Handout for workshop: Internet in the Classroom

This document is the "handout" for the workshop, "Internet in the Classroom," and was created by Claris Works Assistant as described in section 5. Uses of a Homepage. It is an example of plain vanilla HTML as created by a word processor or other automatic conversion program.

Please leave the computers alone until we are ready to use them in the class.


TPSS 701 The Internet in the Classroom, Instructor Tom Allen, emeritus professor.
January 16-17, 1998
1. Introduction. My qualifications and the lesson plan for this workshop.

Way more to cover than we can do in this workshop. So what do you really want to learn about and try out? Please fill out the questionnaire

Questionnaire--what do you most want to learn about?

General description of the Internet, URLs's, the Macs and Netscape in this lab.

I'm available if you get stuck at E-mail: tha1@axe.humboldt.edu and this material is on my homepage: www.humboldt.edu/~tha1/net-incr.html with the links shown.

Put HELP tent on top of computer if you have a question.


2. Web Search (Yahoo, et al): How to teach students to

find relevant information

, including the differences among
various search engines.

Necessary jargon:
"[hyper]links" are underlined (usually colored) words that will take you
to a related site by clicking on them.
"Browsing" means following links.
"Hypertext" is text imbedded with links to related material/sites, etc.

2.1 How to access search directories and search engines.
Start with this:Netscape Toolbar explanation click on index item #6,
Toolbar Introduction to Netscape by Netscape: text only

Press the net search button on Netscape or open this site:
http://home.netscape.com/escapes/search/DP2_search_engines.html

For a different list of search engines, try www.humboldt.edu/~tha1/search.html
Intro to the Internet for Teachers: www.massnetworks.org/~nicoley/tutorial/index.html

Technological Teaching resources: www.yahoo.com/Education/Instructional_Technology/Online_Teaching


2.2 Directories Versus Search Engines

Web directories, like Yahoo's and Magellan's, are like card catalogs:
They file everything in categories such as Sports, Entertainment,
Computers...you get the picture. Once you find your topic in a Web
directory, you've got a handful of key sites to start with. And that
might be all you need. Most directories include brief descriptions of
each site and lead you to a site's home page, but not to specific pages
within a site.

In short, your average Web directory is a no-nonsense tool--it gets the
job done, and quick. When you're looking for information on a general
topic, a directory is the best place to start, particularly if you
already know your way around it.

But Web directories cover only a small fraction of the pages available
on the World Wide Web. That's where search engines like those found on
AltaVista, HotBot, and Lycos come in. You tell the engine what you're
interested in, and it finds all the Web pages it knows about that match.
To keep their records current, the search engines use programs called
spiders or bots that follow links from page to page, recording all or
part of the contents of each page as they go, eventually casing much of
the Web.

Because no human intervention is required, search engines can cover much
more of the Web than directories can. But you need to know how to use
them if you don't want to waste your time sifting through thousands of
possibilities.

Stake Out the Subject

If you're looking for general information, start with a Web directory. I
use Yahoo, because it's got a lot of material and I'm familiar with the
way its categories are organized--but you might prefer Magellan, or
maybe the A2Z directory in Lycos.

On the other hand, if you're looking for a specific concept or a phrase,
like Boston Tea Party, or something that's not easily categorized, like
bulletproof vests, the Web directories won't be much help. You've got to
use a search engine .

You'll likely need more than one, since the same query gives different
results from engine to engine. I like to start with AltaVista, [Yahoo defaults
to Alta Vista if It doesn't have your keyword in a category] since it
covers a lot of the Web, and then try Infoseek Ultra
(http://ultra.infoseek.com) --a new version of Infoseek--because it gives
results right away. See "The Simple Art of Searching" for details on the
major search engines and Web directories.

Zero In on Your Target [Note, each search engine has it's own rules
for defining a search, boolean, +'s, quotation marks, etc. Look for a
button near the blank space for search entries like "help" or "advanced
search" or the like]

With search engines, take your time and do the job right. If you give
some thought to your queries, you'll get better results. Try entering a
handful of words or a phrase related to your topic, like san francisco
hotel if you're looking for a place to flop when you're in the City by
the Bay.

