Week 5: Using Search Engines.

LECTURE:

Today's lecture was all about search engines.

Examples of search engines include:
*Google
*Yahoo
*Alta Vista

Some problems that may occur using search engines include:
*Important information is often hidden.
*Too much information comes up, sometimes over a million pages will appear.
*We do not know the quality of the information.
*Limited relevance or quality filtering of results.
*Misuse of page scoring or ranking.
*Current "broken" links still appear.

TUTORIAL:

In tutorials today we listed some strategies to search effectively. I have to do an online quiz and will need to summarize what I have learnt so far about using search engines.

Strategies to overcome problems involving search engines from www.monash.com/spidap.html:
*Use Advance Search.
*Inverted commas " "
*Boolean Search - AND OR NOT.
*Try different/similar keywords.
*Try using exact phrases.

Search engine tips or strategies:
*Use several search tools.
*Read search tips or help information on search engines.
*Use several keywords.
*Guess a location.
*Use Web Directories: If you are clear about the topic of your query, start with a Web directory rather than a search engine. Directories probably won't give you anywhere near as many references as a search engine will, but they are more likely to be on topic.

Screenshot of my quiz



I used Google and advanced search to find my answers to the quiz. I used keywords and inverted commas as well as phrases. These were very effective and helped me to find the answers very quickly.

Summary so far about this module:

So far I have learnt that I need to use a variety of different search engines, not just GOOGLE! There are too much information on the Internet and not all of it is valid, true or a reliable source. I need to evaluate websites and information found on the net first before I use it to make sure the information isn't false or bias or even made up! Using the search tips or Boolean search it helps to find the right information fast!

READING 1: "Robert Harris-Web Search Strategies"

This article has plenty of search tips listed including: key words, phrases and boolean search techniques.

READING 2: "The History of the Internet: (Chap 4- Search Engines)"

This reading discusses the same tips as the reading above. It also has facts about the history of the net.

READING 3: "Search Engine Optimization for Companies"

I think this website is well worth looking at if you have a small business and you wish to make the most of your business website.

Week 4: Using the WWW.

LECTURE:

Today's Workshop is all about using the World Wide Web.
The Internet vs the web:
On the net: we find computers.
On the web: we find documents, sounds, videos, information.
On the net: connections are cables between computers.
On the web: connections are hypertext links

The web:
*Is an abstract virtual space of information.
*Exists because of programs which communicate between computers on the Net.
*Could not be without the Net.
*Made the net useful because people are really interested in information and don't
really want to have know about computers and cables.

Tim Berners-Lee developed the web in 1989 to facilitate sharing research information.

TUTORIAL:

Today's workshop:

www.haggishunt.scotsman.com

How has this website attempted to appear authentic?

*There are lots of pictures and many links you can click on.
*The clour scheme is suitable to the subject.
*There is a date in the top right hand corner that indicates it is recent "2007/2008"
*They have sponsors sucj as Gleneagles.

Clues that gives this site away as a spoof:

*"Only one substance can hide the odours of a haggis hunter:whisky"
*The pictures have nothing to do with haggis, they are pictures of echidnas.
*"Haggii live with the monster in Loch Ness."
*"Like a T'Rex to which its is not often compared - the haggis has eyes that react to movement.

www.molossia.org

How has this website attempted to appear authentic?

*They have their won national flag.
*News headlines.
*Weather for today.

Clues that gives this site away as a spoof:

* This is not a government website otherwise it would've ended in ".gov"
* In the fine print on the bottom of the page it says: The Republic of Molossia bears no relation of any kind to the ancient Greek nation of the same name.
* "Imagination plays too important a role in the writing of history, and what is imagination but the projection of the author's personality." - Pieter Geyl. This indicates that the history of Molossia is made up.
* When you look at the photo's of the people that represent the Molossian government they are all one person who's dressed up in funny costumes.

Martin Luther King website - www.martinlutherking.org
What do I expect from this website?

I think this might be an organisation supporting Martin Luther King. Maybe it will have a biography on him. There might be some comments from people supporting him like a fan club...

First impressions of the website:
My first impressions of this site was that they are trying to make us believe he is a bad person. The site is racist and against martin Luther King.

Clearly this was not what I thought the website would be about. After finding out more about Martin Luther King, I have come to the conclusion that I do not support this site. Martin Luther King was the youngest man ever to receive a Nobel Peace Prize, therefor he could not have been as bad as they make him seem in this website.

READING 1: "A brief history of the internet"

This article tells us about where the internet started and what the initial setup was like. It also mentions some initial ideas behind the net.


