WebQuests in the Middle Grades Classroom: Teachers' Perceptions

The average middle school child may very well know as much about technology as their parents. In fact, some may know much more. Today's students have grown up in an environment with incredibly easy access to the Internet, emaiJ, word processing, and almost any other technological innovation. With the advances in technology it is safe to assume that in the near future most jobs will require at least a working knowledge of computers. If technology is so important to the future success of our students, it makes sense that it should also be an important part of our instruction. How, then, do we as teacher educators ensure that our pre-service and in-service teachers leave our programs ready to fully integrate technology in effective ways? One Internet-based teaching strategy that is gaining in popularity is WebQuest, an inquiry-based learning activity (Dodge, 1997). As of September 17, 2003 over 4.7 million people have accessed the WebQuest Homepage at San Diego State University since February 28, 1998. Seeing the benefits of incorporating WebQuests into instruction, hundreds of schools, school districts, and universities have on-line collections of well-written WebQuests. Many teachers have been using Web Quests in the classroom for several years. But, how much does the average pre-service and in-service teacher know about WebQuests? What are teachers' perceptions of the benefits of WebQuests? What can teacher educators do to ensure that teachers have the knowledge and skills to use them effectively with students? This study attempts to answer those questions.