An Introduction to the World Wide Web


The World Wide Web (WWW) is an online hypertext system that spans the Internet. You can access the WWW using a text based browser (i.e., Charlotte, Lynx ) or a graphical browser (i.e., Netscape, Mosaic). The hypertext nature of the WWW allows the user to navigate through linked information. If you are just starting off, you might want to read through this web page learning how to navigate within the web page. Links to other web sites are listed WITH the address of the web site. The first time through you might not want to link to any of those other sites.

Glossary of Internet Terms

--Lingo--

--Definition--
Browser
Software for viewing the Internet
Gopher
Menu (Text-based) Driven Browser
Hit
A successful math when searching a database, access to a web site
HTML
Hypertext Markup Language, tagging language for web documents
HTTP
 		Hypertext Transfer protocol, language of the WWW
Internet
network of networks able to communicate seamlessly
Mosaic
graphic multimedia browser, software: Mosaic, Netscape
Search Engine
A web site that functions as a large searchable database of the web
URL
 		Universal Resource Locator, Addresses on the web in the form: http://

Protocol: http://

Server: execpc.com

Path: ~wmhogg/beginner.html
World Wide Web
Portion of the Internet that uses HTTP to transfer information

Error Messages you might encounter

The server does not have DNS entry,
Cannot connect to host,
Nothing happens
Have patience and try again later
Check your spelling of the URL
404 Not Found
 		Web site has changed address

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Tutorials, Information and Definitions available on-line


Internet Tutorials & Courses


Miami Museum of Science - Internet Island
 http://www.miamisci.org/ii/

A wonderful resource developed by the Miami Museum of Science. Teaches students how to use the internet within a story context. Suggestions for student grouping and facilitator notes are provided.

Kathy Schrock's- Brush Up on the Internet: An Introductory Unit to the Internet
http://www.capecod.net/schrockguide/brush/brush.htm

Four mini lessons to introduce grade four students to the Internet. The lessons can easily be adapted for any age student.

Kathy Schrock's- Internet for Beginners
http://www.capecod.net/schrockguide/begin97/sld001.htm

A 58 page slide show introducing the Internet.

Widener University / Wolfgram Memorial Library:
Modular Approach to Teaching the World Wide Web
http://www.science.widener.edu/~withers/pyramid.htm

Excellent!!! Teaching resource created by Mike Powell, Marsha Tate, and Jan Alexander, Reference Librarians. The pyramid contains 8 modules for teaching the web. Each module includes: Goals, Powerpoint slides, teaching materials, and suggested methods for teaching the module.

Patrick Crispen's RoadMaps96
http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/roadmap96/

The course offers 27 self-paced and very entertaining lessons to help you learn your away around the net as painlessly as possible.

The Electronic Library: The World Wide Web
http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/~janicke/ElecLib.html

The Electronic Library, a workshop sponsored by the Parkland College Library and the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. The instructor for the workshop is Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe (janicke@parkland.cc.il.us) Reference Librarian. Designed for the novice computer user, the workshop will familiarize participants with information resources on the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web FAQ and FYI on What is the Internet? provide basic information a beginner may find useful.

The Internet Learning Resources Directory (NetLearn)
http://www.rgu.ac.uk/~sim/research/netlearn/callist.htm

A SHEFC-funded project to assemble a list of online Internet training materials, VERY EXTENSIVE.

Beginner's Luck:
http://execpc.com/~wmhogg/beginner.html

An extensive list of LINKS to Internet tours, search engines, html guides, on-line journals, and virtual museums. Unfortunately this list is NOT annotated.

On-line Information Services

ILC Glossary of Internet Terms
http://www.matisse.net/files/glossary.html

A searchable glossary of Internet lingo is available from the Internet literacy consultants.

FOLDOC (Free Online Dictionary of Computing)
http://wombat.doc.ic.ac.uk/

A general computing dictionary.

Virtual Reference Desk at the Libraries of Purdue University
http://thorplus.lib.purdue.edu/reference/

Practical online references abound; you'll find everything from 1-800 directories to stock quotes.

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Search Engines & Directories

One of the best ways to explore the Web is to use a Web search tool, or what's called an "intelligent Web agent." These are software programs that roam the Web creating databases for you to search. Each works differently and you may want to try more than one. Use search engines when you have a specific topic in mind and are willing to experiment with boolean combinations.
Directories differ from search engines in that they are categorized lists of web sites complied by "experts." Use directories when you want to search a broad topic or are just testing the Internet waters for subject information.

For a more detailed explanation of the differences see: Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators http://www.capecod.net/schrockguide/mystery/mystery1.htm

Article information evaluating Search tools:

Venditto, G. (May, 1996). Search engine showdown. Internet World, 79-86.

Evaluations of AltaVista, Excite, InfoSeek Guide, Lycos, Open Text, Web Crawler, WWWWorm. Best of the Test: Most Relevant results- InfoSeek Guide & Most comprehensive Results - AltaVista.

