TOOLS FOR USING THE WEB:
Which programs I downloaded, and which facets might be useful?
Keeping with the spirit in which I enrolled in this course - to learn something new - I decided to mainly focus on those tools which I've not used before....
The first I downloaded was Copernic Agent Basic. This is a search manager/combiner, allowing you to search more than one search engine at the same time. Whilst I never really knew this was possible before, (I've never used one), I'm not altogether surprised - I've used shop-bots and travel search pages before which have searched other 'engines' to include in their own results. It's just that the catalyst to make me going looking for the ability, or enquire about it has never been triggered. Of course, it's also probably just a reasonable case of not knowing what it didn't know! :)
I think I may use this feature a lot more now though, especially for university assignments. Previously to vary results or searches, and source different articles, I performed searches using a range of search engines, however now, I may be able to save time by achieving this with one search!
The second unfamiliar program I looked at was PageSucker. This software allows you to 'download' webpages so that you can view them offline. I must admit that I didn't spend as long with this program. I don't think it provides me much use. I use broadband and cannot see PageSucker saving me time or cost. It may have been useful previously when I was on a dial-up connection - a cost saver, but not now. The program seems to work similarly (even in 'download' time) to using the old explorer to save favourites as 'available offline - with links' - this is what I used to do when using dial up!
Adobe, Flash/Shockwave, were all up to date. Of the media players, I normally use Quicktime, and I don't like Real. I however decided to compare Windows Media Player by downloading it. I does seem much more 'user-friendly' and customisable than what it used to be. I may use it for a bit longer now I've downloaded it to see if I like it.
SEARCHING THE WEB:
It was quite useful going through the readings and tutorials for this topic. I was aware search engines don't access all online content, however I didn't know it had its own terminology - Deep Web! :)
The tutorial (http://www.internettutorials.net/) was both a good refresher of some points, but also taught me some aspects I didn't know about. Such as searching for words in just the url (inurl:...) or just the title (intitle:...). I have included the link here as I know I will come back to it from time to time, not only for the educational components, but also the good links that it has to different searching facilities.
I have a better understanding of how Google ranks its results (I never fully understood previously). It is important, as an Advanced Internet User to be aware of how different search engines rank their results, as you then know which ones are 'better' in different circumstances.
I thought it was most amusing that searching 'miserable failure' results G Bush as the top rank in Google. The important aspect to consider is that rankings can be manipulated, hence the reason I think it necessary to have an understanding of how different engines rank their data.
TASK 1: search the words: 'advanced internet users'
Record the first hit and number of hits in your learning log:
I used Google for this task. The first hit was:
- Advanced Internet Users Tutorial - CIESE
Information about using your internet browser's Help Menu is available and linked ... Choose what web page will be shown when you start Internet Explorer. ...www.k12science.org/tutorials/advanced/ - 16k - Cached - Similar pages
And there were about 103,000,000 results.
TASK 2: Repeat task 1, searching at least 3 search engines at once (including the deep web)
Record the number of hits, and compare to your first search:
I used Copernicus for this task. I was surprised that only 32 results were obtained. The first hit was a sponsored link. (I was unable to determine the source as the link was disabled shortly afterwards due to it expiring - so Copernicus said)!
What differences did you notice?
On the left it displays the search engines that provided results, and the number or results from each engine (that can be searched individually if desired). The main results list from Copernicus seemed to be way off topic though. In fact only one of the first 5 links I deemed as useful, and that was the first one, which was also the first in the Google results. The Google results came from various sources also. Additionally, each of those links were to data that were further search-able, whilst still being on topic.
Why?
This is obviously a reflection of the types of search engines used. Unfortunately the basic version doesn't allow inclusion of different search engines other than those provided. I also noticed that some of the ones included were those that 'have a name' for lots of advertising, and banners-adds etc. This combined with the fact the the results were a bit 'hit and miss' suggested that the search engine pool used by Copernicus didn't really give a credible mix necessary for serious searching. Better results may obviously be obtained with the paid version that can be customised.
Using the guidance from the tutorial and the information on Copernicus I don't think any of the search engines it used were 'good' deep web search engines. So, despite my initial experience with Copernicus in the Tools exercise above, I've since become a bit more sceptical (at least of the basic version anyway).
Which search on first glance gave you the most promising results?
The Google search gave the most promising results. This I found a bit surprising, but then again, I guess there's a reason why I've heard about Google before, but not Copernicus....?