READING 2: "Graphic File Formats"

This website has very similar information as the article above. Its all about the history of the internet, search engines and emails.

Week 3: Online Libraries & Databases.

LECTURE:

In today's lecture we learnt about online databases, their advantages and disadvantages and what they are used for. Online databases are used for research and some advantages include:
* They are contain current information.
* Most information is hidden on the net and you will not find it if you Google it.
* They are easy and convenient to use.
* Information is available 24/7.

Some disadvantages or limitations include:
* Some online databases are subscription only and will require a password.
* Only the catalogue is online.
* All work is only copies, no originals (ie music and art).
* Online databases are not very often updated.

Types on online databases include:
*Online text repositories
*Online Journals
*Electronic Books
*Music
*Artwork

TUTORIAL:

In today's lecture we spent some time exploring online libraries such as the ECU one. I took some time to familiarise myself with the library. We also had a look at the MEDline plus website and made some observations.

10 Useful functions or search tips when using the online library:

1. Use AND, OR, NOT between search terms. This will define and eliminate unwanted
or irrelevant information.
2. Expand words or phrases with truncation.
3. If unsure of name or international spelling check the Also search for related.
4. Use quotation marks to define a phrase.
5. Use the Indexes to choose useful new and related search terms. Enter your search
term to display options. Click in the box next to the required term, set the link
operator to AND, OR, NOT, then click the Add button.
6. You may also be able to convert into another language
7. Use brackets to search for subsets of words when also using other words.
8. *Tele - Returns ads containing words staring with Tele. eg. Telivision.
9. Select the right database. "databases by subject" pages which list the most
relevant databases for a subject.
10.Use SmartBix and APA Fulltext to search for articles in Australian newspapers.
For all other newspapers use Factiva.

Interactive Tutorials: MEDline plus. Who would use it? What would they get from it?



These are designed for everyone to understand information about health care. It is easy to read, it has no hard words that no one understands and it even uses pictures to make it easier for us to understand. I think that people who want to find out more about a certain health issue would use the interactive tutorial. They will get all the simple answers to their questions from it. Even death people would be able to go online. I think this is designed for everybody, young, old or even death.

Journal Article: "Economic Impact of Global Warming on Businesses"



READING 1: "Finding what you want on the web"

This reading was quite entertaining. Bill Thompson tried other methods of searching and in the end he still went back to Google as he believes "once we have a database then we can classify, index and search it properly. But until that day, the list of search sites in my bookmarks will have to remain as large and unwieldy as it is today." We can still use Google as a search engine, we just need to know how to use it effectively so we get the right information we need.

READING 2: "Bare Bones Lesson 7: Basic Search Tips"

These tips are extremely valuable. It helps you to search effectively without obtaining too much unwanted information. You can search exact phrases if you put the phrase in quotation marks. The tips also mentions the Boolean search which includes using the words AND, OR, NOT etc.

Week 2: Office Applications.

LECTURE:

In today's lecture we listed all the Microsoft applications and all the Internet browsers that we could think of.
Some Microsoft applications would be:
*Word
*Excel
*Publisher
*Access
*Front Page
*Mind sweeper

Some Internet browsers would be:
*Internet Explorer
*Mozilla FireFox
*Netscape

Some common PC tasks would be using Word, Internet browsing/surfing, e-mailing, viewing PDF's, listening/watching audio and video, viewing and editing files.

TUTORIAL:

In today's tutorial we did two exercises. Firstly, we practised how to use Word and then practised an activity in Excel.

Screenshots of my Word exercise:





Screenshots of my Excel exercise:







READING 1: "Using MS Word for APA Tasks"

This reading was extremely helpful! It tells you step by step how to use MS Word and how to edit or change everything you can possibly think of! It is very useful as an undergraduate as I will be producing all my assignments or reports in this format and I will save a lot of time if I know how to use it effectively and as quick as possible.

READING 2: "Graphic File Formats"

This reading tells us all about the different types of images you can get.
Bitmap (.bmp) is the standard Windows bitmap image format for PC's. e.g. a wallpaper would be saved as a .bmp
CompuServe (.gif) images contains a maximum 256 colours, used in HTML images and images on the WWW and other online services. It can also support animation or moving frames.
Joint Photographic Experts Group - or Jpeg (.jpg) images are commonly used to display images on the Internet such as when we store our images on photo bucket or image shack.
The Tagged-Image File Format (.tiff) is used to exchange files between applications and computer platforms so it can be read by both Macintosh and Windows computers.
Photo Shop Document (.psd ~ .psp ~ .spp) includes all flat images.

I enjoyed this reading and I now know a bit more about the different types of images you can save one as and why they are saved that way.