Many science resources are available on the Internet. These include easy access to professionals, information about recent research findings, and large databases on the World Wide Web (WWW or Web). The Web offers a fast-growing, current body of information that is linked together and easy to use. The best way to learn about the Internet and the WWW is to explore or "surf the net". This lab will allow you to explore some of the information that is available and learn how to access Web resources efficiently.

Technically, the Web is a smaller network of hyperlinked documents within the larger computer network that is the Internet. The Internet (or "Net") also includes resources and services such as Gopher, FTP, telnet and others. So, you really don't "surf the net"- but don't worry about the terminology. The important thing is to get involved with this technology, learn your way around, and get the most from what is offered.

What you should be able to do when you have finished this lab:

When you have finished this lab you should be familiar with the World Wide Web and how to access it from the computers located in the U of I Geoscience Department (rooms 114TH and 35 TH) and at other Instructional Technology Centers (ITCs) around campus.

You will also be familiar with two useful home pages: the Evolution & the History of Life course home page and the University of Iowa Department of Geoscience home page. You will explore how to search the web for information related to Biology and Paleontology. You will also be introduced to two web sites in addition to the Neogene Marine Biota Database (NMITA) that is being developed by Dr. Budd (et. al.). We will use this database more extensively in Lab 9.

If you do not already have an e-mail account, we will help you set one up and help you become familiar with how to use it.

Perhaps you are very familiar with the Web already, or maybe this is your first Web experience. Either way, we predict that you will find the Web useful for this course and that you will be excited about the wealth of information available. We hope you will set aside some time to explore further on your own by surfing the net, reading one of the reference manuals, or taking a course.

What you need to turn in:

You should turn in answers to all questions printed in this lab. Questions are clearly marked in BOLD FACE CAPS in the text of the lab. For your convenience, these questions are also listed on a separate page that you can hand in (be sure to include your name) or e-mail to us by the due date. You should keep this lab for future reference.

This lab is organized into three parts:

Part I: Becoming Familiar with the Internet through the World Wide Web
If you are familiar with the University of Iowa Geoscience Department home page and you use e-mail, you probably won't need to spend much time on this section but you still need to answer the questions. If you have never seen the Geoscience Department home page, don't be discouraged--getting around on the Web is pretty simple if you can click the mouse and read. This section will allow you to become familiar with the menu options and toolbars available in Netscape. You will also explore the home page for Evolution and the History of Life.

Part II: Searching For Information on the Web
In this part of the lab you will become familiar with databases and how to search them in a variety of ways. This section is not mean to be exhaustive, but it should spark your interest in surfing the net even after this lab (and your class) are over. In this section, we will also explore how to evaluate what you find on the web. Just because information is published on the WWW doesn't guarantee that you can believe it. However, the databases we will look at are good examples of easily verifiable sources of information.

Part III: Databases:  Neogene Marine Invertebrates of Tropical America (NMITA), The University of California Museum of Paleontology at Berkeley, and The Tree of Life
In this part of the lab we will explore three databases: NMITA (Neogene Marine Biota of Tropical America),UC Berkeley's Museum of Paleontology, and the Tree of Life Database at Arizona. We will see how database information can be used to answer questions you may have about genera and species included in the database. Of course, these questions may seem contrived because they are posed to you in the context of this lab. Try to think beyond having to answer the questions to situation where you might use database to answer questions of your own.

Most of the following, general information is taken from the book: Netscape and the World Wide Web for Dummies by Paul E. Hoffman, Chicago: IDG Books Worldwide, Inc., 1995.

One component of the Information Superhighway is the World Wide Web (WWW). The Web is part of the Internet which is an international network of thousands of linked computers which communicate through methods which have been agreed upon for years. The Internet started about 27 years ago and the WWW began in 1989.

To access the Web, you need to use a browser such as Netscape or Mosaic. A browser is capable of reading the hypertext mark-up language (html) of the Web that is used to create the pages you see. Each page has a unique file address or URL (Uniform Resource Locator). Some terminology is important but, luckily, in order to use the Internet (and WWW) you don't need to know many technical details. Highlights of the Internet include being able to access mostly free services from other computers. These services include: mail (as in e-mail like you may connect with through blue.weeg.uiowa.edu), the WWW, FTP (for getting files), and Usenet news groups.

In this lab we will focus on the WWW because the web combines text, graphics, and video clips. The WWW is unique because the software is very flexible and it allows you to access information in these various ways. This is perfect for use with databases because you can see pictures and movies, and jump around to different topics in addition to reading lots of text.

One thing to remember about the Web is that things are always changing as the amount of information grows. Don't be alarmed if things aren't exactly the same as they were the last time you were on the Web and don't forget to check frequently for new information.