TASK 3: Save the first 5 hits of both searches
The first 5 listings on the first search are:
- http://www.k12science.org/tutorials/advanced/
- http://www.statcounter.com/
- http://www3.uwm.edu/sce/course.cfm?id=6835
- http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/global/asiapac/news/2005/pr_09-21.html
- http://www.microsoft.com/Windows98/usingwindows/internet
/tips/advanced/2advanced_list.asp
The first 5 listings on the second search are:
- http://www.k12science.org/tutorials/advanced/
- http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/advanced+internet+users
- http://adservices6.enhance.com/cdm?e1=htjiaXFLRlksAJwA3kwETRmA4oIG3gDvidKZBK04lMhV0YajPdp5ihQgfMjffICzcboaROn3Cb1gzZROxbenFjZoPxFVCiba4uqKt2rjrraqeHHbywlaN0xPm41wLyVbF5oECJdL4RM5NIEGHgSnQ0qSWaQNlw1Y4klAMp00bEdzCkksYVnU2JRIiYBSSzaLAY4xZzwv1wKRpZnUxi0AY2BKFJbHBhwHaxDFFOmpIKqKuxryBuiSPTNpPqyZbSImlKjuZy14JE41dGYvcSECEKQKUXmfS55Oqd4QtxwgzSDhi5nOUjEeXLYJMDRmjlTbdMB31InN&h=LZBchf1NACLUppD1U&k=advanced%20internet%20users&ui=567004008475608913I
- http://www.clearphone.com/
- http://www.colorpilot.com/
BOOLEAN SEARCHING:
Search ‘advanced internet users’ and produce the following:
(I’ve used Google again, in order to be able to make a direct comparison to the exercise above.)
- the biggest number of hits:
When using the OR function, the more terms (words) that are combined the more hits will be produced. I.e:
‘advanced OR internet OR users’ : about 2,760,000,000 results!
However, I assume that the whole phrase needs to be searched, therefore using AND will produce the most results as it ensures ALL the words are used in the results, but without any other limiting criteria. Interestingly Google searches using AND as its default so the ‘AND’ doesn’t need to be included. However, by using it the results differ as below…
‘advanced AND internet AND users’ : about 316,000,000 results
‘advanced internet users’ : about 138,000,000 results
‘advanced + internet + users’ : about 138,000,000 results
- …relating to skills-based information:
‘advanced internet users skills-based’ : about 138,000,000 results
- …only from university sources:
Using the advanced search in Google, change the ‘Domain’ feature to .edu so that results will be returned from this domain only.
‘advanced internet users site:.edu’ : about 731,000 results
Discuss your strategies with the class
(below is a copy of my post):
Subject: Re: Boolean searching taskMessage no. 2030 [Reply of: no. 1279]
Author: Andrew Threadgold
Date: Thursday, January 25, 2007 21:43
You've summarised everything pretty well Keith - thanks!
I did my initial searching previously: "advanced internet users" +
I excluded the word "information" as I considered it a bit too general.
I did the same search again today, and all but 1 of the hits in the first 2 pages were from curtin students' blogs!
Perhaps another good example of 'manipulation'. A whole class of students creating blogs with the same words has dramatically changed googles listing results.
Andrew :)
Considerations:
Of course as discussed on the forum, 'skills-based' can be interpreted differently. For the purpose of this exercise I've left it general, to see what results would be produced just with that. Nonetheless, it's important to acknowledge the use of such words, and different interpretations that can be made. Ie. one must learn to communicate fully - the search engine will respond to the words you give it, not what you think those words represent. Therefore it can be necessary sometimes to be an 'advanced' communicator, and when looking for specific skill-sets, be able to provide those specific phrases/words in order to find what you are really looking for.
ORGANISING SEARCH INFORMATION
The best 3 sources:
Ÿ URL: http://www.k12science.org/tutorials/advanced/
Ÿ Author: CIESE
Ÿ Institution: Centre for Improved Engineering & Science Education
Ÿ Screenshot:
Ÿ Summary: Provides a number of links on various online tutorials; mostly about working with browsers. Mainly only basic tutorials functions, but could be helpful for total beginners.
Ÿ URL: http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/global/asiapac/news/2005/pr_09-21.html
Ÿ Author: CISCO
Ÿ Institution: Cisco Systems Inc.
Ÿ Screenshot:
Ÿ Summary: An article discussing Cisco’s involvement in helping set up an educational network in China called CERNET (China Education and Research Network). The date of this announcement (partnership) was 21 September 2005 so the article says.