Information on Search engines can be found on-line at:

Widener University / Wolfgram Memorial Library: Web Searching
http://www.science.widener.edu/~withers/pyramid.htm

Excellent!!! Teaching resource that contains FOUR modules on search engines and directories Each module includes: Goals, Powerpoint slides, teaching materials, and suggested methods for teaching the module.

BCK2SKOL Lessons

http://web.csd.sc.edu/bck2skol/fall/

A New Class on the Net for Librarians with Little or No Net Experience
"BACK TO SCHOOL:" THE ELECTRONIC LIBRARY CLASSROOM 101 "BCK2SKOL" is a free electronic library classroom created by Ellen Chamberlain, Head Librarian, University of South Carolina Beaufort, and Miriam Mitchell, Sr. Systems Analyst, USC Columbia. In lesson 27, they provide information for searching the web using Directories and Search Engines.

Directories

Yahoo A great starting place when you are not sure of your topic or just want to browse. at Http://yahoo.com

The WWW Virtual Library, a comprehensive subject catalogue of Web sources put together by the creators of the World Wide Web, at: http://www.w3.org/hypertext/DataSources/bySubject/Overview.html

The EINet Galaxy, an exhaustive directory of Internet resources, organized under large, general subject areas, that's searchable, at: http://www.einet.net/galaxy.html

The Argos Clearinghouse for Subject-Oriented Internet Resource Guides formerly at the University of Michigan, arranged by academic subject and containing the Internet Research Library with links to Virtual Libraries, directories, and search tools, at: http://www.clearinghouse.net

Search Engines

Search Tips provided search engines: Excite, Lycos, Magellan, Webcrawler, World Wide Web Worm AND

AltaVista: http://altavista.digital.com/

link related words into phrase by enclosing in quotes, e.g., "higher education"; search in lower-case to match capitalized words as well; search in capital letters to force an exact match; precede required search terms with a +, prohibited ones with a -, e.g., +noir +film -"penot noir"; use * as a wildcard to catch variety of word endings, e.g., librar* for library, librarian, libraries, etc.; place important subject words first in string when performing simple searches.

InfoSeek: http://www2.infoseek.com/

capitalize proper names, e.g., Babe Ruth; to search for separate names, use commas to separate them, e.g., Babe Ruth, Boston Red Sox; use double quote marks around words that must appear next to each other, e.g., "stupid pet tricks"; use hyphens between words that must appear within one word of each other, e.g., cable-networks; use brackets to find words that appear within 100 words of each other, or that you'd expect to see in the same sentence or paragraph, e.g., {elevator safety}; use + in front of words that must appear in document, - in front of words that must not, e.g., city guide +San Francisco; python -monty.

Internet Search Strategy
http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/~janicke/Strategy.html

Ideas for Searching provided by a reference librarian at Parkland College Library.

Part I: Some Basic Considerations and Automated Search Indexes By Jack Solock, Special Librarian, InterNIC Net Scout http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/nicnews/archive/september96/enduser.html

Ratings provided for: Alta Vista, Open Text, WebCrawler, excite, Infoseek, Guide, Lycos, HotBot, Infoseek, Ultra (currently in beta release)

Searching the Internet Part II: Subject Catalogs, Annotated Directories, and Subject Guides By Jack Solock, Special Librarian
http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/nicnews/endusers.html

Eight directories that fall into these categories are old Internet veterans, well established and respected. Looking at them categorized will help users decide which one to use. The directories, arranged by type, are:

Subject Catalogs - Yahoo, Galaxy, Bulletin Board for Library Systems (BUBL) -- Universal Decimal Classification (UDC)

Annotated Directories McKinley's Magellan, Lycos Top 5% (formerly Point), InterNIC Directory of Directories:
http://www.internic.net/ds/dsdirofdirs.html

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Evaluation of Web Resources


Teaching Critical Evaluation Skills for World Wide Web Resources
 http://www.science.widener.edu/~withers/webeval.htm


This site, created by two reference librarians at the Wolfgram Memorial Library of Widener University and included as part of a module in their teaching pyramid, provides a set of checklists to help users analyze the quality of the information at various websites. Types of pages include advocacy, business/marketing, informational, news, and personal web pages. Criteria explained include authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, and coverage. As information proliferates on the web, users need to be aware of information quality considerations. This site is a good place to start for that awareness. Includes web site examples for every criterion, plus Powerpoint and text based materials. Credit is given to Wolfgram Memorial Library, Widener University, Chester, PA.
Consider:
Criterion #1:AUTHORITY
what are the authors qualifications/credentials?
Criterion #2: ACCURACY
how reliable is the information?
Criterion #3: OBJECTIVITY
is the material free from bias?
Criterion #4: CURRENCY
is the material up-to-date?
Criterion #5: COVERAGE
what is covered and how in-depth?

More resources for web evaluation:

Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources
http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/instruct/critical.htm

Evaluating Quality on the Net
http://www.tiac.net/users/hope/findqual.html



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Learning about the Web Toolboxes Web Toolboxes


This page was last updated by Dr. Cheryl Wissick on 9/2/97. Send comments and corrections to:
CherylW@ed.sc.edu