Evaluation

Introduction
Testing my work was difficult as I am not in a school and therefore had to fit in with friends teaching in schools. As it turned out, with them desperately trying to get through work before their end of year exams, and the difficulty timetabling computer rooms, not to mention my need to get this finished, I was restricted to one session with one year ten class. This class was "banded", consisting of students mainly above average students. I also sought help from friends with children in the appropriate age bracket. Comments from teachers were also noted.

Genetrix4u - the website
I don't think any one individual student would have examined every page of the website. All of them would have visited the Homepage and Glossary. Most of them viewed most of the pages on Genetics. Puzzles were printed off for them and only a few looked at History.

Feedback from the students was generally very good. A common statement was "did you really do this yourself" (or similar).

The graphics did appear to have the intended effect. The majority of students were impressed, some were very impressed, others were a little cynical in their comments (I heard a few groans). The similarity of some of my characters to Simpsons characters on the site and in the Quest was remarked on more than once. I think it was almost a distraction for some students. One "problem" that occurred was that when one student found a graphic they liked, they would inform their mates who would interrupt their own work to find it. This wouldn't have been a great problem if we were not so pushed for time.

The students were asked to comment on their ease of navigation of the site (some needed that word explained). No student gave any really negative comments here, but some who were using the Genetics pages to learn some of the concepts needed for the Quest were a little frustrated that they couldn't go straight to a certain topic. When they were directed to the Site map they were pleased that they had a tool to quickly find what they wanted.

The majority of students found most of the wording on the site readable. There were complaints such as "why do scientists always use such big words". Unfortunately, this is pretty much par for the course in this subject and those students who expressed this sentiment were willing to concede that the presence of the glossary and some of the links helped them learn the meanings of the words with a little effort. The comment was made that the Genetrix site was a lot easier to understand than some of the others that were linked to it.

The Genetic Crosses page with its aliens was a success and those students who used the associated worksheet were able to show they had learned the process.

The mystery of Joe's father - The WebQuest
I believe that this was a success for all those students who attempted it. Although pushed for time, all groups completed the tasks. Not all groups consisted of 4 individuals, there were a couple of 3s. The fact that the class had already been exposed to some of the content no doubt contributed to its success, as did the fact that the banded nature of the class ensured that there were no students with any great literacy problems.

Again, the students were impressed with the graphics and had no difficulty following the order of the Quest. Some figured out that they didn't need to read everything because all they really needed to do was find the "photo's" of the subjects concerned and work out the genotypes.

Not all students immediately cottoned on to how to work out "who done it" but with a little encouragement and possibly discussion between groups, all were successful.

Some students struggled a little with the colloquial language which some of my characters employed in the "interviews". It may have been a little too "over the top" for some of them. I suspect that some students who came from more sheltered backgrounds may have been surprised that they were dealing with this scenario in a science class in high school, but as far as I know there were no complaints. Some students were disappointed that only a couple of the pictures were animated. A few mutterings about "soap operas" were heard, but the majority of students responses to my questions showed they were in favour of having this sort of exercise to make learning more interesting.

Summary
The enthusiasm and positive response of students to this Quest, and the fact that the students could be heard to be using key words in their discussions, suggests that this WebQuest was a success.

It would be necessary to trial it with a low ability group before one could conclude that it is a resounding success. There is also the novelty value of taking a class out of their usual classroom and routine with a different teacher to be considered.

Finally, even though the trialling has been restricted, I am happy with the reception for the quest. I believe it achieved its aims. I only wish I had the time, enthusiasm and inspiration to produce many more of these WebQuests. It would be nice if you could get paid for it too!