The Memory of the French Revolution
For this new blog post, I thought I would review a Social Studies Webquest. Well, first of all, what's a webquest? A webquest is essentially an inquiry-based project that takes students through a specific set of (generally) web-based information on a particular topic. Students are generally asked to create a product after completing the webquest and use the Internet to research, gather, and assess information. Webquests are a great tool to help teach students information literacy, research, critical thinking, and writing skills. Students usually work in groups or individually depending on the quest.
While I was out searching webquests, I came upon one on the French Revolution. The quest, The Memory of the French Revolution, created by Brittany Bryant, asks students to explore key ideas of the French Revolution and create a tourist information guide. But the reason I picked this webquest to review/blog about is because I think it takes an unique approach to the French Revolution. Ms. Bryant asks students to not only learn about the revolution but also to examine the some of the symbols used during the revolution and assess how they are still relevant to French culture and used today. Her main example is Eugene Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People painting was used as Coldplay's album cover for "Viva LaVida".
For this particular webquest, Ms. Bryant provides the students with template to help organize their thoughts and information they learn during their webquest. She also provides an explanatory rubric so students (and the teacher) can better see how they will grade/be graded on the assignment. I think that webquests can be an extremely useful tool for teachers because the information is already provided for, but this is also a potential setback because the teacher will have to thoroughly examine the webquest to make sure it is suitable for his/her students and learning goals.
For this new blog post, I thought I would review a Social Studies Webquest. Well, first of all, what's a webquest? A webquest is essentially an inquiry-based project that takes students through a specific set of (generally) web-based information on a particular topic. Students are generally asked to create a product after completing the webquest and use the Internet to research, gather, and assess information. Webquests are a great tool to help teach students information literacy, research, critical thinking, and writing skills. Students usually work in groups or individually depending on the quest.
While I was out searching webquests, I came upon one on the French Revolution. The quest, The Memory of the French Revolution, created by Brittany Bryant, asks students to explore key ideas of the French Revolution and create a tourist information guide. But the reason I picked this webquest to review/blog about is because I think it takes an unique approach to the French Revolution. Ms. Bryant asks students to not only learn about the revolution but also to examine the some of the symbols used during the revolution and assess how they are still relevant to French culture and used today. Her main example is Eugene Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People painting was used as Coldplay's album cover for "Viva LaVida".
For this particular webquest, Ms. Bryant provides the students with template to help organize their thoughts and information they learn during their webquest. She also provides an explanatory rubric so students (and the teacher) can better see how they will grade/be graded on the assignment. I think that webquests can be an extremely useful tool for teachers because the information is already provided for, but this is also a potential setback because the teacher will have to thoroughly examine the webquest to make sure it is suitable for his/her students and learning goals.
It sounds like you found a pretty interesting webquest to review. I know that personally in school I always struggled to connect with material in history class. As I have gotten older I have realized how fascinating history can be, but in school I typically learned about it in a lecture based class filled with worksheets and readings straight out of the textbook. This webquest sounds like a great way to get students to really connect with what they are learning. I think it is important that the teacher included connections relevant to today's society. I also think it is nice to see a teacher expanding upon what is simply in the textbook. Although provided materials in school can be useful, the internet often provides information in more unique and relatable ways for students today. I do agree that a webquest, especially when done well, can be a lot of work for a teacher; however, I think the end result may be worth its weight in "educational” gold.
ReplyDeleteThat is a really interesting way of learning about revolutions. It is not only unique, but it makes the history relevant. Being able to tie events from the past to existing and significant symbols or ideas in the present is awesome. "Viva LaVida" is a good example that students might recognize immediately. The cover is great because it depicts the French Revolution and the song "Viva LaVida" also has to do about the rise and fall of power.
ReplyDeleteI really like how this web quest relates the impact of the French Revolution and how it still has relevance on French culture TODAY. The concept of "impact" is so critical for students to understand, and I definitely believe we need to find more content and activities that will allow students to connect history with the present day, such as this web quest does! Connections from the past to the present help give students context to what they are learning about, and they are able to see the value of the information more clearly. While evaluating a web quest to see how suitable it is for a teacher's goal of that lesson can be time consuming, wouldn't it be the same amount of time to develop an entire lesson plan from scratch? Therefore, I don't really see that as a downfall to web quests. I think that web quests can be an integral part in the classroom, and they should be incorporated often throughout the school year.
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