Techie Learning Tech

So what's my first impression of Webquests? I think they have huge potential, and I think with Web 2.0 and things like Flash, they will be the future of online education. I think to really take advantage of that medium, a Webquest should be interactive (more than just clicking on hyperlinks) and should include things like audio and videos.

Most of the examples we looked at in class today were just a collection of resources (hyperlinks) along with some writing assignment. A few of the better ones incorporated software like Excel or Powerpoint. I think the more we can get students immersed in the material, the better. Give them headphones. In the introductory section, give them an introductory video in addition to a written introduction to hook them. Make use of Java or PHP to allow students to input information from within the Webquest and create a product that they can save or print.

Basically my first impression is that Webquests could be so much more than what we've seen so far. I'm sure there's some awesome ones out there though, and I'm sure they will improve by leaps and bounds as more technophiles get into the education workforce. I think it would also be cool if someone like Adobe wrote software (or a template for one of their existing software packages) specifically for developing multimedia Webquests, especially one with a WYSIWYG interface.