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Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

Current Forum: Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

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Date: 09-Mar-2001 13:53:00

Author: xxxxxxxx

Subject: Evaluation of Farm Quest Webquest 

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This is an excellent web quest. The quest follows the format recommended by Bernie Dodge and contains all the components of the Web Quest.

The text was grammatically correct and appropriate for the age group. The agriculture theme was well developed and the web quest provided a plethera of resources for students to refer to.

I'm not sure I would choose a bright yellow background--it may be difficult for students with reading difficulties, but it seems to work well for this site.

I checked several of the links and found two that weren't working, but the rest seemed to be appropriate and working.

The process is broken down into "chores" which are "doable" and seem to be appropriate in length. It may help students to have at least some type of sample rubric to refer to before they are asked to help develop the rubrics required for the quest.

The products that the student needs to produce are explined well and provide variety to motivate and engage students in the process.

I would suggest that the use of anchors might help the navigation of the site because of the length of the pages. The links were only at the top and bottom of the pages.

Overall, this is a very good webquest and I'm impressed with the number of resources provided for students. 


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Current Forum: Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

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Date: 10-Mar-2001 12:29:00

Author: xxxxxxxx

Subject: Re: Evaluation of Farm Quest Webquest 

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I think that appropriateness of backgrounds is important. Some colors make things hard to read or too many images distract. Presention is an important component. Did you get a chance to use our rubric to "grade" the webquest you looked at? The rubric is posted in the course information button. Take a look.
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Current Forum: Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

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Date: 16-Mar-2001 11:58:00

Author: xxxxxxxxxx

Subject: Re: Evaluation of Farm Quest Webquest 

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This is an excellent web quest. The quest follows the format recommended by Bernie Dodge and contains all the components of ta Web Quest.

the text was grammatically correct and appropriate for the age group. ( 10 points)

The agriculture theme was well developed and the web quest provided a plethera of resrouces for the students. (10 points)

I'm not sure I would choose a bright yellow background--it may be difficult for students with reading difficulties. (8points)

I checked several of the links and found two that weren't working, but the rest seemed to be appropriate and working. (8points)

The problems seem to be appropriate for the target agre group. It did seem to me that it would take students quite a bit of time to complete the tasks. (19 points)

The process is broken down into "chores" which are "doable" and seem to be appropriate in length. (9 points)

It may help the students to have at least some type of sample rubric to refer to before they are aksed to help develop the rubrics required for the quest. (9 points)
 


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Current Forum: Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

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Date: 17-Mar-2001 15:29:00

Author: xxxxxxxxx

Subject: Re: Evaluation of Farm Quest Webquest 

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Thanks for the evaluation using our rubric. Is process something that will help you in your project development?
 


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Current Forum: Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

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Date: 17-Mar-2001 16:50:00

Author: xxxxxxxx

Subject: Re: Evaluation of Farm Quest Webquest 

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Color is important. Red-green is difficult for many male students. Good evaluation. 


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Current Forum: Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

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Date: 10-Mar-2001 20:43:00

Author: xxxxxxxxx

Subject: Web Quest Assignment Forum 

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“Hello Dolly” was the Webquest I chose to review. It was a great example, almost overwhelming because it was very extensive. The links went on and on, but were very interesting.
        It was a good exercise to use the class rubric and become familiar with it. The text was grammatically correct. I only found one small error. (Excellent on the rubric-10pts) It was definitely ag related since it was about cloning sheep and other animals. (Excellent-10pts.)
        There were not a lot of graphics, but the ones used were interesting and appropriate. The text was easy to read and all included links worked well. (10 pts.) The Introduction did not clearly state the problem based learning situation. Perhaps students could have been informed at that point that they would be attending a summit on cloning. However, The Task was clearly stated in a question in that section. (15 pts.)
All the links to resources worked well and were appropriate. (Excellent-10pts.) The only link I found that did not work was the homepage of the author. He had a unique feature; however, a guest book for people to sign who visited his webpage. The Process was clearly outlined (10 pts.) and the Evaluation exemplified by a link to a possible rubric. This made the students very much aware of what was expected. (10 pts.) I assume the project was completed on time (10 pts).
        This Webquest was very professionally done. It was interesting reviewing the other Webquests, as well, to see how different people presented the project. They all used the basic components of Introduction, Task, Process, etc., and yet there were subtle differences. It was interesting.
Hello Dolly Total: 85/90 pts.

