Social Studies Inquiry + Technology

Considering all the resources available because of today's technologies, it is only natural that inquiry learning would take advantage of them. The article, "Web based-inquiry learning: facilitating thoughtful literacy with WebQuests," explains the benefits of utilizing the internet to encourage meaningful inquiry learning. As Zahra wrote in the article summary, "WebQuests are designed to create an environment where students' new knowledge must be applied to solve real-world problems." A well-made WebQuest, according to the article, promotes "participation in meaningful activities, explanations, reflections, and strengthening of critical thinking skills." With so many websites devoted to historical people, events, places, and topics, WebQuests are an appropriate way to integrate technology into the inquisitive social studies environment.


Speaking from personal experience I know that creating a well-done WebQuest can be challenging so I would probably consult online resources to find those already made and tested by teachers. I found the Never Again!- Again? WebQuest at WebQuest.org and it is one of the best examples that I found. This WebQuest examines the issue of genocide and would be appropriate for a high school world history class. Genocide has been a recurring historical issue that is still relevant today. If I was teaching a world history class this WebQuest would be well incorporated towards the end of the year as a good activity to connect many of the topics covered throughout the year.


I love that this WebQuest includes resources like video and newspaper articles. In the process of completing the inquiry activity students draw on their prior knowledge, learn about the different stages of genocide, research the history of various incidences of genocide, and discuss their research with their classmates in a blog. The most compelling part of this WebQuest is the final activity in which students submit persuasive letters to the government and media and submit petitions to government officials. Over the course of this WebQuest students increase their media literacy, learn about genocide, and become activists for a humanitarian cause. This WebQuest would take several days to complete and with it's real-world applications, would motivate students to learn about genocide and create a quality final assignment. I also think this project would be really interesting from the teacher's perspective- I know I would be excited to see what my students learned from completing this WebQuest.


As the previously mentioned article said, WebQuests are meant to combine learning with problem solving. An advantage of the WebQuest format is that inquiry takes place within a fairly structured environment, but leaves room for further questioning and creativity from the students. On the other hand, poorly made WebQuests can leave students feeling overwhelmed and confused.


How do you think WebQuests compare to other forms of technology based inquiry learning?



Article Reference:
Ikpeze, C. and Boyd, F. (2007). Web-based inquiry learning: facilitating thoughtful literacy with WebQuests. The Reading Teacher, (60)7, 644-654.