The more specific you can be, the better. Don't worry about
redundancy--synonyms can help narrow the field of your search. Leave out
nonessential words like prepositions and articles (of, to, and, the, and
so on)--most search engines ignore them anyway.

Say you're looking for the inside info on the Whitewater scandal.
Don't enter the query whitewater--you'll find yourself swamped with ads
for whitewater rafting expeditions. The query whitewater clinton bill
hillary real estate gets you what you want.

Work the Combinations

If a search site returns no hits or too few, your query may be too
narrow--or it may use the wrong terms. Try another query with fewer
words, or one with different, less specific words. Covert surveillance
takes you nowhere? Try spy or stakeout. [Now you know why you
learned about synonyms in English class.]

If the search engine returns hundreds or thousands of hits, your query
is probably too broad. If you don't find what you want in the first two
or three pages of results, stop. Try again with more specific words or
more restrictive query options. Instead of just detective, try sam spade
humphrey bogart; see "Smooth Operators" for tips on creating
sophisticated queries.

Don't be afraid to try different search engines. Often the same query on
other engines will turn up completely different hits.

Farewell, My Browser

Once you've tapped out the directories and search engines, there's a
whole lineup of Web pages and software tools that can help sniff out
what you need. They fall into three groups: metasearch tools, which
submit the same query simultaneously to several engines; search
assistants, which help you manage searches more efficiently; and offline
browsers, which check Web pages and download them if anything's new.

Metasearch Tools

Tired of pounding the pavement? Instead of sending a query repeatedly to
different sites, use a metasearch tool--a Web site or a program that
submits your query to several engines simultaneously, then rounds up the
most likely suspects on a single page.

One of the best Web-based search consolidators is SavvySearch (see "The
Simple Art of Searching"). With SavvySearch, you enter your query and
specify search options, such as how many hits to return from each search
engine and how to display the results.

Once you've entered your query, SavvySearch submits it to three search
engines that contain the kind of information you told it you're looking
for. Then it collects all the results on one page. At the bottom of the
page is a clever toolbar that allows you to submit the same query to
different sets of search engines. It's a quick and convenient way to run
searches on many engines. Best of all, it's free.

On the downside, SavvySearch limits you to 50 hits per search engine,
and it can often be slowed by network traffic. For comprehensive
searching, you may want a PC-based assistant, such as FastFind (read
on).

An alternative to SavvySearch and similar sites is a metasearch program,
such as Bitsafe Computer Services' Arf
(http://www.execpc.com/~bitsafe/arf). Arf is a stripped-down,
inexpensive ($20) utility for automating searches and consolidating the
results. Its straightforward interface lets you specify a query, a
maximum number of hits (up to 10,000), and a search engine (you're
limited to AltaVista, DejaNews, Infoseek, Lycos, and WebCrawler). Click
on the Start button, and Arf returns a simple, unsorted list of hits; in
addition, it downloads the pages that each hit links to. To perform more
than one query simultaneously, you can run several copies of Arf at
once.

For a few dollars more, the ForeFront Group's $70 WebSeeker
(http://www.ffg.com) offers many additional options, such as sorting the
list of hits alphabetically. WebSeeker queries as many as 20 Web and
Usenet search engines simultaneously and compiles a list of hits that
you can sort or search. WebSeeker can be somewhat slow, but it has a
substantial amount of querying power to assist the Internet sleuth.

Search Assistants

A metasearch tool can save you the trouble of visiting every search site
yourself, but you still face the problem of sorting through too many (or
not enough) hits. The solution is search assistants--programs that
enhance, augment, and help you keep track of your searches. Some of
these tools stake out the Net for you, running the same queries again
and again and notifying you only when something new turns up.