 


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Current Forum: Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

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Date: 10-Mar-2001 22:41:00

Author: xxxxxxx

Subject: Re: Web Quest Assignment Forum 

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xxxxxxx,
It looked like using the rubric went well for you. I agree that using the rubric is a good idea so you are aware of what we are looking for. Have a good week skiing :)  


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Current Forum: Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

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Date: 17-Mar-2001 16:57:00

Author: xxxxxxxxx

Subject: Re: Web Quest Assignment Forum 

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Constructivist teaching, problem-based learning as one example, takes the guess work out of the grading for the students. They should know up front what they are being assessed on. A rubric is one of the easiest ways to accomplish that. The students know the expectations and many will work very hard to live up to the most rigorous of standards. They tend to work much harder because the "guessing of what does the teacher really want" is taken out and the students feel much less threatened. Knowing what is expected up front allows them to strive for their best. 


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Current Forum: Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

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Date: 11-Mar-2001 21:05:00    (Original: 11-Mar-2001 20:59:00)

Author: xxxxxxxx

Subject: Agriculture in Franklin Parish, LA 

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This was a nice looking web quest. The following are my thoughts as I work through the rubric.

The text had a few typos -- I think that a thorough proofreading would have prevented most of these. (good)

It had an agricultural theme because the students were to research the importance of ag in their home town. (excellent)

It had nice graphics -- interesting clip art and background -- but not too overwhelming. The text was easy to read and the links seemed to work properly. (excellent)

The project resources were numerous and most worked. Two needed to be updated, but the sites forwarded the link. One no longer worked. Because of the extensive number of "other resources," I wonder if some weren't superfluous. (good)

The project was based on a problem. Apparently research about the importance of ag in the area was needed to insure "future economic growth in the area." However, since the project was mainly "research and report," I'm not sure how much critical thinking was required. (good +)

The task was easy to follow. The students printed out and completed an answer sheet and then created a power point presentation for their class. (good +)

It says that the students will be evaluated according to a rubric. I think it would have been nice to have the rubrics included on the webquest page. (good)

I'm assuming the project was turned in on time. (excellent -- grin)

One important note: I really liked all the interdisciplinary links to the project.  


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Current Forum: Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

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Date: 11-Mar-2001 21:43:00

Author: xxxxxxxx

Subject: Re: Agriculture in Franklin Parish, LA 

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xxxxxxx,
Good job going through the webquest with our rubric. I think that you are right on with your comment about critical thinking. If I remember this webquest correctly it is really just a research and report project like you said and not a lot of critical thinking was required. For the farm we will need more PBL than just a restatement of information previously found (a worksheet). We want our students to think!!!
 


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Current Forum: Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

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Date: 13-Mar-2001 20:25:00

Author: xxxxxxxx

Subject: FARMQUEST evaluation 

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Evaluation :
Text -Excellent grammar,punctuation,no obvious errors.
Ag Theme - Good .....I think this quest is so broad the
list of sites is too long, too much.
Some of my kids wouldn't know where to
start.
Web page -Good graphics, appropriate
Project resourses - Not all are working.Some are just for
checking what something looks like.
I got the feeling some were there as bit
off as appropriate.
resourses/data sets - ok,could be improved for this level.
Problem based learning- good question, some at evaluation might
have also been a new jumping off for new
quests.
Process - good, but so many steps, sites hard for some kids at
this level to do well.(At least with the kids I work
with.)
Evaluation - The class is to write their own rubric, which is
good , if they have had experience in doing them.

OVER ALL Visual Appeal - Pictures were good, needed to put the list of sites down the middle.(I think this is from less experience in doing web pages.)I think a pale green color for background would be more pleasing than the yellow. 


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Current Forum: Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

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Date: 14-Mar-2001 07:56:00

Author: xxxxxxxx

Subject: Re: FARMQUEST evaluation 

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xxxxxxx
Good evaluation. I am not a grammarian but I prefer to read coherent English so I appreciate your observations on this. The list of sites IS too long - it would be hard to visit them with any kind of feel for what is there.
Also, I liked the comment on color backgrounds. I think some authors use color somewhat haphazardly. How many times can you enjoy a 'black' background?
I went to a session at MacWorld called "Do's and Dont's for a Website" by a couple of editors of MacWorld. They had all the usual ideas and some other good ideas which were appropriate BUT they used a brown background with alternately purple and yellow text! Perople in the second row could not read it and had to ask for clarification. I thought the authors might be doing the 'color thing' for emphasis but their whole session was that way. Scary!
The 'Virtual Farmers' have been careful about that sort of thing and the instructors really appreciate it. After all, it is harder to read text on the screen than a hard copy. Thanks.  


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Current Forum: Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

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Date: 13-Mar-2001 21:50:00

Author: xxxxxxxxxx

Subject: FARMqUEST Evaluation 

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Initially, working through this webquest, I found it to be an overload of information for the primary student! However, if the child were to make a selection and stick to their choice, they would work through the assignment quite well gaining much information.

