WebQuest Evaluation

WebQuest:  Ahoy Matey, Come Join the Pirate Shape Scavenger Hunt

1. Synopsis of the WebQuest including its intended audience, its educational goals, and the curriculum standards addressed if stated.  The intended audience is for grades K-2 although it looks as though it would fit for primarily 1st and 2nd grades.  The goals of this WebQuest are for students to identify the four most common 2D shapes (square, triangle, circle, and rectangle). Although it was made in Australia; it covers the CCSS- 2.G.1 Recognize and draw shapes having specified attributes, such as a given number of angles or a given number of equal faces. (sizes are compared directly or visually, not compared by measuring) Identify triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, and cubes.
2. What pedagogical strategies are employed in the WebQuest and are they effective? Is there use of metaphor? Are they using inductive or deductive strategies? Is there scaffolding? What other strategies do you see?    The goals of the task are made clear to the task.  The teacher has set up beginning songs that are fun and engaging to get the students into the theme of the task.  The games are computerized and grade level appropriate with added challenge that goes beyond the content standards.  There is scaffolding within the games, for instance, in one game they have students identify squares and circles and then in the next level of the game it is explained that when squares and circles are squished we get ovals and rectangles.   There are rhymes to help the students remember what they are supposed to ("shapes, shapes tall and short, skinny and wide; you can tell which shape you're looking at by counting up the sides").
3. In what ways is the WebQuest taking advantage of technology? In what ways is it 'change without difference'? Could this WebQuest be done just as well by photocopying pages and handing them out to students? This website is taking advantage of technology by embedding several different computer games and videos into one place.  The games are all meaningful and thought out.  This activity could not be done without technology.
4. Technically, does it work? Does it have bugs or flaws such as broken links or images? Is the material out of date? Does it credit its sources?  All of the links are in working order.  The directions are clear.  There is a teacher page that gives important information.  The credit for the site creator is given and each of the sites is credited because the site takes you to each of the links.
5. How would you improve the WebQuest?  For such young students, I felt that the site was difficult to navigate.  Each link took you to a site within the same window so the students are needing to constantly go back and forth between the tasks and the actual page for the WebQuest.  I would embed each task within the site and take the time to credit it later on to make sure that my students can work through the site in one place.