QuestGarden:
Teacher Education Classic Award
Winner
Bernie Dodge, PhD
San Diego State University
Outline
 Definitions
 What problem does QuestGarden solve?
 Demonstration
 Future plans
Q&A
What is QuestGarden?
 QuestGarden is an online authoring tool
and hosting service for the creation of
WebQuests.
 It’s a learning object that creates
learning objects
OK, What’s a WebQuest?
 A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented
activity in which the information that
learners use comes mostly from the
web.
 A WebQuest is wrapped around a
doable, interesting (ideally authentic)
task that requires higher level thinking.
What ISN’T a WebQuest?
 Online scavenger hunts
 Research reports
 Procedural activities like labs,
calculations
 Awareness activities that just involve
looking at a set of web sites
They’re Out There!
3,200,000!
Some Examples
Why is this so hard to do?
I can’t seem to locate
the saved
WebQuests that I’ve
started…Everytime I
try to import an
image, the whole
program just locks.
The Problem
The Problem
…then when I was finished, I
was scared to death to
“publish” it because I was
afraid I wouldn’t be able to
fix the mistakes I had not
seen.
The Problem
…I’d like to develop
another WebQuest but
I don’t know if I’d
have the patience or
time to be be able to
create one during the
school year.
The Problem
…the typical uploading
doesn’t seem to be working
for me, I will be saving my
files to disk and and
uploading it from school.
Survey of WebQuest Authors
 Solicited from the WebQuest list,
classes & organizations that use
WebQuests
 N = 110
Hours Spent
Getting the page uploaded to a server
Coming up with a viable topic and task
Creating the teacher page
Finding images
Making the HTML work correctly
Creating the evaluation section
1
Balancing learners roles and responsibilities
Making the page look attractive
Designing it to engage higher level thinking
Designing the steps in the process section
Finding good web sites to link to
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
What Was Hard / Tedious?







Finding good web sites
Mechanics of making the pages
Creating navigation buttons
Making it pretty
Process steps
Scaffolding
Aligning the evaluation with task, standards
What Was Hard / Tedious
 Uploading from home
 Not losing pieces
 Higher-order thinking
WebQuest Creation
Technical
Knowledge
WebQuest Creation
Technical
Knowledge
Pedagogical
Knowledge
WebQuest Creation
Technical
Knowledge
Web Editing
FTP
Aesthetics
Searching
Pedagogical
Knowledge
WebQuest Creation
Technical
Knowledge
Web Editing
Pedagogical
Knowledge
FTP
Constructivism
Scaffolding
Aesthetics
Searching
Higher Level Thinking
Cooperative Learning
Solution: QuestGarden
Early Development
 Debut at TCEA 2005
 Tested in workshops throughout the
Spring and Summer
 Announced at NECC, July, 2005
 Opened to anyone September 1, 2005.
QuestGarden: Present
 Over 54,000 users in 120 countries
 Over 22,000 WebQuests created
Demonstration
Features of QuestGarden
 Step-by-step prompted guidance on
creating a WebQuest
 Browser-based… no software needed
 Emphasis on sharing resources and
advice
 Ability for WebQuest workshop leaders
to monitor progress
Features of QuestGarden
 WYSIWYG text formatting
 Ability to upload pictures and
supplementary files
 Based on design patterns
QuestGarden: Future
 Free until September 1, 2007
 $20 for a 2 year subscription after that
 30 day free trial, so you can use in your
own courses without cost
Features Coming Soon
Will be translated into Mandarin, Brazilian
Portuguese, Spanish and Catalan (so far)
 Peer Ratings and Feedback
 Scaffolding extras built in
 Integrated Quiz/Drill/Game
Q&A
QuestGarden:
Teacher Education Classic Award
Winner
Bernie Dodge, PhD
San Diego State University