Dodge

=Bernie Dodge =

Bernie Dodge, born Bernard Joseph Dodge on September 5, 1948, grew up in Waterbury, Connecticut. Dodge received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Instructional Design at Syracuse University.

 He is best known for creating the WebQuest while teaching second-semester student teachers at San Diego State University. Because he did not have a copy of the Archaeotype software, an educational simulation, he developed a project for his students where groups would use websites, a virtual chat, a video conference, etc. to determine whether the Archaeotype program would be a useful teaching tool for their inner-city students. Dodge has also created software such as Quations, PLANalyst (tool to help teachers create, edit, and print lesson plans, lesson plan evaluation that suggests improvements, and teaching strategies), and HomeMaker (HyperCard stack to help create a personal web page without knowing HTML). A Wire Side Chat with Dodge, Meet Bernie Dodge: The Frank Lloyd Wright of Learning Environments at the following link: http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/chat/chat015.shtml.

A webpage for teachers, created and maintained by Dodge, provides templates for WebQuests, shared WebQuests, resources, news, and a bookshelf page listing recommended reading on the subject. @http://webquest.org/index.php.

The WebQuest is a wonderful model to use in the classroom. I always found it difficult to create assignments which would require higher level thinking. Also, the idea that some assignments should cause doubt and uncertainty in students is one that I used frequently in the classroom. When students were able to complete the assignment with flying colors, they achieved a greater sense of accomplishment. I feel the WebQuest model not only provides higher level thinking for students, but also makes learning fun. Challenging and enjoyable activities keep students engaged, which is far better than a 'talking head' in the front of a classroom.

Listen to Dodge explain the WebQuest model by clicking on the play button below. This video was provided by YouTube.com. media type="youtube" key="v7UynehA_l0?fs=1" height="385" width="480" kss