46. Introduction to the Internet

David Seaman
(Evaluation of the RBS 1994 version of this course) K

A practical introduction to accessing and navigating the Internet. Topics include: options for connecting to the Net, and ways and means for doing so; introduction to the global range of on-line resources available (e-mail, information servers, library catalogs); techniques for finding what you need; a look at what is coming in the near future. Familiarity with basic computer skills such as word-processing is expected, but it is assumed that applicants will be persons (eg antiquarian booksellers, independent scholars, or librarians at institutions not yet supporting network usage) who have no previous experience with electronic communications.

• I. How useful were the pre-course readings?
  
  1: Useful, but not necessary as the course was introductory. 2: Fine. 3: Reading one of the Internet manuals was helpful, if confusing at the time. After the course, the manual is amazingly clear. 4: Didn't discover the reading list until the night before I left -- it got mixed up with other RBS materials -- my fault, really. In retrospect, I could've prepared myself better beforehand. Perhaps a handout or two with standard emacs and file handling commands would be useful, for overview and for reference as needed. 5: I found them both useful and interesting. They approached a very large subject from a variety of perspectives, thus offering a broad understanding of the potential uses and the significance of networked information. 6: Useful as background information.
  
  
• II. Was your faculty member well-prepared to teach THIS course?
  
  1: Very well prepared, extremely knowledgeable, a delight. 2: How about over-prepared! 3: Absolutely! 4: Definitely -- most impressive knowledge and expertise. I can't imagine anyone more caring, cheerful, and energetic. 5: Absolutely yes! I can't imagine anyone who would be better prepared. 6: Very!
  
  
• III. Was the intellectual level of the course content appropriate?
  
  1: Yes. 2: Yes, DS never spoke down to us and boy -- did we ask some stupid questions! 3: Yes. He started from where we were (ie, nowhere) and patiently moved us along. The pace was such that the course was challenging but not overwhelming. 4: Yes -- but for a person without basic word processing skills and considerable familiarity with computers, it could've been very daunting. My tongue hung out and my head swam at times anyway. The printed reviews of the previous day's work/concepts/acronyms/computer commands were most welcome. 5: Yes -- I liked the mix of pragmatic ``how to'' kinds of information along with the deeper analyses of ``why'' and the consideration of broader issues (such as the way e-texts may reshape the idea of the book, the intellectual property problems they raise, etc.). 6: Yes!
  
  
• IV. If your course had field trips, were they effective?
  
  1: N/A. 2: We went to the e-text center and it was well worth our while. 3: N/A. 4: Yes -- the Electronic Text Center was extremely impressive, through the cramped space would've been a real problem for a larger class. I don't see how 10 or 12 of us could've gotten in there, especially with the staff working. Maybe do a night session midweek and just give an overview -- or else stay in the Computer Lab. 5: Our field trips to the Electronic Text Center were worthwhile and interesting, I felt, and also provided a nice change of scenery.
  
  
• V. 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 no longer remember the brochure description, but the course was everything I desired it to be, and more. The discussions of electronic texts and SGML were a bonus. 2: Yes. Yes. The course really exceeded my expectations because I really only came to learn the Internet. I am leaving with a much wider knowledge of what can be accomplished on the Net. 3: Yes. I had thought we would learn how to do e-mail, mailing lists, and bulletin boards. Little did I realize we would get into creating hypertext and scanning images into documents! While I won't be able to use these techniques right away, it helped clarify some choices I must soon make in my work so as to keep certain possibilities open for the more distant future. 4: Yes & Yes -- we went, in fact, well beyond what I expected, and my expectations were quite high coming in. 5: Yes, I think so. Perhaps it focused on electronic text creation a bit more than I would have guessed. 6: Yes and yes, I guess (would like to check, but don't have a copy).
  
  
• VI. What did you like best about the course?
  
