Ghada Awada, Abir Abdallah
American University of Beirut and Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
ghadawada@gmail.com, abirabdallah@gmail.com
The Use of the Webquest as a Technological Tool in Public Schools
This study aims at investigating the efficiency of web quests in enhancing the 8th
graders' descriptive writing. The 8th graders in the Lebanese public schools in general
usually demonstrate poor writing skills. Consequently, they don't show motivation to
write in English. The subjects of the study are one control group (n=22) and one
experimental group (n=23) enrolled in grade eight in a public school in Beirut and whose
ages range from thirteen to fifteen years old. The purpose of the study is to examine
whether or not the web quest helps 8th graders achieve unity and coherence in writing
descriptive paragraphs and to examine if the motivation towards writing is increased
after using the web quest. The data are collected by means of two questionnaires, the
subjects’ writings, and a web quest. The first questionnaire is administered to the
subjects before using the web quest to investigate their level of motivation towards
writing, and the second questionnaire is administered to the subjects after using the web
quest for three months to find out if their motivation towards writing changes or not.
Moreover, the subjects are asked to write before using the web quest and after using it
to examine any significant difference in their descriptive writings regarding the two
elements, unity and coherence. The SPSS program is used in analyzing the collected
data. Based on a pilot study conducted earlier by the two researchers, the prospective
findings of the study shall convey that the experimental group produces unified and
coherent writings. More importantly, the experimental group is expected to reveal great
motivation towards writing. The researchers' prospective recommendations will be mainly
urging the teachers of all levels to use the web quests as an indispensable tool requested
to enhance students’ motivation and to better their descriptive writing skills.
American University of Beirut and Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
ghadawada@gmail.com, abirabdallah@gmail.com
The Use of the Webquest as a Technological Tool in Public Schools
This study aims at investigating the efficiency of web quests in enhancing the 8th
graders' descriptive writing. The 8th graders in the Lebanese public schools in general
usually demonstrate poor writing skills. Consequently, they don't show motivation to
write in English. The subjects of the study are one control group (n=22) and one
experimental group (n=23) enrolled in grade eight in a public school in Beirut and whose
ages range from thirteen to fifteen years old. The purpose of the study is to examine
whether or not the web quest helps 8th graders achieve unity and coherence in writing
descriptive paragraphs and to examine if the motivation towards writing is increased
after using the web quest. The data are collected by means of two questionnaires, the
subjects’ writings, and a web quest. The first questionnaire is administered to the
subjects before using the web quest to investigate their level of motivation towards
writing, and the second questionnaire is administered to the subjects after using the web
quest for three months to find out if their motivation towards writing changes or not.
Moreover, the subjects are asked to write before using the web quest and after using it
to examine any significant difference in their descriptive writings regarding the two
elements, unity and coherence. The SPSS program is used in analyzing the collected
data. Based on a pilot study conducted earlier by the two researchers, the prospective
findings of the study shall convey that the experimental group produces unified and
coherent writings. More importantly, the experimental group is expected to reveal great
motivation towards writing. The researchers' prospective recommendations will be mainly
urging the teachers of all levels to use the web quests as an indispensable tool requested
to enhance students’ motivation and to better their descriptive writing skills.
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