46: Introduction to the Internet

31 July - 4 August 1995

A practical introduction to the Internet. Topics include: how to access and navigate the Net; hands-on experience in a range of online resources, including email, the World Wide Web, and Gopher servers; electronic discussion groups and library catalogs; strategies for finding what you need; a look at what is coming in the near future. Basic microcomputer skills such as word-processing are required, but it is assumed that applicants will be persons (eg booksellers, independent scholars, or librarians at institutions not yet supporting network usage and training) who have little or no previous experience with Internet services.

1. How useful were the pre-course readings?

1: They provided background and little else. 2: The Internet for Dummies was very useful. 3: Moderately useful -- this is a hands-on course. 4: Best book was by David and Comer because it gave an interesting historical overview of the Internet. Other reading was useful for learning computer and Internet vocabulary. 5: Quite. 6: Very. 7: Very -- they gave an adequate background on the subject. 8: Excellent fun, but not totally necessary as he explained everything very clearly and very carefully so that we all, even the Luddites, understood. 9: Nil. Reading a book about computers is worthless without a computer and professional help. Even in class, the material was not called upon. 10: Excellent. 11: Not -- I am unable to read cover-to-cover a book like Internet for Dummies, the one I chose. How about adding something like Silicon Snake Oil? 12: Very useful.

2. Did your instructor prepare sufficiently to teach THIS course? Were the course syllabus and other materials distributed in class useful?

1: DS was well prepared, as my backpack loaded with useful handouts will attest. The numbers and addresses he provided will be invaluable to me and my institution. 2: Instructor is incredibly knowledgeable and able to impart his knowledge to the class. Handouts were very useful and will be of considerable value back home. 3: All materials were well organized, to the point and useful, and will serve me as a guide when I get back to work. 4: Yes. Distributed materials are useful now and will be later. 5: Lord, yes; I felt that I'd finally made it to the Promised Land of Internet instruction. 6: Yes, very prepared. I needed the course syllabus and other materials. I could have used more printed instructions so I could visualize what was coming at us -- but lots of others did not. 7: Yes, and it was obvious, given the timeliness of the topic, that the course had changed dramatically in the past year. His knowledge of the topic was up-to-the-minute. 8: Absolutely. We received lots of handouts to refer to and they're great. I have no doubt that they will be useful. 9: Yes. 10: Extremely relevant and informative. The instructor was very competent, patient, and willing to help even after hours. 11: Yes and yes. 12: DS is a treasure trove of information. He has immense knowledge about the electronic environment. He's excellent. Handouts very useful to take home.

3. Was the intellectual level of the course content appropriate?

1: Yes. There is little to add to this. He did a tremendous job of working with a group who ranged from experienced to novice and did it with grace and kindness. 2: Yes. 3: It was conceptually over my head at times, because of my lack of computer skills and inadequate knowledge of DOS. 4-5: Yes. 6: Absolutely. 7-8: Yes. 9: One would be better off if one also knew a few basic DOS commands/principles -- copying files, &c. 10-12: Yes.

4. Did the actual course content correspond to its RBS brochure description and Expanded Course Description? Did the course in general meet your expectations?

1: I feel I learned a great deal, a great deal more than I knew a week ago. Let us hope it sticks. I had hoped to actually use the Internet to search, to really search the resources out there. I would find a course devoted to Internet resources very useful. 2: Content followed closely the course description and the course exceeded my expectations. 3: On the whole, yes, although I feel we went further into online complexities than I had expected; probably my expectations were unrealistic, based as they were, on inadequate knowledge of the subject. 4: Yes: better, more than met expectations. 5: Yes. 6: Beyond all expectations. It was a true learning experience, and an enriching one. 7: Yes. 8: It exceeded them because it was also a lot of fun. 9: The brochure was a bit vague (needs key words from the class: email, gopher, electronic text basics, &c.). 10: Yes, but it gave more than I had expected. 11: Yes. Would have been great to know to bring material for scanning. But I made good use of RBS materials and produced a project I'm delighted with. 12: Course exceeded all my expectations.

