Browsing & Search Engines

Last updated 12 Oct 2009

Browsing

The Internet can be a really useful place to find information, but because there is SO much of it, it is sometimes difficult to find what you are looking for. By bFriending the web you can make your journey in cyberspace go exactly the way you want.

Browsers

Browsers are programs on your computer that let you reach and view web pages and can help you navigate the Web. When you type in a web address or press on a link, you send out a request to a computer that could be thousands of miles away. This request asks for all the files to do with the web site you have asked for. It is the browser”s job to take all these files and make the web page you will see out of it.

What Is A Website?

A Web site, Website or WWW site is a collection of Web pages, available on the Internet. All the sites that are available for anyone to access are part of the World Wide Web. The pages of a Web site are normally available from the homepage, and are usually stored on the same computer.

A Web site will often be the work of an individual, a business or organization, or dedicated to a particular topic or purpose. Web sites are written in a programming language called HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) and are accessed using a Web browser. Web pages can be viewed on computers or various portable devices (PDAs, Mobile phones, etc.) that have internet access.

There are lot of different types of Web sites, and many specialise in a particular service or use. A few types of Web sites include:

  • Archive site: used to keep valuable electronic content that might otherwise disappear
  • Business site: used for promoting a business or service
  • Commerce site or eCommerce site: for purchasing goods, such as Amazon.com 
  • Community site: a site where people with similar interests communicate with each other
  • Directory site: a site that contains information divided into categories
  • News site: similar to an information site, but dedicated to providing news and features
  • Search engine site: a site that provides a gateway or a way to look for other sites
  • Weblog (or blog) site: site used to log online comments; an online diary
  • Web portal site: a web site that provides a starting point, a gateway, or portal, to other resources

Favourites

You can “save your place” when you look at a website that you like. It is like saving your place in a book by turning the page corner or using a bookmark!  If Internet Explorer is your browser, go to a page you like, look for the word Favourites at the very top of your screen and left-click on it. To add that page, just click on “Add to Favourites” and Internet Explorer stores it for you. To go to the page in future you just have to click again on the favourites menu, and choose your page from the list of all the favourites you have.

There are also numerous online services which allow you to store links to your favourite websites. Some even offer “social bookmarking” where you can share your favourite sites with others and discover sites chosen by others with similar interests. For example: www.del.icio.us

This service allows you to register and store your bookmarks online, add tags to classify your links, share them with others and discover similar site links.

Checklist:

  1. Get to know what all the buttons in a browser do and make sure that your browser is up to date so that you can always get the best available on the web.
  2. Try using different types of search engines and learn the search codes to get the most out of your searches.
  3. Bookmark sites that you like or store them in your favourites folder.
  4. Use the Visual Route tool to find out where sites are stored in the real world.
  5. Report sites that you find offensive or think might have anything illegal on them to the IWF.

Search Engines

When you are looking for a particular website, it can be like looking for a needle in a haystack!  But help is at hand…there are hundreds of special websites known as search engines which can make it easier for you.

Here are some examples of search engines:

A search engine allows you to type in keywords for information about what you are looking for before giving you a list of possible results. So for example, if you are interested in football, you could go to www.google.com, type in football, click search and you would see a list of websites all about football. You could then click on a link to one of those websites and see what information there is about football.

How to Search

Watch this video to see how to use  a search engine

Web page accuracy

It is important to remember that you can not believe everything that you read on web pages online. Not all web pages will be accurate or have the correct information all the time. For example, if you think about a newspaper story on a breaking report, the person publishing the web page may not have all, the most up to date or accurate source of information at the time of writing. In addition some information on the web may be “biased”, or deliberately misleading to persuade you to agree with the writers point of view. Ways in which people sometimes do this are to present so called “facts” or sources of information which support what the writer is saying and leaving out reports or evidence which do not agree with the writers point of view. Sometimes web page publishers may not tell the truth or lie on purpose. This can be for different reasons, for example;- to get more people to read their pages; to make money; or even to cause trouble.

How can I check if a web page is accurate?

  • Look for web pages which you know are published by organisations which have a good reputation offline as well as online for providing correct information.
  • Cross check for information – Search the web for to see if there if there are any other sources of information to support what you have read.
  • Be aware of any biases the author of the web page – ask yourself if there are any reasons why they may want to publish something in a particular way or if they have anything to gain from this.