Analysis of components and usability of WebQuests in Portuguese language available on the web: an exploratory study

Abstract

WebQuest is an extremely simple and rich way to take advantage of the educational potential of the Web. It's based on collaborative learning and research processes for knowledge building, counting on thousands of contributions from educators all over of the world. However, many of the available online WebQuests do not conform to the minimum standards of quality in respect to the content and usability levels, or are no more than simple worksheets or "WebExercises". In this article 483 WebQuests in Portuguese, that were made available online between July and October 2007, were registered and analyzed. The evaluation focused on the content and on some indicators associated with usability. The results showed that, with regard to the content, the greatest failures were found in the assignments, in the resources and in the evaluation. In terms of usability, the largest failure to report is the absence of a "menu" in many of the examples examined. It was also found that only 41% were real WebQuests, categorizing the rest as simple "WebExercises" with routine activities that do not allow the student to take full advantage of the knowledge building potential of the Web.