Evaluating the webquest according to the rubrics given for the course, I felt the areas were covered quite nicely!
The text was grammatically correct, the theme was definately agriculturally based, and the web page essentials were fantastic for the younger student! This would be a great project for the younger child to work through...considering how "user friendly" it is! The webpages provided are interesting and educational for the student gathering information for their project. The project was problem based in that the student was to determine the type of farm best suited to their interests and needs. In processing such information, the student would definately be tapping into problem solving strategies as they worked through the assignment. Project Process was clearly defined as well as the evaluation goals.

Clearly, a well defined project with wonderful information and problem solving strategies incorporated! 


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Current Forum: Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

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Date: 14-Mar-2001 08:12:00

Author: xxxxxxxx

Subject: Re: FARMqUEST Evaluation 

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At the Governor's Ag Conference in Kearney, I met xxxxxx of xxxxxxxx Cattle Company in Lexington. She is working with The Dawson County Extension Office to present activities which could help youngsters (and maybe oldsters) understand where food products came from. One of her ideas (which may not come to fruition because of time considerations) was to use a still image of a product followed by a movie clip of where the product came from. A couple of examples: A still of a milk carton followed by a clip of a dairy herd at milking time; a bag of flour followed by a clip showing a combine harvesting wheat.
This could be an ambitious project to be sure but not beyond the realm of possibility. Opinions?  


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Current Forum: Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

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Date: 18-Mar-2001 13:42:00

Author: xxxxxxxx

Subject: Re: FARMqUEST Evaluation 

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I think this is a great idea, especially for kids who have trouble relating to where grocery store products come from. This idea would make an even greater impact on kids who have never been out of a city much less visited a farm.

xxxxxxx 


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Current Forum: Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

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Date: 16-Mar-2001 21:26:00

Author: xxxxxxxxx

Subject: Web Quest Evaluation 

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The Web Quest evaluated was desertification. Using the rubric, I would have to give it a high 88%. It was nicely done. However, was confused if desertification was correctly done. In other words, there is a natural and artificial type of desertification. Man induced deserts do not have the usual animals and plants that natural ones have. The man induced ones are just bare and not definite plants or animals in their ecosystem. That was the key issue that threw me off. Maybe, this party was expecting too much. Afterall, there is a different here.

The general forms of the web quest were fairly simple and interesting. Would think the non internet resources would be hard to excite students on when doing this project. Afterall, they did encourage it is the desertification web quest.

Afterall, deserts have their own unique ecosystems. Man made desertification would not compare except for temperature. Animals and plants would just be non existence. Basically you are saying it being a sterile environment.

Discussion OVER! 


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Current Forum: Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

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Date: 18-Mar-2001 14:04:00

Author: xxxxxxxxx

Subject: WebQuest Evaluation 

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The WebQuest that I looked at was Hello Dolly. We are studying Genetics in Science right now and a lot of questions are flying regarding cloning of animals, especially humans. Therefore I am looking at this from a 7th grade perspective. Some of the information presented may be a bit difficult for some 7th graders to understand, but there was enough choices in the web sites included in the project to be used by all students of varying academic abilities.
Text: 10 Points. It appears as if everything shown here is grammatically correct without errors.

Agricultural Theme: 10 Points. The subject of cloning and genetically altered material in the marketplace is a hot topic at the moment, both from the farmer's side and the consumer's side.

Web Page essentials, graphics and links: 9 points. All of the links were excellent, but may be too much reading for a middle school student who is not a motivated, skilled reader. Using graphics within the text may be a "grabber" to those students who may be continuously asking, "do we have to read ALL of this?"
I would like to see some more color being used in the Web Page, although not to the point of distraction. Students may look at this and see "all that reading" as a set-up for them to not do well. Especially those who have difficulty reading.

Project Resources: 10 points Excellent choice of resources.

Problem-based Learning: 19 points. I didn't give all of the points only because of the amount of detailed reading involved. As an instructor, I think that there may have to be a lot of teacher intervention/explaining to do in order for the majority of students to complete the assignment.

Process: 10 points. What is being asked for student performance is very clear.

Evaluation: 10 Points. The writer of this WebQuest project included many details regarding what was expected from the students as far as performance evaluation. I expecially liked the part where students were to "tell the world" via email. Great idea. A grading rubric was also included so that students had a very clear picture of what was required of them for grading purposes.

 


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Current Forum: Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

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Date: 18-Mar-2001 17:07:00

Author: xxxxxxxx

Subject: Re: WebQuest Evaluation 

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Good job using the rubric. Was this exercise helpful to you in learning what we are looking for?
 


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Current Forum: Week 6 Web Quest Assignment Forum

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Date: 25-Mar-2001 10:49:00

Author: xxxxxxx

Subject: Re: WebQuest Evaluation 

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xxxxxx, You have done a thorough job in evaluating and have mentioned several significant points. It is important to consider reading level and volume of required reading when asking students to complete research.
xxxxxxxxx


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