Recall the Spreadsheet Assignment

  • Spreadsheet Assignment

    The Internet as a Tool

    So far we have talked about what the Internet is, and how to use it to give information to the world.

    The Internet can also be used as a tool to retrieve a great deal of information.

    Prior to the explosion of the entity now known as the Internet, such retrieval of information could be costly, time-consuming and difficult.

    But today, from the privacy of our own home we can have access to a great deal of information.

    The Internet today has literally millions (maybe billions) of pieces of information on various topics. This is a great resource for us but an immediate problem presents itself. Suppose you walked into a public library which has one millions books in it, but there were no card catalog or computerized database in which to search for the book you want. The library would be of absolutely no practical use. The same thing was true of the Internet in its beginning. So much information was placed on it, that it was almost impossible to easily find what you were looking for. To solve this problem, search engines were created.

    Search Engines

    A search engine is a program which accepts as input from you a word or phrase and returns to you a collection of Internet pages which have some relevance to the word or phrase you input. Popular examples of search engines include Lycos, InfoSeek, AltaVista, Yahoo, and Excite. Although the main theme of a search engine exists in all of these engines, there are some differences. In the exercise for tonight you will be able to experiment with these search engines and decide for yourself which is the best one.

    Other Useful Aspects of the Internet

    There are many ways you can use the Internet to your advantage. We will explore some of them.

  • Finding class offerings for upcoming semesters

          The University has for several years maintained a web page which serves as a source of information for University students and/or employees. The URL for this site is http://www.usouthal.edu. If you follow the link marked Academics, you will find a menu. One of the menu items is called Schedule of Courses.

  • Finding information about things such as Financial Aid, Tuition and Fees, etc.

          If you go back to the main page, you will find a link to Admissions. Here you can find a great deal of information about things you need to know about the University such as Financial Aid, Tuition and Fees, etc.

  • Finding information about your department

          If you go back to the main page, you will find a link to Academics, and then a link to Schools, Colleges, and Departments. Here you can find links to the web pages of various Schools, Colleges, and Departments on campus.

  • Finding the University Bulletin

          You can also find a link to the University Bulletin.

  • Checking to see if a book is in the library without having to go to the library

          A very useful service that is offered to you as a student is the ability to search our library without actually going there. So if you work during the day and are only a campus a short time, you can locate what you need before you go to the library, and therefore make the most of your visit. To find the USA library, there is a link on the main University page to the Library. If you follow this link, then you are presented with a menu. On this menu the first item is called Catalog. This is the system you can access by being at a terminal in the library. It lets you search for books that are currently on the shelf or have been checked out. There is a catch, however. In order to use this service, you need to install a program called TN3270 and configure your browser to use it. To do this click the button marked help beside the button labeled Catalog. You will find two links that are called Downloading QWS3270. From home, you may follow this link to download the software. The software is already on the machines in the lab. So all you need to do is configure the browser so that it will be able to run the program.

  • Finding article references about a particular topic

          You will find a link to InfoTrac when you follow the Library Link. This will allow you to search the library database of articles.

  • Finding Course Descriptions

          You will find course descriptions in the Bulletin.

  • Accessing the Encyclopedia Brittanica

          You will also find a link to the Encyclopedia Britanica.

  • Finding current TV guide listings

     &160    If you visit the site http://www.tvguide.com, then you can find all the current listings for television stations in any area of the country.

  • Finding current weather conditions and forecast for Mobile

          If you visit the site http://www.weather.com, then you can find current weather conditions and weather forecasts for various cities around the country and world.

  • Finding Java applets

          There is a large repository of Java Applets at http://www.gamelan.com.

    Exercise

    Your exercise for tonight is to use the Internet for the following.

    1. Find what tuition is for classes at Montana State University

    2. Find the temperature in Hilo, Hawaii

    3. Find what comes on TV Land at 12:00 Midnight tonight

    4. Find out who Henri Lebesgue was

    5. Find five facts about the number pi

    6. Find out how late the Louvre stays open on Friday nights

    7. Find out what Linux is

    8. What is the highest mountain in the continental United States?

    9. Who was the 7th President of the United States?

    10. How many United States Presidents have been assasinated?

    11. How did Niels Henrik Abel die?

    12. What are transcendental numbers, and what are two examples of transcendental numbers?

    13. How big would Antarctica be if all the snow and ice melted?

    14. When was Kansas State University founded?

    15. What was the 38th state added to the Union, and when was it added?

    To get extra credit, once you have found the above, write a paragraph or several paragraphs about what you have found in an HTML document, upload that document to your geocities site, and place a link from your home page.