A. In order to become familiar with your options for getting around on the WWW, open the Netscape program on your computer by double clicking on the Netscape icon.

What should appear is the Department of Geoscience , University of Iowa home page. The URL for this page is www.geology.uiowa.edu. Find this address in the address box at the top of the page. The home page for your class also has a URL. It will be given to you in this lab. Write it down for future reference.

Each of the underlined words in a different color than the main text are links. They can be clicked on to get more information about the linked topic.

B. Double click on the words Courses and then on Evolution and the History of Life (URL=nmita.geology.uiowa.edu/~evol/).
 

• Questions 1 and 2: WHAT KIND OF INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ABOUT THE EVOLUTION & THE HISTORY OF LIFE COURSE? WHAT OTHER INFORMATION WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE INCLUDED?
C. Browse around on the Geoscience Department home page (use the BACK key to find it again if you are on the course home page). Click on different things that interest you. Become familiar with the buttons in the toolbar. Back, Forward, and Home are probably the ones you will use most often. Try them now to see what they do. The HOME key always goes back to the page that Netscape opened with (in this case, the Geoscience Department home page).
 
• Question 3: WHICH GEOSCIENCE PROFESSOR'S PAGE DID YOU LOOK AT (CHOOSE AT LEAST TWO)? WRITE DOWN THE MOST INTERESTING THING YOU LEARNED ABOUT EACH OF THE TWO PROFESSORS YOU CHOSE.
D. Be sure to look at the Research Programs section before you go on to the next part of the lab. We will return to this in Part III. When you are finished, use the HOME button in the toolbar to return to the Geoscience Department home page.

E. Open What's New by double clicking on the directory button with that name. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and type "science" into the blank. Type "return" to start the search.
 
• Question 4: WHAT IS THE NEWEST SCIENCE SITE LISTED? CHECK IT OUT AND BRIEFLY DESCRIBE WHAT IT OFFERS. You may have to check the last few days entries.
F. Open What's Cool and scroll down the page to see what's cool. Scroll to the bottom of the page and type "science" into the blank. Hit "return" to start the search.
 
• Question 5: HAS ANYTHING BEEN DEEMED COOL IN SCIENCE? IF SO, NAME AND DESCRIBE THE SITE.

Search Tips:

If you are trying to find a particular site or document or just looking for resources about a particular topic, you can use one of the many on-line search engines and directories. A summary of available search engines and specific tips is provided below. This information is taken from an article that appeared in MacWorld, August 1997.

On the technical side of things, a directory is a browsable collection of Web content. This means it is possible to see the entire contents of its database by exploring all of the areas presented to you without posing a specific question. Yahoo! is an example of a directory. A search engine, like AltaVista, is a strictly searchable collection of Web content. The only way to see them is to pose a question and hope for relevant matches. The difference is important. The directory most likely doesn't index every word on the pages it lists or even every page of the site. Usually directories use editor's decriptions of what the site contains, so start general and narrow down your search as needed. If you use a search engine, start specific and generalize your search as needed. Search engines index almost every word on the page and broad searches retrieve too much information.

Here are some other helpful hints and a link to further help you refine your searching skills.

• Narrow your search before you start typing.
• Try the obvious--type in your entire question enclosed in quotes. Quotes tell the search engine to retrieve sites with the exact search phrase.
• Watch spelling and capitalization. A perfect match is needed, so try different variations.
• Use Boolean, logical search operators like AND, OR, NOT, and NEAR. Put these between your keywords. AND yields all keywords joined by that operator, OR yields one or the other, NOT yields sites with the keyword preceding the operator but not the one after, NEAR locates sites with the keywords joined a few words from each other.
• Play by the rules of your search tool. Read the search engine's help section for details.

 

 
 
 
 
 

See Infoseek Search Tips, for more helpful hints and examples.

 

Altavista (www.altavista.digital.com)	Looking for pictures? If so, precede your search with "image:" to filter for graphics files.
Excite (www.excite.com)	Use the "More like this" button to find other related sites
HotBot (www.hotbot.com)	Don't forget about the "Must not" and "Should" buttons, which let you exclude or emphasize search terms.
Infoseek (www. infoseek.com)	Check out the "Related topics" above the list of search results for some more decent suggestions.
Lycos (www.lycos.com)	To avoid wading through thousands of pages, limit your search to the Top 5% of sites.
Webcrawler (www.webcrawler.com)	View 100 results at a time.
Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com)	Explore the categories that match your site; you may turn up great stuff you didn't even know you were looking for.
Search.com (www.search.com)	A search engine for search engines. Skip right to the "Find a Search" function to locate a specific search engine by topic.

