WebQuest Evaluation
This template is based on
version 1.03 of the WebQuest Rubric
as modified by Laura Bellofatto, Nick Bohl, Mike Casey, Marsha Krill,
and Bernie Dodge and last updated on June 19, 2001.
| Name: Janine Morgan | Date: June 22, 2002 |
| Title WebQuest Evaluated: Living with Disaster | |
| URL of WebQuest Evaluated: http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/as/education/projects/webquests/disaster/index.htm | |
| Score | Explanation | |
|
Overall Aesthetics (This refers to the WebQuest page itself, not the external resources linked to it.) |
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|
Overall Visual Appeal |
3 points |
The graphics on this webquest are very
appropriate for the theme. Several of the pictures are actual photographs
and help the students visualize the natural disasters that they're going to
be learning about. The graphics do not distract the students from the tasks.
The graphics and pictures are different sizes and colors and engage the
learners. |
| Navigation &
Flow (0-4 pts.) |
3 points |
The navigation of this webquest is very clear and easy to follow. The frame on the left hand side with the components of the webquest (i.e., Task, Process, Evaluation, and Teacher Page) remains on the screen as you go through the different steps. There is one instance on the webquest where you open a letter and it opens a new navigator window to view it, but I dont think the students will have trouble going back to the original webpage. Also when I go to the websites that they have links to, sometimes I can't get back to the original page by hitting the back button. Instead, I have to click on the place in the left hand frame where I want to go back to. |
| Mechanical Aspects (0-2 pts.) |
1 point |
They provided many links (about 35 of them). I tried all the links and a couple links did not work. It is easy to tell where to click on the links. I didn't notice any spelling or grammatical errors. The images were all visually appealing and not distracting. The information is presented clearly and precisely. |
|
Introduction |
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|
Motivational effectiveness of Introduction (0-2 pts.) |
2 points |
The introduction is engaging because
it sets up the whole scenario. It provides a document that is written as
a letter to their uncle, who is a farmer, from the Department of Trasportation.
It definitely poses a problem and gets the students interested in helping
to solve the problem. It lists the four locations and natural disasters
that they will be researching. |
|
Cognitive effectiveness of the Introduction |
2 points |
The introduction tells the student that their uncle has 4 locations where he can move to and what natural disasters happen in each of those four locations. The terms: flood, volcano, earthquake, and wildfires should activate their prior knowledge, as well as mentioning what state each of those is located in. It states that the uncle is asking your team for help in deciding which of the four locations would be the best place for him to move. |
|
Task (The task is the end result of student efforts... not the steps involved in getting there.) |
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|
Connection of Task to Standards |
4 points |
In the teacher page , they have included
how the webquest meets standards in science, computer/technology, math, english,
and social studies. They write out each performance indicator that the webquest
touches on. The tasks that they need to do clearly match the standards and
performance indicators. |
|
Cognitive Level |
6 points |
The task is doable and enjoyable. I found the topic to be very engaging and the links were informative. There are 3 roles: historian, mathematician, and scientist. Each of those roles has a page that tells them what questions they are to be answering in their journal and provides the links to the necessary websites. When all the 3 students have finished researching the ideas for their roles, they have to meet together and decide which location they like best. They have to design a proposal and presentation based on their findings and what they decided on. This requires synthesis of multiple sources, taking a position and going beyond the data to make a final product. |
|
Process (The process is the step-by-step description of how students will accomplish the task.) |
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|
Clarity of Process |
4 points |
In the process , every step is clearly stated. It
starts with step one, where the teacher divides the class into groups. Next
it tells them that they will be assigned one of the three roles to research
and they must be thorough since they are the only one in their group researching
from that perspective. The third step tells them that they are to use the
provided questions for their role to begin researching the internet using
the supplied links. They are to take notes in their journal so that they
can refer back to it. The next step is for the three students to meet and
share what they have found for their role. Then they design a proposal and
presentation about where they think Farmer Hunt should relocate his farm
to. The final step is to present their final presentation with their decision
and supporting arguments to the class, who represent Farmer Hunt.
