Skills for Searching the

Internet

Chilton Foley-Reynolds

(607) 766-3744

cfoley@btboces.org

http://chiltrey.wikispaces.com

Let’s See How Much We Know

• Click on Let’s Test Our Knowledge

What is in a name?

http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/compass/

Domain Name

thebritishmuseum.ac.uk

Extensions

.ac – academic institution

.uk – United Kingdom

Basic Search Knowledge

Alta Vista– Enter host first, then search entry– For multiple fields use a + signhost:gov + “multiple sclerosis”

• Google– Enter search entry first, then site– Don’t use a + sign“multiple sclerosis” site:.gov

• Both– Quotation marks means exactly as it appears

Searching by Extension

• Google“multiple sclerosis” site:.gov

• Alta Vistahost:gov + “multiple sclerosis”

Virtual Index

• GoogleMars site:nasa.gov

• Alta Vistahost:nasa.gov + mars

Teacher Web Sites

• Google“lesson plans” poetry

site:educationworld.com

• Alta Vistahost:educationworld.com + “lesson plans” +

poetry

Teacher Web Sites• National Geographic

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ • Discovery School

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/ • UK National Archives

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ • US National Archives

http://www.archives.gov/ • Education World

http://www.education-world.com/ • WebQuests http://webquest.org/index.php • UK Webquests

http://www.webquestuk.org.uk/

School Web Sites

• Googleturtle site:k12.ny.us

• Alta Vistahost:k12.ny.us + turtle

Additional Tools

• Advanced Search

Practice

• What do you know about these sites by their extensions?

1. .gov.au

2. .ac.nz

3. .sch.uk

Practice

1. Search for universities in Japan

GOOGLE: site:.ac.jp

ALTA VISTA: host:jp + .ac

Practice

2. Search for school sites in the UK that include poetry

GOOGLE: poetry site:.sch.uk

ALTA VISTA: host:uk + .sch + poetry

Practice

3. Search for weather patterns in New Zealand

GOOGLE: “weather patterns” site:.nz

ALTA VISTA: host:nz + “weather patterns”

Practice

4. Search for monsoons in India

GOOGLE: monsoon site:.in

ALTA VISTA: host:in + monsoon

Practice

Match the word on left to the extension on the right:

1. Higher Learning

2. Commercial

3. Network

4. UK school

5. Organization

6. Government

7. Academic Institution

8. UK Company

a. .net

b. .ac

c. .edu

d. .org

e. .com

f. .gov

g. .co.uk

h. .sch

Practice

• What would a virtual index for the NASA web site look like?

GOOGLE: site:nasa.gov

ALTA VISTA: host:nasa.gov