The questions in the "Scavenger Hunt Lesson Plan" were each assigned a level of difficulty from 1 (the easiest) to 3 (the most difficult). The authors considered a combination of six difficulty factors, listed below, in determining the degree of difficulty for each question. The six factors should be considered the flexible guidelines of a qualitative process rather than hard and fast measures. We encourage teachers to reevaluate the difficulty level of Scavenger Hunt questions with their students in mind. Also, although it is recommended that teachers who wish to add new sites to the Lesson Plan consider at least the six factors, class-specific student characteristics, such as subject knowledge or language skills, might suggest additional factors to be weighed.

Difficulty Factors

1. Reading?
   Questions that required more reading to answer were considered more difficult.
2. Scrolling?
   Questions that required scrolling through multiple screens were considered more difficult.
3. # of clicks?
   The number of links that needed to be followed to find the answer contributed to the difficulty of the question.
4. Is it easy to know what headings or links information would be found under?
   Finding specific information on web pages frequently requires following more general headings or links-this factor takes into account how easy or difficult it is to select the appropriate broader choice. Headings and links that obviously matched the question scored as easier. (See Example A, below). More ambiguous choices-when none of the choices obviously match the question or when more than one choice might reasonably lead to the answer-scored as more difficult. (See Example C, below.)
5. Does the wording of the answer match the wording of the question?
   New to Internet searching, kids may find certain word choices difficult that in other settings would not be. They may be nervous and looking for words on the web pages that match words in the questions; they may not immediately recognize their topic / answer if the words used are different. Some of the sites scored as more difficult because of this consideration.
6. Is the organization of the site complicated or new?
   If the student was required to navigate a site with a relatively complex or unfamiliar organizational structure, that contributed to the difficulty level of a question. When weighing this factor, the authors considered whether a site had multiple or changing focal points (ie, frames, with contents on one side and text on the other) and whether the organizational system might be new to students (see Example B, below, in which the information on the first page is primarily organized as pictures). Example C, below, which utilizes rollovers so that the text on the screen changes as students move the mouse over the page, would be considered both complex and unfamiliar, as what the student needs to concentrate on changes and as it is an organizational structure that only exists in the online environment. What constitutes a complicated site will change as technologies change. The central question to ask is, how easy is for your students to orient themselves to the page?

Examples:

1. What should you do if you find a baby bird out of its nest?
   Level of Difficulty =1
   Why?
   

   1. Reading?
      Requires very little reading.
   2. Scrolling?
      Requires no scrolling.
   3. # of clicks?
      One - Initial choice of site.
   4. Is it easy to know what headings or links information would be found under?
      Yes. The initial choice of the site is unambiguous and very easy. The first heading on the site clearly matches the question. 5. Does the wording of the answer match the wording of the question? Yes. "What should I do if I find a baby bird?" is the answer heading.
   5. Is the organization of the site complicated or new?
      No

2. How much do Bobcats weigh at birth?
   Level of Difficulty = 2
   Why?
   

   1. Reading?
      Requires some reading to pull out the answer on the bobcat page.
   2. Scrolling?
      Requires scrolling from the first page to get to the picture link "bobcat".
   3. # of clicks?
      Two-including initial choice of site
   4. Is it easy to know what headings or links information would be found under?
      No. The initial choice of site is ambiguous (nothing about bobcats), and although the information is found under a heading on the site labeled "bobcat", the kids will have to look around a bit to find the heading.
   5. Does the wording of the answer match the wording of the question?
      Significant keywords match, "at birth"; but significant keywords differ as well, "kitten", "Blind at birth and weighing less than one pound, the kittens are entirely dependant on their mother for protection and nourishment..."
   6. Is the organization of the site complicated or new?
      Somewhat. The information on the first page is primarily organized as pictures, which is something new.

3. Do dolphins like to play? If so, what games do they play?
   Level of Difficulty = 3
   Why?
   

   1. Reading?
      Requires a significant amount of reading to digest answer to "what games?" and to read rollover text for link selection.
   2. Scrolling?
      Requires some scrolling to get to "what games", if student misses the link "examples of games".
   3. # of clicks?
      Three to four-including initial choice of site
   4. Is it easy to know what headings or links information would be found under?
      No. Some headings and links are easy to choose, including the unambiguous initial site choice, and link selections after the "behavior" page ("playfulness" and "examples of games"). However, kids need to choose "behavior" before they can get to anything about play, which may be difficult.
   5. Does the wording of the answer match the wording of the question?
      Significant keywords match, "play" in the example below and "games" for the answer to the second half of the question; but the overall wording and phrase structure of the answer does not match the question. "Dolphins are generally playful animals. It is a fact that they spend most of their time playing..."
   6. Is the organization of the site complicated or new?
      Yes, both complicated and new. Text rollovers, plus multiple focal points in a frame-type organization.