Digital Sources of Information Introduction Using Web pages Exploring online museums Talk About It Your Turn Tech Tool in this presentation Web Pages

Introduction Do you want to know more about works of art? faraway places? famous historic events? The next best thing to seeing things for yourself may be to experience them virtually, through your computer.

Introduction Web pages and online museums are valuable resources. They can bring historic documents, rare photographs, and works of art right to your computer. No transportation or tickets are necessary!

Tech Tool: Web Pages Web pages are what make up the World Wide Web. You probably use Web pages fairly often. You might even have created one of your own.

Tech Tool: Web Pages Content on the Web is presented on pages that you view in a Web browser such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape, or Safari. Web pages can contain text, photos, and audio and video clips. They usually have links to other Web pages that help the user connect to related information.

Tech Tip URLs Every Web page has a URL, or specific address, that tells your computer how to locate that page. The extension, or last several letters, can often tell you what type of organization created the Web site. Most Web pages end with .com or .net. These extensions indicate business or personal pages. School and university Web pages usually end with .edu. URLs for nonprofit organizations, such as charities, usually end with .org.

Tech Tool: Web Pages Web pages are created for a variety of purposes such as information, entertainment, self-expression, and even persuasion. Online museums are a kind of Web page helpful for conducting research. As you will see, online museums mostly provide information, but they can be entertaining as well.

Exploring online museums Maybe you have visited a traditional museum before. Museums collect and display items for people to look at, listen to, or touch for enjoyment and education. There is probably a museum for almost every area of interest.

Exploring online museums Some museums also offer online versions of their collections. More than just a Web page, an online museum includes exhibits and tours that help you explore the museum’s collection.

Exploring online museums A great example of an online museum is the Web site of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The Smithsonian includes nineteen separate museums that together contain 142 million items.

Exploring online museums The Smithsonian’s online museum has a main page that you can use several different ways. You can search by keyword SEARCH go to a specific museum related to your topic African Art Museum Air and Space Museum American History Museum follow the links to specific exhibits Milestones of Flight

Exploring online museums The Smithsonian also has a Web page designed just for students. You can look for information on this page by topic rather than by keyword. For example, if you are researching rocks, you would click the Science & Nature link.

Exploring online museums There are many types of resources on the Smithsonian Web site for almost any research topic imaginable. online activities historical accounts audio recordings

Exploring online museums Other online museums you might want to visit include

Talk About It Discuss these questions with your classmates. What would you expect to see in a traditional museum exhibit about dinosaurs? What would you expect to see in an online museum exhibit about dinosaurs? How would a virtual visit differ from an actual visit to a museum? Are there ways in which an online museum might be more useful for research than visiting a physical museum? Why do you think so?

Your Turn Look at the Woodland Park Zoo’s Humboldt Penguin Web page on the next slide and complete the following: What is the purpose of the Web page? What types of media are used on this Web page? Where on this page would you go to find more information about the Humboldt penguin? Where would you find links to information about other animals? Where on this page would you find information on becoming a member of the Woodland Park Zoo?

Your Turn

Your Turn The purpose of this Web page is: Types of media used on this Web page include: 3. To find more information on the Humboldt penguin I would go to: To find links to information about other animals I would: I would find information on becoming a member of the Woodland Park Zoo by:

Your Turn: Possible Responses The purpose of this Web page is to inform readers about the Humboldt penguin. Types of media used on the Web page include text and images. There is also a hyperlink to a video clip. To find more information on the Humboldt penguin I would go to the “Adopt Me” page. To find links to information about other animals I would click on the “Animal Facts” and “Endangered Species” links. 4. I would find information on becoming a member of the Woodland Park Zoo by clicking on the “Join Us!” link.

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