Between you, me, and the rats in the wall, the world's full of these
search assistants, and most of them aren't worth a damn. Each takes some
time to learn, so choose with care. I'll clue you in to one of the
easiest, and two of the most powerful.

One of the dandiest search assistants is the $35 More Like This, from
Knowledge Discovery (http://www.morelikethis.com). It's a simple toolbar
that floats on top of your browser. You use it to run sophisticated
queries quickly and easily: Just click on the More Like Query button,
enter the word you're looking for, and click OK. More Like This submits
the query to the search engine you choose and opens the results page in
your browser.

Better yet, you don't need to learn any search syntax. More Like This
translates your query into something the search engine can use. You can
also click on the More Like Title button to submit a query based on the
title of the Web page you're currently looking at (much like the More
Like This option offered by the unrelated Excite search engine). If the
page's title is 'Surveillance Tools,' for example, More Like This may
take you to other sites where you can find information on snoop
merchandise. You can also copy text from any application to the
Clipboard, and click on More Like Clipboard to submit that text as a
query.

More Like This also offers special concept searches, which automatically
amplify your queries with related words to help zero in on relevant
sites. If you enter the word bogart and select a concept search, More
Like This may augment your query with words such as humphrey, maltese,
bacall, and so on.

More Like This is a minimalist tool that stays out of the way until you
need it. For a heavier-caliber weapon, try Symantec's $49.95 Internet
FastFind (http://www.symantec.com), a collection of several useful
utilities for finding and managing Internet information. As a metasearch
tool, FastFind collects all the results on a single page, which you can
view in your Web browser, sorting them by relevance or by Web site.
Other utilities from FastFind's main menu can find files and download
them from FTP sites, notify you when Web sites change, and search the
Web for updates to your system's drivers and installed programs.

Quarterdeck's new $49.95 all-in-one search tool, WebCompass 2.0
(http://www.quarterdeck.com), is in the same league. In fact, WebCompass
has more features than this town has crooked cops. The beta version I
checked out looks pretty good. WebCompass 2.0 gives you folders for
organizing your searches by topic and for managing the Web pages you're
interested in. It monitors those pages for changes, and its agents run
your queries for you at scheduled times, notifying you if anything's
new.

Find files mentioned in this article, including a customizable search
page, on PC World Online (http://www. pcworld.com/dec96/bigseek). Dylan
Tweney (dft@pobox.com) is an associate reviews editor for InfoWorld.
Yael Li-Ron is senior online editor of PC World Online.

Hot Tips
Browsers

*Bookmark Your Queries. Bookmark the first page of query results so you
can return to it. Instead of typing Dashiell Hammett whenever you're
looking for some detective trivia, just go back to the saved query, and
the search engine will rerun it--possibly with new, updated results.

*Skip Scrolling. Okay, so you found a likely Web page--but it's about 50
screens long. Never fear--in Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator,
just type -F and enter a word you're looking for. The browser will jump
to the first appearance of that word on the current page.

*Odd Characters. If you're tired of typing out Boolean operators, you
can use symbols instead: & (ampersand) instead of AND, | (the pipe
character) instead of OR, ! (exclamation point) in place of NOT, and ~
(tilde) for NEAR. For example, type bogart ~ bacall instead of bogart
NEAR bacall.

*Looking for Images? AltaVista can search for text in an HTML tag. The
query image :comet.jpg will return any page referencing a file called
'comet.jpg' in an image tag--and, with a name like that, it's a good bet
that file will be a picture of a comet.

*Use Plain English. Excite is designed to handle conversational
sentences well, so queries like "Where is a good Italian restaurant in
New York City?" or "learn how to speak Chinese" can be surprisingly
effective.

*Find Quote Sources. To find sources for short quotations, such as,
"That which does not destroy me makes me stronger," just enter the quote
into Excite. It's all right if you don't get the quotation exactly
right--there's a good chance that the results pages will tell you where
it came from and give you the correct wording as well.