|
| Scaffolding of Process (0-6 pts.) |
5 points |
It provides a question sheet for each of the three
roles that has specific questions that the students need to answer using the
links that are provided. Click here to see an example of the
historian question sheet
. The question sheet helps the students stay focused and stick to their
assigned role. It also makes each student be held accountable for their
part in the task since they are offering a different perspective. I think
the webquest does take the students to a higher level of thinking since they
need to synthesize the information they find with the information from the
other two roles. Also they need to evaluate their information and decide
which is the best place for Farmer Hunt.
|
|
Richness of Process |
2 points |
There are three different roles that are assigned
to the students. This helps them consider the problem through different perspectives.
They must share responsibility in the final task because they are each responsible
for that particular role as well as helping present the final presentation.
They are evaluated on the group presentation, their individual role in the
presentation, journal research, and using multimedia in their presentation.
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|
Resources (Note: you should evaluate all resources linked to the page, even if they are in sections other than the Resources block. Also note that books, video and other offline resources can and should be used where appropriate.) |
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|
Relevance & Quantity of Resources |
4 points |
The links provided are clearly connected to the task. They need to use the provided links to answer the questions in their journal. There are about 40 links in all broken into four categories (the four natural disasters). The links are also differentiated by the assigned roles with questions listed for each of the students to answer. For example, the student assigned the role of mathematician has links to Earthquake damage figures, wild fire statistics, and flood statistics, and the historian has links to the history of certain locations. There are links to glossaries, FEMA for Kids, DNREC, magazine articles, statistics, maps and safety tips. The links are certainly relevant to the task and there is a wealth of information for the students without being to overwhelming for them. On the teacher page, there is a link to resources where they list about thirty books that could be used by the students as extensions or to find additional information on the natural disasters. |
|
Quality of |
3 points |
In most of the links, the text is relatively
short and geared toward younger audiences. However, some of the links seem
a little too complex for third graders based on the vocabulary that is used.
The websites cover different topics and do seem to present enough information
to the students to help them make a good decision about where they would
want their uncle to move. The sites they included are mainly factual documents
and present clear information for the students to use. The books they included
in the teacher's page under resources are excellent resources and can be
found at many libraries and bookstores. |
|
Evaluation |
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|
Clarity of Evaluation Criteria |
5 points
|
There is a rubric provided that lists
the four categories the students will be evaluated on. The four categories
are: Group presentation, Individual grade for group presentation, journal
research, and multimedia presentation. The rubric is very thorough and states
exactly what a score of a 1, 2, 3, and 4 would look like in each of the four
categories. My only concern is that I think it would take a lot of time
and resources to have each of the groups do a Power Point Presentation. To
earn a four in multimedia presentation, the students are expected to have
at least 9 slides. I also think this would require some prior knowledge
or additional lessons to get third graders to know how to use that program
and use it effectively. |
|
Total Score |
44 points | Overall, I found this webquest to be a relatively
good model for me to use when designing my webquest. It seems like it required
a lot of work from the person who designed it because the numerous links
and resources that were included, but the time was well worth the effort.
It does seem to be aimed at third graders who are reading on or above grade
level and are competent on the computer. Realistically, many of my students
are not reading on or above grade level and do not have the skills to present
a power point presentation. I believe the task engaged the students and
the topic of natural disasters is very interesting to children. The resources
were easy to access and the students knew what questions they were to focus
on while researching. The steps that the students had to follow and how
they were going to be evaluated were clear and the students could refer to
it as needed. I would like to use this webquest in my classroom. I would
only worry mainly about how to incorporate this considering I only have two
computers in the classroom. There is not any mention of how to manage the
class if there are only a few computers available. Perhaps those students
could be looking at the books that are mentioned on the resource page. |