It is an online activity in the form of a scavenger hunt that focuses on gathering information from web sites to answer questions or to support a concept on a particular theme or content area.
The questions themselves may vary from the simple fact or statement to the more complex, depending upon the age and skill level of the student.
By completing CyberHunts, students learn how to navigate a web site, scan a page for detailed information, and then apply the facts or ideas to the question.
An Internet scavenger hunt is a fact-finding exercise where students answer a list of questions or solve problems as they practice information seeking skills.
A hunt can serve as a powerful tool to introduce the study of a new subject or to supplement the exploration of various sides of an issue.
The most sophisticated activity may post several open ended questions that require the student to make many choices including search tool and method, web sites and finally the correct supporting information.
Since the developer chooses the web pages and links directly to them, this minimizes the risk of students being exposed to inappropriate material.
Instructors can target the rigor of the activity to challenge students by varying the level of abstraction of questions as defined by Taxonomy of Educational Objectives.
Relevance of instructional material may be addressed by using Internet based news resources to infuse current events into the lesson.
The use of online resources for instruction and research takes advantage of widely available access to the hunt and the site(s) to which it is linked.
The intent is to focus on the material and not have students spend time using search engines or directories to accumulate numerous websites that must then be accessed, assessed and evaluated.