*Eliminate Irrelevant Words. While Lycos doesn't support Boolean
searches, you can use the minus sign (--) to refine your searches. Words
with the minus sign are less likely to appear in the list of query
results. For example, enter the query business -monkey if you want to
find out about business, but not monkey business.

* Find Whole Words. Lycos treats an entry as a substring as well as a
complete word. If you enter the word graph, Lycos will search for
graphs, graphics, and graphite. To limit Lycos to the exact word you
entered, put a period (.) at the end of the word.

*Find Specific Information. In addition to Web and Usenet searching,
Infoseek offers options that let you search for company information,
e-mail addresses, recent news, and Frequently Asked Question files. Just
select the directory you want to search from the drop-down list on the
main query page.

*Keep Your Caps On. To search for proper names, capitalize them when
entering your query: Hammer, not hammer.

The Inside Sources

Want the scoop on a particular subject? Check out these highly
specialized sites. You can find links to these and other search sites on
PC World Online's customizable PersonalPage,
http://www.pcworld.com/personal.

Cars AutoWeb Interactive (http:// www.autoweb.com/) Let you fingers do
the tire-kicking. AutoWeb offers a vast collection of ads for new and
used automobiles, and it's all free. You can even post an ad free of
charge for a car you want to sell.

Computers Computer Desktop Encyclopedia
http://www.currents.net/resources/cyclo/cyclo.html) From the Algol
language to ZIF sockets, everything you ever wanted to know about
computers, including jargon and historical trivia.

Film Internet Movie Database (http://us.imdb.com/search.html) Who said,
"Just put your lips together...and blow," and in which movie? This
trivia database lets you search by movie title, cast, director, even
crew members. Or vote on your favorite films. (Give up? It was Lauren
Bacall. Go to the Movie Database to find out in which movie she said
that.)

Government The Zipper (http://www.voxpop.org/zipper/) Mad as hell and
don't know whom to blame? Find your local representative on The Zipper
(Zip code-based search), including, phone number, fax, and even e-mail
address.

Health The Virtual Hospital (http://vh.radiology.uiowa.edu/Misc/
Search.html) Find descriptions of all known ailments, possible
treatments, and even an occasional X-ray image.

Education CollegeNet (http://www.collegenet.com) Looking for a college
you can afford in a climate you can tolerate? CollegeNet will find
schools in the United States that offer your preferred major.

Law Legal Information Institute
(http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/index?) Can Microsoft trademark the
word bill? And is the Bill of Rights just a bill of goods? Find these
and other topics, exhaustively cross-referenced and linked, on the
Cornell Law site.

Travel Fodor's Know Before You Go (http://www.fodors.com/know.html) All
the info you need for your next trip, including weather conditions,
State Department advisories, and many other resources.

Yellow Pages BigBook (http://www.bigbook.com) Complete listings, by
area, for the entire United States--including maps you can zoom into.

Recent information on trends/tips about web browsers

Berst Alert
Jesse Berst, Editorial Director<BR><I>ZDNet AnchorDesk</I>
Wednesday, October 29, 1997

Search and ye shall find. Search on the Internet and ye
shall find... information overload.

You know what? It might be your own *#$!# fault.

If you're still using the same search tactics as six months
ago, you're out of date. More and more sites are developing
ways to help you zero in on the data you really need.

Keyword search engines index millions of Web pages. When
you type in a word or phrase, they give you a list of
every page containing those keywords. All too often, however,
the list contains hundreds or thousands of pages, most
of which have nothing to do with your topic.

As a result, search sites are adding ways to narrow a
search. Three of the most interesting:

HotBot. Hit the SuperSearch link to narrow the search
with additional words, date restrictions, etc. (www.hotbot.com).

Alta Vista. Use the Refine button to weed out hits that
don't meet your needs. Alta Vista groups what it finds
into topic categories. Submit your search, click Refine,
then choose which topics you don't want to see (www.altavista.digital.com).

Northern Light. Perform a search, then click on one of
the Custom Search Folders to narrow it (www.northernlight.com).

