Evaluation Criteria
October 2003 Competition
Educational Value (35 points)
A ThinkQuest Web site presents a topic in a manner that informs,
clarifies, engages, and deepens understanding of vital issues |
| Quality of educational content |
 |
Insightful, informative, and compelling content created
for the site |
 |
Highly informative content created for the site |
 |
Informative content created for the site |
 |
Factual content from other sites put together in a useful
way |
 |
Limited content that is new or has value |
 |
Very limited content or content of questionable value |
|
| Choice of audience and topic |
|
Compelling and original topic for audience |
|
Engaging topic for audience |
|
Useful and relevant topic for an audience |
|
Relevant topic for an audience |
|
Topic has limited relevance for audience |
|
Audience is not identified |
|
Educational
Purpose |
|
Purpose is clearly stated, important, and represents an
innovative approach to the topic |
|
Purpose is clearly stated and is important to the topic |
|
Purpose is clearly stated and is worthwhile for the topic |
|
Purpose is clear, but is mundane or not noteworthy |
|
Purpose is stated, but is unclear and not evident |
|
No purpose is stated or evident |
|
| Originality |
|
Site demonstrates notable insight, understanding, or innovation
in treatment of the topic |
|
Site creates an original and well articulated treatment
of the topic |
|
Site offers an original treatment of the topic including
uses of other resources |
|
Site offers new ideas but focuses on sharing information
from other sites |
|
Site is largely copied from other sources, with few original
ideas |
|
Site provides little or no new information or ideas |
|
Depth of
content |
|
Site provides excellent information with support for interpreting
and understanding on multiple levels and from a variety of
viewpoints |
|
Site provides excellent information with support for interpreting
and understanding |
|
Site provides useful information with basic help for understanding |
|
Site provides information with only limited help for understanding |
|
Site provides only basic factual information |
|
Site provides only surface details or cursory information
on topic |
|
Supporting
examples |
|
Well-chosen and detailed examples provide unusual depth
and richness to make the content compelling |
|
A variety of examples add richness to the content |
|
Adequate examples are provided for understanding the content |
|
A few examples are provided to support the content |
|
Limited examples are provided with the content |
|
Few or no examples are provided |
|
| Sources and citations |
|
Superb collection of sources provided with accurate summaries,
citations, and explanations |
|
Broad array of sources included as part of the site, with
all citations accurate |
|
Well organized and appropriate citations with no inaccuracies |
|
Appropriate citations, with a few inaccuracies or organizational
problems |
|
Few citations, with some that are inaccurate or poorly
organized |
|
No sources or citations provided |
|
Content and Design (30
points)
A ThinkQuest Web site is accessible, inviting, organized, and accurate |
| Design and appearance |
|
Design provides exceptionally consistent theme, easy to
follow layout, and appealing use of colors throughout the
site |
|
Design consistently uses color, theme, and layout throughout
the site in appealing and helpful ways |
|
Design uses color, theme, and layout throughout the site |
|
Design makes some use of color, theme and layout, but it
is not entirely helpful or appealing |
|
Color, theme and layout has been addressed, but it does
not support the content and makes parts of the site confusing
or unreadable |
|
No attention to color, theme, and layout is evident |
|
Graphical
elements |
|
Buttons, icons, and other graphical elements are designed
to facilitate flow of content and contribute to overall theme |
|
Buttons and icons are clearly marked and assist in navigation |
|
Buttons and icons assist in navigation |
|
Buttons and icons assist in navigation, but are inconsistently
used |
|
Buttons and icons are largely decorative, but serve useful
purpose on some parts of the site |
|
Buttons and icons either absent or are used only for decoration |
|
| Use of images |
|
Images and text work together exceptionally well to maximize
the impact of the entire site |
|
Images and text work together well to maximize the impact
for most of the site |
|
Images supports the text consistently and appropriately |
|
Images support text sometimes, but sometimes distract from
the text |
|
Imagery is used, but overwhelms the information or contributes
little to content |
|
No imagery is included in the Web site |
|
| Sequence of content |
|
Organization supports an orderly flow of information and
take visitors through a thoughtful and engaging sequence,
including opportunities for further exploration where appropriate |
|
Organization supports an orderly flow of information and
learning, with opportunities for further exploration |
|
Organization provides an effective sequence that visitors
can follow to support their learning |
|
Organization and sequence are present, but are hard to
follow because gaps occur |
|
Organization quickly leads to exploration, with no suggestions
for a sequence |
|
No organization or sequence of content is evident |
|
| Writing |
|
Writing incorporates superior and thoughtful ideas into
well organized format and is free of any grammatical or mechanical
errors |
|
Writing is organized in thoughtful format and is free of
mechanical errors |
|
Writing is organized in basic manner, and is free of mechanical
errors |
|
Writing is organized in basic manner, and contains some
mechanical errors |
|
Writing is somewhat disorganized and contains noticeable
mechanical errors |
|
