Grade+Suitability

The Medieval Times Reality Adventure WebQuest, suitable for students in grades four to six, is evaluated here in the context of a mixed gender and mixed ability grade four class (aged 9 to 10) in Ontario.

Otta and Tavella (2010) highlight the quality of a digital tool's interface as an essential attribute in maintaining student motivation. Although this WebQuest incorporates some graphics, it relies mostly upon text, and thus risks losing some appeal. Additionally, written instructions may alienate students of lower linguistic ability.

As Mangelson and Castek (2008) identify, a high quality WebQuest has few broken links and leads to resources that are appropriate to the student’s ability. This WebQuest suggests a large variety of resources that cater for a range of linguistic and cognitive abilities and learning styles. However, it also features broken links and external sites that are unsuitable for fourth graders. Appropriately entitled "The Labyrinth", this graphic demonstrates the endless external links that are connected to this WebQuest.

To improve the suitability of this WebQuest for Grade four, the resources need to be refined so that only the most appropriate working links are maintained; guiding annotations about each resource are also necessary. This WebQuest scores highly for "scaffolding of process" on the rubric created by Dodge (2002); it integrates organizational tools such as a pre-made table, Inspiration and publishing software to structure learning. Those strategies would benefit Grade 4 students, however, the Process page contains too much information and should be divided into task-related subsections to improve navigability.

﻿The WebQuest features a range of tasks that build on each other and are appropriate for junior age students with varying academic strengths and learning styles. The culminating task is open-ended and student-centred, as Grade 4 students are challenged to demonstrate their learning through the production of a collaborative dramatic play.