Other search sites have added similar features. To help
you keep up with this fast-paced field, I've linked you
to two great information sources: Web SearchUser from
ZDNet and Search Engine Watch.. Both places keep constant
tabs on the field, and also include instructions, advice
and tutorials.

I think the next big searching revolution will come when
Microsoft marries its natural language processing technology
to a search engine. Click for full story. In the meantime,
there's no reason you shouldn't use every means at your
disposal to make today's search products more effective.
Take a moment to hit the TalkBack link and share your
favorite search sites and strategies (or those you truly
hate). We'll try to post as many as possible at the bottom
of this page.


ZDLINKS:
ZDNet Products
Web SearchUser: The Ultimate Search Resource
http://www.zdnet.com/products/searchuser.html
Internet
Search Engine Watch Home Page
http://www.searchenginewatch.com/
ComputerLife
Find Anything Online
http://www.zdnet.com/complife/fea/9708/findny10.html
FamilyPC
Super Search Sites
http://www.zdnet.com/familypc/content/9708/web/index.html
ZDNN
Search Engine Success Means Getting Out of the Business
http://www.zdnet.com:31019/zdnn/content/zdnn/0919/zdnn0002.html
ZDNN
Search for Profits: Search Engines Fight for Survival
http://www.zdnet.com:31019/zdnn/content/zdnn/0919/zdnn0001.html
ZDNet AnchorDesk
Microsoft in Search Biz
http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/story/story_1380.html

DISCUSSION GROUPS:
Jesse's Berst Alerts
http:///www.anchordesk.com/disgroups/disgroups_54.html

COMPANIES:
Microsoft Corp.
http://www.anchordesk.com/company/company_1749.html

PRODUCTS:
Alta Vista
http://www.anchordesk.com/products/products_2225.html
HotBot
http://www.anchordesk.com/products/products_2223.html
Northern Light
http://www.anchordesk.com/products/products_2224.html

TOPICS:
Internet
http://www.anchordesk.com/topics/topics_18.html


3. Offline Browsers (WebWhacker, et al): How to eliminate the \
World Wide Wait and

reduce search time.

Want to save class time? Want to use internet sources in your classroom
but don't have a modem connection? Want to avoid students wasting time
on sites not related to the class project? Use an offline browser.

Because they can be set to search the Web during off-hours, offline browsers
can find and save for later use what you would like to have available to your
class the next day. When a user clicks on a link, the response is immediate
thus avoiding the World Wide Wait.

The good news and bad news are the same, your pupils are limited to what
you have chosen to save. Also, the user may not be able to "refresh" the
material...such as a weather report. But this is generally not a problem in
the typical class project.

<b>

WebWhacker is available for use in this lab at this time. It is

for demonstration use only and will not be here after the workshop

is finished

.</b>
How to download a single web page. Note don't ever "Whack" more than
two levels because links imbedded in the site are followed and those links are
followed ad infinitum until your computer/server is overloaded.
Once you've found the pages you're interested in, you'll probably want
to keep an eye on them. But only a sucker would visit every one of those
bookmarks every day, looking for changes to each site. That's where
offline browsers come in.

Offline browsers download and sort entire Web sites, including their
links, or just certain pages. You can also use them like search
assistants to run queries again and again. Just set a standing query
(such as the weather in Malta), and that's it.

Some offline readers let you read news or other announcements; others
function as research tools. Like search assistants, some are more
trouble than they're worth.

Other Offline Browsers

If you're short on scratch, you'll love FreeLoader 2.0 (http://
www.freeloader.com). It's a free program that integrates with Netscape
Navigator or Internet Explorer to download sites and topics. It lets you
schedule the downloads so you can avoid the Net's peak hours. In return,
you have to put up with the ad banners alongside its toolbar, but that's
a small price to pay.

