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.
Overall Aesthetics (This refers to the WebQuest page itself, not the external resources linked to it.) Overall Visual Appeal 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. 0 points 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 Navigation is seamless. It is always clear to the learner what all the pieces are and how to get to them. 0 points There
are more than 5 broken links, misplaced or missing images,
badly sized tables, misspellings and/or grammatical errors. 1 point There
are some broken links, misplaced or missing images, badly sized
tables, misspellings and/or grammatical errors. 2 points No mechanical problems noted. Introduction Motivational Effectiveness of Introduction 0 points The introduction is purely factual, with no appeal to relevance or social importance OR The scenario posed is transparently bogus and doesn't respect the media literacy of today's learners. 1 point The introduction relates somewhat to the learner's interests and/or describes a compelling question or problem. 2 points 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. Cognitive Effectiveness of the Introduction 0 points The introduction doesn't prepare the reader for what is to come, or build on what the learner already knows. 1 point The
introduction makes some reference to learner's prior knowledge
and previews to some extent what the lesson is about. 2 points The
introduction builds on learner's prior knowledge and
effectively prepares the learner by foreshadowing what the
lesson is about. Task (The task is the end result of student efforts... not the steps involved in getting there.) Connection of Task to Standards 0 points The task is not related to standards. 2 point 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. 4 points 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. Cognitive Level of the Task 0 points Task requires simply comprehending or retelling of information found on web pages and answering factual questions. 3 points 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. 6 points 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. See WebQuest Taskonomy. Process (The process is the step-by-step description of how students will accomplish the task.) Clarity of Process 0 points Process
is not clearly stated. Students would not know exactly what
they were supposed to do just from reading this. 2 points Some directions are given, but there is missing information. Students might be confused. 4 points 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. Scaffolding of Process 0 points The
process lacks strategies and organizational tools needed for
students to gain the knowledge needed to complete the task. Activities are of little significance to one another and/or to the accomplishment of the task. 3 points Strategies
and organizational tools embedded in the process are
insufficient to ensure that all students will gain the knowledge
needed to complete the task. Some of the activities do not relate specifically to the accomplishment of the task. 6 points 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. Activities are clearly related and designed to take the students from basic knowledge to higher level thinking. Checks for understanding are built in to assess whether students are getting it. See: Richness of Process 0 points Few steps, no separate roles assigned. 1 points Some separate tasks or roles assigned. More complex activities required. 2 points Different
roles are assigned to help students understand different
perspectives and/or share responsibility in accomplishing the
task. Resources (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.) Relevance & Quantity of Resources 0 points Resources provided are not sufficient for students to accomplish the task. OR There are too many resources for learners to look at in a reasonable time. 2 point There
is some connection between the resources and the information
needed for students to accomplish the task. Some resources don't
add anything new. 4 points 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. Quality of 0 points Links are mundane. They lead to information that could be found in a classroom encyclopedia. 2 points Some links carry information not ordinarily found in a classroom. 4 points Links make excellent use of the Web's timeliness and colorfulness. Varied resources provide enough meaningful information for students to think deeply. Evaluation Clarity of Evaluation Criteria 0 points Criteria for success are not described. 3 points Criteria for success are at least partially described. 6 points Criteria
for success are clearly stated in the form of a rubric.
Criteria include qualitative as well as quantitative
descriptors. The evaluation instrument clearly measures what students must know and be able to do to accomplish the task. See Creating a Rubric. Total Score /50
Resources