G. Open Net Search by double clicking on the directory button with that name. Figure out how to search for "evolution" sites.

• Question 6: HOW MANY EVOLUTION SITES DID YOU FIND? CHOOSE ONE AND LIST ITS NAME AND URL ADDRESS. WHICH SEARCH ENGINE DID YOU USE (Yahoo, HotBot, Lycos, etc.)
• Question 7: HOW BELIEVABLE IS THE INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THE SITE YOU CHOSE? WHY DO YOU THINK SO?
• Question 8: LIST THREE CRITERIA A PERSON SHOULD USE WHEN EVALUATING THE CREDIBILITY OF A WEB SITE.
• Question 9: LIST THREE POSITIVE AND THREE NEGATIVE THINGS ABOUT USING THE WEB AS A RESOURCE FOR SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION. OVERALL, DO YOU THINK IT IS A GOOD RESOURCE? WHY OR WHY NOT?

H.  Find the NMITA database by returning to the Geoscience Department home page.  Try to find this using the home button in the toolbar.  The URL for this address for the home page is http://www.geology.uiowa.edu/.

I.  Click on Research Programs,  click on Paleontology,  click on  Invertebrate Paleontology, and locate the database by choosing NMITA.

J.  Explore the NMITA database and answer the following questions.
 

• Question 10:  WHAT CAN YOU LEARN ABOUT BRYOZOANS?  (check the bulleted items that appear to the right of the picture.)
K.  Return to the NMITA home page by using the Back icon (Home returns you to the Geoscience Department home page.)  Choose Zooxanthellate Corals.  Examine the coral specimen provided.

Use the Search Tool in the list at the right to determine the colony form and colony shape of the coral that we have provided.

Click on the word that names one type of colony form or shape to reveal a picture and a short description of this type.  Look at the picture and read the descriptions to determine the colony form and shape of the coral provided.
 

• Question 11:  WHAT IS THE COLONY FORM OF THE PROVIDED CORAL SPECIMEN?
• Question 12:  WHAT IS THE COLONY SHAPE OF THE PROVIDED CORAL SPECIMEN?
L.  Look at the two databases listed below.  To find these type the URL address in the address box at the top of the window.
 
• Question 13:  FOR EACH DATABASE, WRITE A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF WHAT IT OFFERS AND THEN WHAT YOU LIKED BEST ABOUT THE SITE.
• Site 1:  The University of California Museum of Paleontology - http://www.ucmp.berekeley.edu
• Site 2:   The Tree of Life - http://phylogeny.arizona.edu/tree/phylogeny.html
M.  Now use what you have learned to find one site that you think has a lot to offer other students in Evolution and the History of Life class.  Use any seach method you want and don't be afraid to ask the TA for help.  Answer the following questions about the site you locate.  This site will be included on the Evolution and the History of Life course home page as an interesting link.  Make sure the URL is written down correctly and that we can read your hand writing.
 
• Question 14.  THIS QUESTION HAS FIVE PARTS:
• A.  WHAT IS THE NAME OF YOUR WEB SITE?
• B.  WHAT DOES THE URL ADDRESS OF YOUR WEB SITE?  (type it in to double check that it works)
• C.  BRIEFLY DESCRIBE THE SITE.  WHAT KIND OF INFORMATION DOES IT PROVIDE?
• D.  EVAULATE THE CREDIBILITY OF THE SITE USING THE CRITERIA THAT YOU LISTED IN QUESTION 8.
• E.  WHAT COULD THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS SITE BE USED FOR?  (in other words, who might find this site useful?)
N.  E-mail a message to your TA using the address that he or she provides you.  If you do not have e-mail, let your TA know and he or she will help you set up the account.

Be sure that you have answered all the questions on the Answer Sheet.  You may hand this in or e-mail the answers to your TA.

• Gateway to the Internet     (http://gateway.lib.uiowa.edu/index.htm - a resource from University of Iowa
• Zen & the Art of the Internet    (http://www.cs.indiana.edu/docproject/zen/zen-1.0_toc.html)   - the very first guide for beginners
• Folksonline    (http://www.folksonline.com)   - for everyone who is stumbling around on the Internet
• Web Monkey Guides    (http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/guides/)   - provides tutorials, information and a topic of the week
• Squareone Technology      (http://www.squareonetech.com ) - if the FAQ's-frequently asked questions-don't help you, the Answer Guy can
• Surf School      (http://www3.zdnet.com/yil/filters/surfjump.html ) - let the Surf Guru help you

Return to:

• Evolution & the History of Life course home page
• Geoscience Home Page

 

 
 
 

Last updated on January 20, 1999--ls.