Webquest Evaluation - Digital Camera Selection

This week I will be evaluating a WebQuest, which is a research activity designed for students to collect information mainly from the Internet. There are several WebQuests available to teachers here. When you go to this site, on the left hand side click 'Find WebQuests', and from there you can do a search. The center gray part I thought was the best way to search. There, I clicked on 'Business/Economics' as my title, and 'Adults' as my age group. It was really hard for me to decide on one of them, because several looked interesting. After browsing a few, I settled on this one, Digital Camera Selection.

The first thing I noticed, as always, was the design and layout of the page. It's very simple and easy to read and follow. These traits are very important, and often underrated by many developers. I like how the creator, Andrew Goreff, put links to the components of the WebQuest on the side of the page. This is pretty standard. But, I also like how he provided a link at the bottom, for example "Your task begins HERE." This gives a nice, logical flow to the page to guide you on your quest. The author also provides his email address, so you can contact him with any questions you may have about the application. The only thing I think needs some attention is the formatting. The alignment of the text needs to be tightened up in some areas. But, overall, good job.

Next, I would like to talk about each of the components of the quest, starting with the introduction. The introduction is very short and sweet. It tells you what you need to do. But, I don't think it will really draw anyone in or get students particularly motivated. I would have liked to have seen a little more background information. Some of the other WebQuests that I looked at, like this one, had some really inviting introductions that made the project sound exciting. Bottom like is, it gets the job done, but that's about it.

The next section is the task. I like the task. Again, it's very short, but it's clear. As a student looking at this, I would know what is expected of me and how to go about it. After the task is the process. The purpose of the process is to guide you in the direction of accomplishing your task. I think his process is again, easy to follow and effective. The 5 steps in the process work towards accomplishing the task of the WebQuest. Included is a resource that gives you an introduction to buying a digital camera. This is particularly useful for students who have no knowledge of this. Next, there is a site to compare prices of several cameras. After looking at this site, the students are to choose 3 that fit the requirements. Then, they should build a spreadsheet using Microsoft Excel. While the author of the site provides an example spreadsheet, there is no resource to show students how to use Excel or how to make a spreadsheet. This is definitely needed in my opinion. It can't be assumed that students have done this before. Anyway, after the spreadsheet is completed, the students are to write a purchasing recommendation. The resource link provided for this part of the process needs to be looked at. First of all, the page has been moved. Second, the content is less than ideal. I'm sure there are more relevant links out there. Overall, I think the task and process are sufficient. I think there are a few small holes that need to be taken care of.

Next is the resource page, which is just a list of all the sites and files that were used in the process above. Nothing fancy here, and not much to talk about. After that is the evaluation, which is an important part of any WebQuest. I think this one is thorough. Seems like he has covered all the bases and there are not any gaps that would lead to misunderstandings.

And, the final parts of the WebQuest are the conclusion and the credits. I like the conclusion here. He ties in this activity to future purchases the students might make, like a house or a car. I think that some of the same processes can be used, and that's a valuable lesson for the students to learn. And, the credits are nothing more than a list of references that the creator used to develop this WebQuest.

Overall, I liked the simple design. It flowed well and I think it taught the students an important process that they can use over and over in their lives. I would have liked to have seen a little more motivation in the beginning. And, I think with this topic, it's not that difficult to set up. But, I think the rest of the project is well done. I am getting excited about putting one of these WebQuests together. Evaluating this quest and looking at several others has given me an idea of where to start. It is a daunting task and will require a lot of work. But, I love this stuff, so that will make it a little easier.