Used with the kind permission of Tom March. Visit BestWebQuests.com
Criteria for Assessing Best
WebQuests
From years of creation, design, evolution, and hard thinking
after good peer feedback, we believe the following criteria describe
a "Best WebQuest."
We understand that people may use a variety of templates or
formats to write their WebQuests and that not all of these
incorporate the same sections or directly match-up to these
criteria. We're not too fussed about that. When we find a WebQuest
that avoids the "7 Red
Flags," we're happy to look for the criteria below however they
may be listed or appear between the lines.
Note that we don't even worry about graphics and Web publishing.
We find that one person's cute animated graphic is another's
flashing annoyance. Similarly, sometimes a plain vanilla page
communicates better than one pounced upon by someone trying all the
bells and whistles in an HTML editor. We focus on what's going on in
the minds, hearts and values of learners.
Once we find a WebQuest that passes a gut level barometer for
quality, we run it through this matrix and assign values as well as
we humanly can. Please allow us some "plus-or-minus one" wiggle room
- more important than the number of stars is the descriptors of the
criterion. Realize that few WebQuests by anyone always come up with
a full 24 points. We're not looking for perfection; we're looking to
better understand how to construct effective Web-based learning.
|
Low |
Medium |
High |
Engaging
Opening / Writing |
No attempt made to appeal to
learners. |
Honestly attempts to appeal to
student interests. |
Has that something that compels
attention. |
The Question /
Task |
No real Question and
/ or a fuzzy Task. Maybe what's asked for is lower level
thinking or info retrieval. |
There is at least an
implicit Question and a Task that targets higher order
thinking. All this may not be totally clear. |
Clear Question and
Task. These naturally flow from the introduction and signal a
direction for sophisticated learning. |
Background for
Everyone |
No attempt to access prior learning
or build common background. |
Some mention of addressing a common
body of knowledge. (May not happen within the activity.) |
Clearly calls attention to the need
for a common foundation of knowledge and provides needed
(Web?) resources. |
Roles /
Expertise |
No Roles / use of
perspectives or Roles are artificial and may lack inherent
conflict of interest. |
Roles are clear and
realistic. They may be limited in scope, but do evoke
conflict. |
Roles match the
issues and resources. The roles provide multiple perspectives
from which to view the topic. |
Use of the
Web |
This activity could probably be done
without the Web. |
Some resources reflect features of
the Web that make it particularly useful such as images,
audio, interactivity, current information, etc. |
Uses the Web to access at least some
of the following: interactivity, multiple perspectives,
multimedia, current information, etc. |
Transformative
Thinking |
No Transformative
thinking. (This is not a WebQuest, but may be a good Knowledge
Hunt). |
Higher level thinking
is required, but the process for students may not be clear. |
Higher level thinking
is required to construct new meaning. Scaffolding is provided
to support student achievement. |
Real World
Feedback |
No feedback loop included. |
The learning product could easily be
used for authentic assessment although this may not be
addressed or it only happens in the classroom. |
A feedback loop connecting learners
to the Real world is included in the Web page and an
evaluation rubric is probably provided (early on!). |
Conclusion |
Minimal conclusion.
No mention of student thinking or symmetry to intro. |
Returns to the intro
ideas. May sum up the experiences and learning that was
undertaken.
|
Clear tie-in to the
intro. Makes the students' cognitive tasks overt and suggests
how this learning could transfer to other domains/issues.
Probably calls attention to the assumptions / hidden agendas
inherent in the WebQuest itself. Sophistication keeps
increasing. |
Note -
Values in the assessment matrix are:
- low = 1 each
- medium = 2 each
- high = 3 each
13 - 15 = ![***](criteria_bwq_files/3star.gif) 16 - 19 = ![****](criteria_bwq_files/4star.gif) 20 - 24 = ![*****](criteria_bwq_files/5star.gif)
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