This version of Around the Web in 30 Minutes is a copy
of the print version that is available at the library.
We recommend that you print out this page so that you can
follow the instructions given and easily maneuver around
the Web for this tutorial.
-
Start at the Downers
Grove Public Library home page.
If you are using a computer at the library, click on
the Home button on the Explorer toolbar, or type www.downersgrovelibrary.org
in the address bar.
-
Click on the ‘News and Programs' button,
on the left-hand side of the screen. Notice that the cursor
turns from an arrow 
into a hand 
whenever
you move the mouse over a link. You will then be taken
to a page giving more information
about the library and its programs. From the page that
comes up, pick a topic that might interest you and click
on it. Information on that topic will come up.
-
To get back to the previous page, click on the back
button 
on
the toolbar. (It's
the button on the left at the top of the screen.)
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Click on ‘The Reading Place,' also on
the left-hand side of the screen.
-
Use the scroll bar (on the right side of the screen).
By clicking on the bottom arrow on the scroll bar, you
should see the text on the screen move. You can also use
the scroll wheel on the mouse. Scroll down until you see ‘Author
Read-alikes' in the blue column on the right-hand
side. Pick an author's name and click on it. A list
of books by similar authors will appear.
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Try entering in a web address. Click the mouse in
the address box (top of the screen, underneath the toolbar).
Type www.msichicago.org and press the enter key on the
keyboard, to get to the Museum of Science and Industry
web page.
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Notice what is on the screen. Information on hours,
admission, directions and exhibits is available on the
right side of the screen. If you wanted to look at any
of those topics, you could move the mouse over that heading
and when the onscreen cursor looks like a hand, click the
left mouse button.
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Let's look at ‘Exhibits.' Move the
mouse over the word ‘Exhibits' and click.
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Pick an exhibit you'd like to look at and click
on it. You will see information on that exhibit come up.
If you'd like, look at anything else on the webpage
that interests you.
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Try using a search engine. Type www.yahoo.com (just
like you did in step #6) to get to the Yahoo website. Yahoo
is a portal search engine. A portal is a website where
you can search the Internet, read news, shop, etc.
-
When the site comes up, you will see that there
are a lot of things to look at on this page. Notice
the search
box on the screen—this is where you would enter
your search terms (which we are not going to do right
now!)
-
Scroll down until the heading ‘Business and
Economy' is at the top of the screen. Look at the
columns. They are divided into various subjects, such as ‘Recreation
and Sports,' ‘Entertainment' and ‘Government.' Yahoo
is a great place to start if you are new to the Internet,
or are not looking for anything in particular, because
it organizes web sites into categories. Keep in mind, however,
that no search engine or directory is all-inclusive. Not
every site will be listed in these subjects.
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Click on ‘Recreation and Sports.' Look
at the topics that are grouped under this heading. They
are all topics having something to do with either recreation
or sports, such as hobbies, games, cooking, gardening and
travel, to name a few. Notice that the topics are listed
in alphabetical order, in two columns.
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Scroll down and click on ‘Travel.'
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Scroll down to look at the various topics regarding
travel. Find ‘Destination Guides' in the column
on the left and click on it.
-
Notice what is on the screen. There is a search
box where you can enter your search terms (which we are
not
going to do right now!). If you scroll down, you will see
a heading for ‘Categories.' If you wanted to
break down the topic even further, you could click on one
of those listings. The next heading further down is ‘Most
Popular' sites. Yahoo does not always list the most
popular sites, but when they do, it can be helpful.
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Click on ‘Fodor's,' under ‘Most
Popular' sites. This will take you out of Yahoo to
the Fodor's Travel Guide site. Look at the address
bar—it should say http://www.fodors.com. If you ever
wanted to come back directly to this site, without having
to go all the way through Yahoo, you could just type this
address in the address box (just like you did in step #6).
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Try using a different search engine to find information
on a particular subject. Type www.google.com in the address
box and press the enter key on the keyboard to get to the
Google search engine. We are going to look for information
on the Downers Grove Public Library.
-
In the middle of the screen, you will see a long
box where you can enter your search terms. Search engines
are
set up to perform keyword searching to locate information
on the Internet. By typing a word or phrase, the search
engine will look for sites containing those words.
-
Move the arrow so that it is inside the search
box and click once. You will see a cursor flashing on
the left
side of the box. Type "Downers Grove Public Library." Make
sure you use the quotation marks, because you want to find
sites that contain all four of the words together. (If
you do not use quotation marks, you will get sites that
contain Downers or Grove or Public or Library, and will
get many more irrelevant sites.) When you are done typing,
press the enter key on the keyboard or click on the ‘Google
Search' button, located underneath the search box.
- A list of sites containing the words ‘Downers
Grove Public Library' will come up. The first one
should be the Library's web page and should read "Welcome
to the Downers Grove Public Library." Click on it
and you should end up where we started in step #1—the
Library home page. (If you click on the back button on
the toolbar, you will go back to the Google screen, where
you can look at the other sites that were found. They may
not be the official library site, and may only mention
the library in one sentence.)
For further assistance, you may wish to consult some of
the many books on the Internet available at the library.
The librarians at the Reference Desk can show you where
these books are located.