  1: The opportunity to sit at a pc and practice what we had learned. The instructor's expertise, enthusiasm, and teaching skills!! 2: DS's enthusiasm for the subject is wonderful. He is a fine teacher. 3: The instructor and his central role on the cutting edge. 4: Exposure to the vast array of world wide resources, with much hands-on activity. DS's enthusiasm was infectious, and I often felt like a child turned loose in Toys ``R'' Us with pockets full of $100 bills. I was overwhelmed -- in the best sense -- by the Internet's possibilities that I learned of this week. I go home reluctantly, but with a head spinning with possibilities. 5: I particularly liked the learn-by-doing approach of actually putting instruction to practice at the terminal, and the instructor's patient willingness to walk individual students through procedures and to address their particular concerns. I also liked the measure of independence students had in choosing their own lists to subscribe to, in sending and receiving their own e-mail, etc. And, needless to say, the caliber of instruction was absolutely first-rate. 6: The instructor, DS. He did a great job! He was most interested in conveying to us not just how to do it, but what was happening -- and why -- on our computers. He was most enthusiastic. The Electronic Text Center information and demonstrations was an added plus.
  
  
• VII. How could the course have been improved?
  
  1: We could have moved at a faster pace. I think Internet hunting exercise homework would have helped. We then could have discussed search strategies the following day. 2: I can't imagine. It was excellent as it was. 3: I wouldn't mind practicing for a couple more days, but I can't think of anything I would have wanted omitted to make more room within the week. 4: I found the group work the last day to be a valuable way to reinforce and extend our learning. By Tuesday or no later than Wednesday, I think such electronic scavenger hunts (on a scheduled basis) would be both fun and productive -- the best sort of collaborative learning, so easy you don't realize how much reinforcement you're getting from your fellow students. 5: The course was wonderfully planned and taught as it was, but I personally -- being slow to learn and inexperienced with networking -- could probably have used more exercises and drills in the basics. Perhaps some homework assignments, either mandatory or optional, that enabled one to identify what one hadn't fully grasped, might have been helpful. 6: I didn't find the overhead projector very effective, even with the lights out. DS should speak a bit louder.
  
  
• VIII. Any final thoughts?
  
  1: Basic familiarity with computers helps a lot. Students preferably should know some basic DOS commands, how to operate a mouse, etc. Final thought: the course was worth every cent. 2: I would have been on the Internet before I came. Then I could bring very specific problems, etc. [If you had been on the Internet before you came then you wouldn't have got into the course: cf course description, above. - Ed.] 3: Stay on The Lawn. 4: 1) I would recommend a statement in the initial course announcement to help screen out anyone with insufficient computer skills -- that was no problem with our group, but someone who was too much of a novice would/could end up quite frustrated when he or she fell way behind the learning curve. The pace was pretty breakneck at times. 2) I would've liked to have had perhaps a half hour each day in class time to cruise the Internet on my own, learning what I could, but with DS there to bail me out if I got lost or hung up half way 'round the world. 3) The equipment discussion Wednesday morning was quite valuable -- it should be a scheduled part of the course. 5: Keep offering the course! 6: Although I enjoyed the course and enjoy coming to RBS, I wonder if I couldn't have gotten what I need to function as a small OP dealer at home, with local help and books and manuals, etc. Anyway, I had a good time.

Number of respondents: 6

         
Percentages

Leave         Tuition        Housing        Travel

Institution   Institution    Institution    Institution
gave me leave paid tuition   paid housing   paid travel

50%           67%            50%            50%


I took vaca-  I paid tui-    I paid for my  I paid my own
tion time     tion myself    own housing    travel

0%            33%            50%            50%


N/A: self-    N/A: Self-     N/A: stayed    N/A: lived 
employed, re- employed,      with friends   nearby
tired, or had retired, or    or lived at
summers off   exchange       home

50%           0%             0%             0%

There were six students; each (17%) was an archivist/manuscripts librarian, an editor, a general librarian with unspecified rare book duties, retired, a teacher/professor, or had a non- professionally-related interest in the subject.