Writing is disorganized and contains sufficient mechanical
errors to discourage the reader |
|
Use of
multimedia |
|
Site effectively incorporates two or more thoughtful and
useful multimedia resources that highlight the content and
theme and enhance understanding |
|
Site effectively incorporates at least one thoughtful and
useful multimedia resource that highlights the content and
theme and enhances understanding |
|
Site effectively uses one multimedia resource with a purpose
that is relevant to understanding |
|
Site uses multimedia, but purpose is unclear or technically
unsound |
|
Site uses multimedia in inappropriate or distracting manner |
|
Site does not use any multimedia |
|
Technical Performance (15 points)
A ThinkQuest Web site is designed for ease of use and maximum participation |
| Helpful navigation |
|
Navigation design is exceptionally well done, appealing
and helpful in allowing visitors to move quickly and efficiently
through the site |
|
Navigation design is appropriate, appealing, and helpful
throughout the site |
|
Navigation design is appropriate and helpful throughout
the site |
|
Navigation design is appropriate and helpful, but works
inconsistently throughout the site |
|
Navigation design is present, but is difficult to follow
or very unappealing |
|
Navigational support is lacking, resulting in visitors
getting lost |
|
| Working links |
|
Links are made to a wide variety of online resources and
information of different types, and all work properly |
|
A large number of links are provided throughout the site,
and all work |
|
Links are provided in the site, and all work |
|
Links are provided, but some have failed |
|
Links are provided, but many fail, enough to discourage
a visitor |
|
No links are provided or work |
|
| Friendly for slow connections |
|
Special features assist users with slow connection speeds
or text-only version of the site is available |
|
Site works successfully with slow connection speeds |
|
Site makes reasonable efforts to assist users with slow
connections |
|
Many parts of site are limited to use by high speed connections
and graphical browsers, but parts of the site are accessible
via slower connections |
|
Almost of the site requires high speed connections and
graphics |
|
Site is useless without a high-speed connections |
|
Community and Global Connections
(10 points)
A ThinkQuest Web site encourages cross-cultural connections
and international perspectives for learning and collaborating |
| Cross cultural perspective |
|
Site information is presented in two languages with clear
evidence of extensive and effective multi-country collaboration
and resource use |
|
Site information is presented in two languages and information
with evidence of multi-country collaboration and resource
use |
|
Site offers some multi-lingual features and evidence of
multi-country collaboration |
|
Site information is in one language, but does have evidence
of multi-country collaboration |
|
Site information in one language and from one country,
but with evidence of collaboration beyond the school |
|
Site information in one language and represents work from
only one school |
|
| Authentic Problem Solving |
|
Site encourages problem-solving of vital issues using an
international or global perspective and resources, and provides
specific means to accomplish this |
|
Site encourages problem solving through a variety of worthwhile
ideas and offers an international perspective |
|
Site encourages problem solving and offers a few ideas
that are worthwhile |
|
Site provides suggestions for solving problems, but there
is little substance to the proposed solutions |
|
Site refers to problem solving, but provides few suggestions
or ideas for what to try |
|
Site does not address problem-solving of key issues |
|
Collaboration and Teamwork
(15 points)
A ThinkQuest Web site represents the collaborative efforts of
team members and mentors who have joined together in creative
collaboration to create a superior product. The following criteria
will be used to judge efforts at collaboration as indicated in
the "about this project" page and throughout the site |
| Teamwork |
|
Clear evidence that students formed an effective team both
within the school and with other schools, and explains how
the site was produced by students working together |
|
Clear evidence of effective teamwork, both within the school
and with other schools, with some indication of how the collaboration
worked |
|
Clear evidence of effective teamwork within teams |
|
Some evidence of teamwork, but evidence is not well presented |
|
Limited evidence of teamwork |
|
No evidence of teamwork |
|
| Contribution of team members |
|
Clear evidence that each team member contributed in a unique
way by offering skills, talents, and sources of information
that others used to build the site |
|
Clear evidence of varied contributions from team members,
with all team members' roles explained |
|
Evidence of contributions made by each team member |
|
Evidence of contributions from different team members,
but not all team members' roles discussed |
|
Limited evidence of contributions from multiple team members |
|
No evidence of contributions from multiple team members |
|
| Role of mentor or coach |
|
The role and contributions of the mentor or coach for
the team are clearly delineated, with particular attention
to how the mentor facilitated the learning of the student
team |
|
Extensive evidence that the mentor facilitated the team |
|
Clear evidence that the mentor facilitated the team |
|
Some inconclusive evidence that the mentor facilitated
the team |
|
Limited evidence that the mentor facilitated the team,
and some |
|
No evidence that the mentor facilitated the team |
|
Evaluation Criteria were developed
with the support of researchers at the Buck
Institute for Education.
|
