Remember, the links you need are provided on the Resources page. If it helps, you may print out this page so you have the jobs in front of you as you work.

Job #1. Let's start out by comparing two websites. This one will be easy. One website will be painfully bad, and the other will be pleasantly good. The idea here is not to decide which is bad and which is good, but rather to decide what makes them bad or good.

Take a look at the two websites provided for Job #1 on the Resources page. Website #1 is a really, really terrible example of a "bad" website, and #2 is the "good" website. List the things that are not so great about Website #1. Here are some questions to get you started.

Is there anything annoying about the site? Can you read the text and if not, why? Does the information seem correct and/or complete? Is it easy to move around and find what you need? Does the site contain useful information? Does it make me want to bookmark it, or does it make me want to run screaming from the room?

Now look at Website #2. Compare it to #1. List some of the qualities of this site that make it better than the first.

Job #2. Let's look at some ways to think about the quality of a website. One way to tell if the information you find is legitimate is to, as Mrs. Haverty likes to say, "note the source." To note the source means to find out who wrote the information and why, and to decide if they are biased.

Look through Website #3, and answer the following questions on your worksheet.

• Can you figure out who wrote this information? If so, is it an individual, or a company or organization?
• Is information given about how to get in touch with whoever created this website?
• Is the source reputable, i.e., is it a person or group you've heard of before?
• Why do you think the person wrote this information?
• Do you trust this information? Why or why not?
• Is someone trying to sell you something?

Now, look at Website #4 and answer the same questions.

If you were going to write a paper on this topic, which site would you prefer to get information from?

Job #3. There are other ways to rate websites, too. An important one is the interface. How easy is it to find things on the site? Are there features that are annoying or make things difficult?

Again, you will look at two websites and answer some questions. As you work, imagine that you are trying to find information to use for school.

• On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best/easiest, how easy is it to find information on the site?
• Does the site have an obvious menu and/or search feature?
• Does the site have music, animations, or large photos? If so, how does it affect whether the site is easy to use?
• Does the site take a long time to load?
• Does the site have irritating advertisements or pop-up windows?
• Is the text easy to read (does the text color or the background make it difficult)?
• If there are frames (the window is divided into sections), do they make it easier or harder for you?
• Is there any useful information on the page?

Answer each question for Websites #5 and #6. If you were doing schoolwork, which would you choose?

Job #4. OK, you get the idea. So now take a look at the websites listed for Job #4 on the Resources page. Tell me some things that are bad about each one. Some of them will be really obvious, but others may take some thought.

Job #5. Your final mission for this WebQuest is to analyze two websites. To make it easier, I've compiled a list of sites on the Resources page. You must choose two and analyze them using some of the criteria you used for jobs 1-3. Unlike the sites we've looked at already, some of these sites fall into a more neutral range of "good" and "bad." Each one has some good points and some bad points. Write at least five to ten sentences about EACH site, answering some of the questions that are asked above.