Michele Robb September 15, 2013 EDUC-3V217 Final project choice #1- Evaluating 3 WebQuests WebQuest #1: Natural

Disasters http://warrensburg.k12.mo.us/webquest/disasters/ This WebQuest is geared for 7th grade. It does not state what subject but the standards mentioned are communication arts and show me standards. The main idea of this webquest is to guide students to research various forms of natural disasters that occur in their state, collect facts of the disaster and how to prepare in the event of this disaster. The students then collectively create brochures relating this information to be given to the Red Cross for dissemination. I gave Natural Disasters a score of 41/50 based on the criteria given in A rubric for evaluating WebQuests by Bernie Dodge. The overall aesthetics of the WebQuest are fair. While there are graphics representing the various natural disasters, many are very small and visually unappealing. There is a lot of spacing between graphics and text which caused me to not realize at first that there is more information on a page until I went back to it. The top half asks for the student to go to the links to research the answers to the questions. However, if the student scrolls down, there is then a list of what to do with that information (creating the brochure). Overall, the navigation is seamless. There is a command bar to the left of the screen that was identical on each page of the WebQuest. If a student needs to go to a different page, it is easy to navigate using the command bar. The WebQuest was last updated in 2002. Many of the links, especially links that are not federal agencies, are broken. This causes a loss of information. Also, many links, while covering a different part of the assignment, actually take the student to the same home page. It would then be up to the student to locate the information they needed.

The introduction portion of the WebQuest is excellent. The lesson begins by discussing that the student probably already knows that natural disasters affect the state they lived in. The task of creating an informational brochure that would be given to the Red Cross creates a motivating task for completeness and creativity on the part of the student. Again, the introduction scaffolds on previous discussion of natural disasters the student has already learned. Also the lesson begins with a reading of a natural disaster and how it was caused. This is the students training, giving a sense of accomplishment to search for more information to create the brochures. In the task portion of the rubric, the WebQuest again scored well. The Teachers section of the WebQuest clearly outlines the standards related to the WebQuest. The standards include collecting factual information, processing the information both orally and in writing, and producing a written work for a presentation. The students work in groups which allow the oral component. They use the factual information they collected to produce the brochures to present to the Red Cross. The task is engaging. The students should feel motivated to have thorough, factual information. This also gives a sense of community. The students need to look at several sites to collect all the information they need in order to produce the brochure. The clarity of process of this WebQuest has some difficulty. The WebQuest creator itemizes each step the students needed to search for, collect and organize their information. The creator also gives detailed instructions for creating the brochure, as well as assessing it. There is a thorough checklist that if students followed it, could produce a brochure at the end. However, I felt that many of the links were to federal agencies with difficult language. This may be difficult for someone with limited proficiency in English or special needs to find and understand the information they are looking for. The students are grouped into disasters. While each of them

gather the same facts, how they create their brochures are individualized. I felt this gave all learners the ability to check with each other the facts they collected, come to a consensus but also allow for individual creativity. The WebQuest scored lower on the resource section of the rubric. Many of the links given actually take the student to the same page. It is then up to the student to locate the information. I felt this allowed some confusion when a student is taken to a page they had already visited. Due to the nature of the WebQuest itself, the resources do not provide an opportunity for students to think deeply or come to a conclusion. There is a prescribed set of to dos for disasters so students will be compelled to relate that information, not create new ideas. The evaluation portion of the WebQuest is well planned and presented. There is a rubric at the end. Students are asked to grade themselves before turning in their product. This allows a period of reflection and correction if the student chose. WebQuest #2 Multiplying Using FOIL http://zunal.com/evaluation.php?w=185149 The second WebQuest I evaluated was a math lesson teaching the FOIL method for multiplying binomials. The creator did not give a grade level for this WebQuest, although through experience, I know this is initially taught in 5th/6th grade math curriculum. The focus of the WebQuest was simply to teach an understanding of the FOIL method. It did not ask a bigger question or create a sense of discovery for the student. I scored this WebQuest a 10/50 based on the Rubric for Evaluating WebQuests. The first thing I noticed is while this WebQuest was created using a generator (zunal.com), it lacked any visual appeal. There were no graphics of any kind. There were multiple misspellings, spacing (or lack of) between words and lines. Paragraphs were large and cumbersome, making an already difficult concept even more daunting to the reader. The one

redeeming quality in the aesthetics category was the use of the command bar on the left. It allows the user to always move wherever they want to go. I gave the creator full points for navigation due to the command bar, however, I also recognize that being in a WebQuest generator, it didnt allow the creator to do it any other way. The introduction portion of this WebQuest received the most points in the rubric. The introduction gave no social importance to learning the FOIL method, other than if the student wants to do better in math. The introduction was purely factual but did attempt to relate the student to real world math by giving examples of phrases we say that are math related. The introduction received full points for attempting to build on the students prior knowledge by bringing them back to how we do use math language in everyday life. The creator also attempted to ease the students by calling math a monster that we can conquer. The task portion received zero points. The main problem is that there was no task to build on. There were no standards given, to neither the student nor the teacher section of the WebQuest. Unless we as the user already know the standard it is teaching, we have no way to effectively use this WebQuest. There is no task that allows students to process what they have learned and making any conclusions, generalizations or even a product. The process portion of the WebQuest simply gives the information on what FOIL is, how to do it and then practice problems. I gave the WebQuest a 1 in clarity only because the creator did itemize the steps numerically. Unfortunately, it was still difficult to follow as there were long strings of numbers imbedded in the paragraph. Unfortunately, unless the student already knew the FOIL method, I doubt he/she would be able to follow and understand the process in order to complete the tasks. There were no indicators that this WebQuest can be done as a collaborative project. There was no separation of tasks or a product to present in the end.

