WebQuests: A Tool for All Teachers

Vol. 4 No. 3

Year:

2009

Issue: Dec-Feb

Title: WebQuests: A Tool for All Teachers 

Author Name: Laura Rader 

Synopsis: 

Classroom teachers are assuming more and more responsibility for meeting the needs of students from a larger number of diverse backgrounds and with increasingly diverse special needs.  Many practicing teachers identify students with special needs as their greatest concern and challenge, but often one of their greatest rewards.  One way of differentiating instruction to provide Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is through WebQuests.  WebQuests, inquiry oriented activities in which most of the information is drawn from the web, not only meet two requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), but also allow teachers the opportunity to provide multiple levels of assistance to all students.  Specifically, WebQuests have the ability to not only provide accommodations for all students with special needs but they have the ability to provide all students with special needs access to the general education curriculum as well.  When teachers become familiar with WebQuests and use them in their daily instruction with students, it is very likely that the educational opportunities and outcomes for all students will substantially increase.