Week 5

webquest. a word id never even heard of before. by the end of week 5, i knew all about what a webquest was, looked at some examples and even evaluated 2 different webquests based on a rubric, assessing their suitability to use as a lesson in teaching.

webquests are a great utilisation of the world wide web – they enable students to use and become familiar with today’s technology of the internet, and are a fun and engaging way of learning. they each contain a ‘quest’ for the students to complete, which makes learning fun and intriguing for students. i hope to use these great resources when i begin teaching, and even make a webquest of my own – something i look forward to doing in the later years of my course.

Add comment April 3, 2008

Portfolio Item #3: webquest evaluation

‘Penguins Student Page’ Webquest Evaluation
Score: 29/50

Its major downfalls were:

• the task and process
• visual appeal of the page

The task & process: it seemed to lack a specific ‘quest’, other than to find out information about penguins. It doesn’t require the students to undertake any higher order thinking skills, such as role-playing, as most successful webquests entail. The tasks weren’t very original and exciting: they simply involved recording information; not presenting it in a creative way.

I believe the task should involve activities that allow students to broaden their horizons and use and develop their imagination, as well as researching a particular topic and improving their skills in researching using technology. The process did, however, include a creative story task – which is the type of activity each should be in the process.

Visual appeal: the page is very basic and boring: consisting of tables and white backgrounds, with occasional colour splashed on headings. The page also lacks images: only 2, small, animated images appear, resembling “Pingu”: one at the top of the page, the other at the bottom.

I feel photographs would have been more appropriate, to provide a true visual representation of what penguins look like, giving students an idea of what they’re researching and further develop their understanding of a penguin’s appearance.

‘Peeping at Penguins’ Webquest Evaluation

Score: 44/50

This webquest was great: its what every good webquest should be. Its strengths were in all of the other webquest’s areas of weakness:

Its best features:

• the task and process
• the introduction

The task and process: the tasks involve group work, with assigned roles to each group member. These roles are creative and fun, motivating the children to take on their role and complete their specified task with enthusiasm and excitement, and then share their information and findings with the rest of the group.

I believe the aspect of role-playing is crucial to a good webquest: it gives students the opportunity to not only use their imagination, but also teaches them to work effectively and constructively as part of a group – an essential skill they will continue to utilise throughout their schooling years.

The introduction: this was the most engaging and best aspect of the webquest. It addresses the individual student directly, giving them a sense of their worth and importance in completing this task well.

Its only minor downfall was a mechanical flaw: a few broken links to resource pages.

apart from this, Peeping at Penguins was seamless.

Add comment April 3, 2008