Our Need to Know

1
Our Need to Know

• Information is a mass commoditynot a scarce
  resource
• The secret to dealing with this phenomenon is
  being able to access and make use of that
  information
• Information comes from many diverse areassorting
  out that info is difficult to say the least

2
Our Need to Know

• People have a lifelong need to
• update their skills
• Secure relevant high-quality information
• Share that information with others
• Internet allows people to share information
  instantly
• Gives power to those who know how to access,
  evaluate, and share info electronically

3
Accessing Electronic Information

• An electronic database is a computer- searchable
  collection of information on a general subject
  area such as
• Business
• Education
• Psychology

4
Accessing Electronic Information

• Electronic databases are
• Fast
• More current than printed copies
• Extremely flexible
• Can be updated or changed frequently and cheaply
• Powerful tool for business, education, personal
  needs

5
Internet

• Interconnected worldwide collection of computers
  located in
• University labs and rooms
• Business offices
• Government offices
• Homes
• Accessible to anyone with an Internet account

6
Internet

• Internet allows you to send and receive
• e-mail
• transfer files between computers
• search for information
• participate in discussion groups
• purchase of items

7
Internet Resources

• Mailing list
• Is a discussion group in which messages are sent
  directly to members via e-mail
• Called list servers or listservs
• Must subscribe to the list to belong
• Exist to allow members to exchange information
  and views
• Posted info is sent to all who belong

8
Internet Resources (cont)

• Newsgroup is a discussion group in which messages
  are posted
• Anyone can connect to the site
• Differ from mailing lists in that members have to
  visit the site to get the info

9
World Wide Web

• The World Wide Web or WWW is a collection of
  computers located throughout the world that
  contain information we access via our personal,
  school, and business computers

10
Internet Resources (cont)

• WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW)
• This is where we get the address or the URL in
  our internet addresses
• http//www.weber.edu/tbe
• Web documents are broken into pages
• Written in hypertext language
• Hypertext is a common code that all Internet
  based programs use Internet

11
Browsing the Internet

• Web browser such as Internet Explorer or
  Netscape Navigator
• Info not always neatly organized
• Search engines such as Hotbot, Yahoo, Excite,
  etc.
• Allow you to search for subject matter
• Web indexes are massive computer generated
  databases

12
Browsing

• Boolean operators such as and or allow for
  controlled searches
• Man and War would limit the search to anything
  about men and war combined
• Man or War would give you everything about men
  and everything about war

13
Quality of Electronic Information

• No law, regulation, or policy for Internet
• Governmental info usually comprehensive,
  accurate, and up-to-date
• Commercial organization info usually biased
• Personal info usually biased

14
Sharing Electronic Information

• E-mail
• Be careful about what is transmitted
• Group Ware and Share Ware
• Group authoring systems that allow for use of
  software by anyone
• Fax
• Tele and video conferencing
• Used to share information quickly
• Handle like a regular meeting