ” And it’s really funny, in the eyes of caring parents, their child instead of studying is sitting at the next shooter, killing scary monsters for hours.
On the other hand, few adults can come up with an interesting use of the computer for educational purposes – well, unless options slip in the form of typing into a test editor or printout of a report on any subject. At school, the computer is used in almost the same way – the student is given the standard task, he sits at the computer for the whole lesson, and with a ringing under a funny boom, he rushes for a break, shaking out the particles of knowledge he got from his head. What interest in learning can we talk about here? But there is another way of using a computer in training – new educational technologies. One of these technologies is Web-Quest. Of course, you can call Web Quest a completely new technology with some stretch of the imagination – it was invented in 1995, but, unfortunately, it still has not taken root in Russian education.
The essence of the web quest is quite simple: the teacher writes an interesting story, weaving practical tasks on the subject into this story, thereby pushing students to an independent, focused search for knowledge to accomplish the task. In the course of work on the search for information (and the search takes place not only in ordinary textbooks, but also on the Internet), students begin to work more productively, developing creative thinking and skills in working with information. The main interest of the Web quest is that the training moves away from the standard scenario: “the teacher will force the student to do it” – the teacher acts as a mentor, counselor and senior comrade, who, in case of certain difficulties in completing the assignment, is able to suggest the desired direction in the search. The design of the web quest is quite simple: introduction, central task, process and conclusion. At the introduction stage, specific roles of students are discussed (for example, a technician, designer, constructor, etc.); during the execution of the stage of the central task, the main goals and objectives of the work are discussed with the students, the result to be achieved is determined. At the conclusion stage, results are summed up, work ratings are set, can be done in points using completely different criteria (achievement of the stated goal, quality of work, etc.). It is worth noting that everything (from the work process to the grading criteria) is negotiated with students, in which cooperation between the student and the teacher is manifested. Of course, a list of information resources is also attached to the Web quest – from tutorials to links to sites on the Internet, where it will be easier for students to find the necessary information without having to climb to extraneous sites and without wasting extra time.
Work can be carried out in small groups, which contributes to the formation of active mutual assistance between students. But there are problems: for example, restricting access to the Internet, the teachers’s unwillingness to conduct a lesson so different from the traditional one, and the low level of computer literacy of teachers and students. As a conclusion, in solving the above problems, the use of a web quest would be an interesting substitute for traditional lessons.
Now in educational institutions, most students freely use modern information technologies, this simplifies for them the process of finding information, processing it and providing it in various presentational forms. Therefore, the use of a computer in the design activity of students as a tool for creative activity contributes to the achievement of several goals:
increasing motivation for self-learning;
the formation of new competencies;
realization of creative potential;
increasing personal self-esteem;
development of personal qualities unclaimed in the educational process (for example, poetic, musical, artistic abilities).
Currently, in various fields of activity there is a shortage of specialists who are able to solve problems arising independently and in a team, to do this using the Internet. Therefore, the work of students in such a variant of project activity as a web quest diversifies the educational process, makes it lively and interesting. And the experience gained will bear fruit in the future, because when working on this project a number of competencies develops:
the use of IT to solve professional problems (including the search for the necessary information, presentation of work results in the form of computer presentations, websites, flash movies, databases, etc.);
self-education and self-organization;
teamwork (planning, distribution of functions, mutual assistance, mutual control);
the ability to find several ways to solve a problem situation, determine the most rational option, justify your choice;
the skill of public speaking (it is obligatory to pre-protect and defend projects with the speeches of the authors, with questions, discussions).
