1. Finding Information Using the Internet to search

2. Finding Stuff on the Web... 4 Step One is to understand the difference between –Internet Providers –Browsers –Search Engines

3. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 4 Provides access to the Internet –Are national providers such as IBM, GlobalNet, AOL –Are local providers such as Imperium

4. Internet Browsers 4 Need a browser to use and see the Web 4 Browser software interprets HTML and allows you to see the document page 4 Common browsers are Microsoft Explorer, Firefox and Safari

5. Meaning of a URL (unique resource locator)

6. Search Engines 4 Software that searches an index and returns matches –Directory or Index--Finds web pages and returns lists of pages which match the query –Usually compiled manually by submission –Google is an example

7. Meta Search Engines 4 Meta search engines pass queries on to other search engines and then summarizes the results. –Dogpile, Ask Jeeves, Altavista

8. Using Boolean Searches 4 A Boolean search allows the inclusion or exclusion of documents 4 Uses AND (+), NOT (-), or OR

9. Using OR I want information about college CollegesUniversities OR--looks in both

10. Using AND I’m interested in the relationship between crime and poverty. CrimePoverty AND--selects ONLY the shaded area

11. Using NOT I want to know about radiation NOT nuclear radiation. Radiation Nuclear Radiation NOT--will give you information about radiation but eliminates anything about nuclear radiation

12. Using “quotation marks” 4 Want information about the Lincoln Penny 4 Type in Lincoln Penny and you get all information about Lincoln and about pennies 4 Type in “Lincoln Penny” and it gives only information about Lincoln pennies 4 Like putting in an AND--but better

13. What if you get NO results 4 Check spelling 4 Try synonyms or word variations 4 Be less specific--use fewer connectors 4 Try a different search engine

14. What if you get TOO MANY results? 4 Try to be more specific 4 Use as many keywords as possible Be more selective--X out what you don’t need

15. Server problems? 4 Try again in a few minutes 4 Use a less busy time of day 4 Check your spelling 4 URL may be case sensitive 4 Make sure no spaces

16. Scan, Focus, Act 4 Scan--Select what you need--Know what you don’t need--clip, copy, print 4 Focus--Make sure you’re using the right tool for task--(Michael Jackson’s latest CD) 4 Act--Plan before you start-- 4 Adapted from Frank Burns

17. Happy Searching Searching is FUN!