The adventures of writing a webquest...

I'll start off by saying that I love that QuestGarden exists. My complaints result from me having taken a few other technology classes in the Masters program and therefore having higher expectations. I'm only frustrated because I know that I could build a better website. Not everyone can do that tough. And that's why QuestGarden IS awesome! It enables average people to create a webquest without having much technological know how. My only legitimate frustration with QuestGarden has be with how limiting the options are. I know that it is a free service with an option to a paid subscribe, so of course paid subscribers must have some exclusive options. But realistically they cannot not be significantly different than what is available to free subscribers. I would love to see updated templates and even an updated interface to work in. Adding text and images seemed like a pain because QuestGarden is so particular/glitchy about how things must be done.

Using twitter as a class has been a big help for several reasons. First because it is a quick way to get answers to questions and secondly because I can read about my classmates' shared frustrations. Knowing that others were equally frustrated made me feel a lot better. Really it did!

Where am I now? I've added my text, pictures and formatted the pages like I want them. I would still like to add a few videos and possibly make changes to the student process. I just need to polish things up a bit. I'm excited to see the final product!

WebQuest Project

World War I receives a lot of attention in history classes, but the rise of Totalitarianism that follows is briefly covered. To devote more attention to this topic I would have students conduct a web driven search that results with the creation of a poster describing the ins and outs of a selected Totalitarian from this historical period. They will research and analyze the thoughts, decisions and actions of Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler or Benito Mussolini. Students will find/draw a full body image of their selected Totalitarian. They will write a paragraph response about each bodypart and provide a related symbol/object as requested.

California State Standards:
10.7 Students analyze the rise of totalitarian governments after World War I.
1. Understand the causes and consequences of the Russian Revolution, including Lenin’s use of totalitarian means to seize and maintain control (e.g., the Gulag).
2. Trace Stalin’s rise to power in the Soviet Union and the connection between economic policies, political policies, the absence of a free press, and systematic violations of human rights (e.g., the Terror Famine in Ukraine).
3. Analyze the rise, aggression, and human costs of totalitarian regimes (Fascist and Communist) in Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union, noting especially their common and dissimilar traits.


ITSE Standards:
1. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
b. create original works as a means of personal or group expression.

3. Research and Information Fluency
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.
b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
c. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.