FIG. 1: The MozartTask Sheet offers an entertaining and informative WebQuest that compliments studies in classical music.

An excellent way to integrate technology into the music curriculum is to use the World Wide Web. In fact, the Technology Institute for Music Educators (TI:ME) has identified the Internet as one of its six music-technology instructional areas. In “Music and the National Standards, Part 2” (see the Summer 2004 issue of MET), Floyd Richmond reports that teachers increasingly use the Web as an instructional tool in the classroom. Students are now routinely conducting research online and completing interactive Web-based lessons.

Educators from virtually all subject areas have developed an excellent interactive activity called a WebQuest. A WebQuest is designed to offer students a rich learning experience. If your school has computers, a Web connection, a word processor, and a Web browser, you are ready to go. You don't need to buy expensive software or hardware. If you are searching for ways to incorporate the Web into the music classroom, WebQuests may provide an answer.

Professor Bernie Dodge of San Diego State University defines a WebQuest as an inquiry-oriented activity that uses resources on the World Wide Web. WebQuests pull together the most effective instructional practices into one integrated student activity. These Web-based projects use World Wide Web sites to help students develop problem-solving and decision-making skills. WebQuests are interesting and motivating to teachers and students.

An effective WebQuest develops critical thinking skills and often includes a cooperative learning component. Students learn as they search for information using the Web, following a prescribed format that focuses on problem solving and authentic assessment.

FIG. 2: Cynthia Matzat’s Radio Days: A WebQuest introduces students to the “Golden Age of Radio” of the 1930s and 1940s by requiring that they research the history and components of radio dramas using the Web in order to produce their own authentic-sounding radio drama.

A WebQuest comprises six parts: introduction, task, process, resources, evaluation, and conclusion. The introduction presents the guiding or central question for a WebQuest, and it should have an engaging statement that draws the students' interest while setting the stage for the WebQuest.

The task should have a description of the end result of the students' work — the culminating performance or product that drives all the activities in a WebQuest. The task can take the form of a series of questions that must be answered or a problem to be solved.

The process is a step-by-step description of how students accomplish the tasks. It provides online and offline resources and guidance on individual steps.

The resources section has a detailed description of any physical resources that are needed to implement the lesson. The list should include addresses of Web pages to be used in the WebQuest.

The evaluation section measures the final task. The evaluation may have rubrics or tests for measuring competencies or accomplishment.

The last section of a WebQuest is the conclusion, which offers reflections and a summary of the lesson or ideas for further exploration.

You can learn about WebQuests by visiting some excellent Web sites. San Diego State University's WebQuest Page (http://webquest.sdsu.edu) is designed as a resource for teachers who use the WebQuest model. This site provides training materials, links to WebQuest examples, and a special WebQuest news area.

FIG. 3: Bill Bauer’s WebQuests for Music Learning page links to a number of ready-made WebQuests designed around a variety of topics and themes.

Another site, Best WebQuests.com (www.bestwebquests.com), lists a host of exemplary WebQuests that have been selected by experts in the field. The site boasts a 15 percent acceptance rate, listing only the best available WebQuests. As of this writing, 12 WebQuests are posted under the category of Arts and Music.

Another excellent site is Kathy Schrock's WebQuest Archives (http://kathyschrock.net/webquests). It has examples of WebQuests that were created by practicing educators in graduate courses taught by Schrock.

Once you become familiar with WebQuests, you can then create your own or search online for WebQuests authored by other music teachers. You can use these as-is, and they can save you a lot of time.

Your students can use WebQuests to explore concepts being studied in class. For example, if you are studying classical music, have your students experience a Mozart WebQuest such as the MozartTask Sheet, at www.spa3.k12.sc.us/WebQuests/mozart/Travel%20log.html (see Fig. 1). Other examples of music-related WebQuests that can get you started are Cynthia Matzat's Radio Days: A WebQuest at www.thematzats.com/radio/index.html (see Fig. 2) and Bill Bauer's WebQuests for Music Learning page at http://homepage.mac.com/wbauer/atmi2000 (see Fig. 3). WebQuests can help fulfill MENC Standard 9, which asks the teacher to demonstrate the relationship between music, history, and culture. For more information about the MENC National Standards, see “Music Technology and the National Standards, Part 1” in the Spring 2004 issue of MET and “Music Technology and the National Standards, Part 2” in the Summer 2004 issue of MET, both of which are available online in MET's article archives at www.metmagazine.com.

If you prefer designing your own WebQuests, use the WebQuests mentioned in this article for reference. Take the time to explore WebQuests; they can provide technology-related activities for your students that are exciting and educational.

Tom Rudolph (terudolph@aol.com) is the director of music and is a middle-school classroom and instrumental-music instructor for the School District of Haverford Township in Havertown, Pennsylvania. He also is an adjunct assistant professor at the University of the Arts and president of the Technology Institute for Music Educators (TI:ME).