Ÿ URL: http://www.statcounter.com/
Ÿ Author: StatCounter.com
Ÿ Institution: StatCounter
Ÿ Screenshot:
Ÿ Summary: Downloadable software that will measure (‘in real time’) the number of hits to your website. It provides a brief explanation of how it works, and a link to tucows to download it.
How saved, what software used, and why?
Obviously this information is saved on this blog which I can refer back to at any stage (easy as it doesn’t take space on my own PC). However for the purpose of this exercise I’ve also saved it in word document format. The reason I chose word is that it is simple and easy to use, and the most common form of how I store information on my own PC. That is, for some exercises I still use word as my initial "dumping ground" of links, results and thoughts before finally presenting them in a more organised fashion elsewhere (such as my blog).
EVALUATING THE WEB:
The tutorial of this section was quite interesting. And I will definitely revisit it at a later date to refresh the ideas it provides for evaluating web sites.
The ‘best’ hit from the results was the CIESE tutorials site
(see screen-shot above), however I still don’t think it meets my standards for inclusion for my Assignment 1: Resource Project. Nonetheless, the annotation for it is below. Considering the exercise performed to obtain this link, the annotation is written on the premise that the reader is interested in information for ‘advanced’ internet users only.
My annotation:
The title “Advanced Internet User Tutorial” immediately sounds
relevant to our purpose. The purpose of the site also appears to
be focused on education and not just advertising etc, and would
class it as a reference/information site. Credibility is built with
the use of the .org domain, as does the use of words like
Engineering and Science Education, and that it is a centre for
these skills – must be good?! As it is a tutorial site, there is no
real bias, (it provides instructions for both Explorer and
Netscape browsers, and both PC and Mac computers). The
credibility of the site is boosted by the fact it is affiliated with
Stevens Institute of Technology – an organisation that promotes
the innovative teaching of core technology subjects. The
reliability of the site is perhaps not so good due to its age
however. It is hard to tell when it was actually written, but the
fact that the copyright ran out in 2000 and hasn’t been updated
since questions if the site is still maintained, and therefore if all
the tutorial instructions are current (relevant). * *
*see reference detials above under 'Organising Search Information, Author CIESE
1. In terms of your own future use, which ‘body’ of information would be most useful to refer back to?
The most obvious answer would be the annotation, as it provides more information about the site, and its usefulness. Having said that, as I personally wrote the annotation, that information will stay in my mind, and will be remembered when I see the webpage, or screenshot again. Therefore, a screenshot (picture) of the website may be enough to remind me of its usefulness.
2. In term of external users, which body of information would best help them judge if the site was useful or of interest to them?
Again the annotation I believe would be most useful to the readers. The annotation provides more information about the ‘usefulness’, relevance, purpose, and credibility of the site, and therefore leaves the reader better equipped to make a value judgement as to the site’s usefulness for themselves.
REFLECTIONS:
I don’t know if I’m getting the hang of it, or whether it’s just turned out that way, but the concepts appear much more ‘real’ in this module. They directly relate to the products or functions that have been focused on. For example, the Tools exercises directly relate to Concept 29 ‘The challenge of ‘fast’ data (1). As the search exercise revealed, one can’t afford to uncritically assume that fast information is better (1). That is, the idea of Copernic sounded great – a great time saver; however in use it didn’t live up to my expectations, and didn’t produce useful results. Important to consider from this Concept as well though, that one must be willing to continually explore new methods (1). There may be a better, quicker way of doing something, but this will never become knowledge if you aren’t prepared to try new things to find this out.
Boolean searching and Concept 32 ‘Virtually a Library?, are also closely related. Search engines allow the user to perceive the Web as a categorised information source, like that of a library (1). Important to note though, this is not necessarily the case in reality. However, with advanced skills, and employing the idea of this concept, one can indeed search the web to find what they need in an almost logical way, like that of a library.
Lastly, Concept 33 ‘Information and attention’ (1), is worthwhile considering amongst this topic. The idea of searching implies that we are looking for something specific to meet our needs/requirements. Today’s era, especially online, is one that profits most by harvesting peoples attention, and so it is easy to be distracted by other online information which doesn’t really serve our specific need. This idea is not really any different to the chocolates located at the checkout of your local supermarket. You go there to buy specific items, however it is easy to be distracted by these other items that are appealing, but aren’t really what we need. Therefore we need to be aware of this so that we can counteract it, and not waste time online looking at things that are unproductive to our purpose.
(#) = See appropriate reference number in Reference List / Bibliography
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