5. What did you like best about the course?

1: The hands-on aspect and the chance to see what is actually out there. I was not aware of the resources. 2: Everything -- all the knowledge gained will allow me to determine if I will purchase personal Internet access. This was my first experience in accessing the 'Net. This course and the use of the 'Net after class gave me the opportunity to see some of the information available. 3: A very patient, helpful, and knowledgeable instructor, willing to tolerate my ignorance and stupidities. 4: DS -- instructor. 5: Hands-on experience; DS's willingness to be patient and move slowly when needed. 6: Hands-on experience. DS kept us moving, proceeding. 7: The feeling of satisfaction of having completed a project and having something tangible (as opposed to only greater knowledge) to take home with me. 8: a) The fact that I now feel comfortable on the Internet. b) The comfort/friendliness of the group involved. c) The instructor -- he really made some difficult concepts clear and understandable. He also made sure it was never dull -- he has a good sense of humor. He also was quite helpful. (A three-way tie.) 9: Pushing buttons -- doing something and not just taking notes. 10: The almost immediate practical use the course information would have. 11: DS: a superb teacher, a real role model for those of us who teach. His humanities background is a genuine asset in the sterile digital world. Thanks for a wonderful experience, DS! 12: The instructor! DS has boundless energy, enthusiasm, patience, and good nature. He conveyed a huge amount of information and exposed us to mind-boggling happenings via Internet, WWW, &c.

6. How could the course have been improved?

1: Add more hours in a day. The technology is outpacing us all (or maybe it's just myself). The pace is too quick because it has to be. 2: Handouts could be on 3-hole paper for filing in a binder. It would be extremely useful to have printers that would allow the capture of screens of unix commands (for ftp, for example); these printouts could be used by the students at home as cheat sheets until they were more comfortable with the use of unix and ftp. 3: I'm too dumb (concerning this subject, at any rate) to hazard any suggestions. 4: I would have liked a little more on accessing library catalogs and other bibliographical resources -- including, especially, connecting and searching overseas (Europe, Asia, &c.). A little less about etext might have been appropriate. 5: I'm sorry I didn't understand what was mean by ``making a web page'' -- I'd have brought some materials from home to scan. Our first class session might have been spent in a seminar setting, around a table -- as we didn't get to look at each other all week. 6: I don't know,since the technology is changing so fast. 7: Eliminate some of the gopher material. Teach with the presumption that most of us will be using .com carriers, not .edu servers (we won't have as much flexibility or as many options in software as on .edu). 8: I don't know. I thought it was great. 9: A speaker from a server about hooking up. A salesman telling us what we need, how to get it, and where. 10: Cannot think of any better program. 11: We needed the time at our work-stations, but it was difficult to spend most of the week in a darkened room lit by the eerie glow of the screens. A scavenger hunt would have been an excellent exercise -- for the time we spent in the classroom while others were scanning. 12: Distribute a few handouts the day before each class, just so we have a sense of the topics and so we -- the class -- can keep up with him.

7. Any final thoughts?

1: RBS is a unique experience. I would not have missed it for all the world. I gained new insights into myself and my abilities (one of which is not spelling [they'll never know. -- Ed.]). I hope to be a part of this in the future -- hopefully, the near future. 2: This course is very worthwhile. It gives the students an opportunity to learn what is on the Internet and how to build documents and ftp files, and to begin to get comfortable with moving around the Internet. 3: Exhausting, as always, but worth a week of intense training, coupled with eating on the run, heat, having to do the polite at receptions, &c. I always come back. 4: This has been, for me, a great experience. DS is a gem: intelligent, thoughtful, alert, sensitive to students' needs -- liked his style very much. He is a plus. To be in an academic environment, without the usual commercial concerns, is a happy and productive experience. Thank you all, staff of RBS, so much. 6: Prepare to be brought in -- taken care of -- fed and without you knowing, knowledge hammered into you. It just happens and you willingly go along because you realize something good is happening. The word mediocre will never be used to describe these classes. Thank you. 8: If you can, be accepted to a course. (Demand is high, so act now!) Come to beautiful UVa and study here. 9: Come dumb. Bring no knowledge of the Internet or email, but do know how to use Windows, DOS, and a mouse. 11: Make sure the course is being taught by DS. I can safely say I'm an Internet convert after taking DS's course. 12: The course is first-rate, the instructor is first-rate. A knowledge of Windows and working with a mouse is very important.

Number of respondents: 12

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