Teaching Interdisciplinary Problem Solving (TIPS) through Educational Technology is intended to help teachers to integrate TIPS’ innovative Internet applications into advancing students’ problem solving skills. You have been learning about how to use The Public Policy Analyst. Perhaps the best way to integrate the PPA into teaching is by creating and using WebQuests.

Bernie Dodge originated WebQuests in 1995 and they are used in most technology integration projects. As an experienced teacher, you are familiar with creating lesson plans. WebQuests are similar to traditional lesson plans, except you create a WebQuest for your students to read online to guide them through the lesson.

As a TIPS teacher, you will create two WebQuests. A TIPS WebQuest is a WebQuest that incorporates either some of the steps from the PPA model or CompuLEGAL. It is the PPA and CompuLEGAL that differentiates this project from the 300+ proposals that the government rejected when TIPS was funded in 1999. It is the effectiveness of integrating the PPA into teaching that is the basis of our project’s assessment and continuation.

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The six main sections of a TIPS WebQuest:

1. The Introduction orients students and captures their interest. It gives an overview of the activity. The introduction (and the entire WebQuest) is written in the second person (“You” or “Your group”), for it is directed to your students. Some creative WebQuests use a scenario that is first presented in the Introduction (e.g., “Your class are consultants working for the Environmental Protection Agency studying the problem of air pollution in New York City.”) Be sure to define the context and location of your WebQuest in the Introduction.

2. The Task describes the general goals or objectives of the WebQuest. It is any product(s) that students are expected to produce such as a PowerPoint, an oral presentation on an analysis of a Supreme Court case using CompuLEGAL, a storyboard that depicts the development of new policies to deal with air pollution by using the Public Policy analysis, etc.

3. The Process explains strategies students should use to complete the task(s) that have been stated in section two. For example, it would state clearly how the students will develop the PowerPoint or how the class will be divided into various groups with particular roles to implement the steps of the PPA or CompuLEGAL. The exact links for the various six steps of the PPA process are used or the particular link to the CompuLEGAL case being studied.

4. The Resources are the websites students will use to complete the task. Also, other website links related to the topic may be included.

5. The Evaluation measures the results of the activity. Usually, it should contain a rubric that clarifies the teacher’s criteria for evaluating the various tasks or products that the student must produce. It also includes specific state standards from at least two academic disciplines (since TIPS is interdisciplinary).

6. The Conclusion sums up the activity and encourages students to reflect on its process and results.