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
There are few or no graphic elements. No variation in layout or typography.
Color is garish and/or typographic variations are overused and legibility suffers. Background interferes with the readability.
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.
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.
Navigation & FlowGetting through the lesson is confusing and unconventional. Pages can't be found easily and/or the way back isn't clear.
There are a few places where the learner can get lost and not know where to go next.
Navigation is seamless. It is always clear to the learner what all the pieces are and how to get to them.
Mechanical AspectsThere are more than 5 broken links, misplaced or missing images, badly sized tables, misspellings and/or grammatical errors.
There are some broken links, misplaced or missing images, badly sized tables, misspellings and/or grammatical errors.
No mechanical problems noted.
Introduction
Motivational Effectiveness of Introduction
The introduction is purely factual, with no appeal to relevance or social importance
The scenario posed is transparently bogus and doesn't respect the media literacy of today's learners.
The introduction relates somewhat to the learner's interests and/or describes a compelling question or problem.
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
The introduction doesn't prepare the reader for what is to come, or build on what the learner already knows.
The introduction makes some reference to learner's prior knowledge and previews to some extent what the lesson is about.
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
The task is not related to standards.
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.
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
Task requires simply comprehending or retelling of information found on web pages and answering factual questions.
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.
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.
Process (The process is the step-by-step description of how students will accomplish the task.)
Clarity of Process
Process is not clearly stated. Students would not know exactly what they were supposed to do just from reading this.
Some directions are given, but there is missing information. Students might be confused.
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
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.
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.
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
Few steps, no separate roles assigned.
Some separate tasks or roles assigned. More complex activities required.
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
Resources provided are not sufficient for students to accomplish the task.
There are too many resources for learners to look at in a reasonable time.
There is some connection between the resources and the information needed for students to accomplish the task. Some resources don't add anything new.
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
Resources
Links are mundane. They lead to information that could be found in a classroom encyclopedia.
Some links carry information not ordinarily found in a classroom.
Links make excellent use of the Web's timeliness and colorfulness.
Varied resources provide enough meaningful information for students to think deeply.
Clarity of Evaluation Criteria
Criteria for success are not described.
Criteria for success are at least partially described.
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.
Total Score
Original WebQuest rubric by Bernie Dodge.
This is Version 1.03. Modified by Laura Bellofatto, Nick Bohl, Mike Casey, Marsha Krill, and Bernie Dodge and last updated on June 19, 2001.