I have been having a look at some webquests  and wanted to see what others thought of them as a teaching tool.

There is a website called webquest.org that has an abundance of quests that may be of help in teaching of english units. These include a range about our friend Shakespeare, that range from introductions to units, to thematic aproaches.

I can see the merit in this as a teaching tool, however i can also see obvious problems with it. 

First of all you need to be in a situation were each student has access to a computer, and secondly the quests are somewhat specific in nature and may not fit into everyones teaching plan.

They seem to me to be much the same as curriculum support material, a good place to find ideas that individual teachers would then mould into their own working unit. The webquests on the above site seem quite static as well with a lot of the activities being similar in nature to traditional written tasks, just transposed to an online setting.

I came across an interesting site called the Global Nomads Group (GNG)

I found this site developed the idea of Webquests in a really interesting way. 

The site states that 

the Global Nomads Group (GNG) is an international NGO that creates interactive educational programs for students about global issues. GNG’s educational programs include (1) four types of videoconferences — The PULSE, Currents, Innovations and Rapid Response — where students learn about and discuss subjects with their peers from around the world in live, facilitated sessions; and (2) videosand learning content on a variety of international issues relevant to teachers and students.

 

I see this site as really being able to utilize, the net to enhance learning in a much better way than the basic webquest idea.