Webquest: WWW - Wonderful Web Weather

by Jason Parrish
Modified for use in Hallville, Missouri
by Suzanne Stillwell
February 2001, Updated October 2005

Introduction

You are investigators working for The Center for Accuracy on the Internet. Your boss has instructed you to do a study on some of the various weather forecasts on the web. Your mission is to study how accurate those forecasts are, and identify which ones are the best and the worst. Are you up to the challenge?

The Task

For this assignment you will track the weather for three days, and compare this actual weather with the online weather forecasts of several prominent weather sites. Then you will create a large graph comparing how each of the four sites scored. You will use the graph during a press conference showcasing and presenting your results.

Resources

Choose four of the sites below to evaluate:

Yahoo Weather

CNN Weather

The Weather Channel

USA Today Weather

Accuweather

National Weather Service

Local stations on the internet:

Recording Your Data
Excel Graph Starter

The Process

You will need to complete the following steps to successfully complete your mission:

You will be assigned to a team of four investigators.
Each of you will choose one of the weather forecasting web sites listed in resources above.
Then you will use the computer to view the chosen web site.
When you reach the site you will print off a local Hallsville/Columbia, Missouri forecast for the next four days.
You need to judge how easy it is to understand the forecast this site provides, using the scale to be presented further down the page.
Starting the following day, you will compare the forecast from your site with the actual weather and temperatures as provided by any local area newscast. Accuracy for temperature will be defined as within three degrees above or below.
At the end of the three days, you and your teammates will compile your results and reward points to each site based on the scale below.
You will then need to graph the results clearly in Excel (see Excel Weather Graph Starter file) or use graph paper.
You and your team members will then plan and present a press conference to release you findings to the media. Identify the best and worst site, and be sure to provide examples and explanations. Use your graph.

Rating the Sites

Here is a table to aid you in evaluating the sites. Assign scores to each site. Compare and contrast each site's score. You can get a copy of this chart from your teacher or by going to this printable rating scale.

Easy to Understand	Very Easy	3 Pts.
	OK	2 Pts.
	Hard	1 Pts.

High Temperature Within Three Degrees	3 Days	3 Pts.
	2 days	2 Pts.
	1 Day	1 Pt.
	No Days	0 Pts.

Low Temperature Within Three Degrees	3 Days	3 Pts.
	2 Days	2 Pts.
	1 Day	1 Pt.
	No Days	0 Pts.

Forecast Correct	3 Days	3 Pts.
	2 Days	2 Pts.
	1 Day	1 Pt.
	No Days	0 Pts.

Evaluation

You will be evaluated on this assignment on both the clarity and completeness of your graph, and the overall quality of your presentation. To see rubrics detailing my expectations see the links below.

Graph Scoring Guide

Presentation Scoring Guide

Conclusion

Hopefully on the completion of this lesson you will have learned something about the nature of information on the internet and the need to examine it with a critical eye. You will have found that some information is of better quality than other information. Furthermore you will have organized information, made judgements and presented findings.
When you have completed this assignment, see if you can answer these additional questions.
Can you apply what you have learned to other categories of sites on the World Wide Web?
What are some examples of sites you could evaluate?