Again, the WebQuest failed on the resource section. Simply, there were none. The WebQuest did not actually take the learner away from it to seek information or gather resources from another source. There were no links for other examples or discoveries. Finally, the evaluation page was again lacking. I have the WebQuest some credit as he did give an expectation that after the lesson, students should be expected to achieve an 80% or better on an assessment. However, there was no rubric, assessment or any way for a learner to know if they actually took away the correct knowledge from the WebQuest. This WebQuest seemed to steer away from what I believe to be the main idea- to go on the web looking for answers. This was more of a technology induced, math based lesson. Unfortunately, for most, it was confusing. I know the FOIL method and had difficulty understanding the lesson. This would not be an effective way to teach this concept to students. WebQuest #3 Life During the Civil War http://warrensburg.k12.mo.us/webquest/war/index.htm This final WebQuest was the best one. As the title suggests, it focuses on the Civil War and life from the perspective of a Union soldier, Confederate soldier, slave, Union woman spy, Confederate woman spy, woman soldier, Union general, Confederate general, Prisoner of War, War Nurse, Abolitionist, and woman on the home front. It is well planned and executed. The students, through investigation of many sites of information and primary sources, will discover life during the Civil War from a certain perspective. The student will then draft a letter from that perspective. The student will finally present this letter, dressed as his/her character, to the class. Based on the Rubric for evaluating WebQuests, I scored Life During the Civil War a 43/50. The overall aesthetics of the WebQuest is nicely executed. It receives full marks on overall appearance and navigation. Each page is unique but connects together. There are

numerous graphics on each page. Some graphics are still clip art, while others are dynamic pictures (firing cannon, turning chain). The most compelling visuals are the primary source stills. The creator takes the opportunity for more teaching by inserting captions with each photograph, giving a better sense of real to the entire WebQuest. As far as mechanical aspects, there are no misspellings. However, in the command bar, the titles of the larger titles (i.e. Woman who served as a spy for the Confederacy) is too large and forced a smaller font to fit in the width space of the command bar. The creator could have changed the title to fit in the space, perhaps Woman- Confederate Spy. There are many links on each page. There are a few broken links but considering the WebQuest was created in 2002, it is impressive how many are still active. On the introduction page, the creator sets the stage by telling the story of being in 1862. How will I act? Who will I be? What side am I on? are all questions that came to mind reading the introduction. As this is a 6th grade project, I am assuming that the students have some prior knowledge of the Civil War. The creator identifies nine standards in the area of social studies, ethical literacy, geographic literacy, economic literacy and national identity. She clearly connects the information back to the standards. Task not only creates an engaging activity of learning, but also leads the student to understand, perhaps empathize, with the perspective of the person he/she is researching. The student then is able to take this information and present it in a creative format by writing a letter home discussing how it feels and what is happening. Later, the students are allowed to present and read their letters while also acting the character through dress.

The process of the WebQuest again is clearly defined. Each page highlights a different perspective. The student simply follows each of the steps on the page. At the end of the lesson, the student will learn information on the Civil War from a particular perspective and transform it into a letter. There is a lot of information on each site. I would almost say too much for a 6th grade lesson. I could see varying levels of students getting bogged down with just attempting to research all the various sites. However, if given direction, the students can clearly learn the information and form a conclusion. Although the entire WebQuest is incredibly rich with information and creativity, I see no attempt at group learning. I feel this could have assisted the English Learner or someone with a lower reading level sort through the information more clearly and get to a product. As stated earlier, there is an abundance of resources in the form of links and graphics. Every page is inundated with information to assist the student in forming a generalization from the perspective of the person he/she is studying. I gave the WebQuest a zero on relevance and quantity, not because of a lack but due to an exorbitant amount of them. The quality of the resources shows students relevant information from a variety of viewpoints. I was mostly impressed by the use of the primary sources, something that we encourage in the older students but failed to explain their importance in the younger grades. The students can access a rubric that clearly defines the expectations of the product. There is a quantitative process that is easy to understand and gives multiple levels for success. This WebQuest was clearly well done. I was very impressed with the thought, care and research the creator obviously did prior to making the WebQuest. Each detail was executed with one thought in mind- will the students learn from it. There is a richness and diversity in seeing varying perspectives of a time in our lives where most now can clearly declare a right and

wrong. Had the creator allowed for collaborative learning, this would have help all learners achieve the end result.