Creative+Product

Definition of a Creative Product Task
"Might students learn about your topic by recasting it in the form of a story or poem or painting? Like engineers and designers, creative artists work within the constraints of their particular genre. Creative WebQuest tasks lead to the production of something within a given format (e.g. painting, play, skit, poster, game, simulated diary or song) but they are much more open-ended and unpredictable than design tasks. The evaluation criteria for these tasks would emphasize creativity and self-expression, as well as criteria specific to the chosen genre." [1]

Tips for Creative Product Tasks
"As with design tasks, the constraints are the key, and they will differ depending on the creative product and topic being worked on. Such constraints might include such things as requiring: Balanced against the constraints, a task of this type should invite creativity by being somewhat open-ended. There should be enough wiggle room in the assignment that a student or group of students will be able to leave a unique stamp on what you're asking them to do."
 * historical accuracy;
 * adherence to a particular artistic style;
 * use of the conventions of a particular format;
 * internal consistency;
 * limitations on length, size, or scope.

Reference [1] http://webquest.sdsu.edu/taskonomy.html

**Examples of a WebQuest in Which Participants Take on the Role of Creating a Product**
[|Time Before Time] This WebQuest offers a good example of how to present a task to students. The creator never broke the students characters with "teacher talk," which allows students to become invested in the end product. The WebQuest itself is also a good product. The site is engaging and pulls students in with dinosaur sound effects and moving pictures.

[|Ancient Aztec WebQuest] This WebQuest really taps into the creative sides of the students by having them create their own Aztec exhibits complete with artifacts. Though this does not necessarily have the structure of a traditional WebQuest, it contains a lot of great information that the student should learn about. It even incorporated the different multiple intelligences in the WebQuest as a way to make them aware that they should be incorporated in the product.

[|Discover the Ancient Civilizations of the Americas] The task portion of this WebQuest is very well written. This WebQuest really asks students to get involved with their characters in order to create the best possible product. Each student can choose one of three roles, and depending on their role they get to create any kind of presentation they want using photos, information, personal journals and artifacts from the era.

[|Music Theme Park] This WebQuest asks the students to design a theme park around different styles of music. This could be a hokey but the boundaries that are set around each aspect those that may get off task. They are asked to design down to the uniforms of the restaurant employees!! The students can go wild- within the limitations and there are innumerable opportunities for them to be creative as well as historically accurate.

[|Poetry of War WebQuest] This WebQuest is a good example of the creative product type. Everything is tied together and the product is not only appropriate for the students, but it also allows students to get involved with the product and the poetry that they are learning about. In this way, the teacher has made it much more fun and exciting to learn about the "Poetry of War."

[|Greek Mythology Tabloid] This WebQuest is a good example of the creative product type. Not only does it have a very creative task and process, it also allows students to make a very creative product. It seems like a successful example that students will have fun with and enjoy doing. Although the background was lacking, the meat of the WebQuest was great, and so I think that it can be useful for teachers.

[|The Victims of the Holocaust] The students are asked to commemorate a group that was persecuted in the Holocaust. The activity is to create a memorial for them. The actual product is really creative and interesting, however the WebQuest could use some spicing up.

The Berlin Wall Students are instructed to create a newspaper article based on "interviews" and primary sources.

[|creative problem solving] This WebQuest is looking at a way to solve problems creativly. It also uses some historical context to get students interested in the project. Students are asked to solve a problem by helping the Alexander the Great of Macedonia.