In the same vein, but offering less flexibility, is PointCast
(http://www.pointcast.com), which delivers news on your favorite topics,
using a special Windows screen saver to show you the headlines. While
you can choose what kind of news you want to see (business, political,
financial, sports) and how frequently you want that news updated, you're
limited to the menu of news choices that PointCast provides. It's mainly
just a nice way to scan the headlines, not a tool for finding specific
information quickly. PointCast is free.

FirstFloor's $24.95 Smart Bookmarks 2.02 (http://www .firstfloor.com) is
billed as an enhancement to your browser's bookmarking feature; however,
it's really a separate program that not only manages bookmarks but also
downloads Web pages for offline browsing. It takes a little time to
learn how to use it, but the effort pays off. Once you've created a
bookmark for a site or a query that you're interested in, Smart
Bookmarks monitors the site for changes. When there is one, the program
tells you--and you can tell it to download that page and the pages it
links to.

If you need a more powerful offline browsing utility, try Open Market's
$29.95 OM-Express (http://www.openmarket.com). Among these utilities,
this offline browser is the easiest to use, and it comes with a simple,
clean interface and a straightforward quick-start guide. OM-Express
shows Web pages' original URLs in your browser even when they reside on
your system.

Want to test out the latest agent technology for free? Empirical Media's
WiseWire (see "The Simple Art of Searching") is a Web-based agent that
learns your preferences as you use it, presenting increasingly well
honed selections each time you return. However, it's slow and awkward to
use. It's an interesting glimpse of the future of online searching, but
it's not an effective search tool yet.

If you're serious about online research, take a look at Folio Retriever
2.1 ($39.95, http://www.folio.com), an offline program that builds on
the Folio Views infobase format, dumping the contents of downloaded
sites into fully searchable infobases that you can annotate and share
with others. Retriever includes a fully functional version of Folio
Views 3.1, though it's limited to importing HTML pages. FolioRetriever's
power lies in letting you handle the data once you've downloaded it.

WebSnake is another popular offline browser. You can find the
source for each of them by use of a search engine: try keyword
"offline browser" in a Yahoo.com search.

4. "V-Chips" and teacher vigilence. How to avoid/deal with

misuse of the computer

[pornography, games, making bombs and methamphetamine, etc.]

4.1 If you have used an off-line browser like WebWhacker, and block "refresh,"
you have automatically inhibited access to sites other than what you "Whacked."

4.2 For information on site blocking devices, go to: humboldt.edu/~tha1/chips.html
Devices designed to filter/block objectionable material.

4.3 Nothing beats a vigilant teacher. If you are sitting at your desk correcting papers, you don't know what is going on. As you circulate, monitoring and helping,
you may see a Penthouse centerfold. If you arrive at a computer and the screen suddenly goes blank, or has switched, ask to check the "go button" or the "history" to see where the student has been "in his search for the topic." It takes some time to
clear a screen.

4.4 If you need more information, try www.anchordesk/story/story_1510.html for the article, "What You Should Do Right Now to Protect Kids on the Internet.

4.5 www.safekids.com provides rules for chat rooms, etc. E.g., never agree to meet
someone you met online in a <b>physical</b> location unless parents are there with
you.

5. HotMail, et al and

uses of the homepage

as a portable "bookmark" and for a syllabus, supplementary materials, and as a class project. [and Internet homepage e-mail, e.g., HotMail (hotmail.com)]

Uses of a homepage or web page

Note: the following section was added as a followup to the workshop in response to evaluation comments and was not created by Claris automatically. Compare this HTML Document with the Claris Works created document.
A homepage can serve a number of purposes:

How to create a simple homepage

To create a simple web page [homepage] without knowing html code [the basic Internet programming language], you can use one of the following free programs:

Netscape's Communicator comes with one, called Composer. Netscape has been free to educators...it has just been announced that it will be made free to everyone.

Microsoft offers its Internet Assistant, which can be used with MS Word (download Internet Assistant at this site ).

Microsoft Publisher and Adobe PageMaker also come with Web-authoring tools.

