Planet WebQuest

Design Qualities

Content and Substance: Students data collection on a particular planet allows for research skills to be practiced using numerous forms of resources including technology. Data is presented in a cyber postcard, which is e-mailed to the instructor and also presented orally to the class.

Organization of Knowledge: All of the students’ activities and instructions are arranged logically and attractively into a web quest with direct links to websites related to the planets and space. Data collection sheets, draft sheets, virtual postcard sites, crew checklists, and self-evaluation forms are all accessible for the students to print and use.

Product Focus: Students will work together in heterogeneous groups or “crews” of three to produce a cyber postcard containing all of the pertinent facts about their planet. This postcard will be e-mailed to the instructor and each crew will also do an oral presentation. In addition, each group will also design their own crew patch to represent their group.

Clear and Compelling Product Standards: The Web Quest clearly states what is expected of each student and what their final product should contain.

Protection of Adverse Consequences for Initial Failures: There are good guidelines and resources for the students to work with to assure a high degree of success with their project. The students will also be grouped heterogeneously.

Affirmation of Performance: Students will also share their cyber postcard with their families via e-mail and share their work with the class through an oral report.

Affiliation: Students will work collaboratively in small groups of three to research and gather data, observe and compare different planetary terrain, design a crew patch, and compose a cyber postcard from research facts and creative ideas on their planet.

Novelty and Variety: Students will be able to design their own crew patch using a combination of each crew member’s artistic ideas as well as ideas from actual patches used in the field of Science.

Choice: Students will have the freedom to choose which Internet sites to visit as well as which other forms of resource materials to use to gather their information. They will also get to choose their favorite picture of their planet to attach to their cyber postcard.

Authenticity: Students will have the opportunity to view authentic pictures of the planets as well as pictures of actual patches used to represent different organizations within the field of Science.