Teaching Patrons About The Internet

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Teaching Patrons About The Internet

• Presented for the
• Southeast MA Regional Library System
• By
• Barbara A. Andrews

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Topics for Today

• Training Tips
• Finding Information on the Internet
• Evaluating Information
• Families and the Internet
• Specialized Search Engines
• Statewide Databases
• Free email Services
• Free Greeting Cards
• How to Get Online at Home

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Training TipsThe Trainer

• Experience and knowledge of subject matter
• Review literature and collect info about topic
• Use and practice the content
• Update and use examples
• Use teaching aids
• Understanding of learner's needs and expectations
• Ask questions of group
• Be flexible and adjust presentation to meet
  trainee's needs
• Don't be judgmental or talk down to participants
• Make them feel at ease
• Be patient

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Training TipsThe Trainer

• Enthusiasm and energy
• Create an open and non-threatening environment
• Urge participation
• Promote interaction
• Make yourself a participant
• Organization clarity
• Emphasize by repetition
• Refer back to concepts and skills learned
  previously
• Learn from your own experience

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Training TipsLearning Styles

• Auditory
• Traditional teaching techniques
• Allow questions from floor
• Visual
• Information in writing
• Slides
• Handouts
• Learning by doing
• Engage participants in presentation
• Question answer periods
• Brainstorming
• Hands on activities
• Specific examples in which they can become
  involved

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Training TipsMethods

• Large group sessions
• Lecture, visual aids, handouts
• Group projects
• Internet Hunt
• Hands on classes
• Guided examples
• Interaction - QA
• Projected image

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Training TipsOrganizing a Program

• Goals and Objectives
• What do you want to accomplish?
• State the conditions under which the trainee will
  perform
• State the observable behavior
• State the performance levels
• Outline
• Determine method
• Tools to be used
• PowerPoint
• Transparencies
• Flip Chart
• Handouts
• Practice

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Tips for Searching the Web

• Use a Subject Directory for an Introduction or
  Overview
• Use a Search Engine to focus search
• Use Advanced search features to narrow results
• Use unique words and synonyms
• Use quotes for a distinct phrase
• Use more than one search engine

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DirectoriesSites selected and indexed by humans

• Yahoo http//www.yahoo.com
• Internet Public Library http//www.ipl.org
• Subject collection
• Ready reference
• Pathfinders
• Kidspace and Teenspace
• Librarians Internet Index http//www.lii.org
• Mission is to provide a well organized point of
  access for reliable librarian-selected Internet
  resources

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Search Engines Computer software crawls the web
to find sites

• Google http//www.google.com
• Alta Vista http//www.altavista.com
• AlltheWeb http//www.alltheweb.com

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Google

• More than 8 billion web pages
• Searching
• Not case sensitive
• By default only returns pages with all of your
  search terms
• Ignores common words
• Searches for similar words
• ex. Diet would also search dietary

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Google

• Advanced Searching
• Search operators
• Use a in front of a common word for it to be
  included in the search
• Use a in front of a term to also search for
  synonyms
• Use an uppercase OR between words to find pages
  that include either search terms

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AltaVista

• More than 5 billion web pages
• Powerful search options for experienced users
• Basic and advanced search
• Translate text or entire Web sites

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AlltheWeb

• More than 6 billion web pages
• Tens of millions of PDFs and MS Word files
• Hundreds of millions of multimedia files
• Supports searching in 36 different languages

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Web Printing Tips

• Use Print Preview to see how many pages and then
  only print the pages you need
• Open the File menu and select Print Preview
• Enter the page numbers in the Print Range area of
  the dialog box
• If what you want doesnt print, make sure to
  click in the area on the page first

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Specialized Directories

• Legal Information
• http//www.findlaw.com
• USA.gov
• http//www.USA.gov
• Web Search for Kids
• Yahoo Kids - http//kids.yahoo.com
• KidsClick - http//www.kidsclick.org

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Specialized Directories

• Finance and Business
• http//finance.yahoo.com
• Health Information
• http//www.healthfinder.gov
• http//www.medlineplus.gov
• Consumer Information
• http//www.consumersearch.com
• http//www.cnet.com

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Statewide DatabasesGale

• General Reference Center Gold
• General interest and business magazines
• Newspaper articles
• Childrens magazines
• Almanacs and encyclopedias
• Reference Books
• Expanded Academic Index ASAP Plus
• More scholarly content
• Coverage of all academic disciplines
• Interdisciplinary journals
• National news periodicals
• Health Reference Center Academic
• Consumer health journals and newsletters
• Selected medical journals
• Pamphlets and reference books

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Statewide DatabasesGale

• General BusinessFile ASAP
• Business and management journals
• Trade/industry publications
• Local area business journals
• Full text investment reports
• Business and Company ASAP
• Company profiles and directory listings
• Industry rankings and trends
• Wards Business Directory
• Biography Resource Center w/Marquis Whos Who
• Biographies
• Full text periodicals

