WebQuest Evaluation

The WebQuest that I am reviewing is entitled “Telling Time” and was created by Marie Evelyn.  The identified audience is 2^nd graders, however, it could also be used with first graders since telling time to the hour and half-hour is a first grade standard.  The identified curriculum standards were from California: Mathematics: Measurement and Geometry 1.4 Tell time to the nearest quarter hour and know relationships of time (e.g., minutes in an hour, days in a month, weeks in a year).

The instructional strategy utilized is a deductive approach.  In the introduction, students are given specifics of how to tell time including the different numbers on a clock face, the two hands, and the minute intervals.  Students then have to apply this information to specific problems. The websites that students go to for the process component of the WebQuest are organized so that the information is scaffolded for students.  First, students have to place numbers on a clock and observe how the hands move.  Then, they have to tell time by moving the hands of a clock to specified time (the time given depends on the level of difficulty that students choose), which provides feedback to the students about their answers.  Then students tell time to the half-hour, then to five minutes. There is no use of a metaphor, the websites are given with a description of what they contain. 

The students have two types of assessment.  In one assessment, they use paint to show a time on a clock face.  In another assessment, they have to type in a time given on a clock-face.  The quiz keeps track of the number they get correct and incorrect.  At the end, it shows students the ones they got incorrect and gives them the opportunity to correct it (by telling the student the right answer). 

This WebQuest utilizes technology by allowing students to manipulate digital clock faces.  This is something they could do without technology by using “Judy Clocks.”  However, students would probably find this more engaging.  It also provides multiple opportunities to practice their time-telling skills.  Some of these opportunities are game-based, which students would enjoy.  Likewise the evaluation components could be done on paper, however, this may be more engaging for students. Since all of these tasks could be done on the paper, this WebQuest would be considered “change without difference.”

All of the links and images are intact and up-to-date.  The author does credit her sources with links throughout the lesson as well as on a credits page.

The introduction is very text heavy, which some students may struggle to get through.  To improve this, I would try to break it down into smaller chunks and have links available for sound bites that read it aloud for the student.  Another issue is navigation to external websites.  When students click a link, it does not open it in a new window.  Therefore, students have to hit the back button, which some students at this level may forget to do.  I would redesign it to open in a parent window.  I would also remind students to “x” out of the window once they have completed the module.