Web BrowsersSearch Engines

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Web Browsers/Search Engines
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Web Browser

• Software package used to access the World Wide
  Web.
• Internet Explorer
• Netscape Navigator

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Explorer Toolbar

• Back returns you to previous page
• Forward returns you to page you just came from
• Stop stops browser from loading the current page
• Refresh loads the web page again

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Toolbar Continued .

• Home takes you to preset home page
• Search connects to directories and search tools
• Favorites lets you save addresses of web sites
• History keeps track of sites you have been to

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Address Bar

• Located under toolbar
• Labeled Address," "Go To," or Location"
• Enter address of website you want to visit
• Press Enter or Return to access site

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Status Bar

• Located at the bottom of web browser
• Tracks progress of web page transactions
• Address of site you are contacting
• Whether host computer has been contacted
• Size and number of files to be downloaded

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Web Addresses (URLs)

• Uniform Resource Locators
• Addresses used to locate electronic files
• Sends request to a remote web server
• Most start with http
• Hypertext Transfer Protocol
• Second part is address of computer where data is
  stored

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Things to Know About URLs

• Usually has no spaces
• Always uses forward slashes //
• Browser will not locate misspelled URLs
• Hold cursor over a link to view its URL
• Cursor will turn into a hand
• The URL will appear in status bar

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Search Engines

• Giant database of many websites on the internet
• Results are ranked by search engines indexing
  criteria
• Formulas vary widely between search engines

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Types of Search Engines

• Individual
• Compiles their own searchable databases on the
  web.
• Meta
• Search databases of multiple sets of individual
  engines simultaneously.

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Examples of Search Engines

• www.google.com
• Individual search engine
• www.mamma.com
• Meta search engine

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Specialized Search Engines

• http//sunsite.berkeley.edu/kidsclick!/
• Childrens search engine
• www.ditto.com
• Picture search engine

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Search Engine Math

• Use for inclusion
• university wisconsin football
• Use for exclusion
• green bay wisconsin packers
• Use quotes for phrase or proper name
• frank lloyd wright
• Use for plurals and word variations
• theat (theater or theatre)

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Searching Tips

• Use lower case letters
• Capitals will usually force an exact case match
• Pick two search engines and learn them well.
• No two search engines are exactly alike

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Evaluating Web Sites

• Authority
• Who is the author?
• Is there a sponsor for the site?
• Is there contact info?
• E-mail address
• What is the domain?
• .com, .org, etc.

• Domains
• .com commercial
• .org professional
• .net network company
• .mil military
• .edu educational
• .gov government

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Evaluating Continued .

• Currency
• When was the site created or updated?
• Are the links still reliable?
• Accuracy
• Is info consistent with published materials?
• Can info be verified?
• Does info show bias?

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Still Evaluating .

• Graphics
• Do graphics serve a purpose?
• Do graphics load quickly?
• Navigation
• Can you easily get back to the main page?
• Are there links to other good sites?
• Do you have to register?
• Are plugins required?

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Happy Surfing!!!!!