Wednesday, October 15, 2014

A Web Whaaaaat?? WebQuests!

WebQuest?  What on earth is that?  It took me a while to understand that a WebQuest is a way to have learners use the web in a directed search for answers to complex questions.  Once I understood, I loved the idea!  A perfect way for learners to make discoveries on their own.

I thought of a great WebQuest idea!  I could use a WebQuest to teach children about puppy socialization.  Puppy socialization is often misunderstood to mean socializing a puppy to other puppies and/or dogs.  While this is part of it, a much bigger part is exposing the pup to many positive experiences with lots of different people and places.  When they have these positive experiences, they are much more likely to learn that the world is a safe place, and grow up to be well adjusted adults.

It would be great to have kids learn about it early, and perhaps teach the adults!

I thoroughly enjoyed creating my WebQuest.  The worst part about it was keeping my paws off of it after I submitted it for grading.  I kept thinking of things that I should have added or clarified.  I actually can't wait until it is graded, so I can update it.

WebQuests are something I will definitely explore for my final project.  I am wondering if there is a use for them in humane education programs.  My guess is yes!