Cheryl Vitali, a fifth grade teacher at Alta Elementary School in Reedley, California, has sent her students off on a quest to solve a mystery: what caused the abandonment of the ancient Anasazi civilization in the American Southwest around 1300? In this project, her class got a little help from some virtual friends a little closer to this question.

Ms. Vitali's students worked online with a classroom of students on a Hopi Indian reservation and with experts and scientists who have long sought answers to this ancient mystery.
Interactions like these are made possible by AmericaQuest, part of a unique series of web-based, interactive learning expeditions produced by Classroom Connect as part of The Quest Channel.1

During the Quests, a team of historical experts, scientists, and adventurers travel to exotic locations around the world to explore some of the greatest historical, scientific, and natural mysteries of all time. What adds to the unique learning experience of the Quests is that these four to six week explorations are directed by the hundreds of thousands of participating students who read daily reports written by the Quest team, and view video clips sent from the field. They even cast a weekly vote over The Quest Channel Web site about important team decisions, from ethical dilemmas, to where the Quest team should go next in their journey.

Quests are more than just online adventures that use "cool technology." Quests are learning programs, complete with a comprehensive curriculum that meets state and national standards in all core areas, including language arts, math, social studies, and science. Students build skills in:

· Finding, recognizing, and evaluating content
AmericaQuest students were given clues about a "mystery photo" and asked to conduct additional research using the Web and offline resources to develop their answers.

· Communicating with a broad range of people
Students e-mailed historical experts and scientists to learn about their theories of the Anasazi abandonment. Students also used the online Message Board to create discussions with classrooms around the world, exchange ideas, and develop theories to solve the central AmericaQuest mystery.

· Analyzing information critically, weighing differing perspectives, and coming to one's own conclusions
A couple of weeks into AmericaQuest, students were asked to evaluate multiple theories developed from information and evidence gathered and then recommend to the Quest team the theories most worthy of further investigation.

· Solving open-ended problems by putting together clues to answer questions or generating new ideas based on their research efforts
During AmericaQuest students solved ethical dilemmas posed by the Quest team. For example, after discovering an ancient Anasazi burial site, the team asked students if taking photographs of the human remains and posting them on the Quest Web site was appropriate, or whether the team should respect the Hopi (and other Native American) wishes and not photograph them. Students were encouraged to pose their own alternatives and back them up with logical arguments.

· Developing cultural awareness, getting beyond the surface features of cultures to gain an understanding of how cultures are similar to or different from each other and why
Students were asked to draw parallels between modern Hopi traditions and their own family traditions, and then to share their stories on the AmericaQuest Message Board.

"I have often pondered a vision of the ideal learning situation," says Mary Teague Mason, Assistant Principal at Trickum Middle School in Lilburn, Georgia. "In this ultimate experience, students would be actively involved in learning content, skills, and attitudes in an integrated setting. Both the teacher and the students would be working together to solve real problems that genuinely affect the lives of people. Experts would provide the text and real events, the literature. This vision is now available to students all over the world. It is Quest."

The Quests are one example of how web-based content developers are meeting the high expectations of educators like Cheryl Vitali and Mary Mason.

1. http://quest.classroom.com