School of Information Management & Systems.   Spring 1997.   M. Buckland.   Infosys 101: Information Systems.
Exercise 6: The World Wide Web and Netscape. Due Feb 25 .

Gophers are based on lines of plain text, like typewriters and wordprocessors, and links between pieces of text on the same or different computers. The World Wide Web (WWW) is similar but uses images, color, and lots of "links" from individual words and images to other www documents ("web pages"). This exercise is to assure minimal skill is searching ("surfing" the World Wide Web. Netscape is software for finding and using WWW records, which like Gopher records, have a basically hierarchical structure. The starting point at each WWW site is called a Homepage. There are also lots of "links" to documents in other WWW sites.

1. Enter Netscape. Find the School's homepage at http://www.sims.berkeley.edu

2. Search by following links: Check out Infosys 101: (a) Anything underlined is a link to another WWW document. Use the mouse to place the cursor on the underline and click the mouse button (maybe twice) to follow the link. From the School's homepage click on Course catalog. Is 101 Information Systems listed? Click the Back button to return to the School's "homepage" (the introductory page). And click on Current course schedule, then on 101 Information systems. Click on Schedule. What does it say about text readings for Feb 27?

Click on the Back button to go to the 101 course home-page. Optional: Try the Michael Buckland page. Return to the School's home-page and click on the black U C Berkeley box top left. Click on Departments, then Libraries and Museums. Click on Berkeley Art Museum, then the Art exhibitions button. Note the name of any exhibit and when it is open.

Use the Back button to get back to the Libraries and Museums, then go to the Museum of Paleontology. Click on the subway. Take the purple line to the Art, History, Culture station. Pick any museum that looks interesting. Name it, give the "location" (aka URL), note the exact date and time that you looked at it and describe it very briefly: 3. Search by internet address: So much for exhibits. How about a "virtual" library? Change the address in the "Location" box to http://ipl.sils.umich.edu and press Enter. Click on the Reference and find an online sourceof ineterest to yourself. Write down the URL (= location), date and time you looked and describe it very briefly. 4. Use a "search engine": Click on the Home button to return to the School's homepage. Click on the Net search button. Use the Infoseek "search engine": InfoSeek Guide. Enter: Sears catalogue inthe search space and click the Seek button. Scroll down the resulting screen and click on the here are a few buys and note a catalog item.

5. Now you know how to do it, try recreational searching! Find something that interest you? What is it? Write down the location / address given in the "location" box and the precise date and time of searching.

6. Logout.

NOTES: One often has to scroll down the "page" to find what you want. If you are not making good progress: Be patient (the bottom line and the revolving globe indicate activity); if it won't perform for you, move back, try again, come back later, ask for a friend or one of us for help. If you don't have access to a suitable computer lab, consult Janice Woo.   (Revised 2/4/97)