AOL members can use Personal Publisher (keyword personal publisher).

I created the page for the class material [net-incr.html] I mentioned above using Claris Works Assistant following easy-to-use instructions and many other word processors perform the same function...typically look under "save as" options for "html" or "export." [Try a help search.]

They create a basic, plain vanilla web page from a text document. If you want anything more, you need to learn html. If you go to my homepage, you will find the basic information about html by following the links to "Computer, Homepage and e-mail Information" then homepage development/HTML".

There are fancier programs that do more for money.

6. Web search and discussion: Use of the Internet to teach

evaluation of sources

and

critical thinking skills.

The Internet has a fantastic amount of useful information. But some experts claim that 90% of what is on the Net is garbage. But there a many pearls in the garbage. How do you sift it out?

Class project: go to yahoo.com and search for "critical thinking." Other keyword that might work? Assign students to different sites on the list found. Ask them to report to the group in X minutes. Then discuss.

6.1 When pupils are working on the Internet, ask them to write an evaluation of each site they visit (is it useful, what is its source of information, how do they know if it is it reliable?)
[If you are using an off-line browser, ask them to report any interesting link they were unable to access--write down the url and why they wanted to see it. You can whack it for them if it seems worthwhile.]
Your class discussion of selected site reports will get at the problems involved in critical thinking.

6.2 Have them check out cited sources--are they reliable, etc.? Who, what is the source. What connection does the source have [possible conflict-of-interest bias]. If it is insider information--what is the writer's motive? Finding sources, especially for rumors, is extremely difficult, even for reporters. But there are usually clues to sources' validity. When a responsible writer uses the words, "informed sources say" or "I have learned," it may mean that the rumor came from an insider...but it may still be unreliable. Look for a second opinion.

6.3 Does it square with reality? Does it pass the "smell test?" Is it in line with other things you have reason to believe are true [not myths and old wives tales]. Is it fact or guesswork? How does a journalist check a story? At least two known sources.

6.4 Look for contrary information as well as confirming information.

6.5 If you must act today or lose your chance to participate, the opportunity is going to pass you by if you don't sign up right now, what do you do? [cf. "cold call"] Be critical--not cynical. Suspicious but open minded. Get proof. Call the Better Business Bureau or the police fraud squad.

6.6 The problem with "common sense" is that it may be wrong. The world used to be flat according to common sense. The sun and moon and stars used to revolve around the earth according to common sense--well it does look that way, doesn't it?

6.7 What is the premise? Does the argument spring from a false premise? What are the assumptions?
Some objective sources for accurate information:

To get real depth on almost anything on record--the best source is Knight-Ridder's
venerable Lexis-Nexis service (http://www.lexis-nexis.com). Lexis, a huge archive
of laws, cases, and public records, has been around since 1973. Its
companion service, Nexis, provides access to the full-text archives of
thousands of newspapers and magazines, a news clipping service, and
more.
The monthly fee is $100. But the service may be available through a
nearby college library, your county library, or some other public source.
Your district may have a contract for telneting into their databases.

For general background information on almost any topic, Encyclopedia
Britannica's Britannica Online (http://www.eb.com) provides
well-researched, well-written articles that include full
bibliographies--a handy feature if your next stop is the local public
library. Individual subscriptions aren't cheap: It'll cost you $14.95 per
month, or $150 per year plus a one-time $25 registration fee, but that
still beats the two-ton book set handily. Check with your librarian.

ERIC database is an excellent source of information related to schools and
education. www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_digests/ed392466.html

While you are at HSU, all of these resources area available to you. At
your school or county office of education, ask the librarian what sources
may be available to you to verify reality online.


7. Class discussion and web searches: Develop a lesson plan about ______________________________________________________ ____________________________.

8. End-of-the Day project: Help in creating a homepage after other topics have been explored.

9. Other items I would like covered:

10. Plan for tonight and tomorrow.

I will ring a bell if I need you to stop what you are doing for a general class announcement.