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Statewide DatabasesGale

• Contemporary Literary Criticism Select
• Critical essays on contemporary authors
• Novelists, poets, short story writers,
  playwrights, and other creative writers
• Professional Collection
• Journals for educators, administrators, and
  librarians
• InfoTrac OneFile
• Comprehensive periodical resource
• Back file coverage to 1980

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Statewide DatabasesGale

• Gale Virtual Reference Library
• Full text reference books
• Academic OneFile
• 8,000 academic journals
• 100s of podcasts
• Transcripts from NPR, CNN, CBC
• Full text New York Times to 1995

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Statewide DatabasesGale

• InfoTrac Junior middle school
• More than 90 general interest magazines
• Newspaper articles
• Reference Books
• InfoTrac Student secondary school
• More than 270 magazine titles
• Newspaper articles
• Historical images and maps
• Kids InfoBits K-6
• More than 75 magazine titles
• Reference books

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Statewide DatabasesNewsbank

• Boston Globe 1980 - current
• Boston Herald 1991 - current
• Worcester Telegram and Gazette 1989 current
• Republican (Springfield)
• NY Times
• Include all staff written news features,
  editorials, letters to the editor and more
• No syndicated columns

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Searching InfoTrac

• Subject narrow by subdivision
• Limit to full-text, refereed journals, by date,
  and by journal title
• Keyword search for words in title, citation,
  and abstract, or in entire article
• Advanced field searching and searching
  individual files for some databases

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Viewing and PrintingInfoTrac

• Full Text
• Full Text with Graphics
• Browser Format
• Adobe PDF
• Email articles (text only)
• Other options are creating a mark list and
  InfoMarks

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Searching NewsBank

• Search by keyword and limit by time frame
• Use quotes for exact names and phrases
• Browse by a specific issue
• Search an individual paper or all papers

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Free Email Services

• MSN Hotmail
• 1 GB Inbox size
• File attachments up to 10 MB
• Spam protection
• Virus scanning and cleaning
• Junk email filter
• Check email from any web location
• Yahoo
• 1 GB Inbox size
• Spam protection
• Virus scanning and cleaning
• Check email from any web location

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Free Greeting Cards

• Yahoo
• http//yahoo.americangreetings.com
• Hallmark
• http//www.hallmark.com
• 123 Greetings
• http//www.123greetings.com

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Selecting an ISP

• What options are available in my area
• Dial up telephone connection
• Residential cable
• DSL
• Wireless network
• How much do I want to spend
• How fast must the connection be
• email and some Web surfing
• Interactive games
• Downloading files
• What features do I need

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Dial Up Connection

• Requires modem and phone line
• Speeds about 40-50 Kbps
• MSN
• Earthlink
• RCN
• Netzero
• Juno

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DSL

• Modem, filters, cables, and software supplied by
  provider
• ISP must determine if this service is available
  for your line
• Speed depends on your location in relation to
  phone companys central office
• 1.5 Mbps download

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Residential Cable

• Same line that carries cable TV
• External cable modem, Ethernet card or USB port
• More widely available than DSL and no distance
  problems
• 1.5 Mbps download
• Adelphia, RCN, Comcast

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Wireless

• Cell phone based technology
• Wi-Fi
• Laptop or PDA with wireless PC card
• Many Wi-Fi hotspots available at airports, malls,
  coffee shops, hotels
• Some hotspots may charge for access
• 1.5 Mbps

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Firewalls

• Helps to keep your computer more secure by
  restricting information that comes to your
  computer from other computers
• Does not block spam
• Does not disable viruses
• Does not stop email with dangerous attachments
• A default option in Windows XP SP2

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Antivirus Software

• Norton Antivirus
• http//www.symantec.com
• McAfee
• http//www.mcafee.com
• AVG
• http//www.grisoft.com
• Free for home use

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Terms

• Virus
• Manmade program that causes an unexpected event
• Worm
• A virus that resides in the active memory of a
  computer, can duplicate, and send copies to other
  computers
• Trojan Horse
• Applications that secretly install programs on
  computer
• Destroy or modify data, capture passwords and
  other confidential information

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Other Alerts

• Phishing
• Sending emails to recipients who may think it is
  coming from their own bank or credit card company
• Uses banks logo or other graphics to make it
  look authentic
• Asks user to verify SSs, account s, passwords
• Foreign emails
• Ask for your help to move a large sum of money

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Other Alerts

• Selling scams
• You place an ad to sell an item such as a car or
  electronics
• Someone responds and sends a check for more than
  the selling price and instructs you to send a
  check for the overpayment
• Check received is counterfeit
• Funds should only be moving in one direction
• Dont release goods until check clears

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Resources

• Kathy Schrocks Guide for Educators
• http//discoveryschool.com/schrockguide
• Evaluating Information Found on the Internet
• http//www.library.jhu.edu/researchhelp/general/ev
  aluating
• Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages
• http//www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/resear
  ch/webcrit.html

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Resources

• CNET
• http//www.cnet.com
• The List Internet Services Buyers Guide
• http//www.thelist.com
• Search Engine Watch
• http//www.searchenginewatch.com