Evaluation

The WebQuest format can be applied to a variety of teaching situations. If you take advantage of all the possibilities inherent in the format, your students will have a rich and powerful experience. This rubric will help you pinpoint the ways in which your WebQuest isn't doing everything it could do. If a page seems to fall between categories, feel free to score it with in-between points.
 * A Rubric for Evaluating WebQuests **

|| 0 points There are few or no graphic elements. No variation in layout or typography. OR Color is garish and/or typographic variations are overused and legibility suffers. Background interferes with the readability. || 2 points Graphic elements sometimes, but not always, contribute to the understanding of concepts, ideas and relationships. There is some variation in type size, color, and layout. || 4 points Appropriate and thematic graphic elements are used to make visual connections that contribute to the understanding of concepts, ideas and relationships. Differences in type size and/or color are used well and consistently. See [|Fine Points Checklist]. ||  || Getting through the lesson is confusing and unconventional. Pages can't be found easily and/or the way back isn't clear. || 2 points There are a few places where the learner can get lost and not know where to go next. || 4 points <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Navigation is seamless. It is always clear to the learner what all the pieces are and how to get to them. ||  || <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are more than 5 broken links, misplaced or missing images, badly sized tables, misspellings and/or grammatical errors. || <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1 point <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are some broken links, misplaced or missing images, badly sized tables, misspellings and/or grammatical errors. || <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2 points <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">No mechanical problems noted. <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">See [|Fine Points Checklist]<span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">. ||  || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">The introduction is purely factual, with no appeal to relevance or social importance <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">OR <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">The scenario posed is transparently bogus and doesn't respect the media literacy of today's learners. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">1 point <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">The introduction relates somewhat to the learner's interests and/or describes a compelling question or problem. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">2 points <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">The introduction draws the reader into the lesson by relating to the learner's interests or goals and/or engagingly describing a compelling question or problem. ||  || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">The introduction doesn't prepare the reader for what is to come, or build on what the learner already knows. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">1 point <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">The introduction makes some reference to learner's prior knowledge and previews to some extent what the lesson is about. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">2 points <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">The introduction builds on learner's prior knowledge and effectively prepares the learner by foreshadowing what the lesson is about. ||  || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">The task is not related to standards. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">2 point <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">The task is referenced to standards but is not clearly connected to what students must know and be able to do to achieve proficiency of those standards. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">4 points <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">The task is referenced to standards and is clearly connected to what students must know and be able to do to achieve proficiency of those standards. ||  || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Task requires simply comprehending or retelling of information found on web pages and answering factual questions. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">3 points <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Task is doable but is limited in its significance to students' lives. The task requires analysis of information and/or putting together information from several sources. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">6 points <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Task is doable and engaging, and elicits thinking that goes beyond rote comprehension. The task requires synthesis of multiple sources of information, and/or taking a position, and/or going beyond the data given and making a generalization or creative product. <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">See [|WebQuest Taskonomy]<span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">. ||  || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Process is not clearly stated. Students would not know exactly what they were supposed to do just from reading this. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">2 points <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Some directions are given, but there is missing information. Students might be confused. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">4 points <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Every step is clearly stated. Most students would know exactly where they are at each step of the process and know what to do next. ||  || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">The process lacks strategies and organizational tools needed for students to gain the knowledge needed to complete the task. <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Activities are of little significance to one another and/or to the accomplishment of the task. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">3 points <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Strategies and organizational tools embedded in the process are insufficient to ensure that all students will gain the knowledge needed to complete the task. <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Some of the activities do not relate specifically to the accomplishment of the task. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">6 points <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">The process provides students coming in at different entry levels with strategies and organizational tools to access and gain the knowledge needed to complete the task. <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Activities are clearly related and designed to take the students from basic knowledge to higher level thinking. <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Checks for understanding are built in to assess whether students are getting it. See: <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Few steps, no separate roles assigned. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">1 points <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Some separate tasks or roles assigned. More complex activities required. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">2 points <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Different roles are assigned to help students understand different perspectives and/or share responsibility in accomplishing the task. ||  || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Resources provided are not sufficient for students to accomplish the task. <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">OR <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">There are too many resources for learners to look at in a reasonable time. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">2 point <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">There is some connection between the resources and the information needed for students to accomplish the task. Some resources don't add anything new. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">4 points <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">There is a clear and meaningful connection between all the resources and the information needed for students to accomplish the task. Every resource carries its weight. ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica; text-align: right;"> **Resources** || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">0 points <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Links are mundane. They lead to information that could be found in a classroom encyclopedia. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">2 points <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Some links carry information not ordinarily found in a classroom. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">4 points <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Links make excellent use of the Web's timeliness and colorfulness. <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Varied resources provide enough meaningful information for students to think deeply. ||  || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Criteria for success are not described. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">3 points <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Criteria for success are at least partially described. || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">6 points <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">Criteria for success are clearly stated in the form of a rubric. Criteria include qualitative as well as quantitative descriptors. <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">The evaluation instrument clearly measures what students must know and be able to do to accomplish the task. <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">See [|Creating a Rubric]<span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">. ||  ||
 * || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">**Beginning** || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">**Developing** || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">**Accomplished** || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">**Score** ||
 * <span style="color: #0000af; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">**Overall Aesthetics** <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">(This refers to the WebQuest page itself, not the external resources linked to it.) ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica; text-align: right;">**Overall Visual Appeal**
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;">**Navigation & Flow** || <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">0 points
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;">**Mechanical Aspects** || <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">0 points
 * <span style="color: #0000af; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">**Introduction** ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica; text-align: right;">**Motivational Effectiveness of Introduction** || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">0 points
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica; text-align: right;">**Cognitive Effectiveness of the Introduction** || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">0 points
 * <span style="color: #0000af; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">**Task** <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">(The task is the end result of student efforts... not the steps involved in getting there.) ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica; text-align: right;">**Connection of Task to Standards** || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">0 points
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica; text-align: right;">**Cognitive Level of the Task** || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">0 points
 * <span style="color: #0000af; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">**Process** <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">(The process is the step-by-step description of how students will accomplish the task.) ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica; text-align: right;">**Clarity of Process** || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">0 points
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica; text-align: right;">**Scaffolding of Process** || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">0 points
 * [|Process Guides]
 * [|A Taxonomy of Information Patterns]
 * [|Language Arts Standards and Technology]
 * [|WebQuest Enhancement Tools]
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reception, Transformation & Production Scaffolds ||  ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica; text-align: right;">**Richness of Process** || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">0 points
 * <span style="color: #0000af; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">**Resources** <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">(Note: you should evaluate all resources linked to the page, even if they are in sections other than the Process block. Also note that books, video and other off-line resources can and should be used where appropriate.) ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica; text-align: right;">**Relevance & Quantity of Resources** || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">0 points
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica; text-align: right;">**Quality of**
 * <span style="color: #0000af; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">**Evaluation** ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica; text-align: right;">**Clarity of Evaluation Criteria** || <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">0 points
 * <span style="color: #0000af; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">**Total Score** || <span style="display: block; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica; text-align: right;">**/50** ||