From the Summer 1996 edition of Purdue University Perspective
The Internet:
A wide
world of information
The Purdue Libraries Web site is a resource for information about the
University and the Internet. Then there is the page of proud father and
graduate student Derek Royal, who likes to show off his new son, Zachary.
Show off your new baby boy. Give instructions for warming down a
horse after riding. Admit your admiration for your sister.
Provide instant access to a course syllabus, the semester's assignments
and up-to-date grades.
Find links to national newspapers and magazines, academic journals, libraries,
government information, and tourism.
It's the Internet. It's growing. And Purdue students, faculty and staff
are on top of it.
"The Internet is becoming the reference room of choice," says
Buster Dunsmore, associate professor of computer sciences. "Even libraries
are beginning to realize that the reference room of the future may be filled
with computer workstations."
Carl Snow, assistant professor of library science and network access librarian
for Purdue Libraries, says many journals and institutions are adding index
and catalog information to the Internet.
The Purdue Libraries World Wide Web site has on-line catalog information,
bibliographic databases, and "links" to various academic periodicals
and national and international media outlets. Purdue Libraries also holds
the Web site for the Government Printing Office, which includes a database
of congressional bills, calendars and documents as well as the Federal Register.
"Computer users can access our on-line catalog and look through our
bibliographies on their own time and know before they come down to the library
where they can find the information they need," Snow says. "We
are adding more reference information every week and every month."
Dunsmore began teaching a general introductory class about the Internet
and the World Wide Web in the fall of 1995. Students in his CS190W class
build a home page and a Web site, learning as they go to integrate graphics
and links and various design techniques. They learn about what's available
on the Internet and how to find it.
"There is trivial information out there, such as who are the husband
and wife on 'Married With Children,' all the way up to information about
current medical research," Dunsmore says. "After the initial novelty
of knowing they can put photos and personal information on there, students
begin to realize that they have information that could be valuable to people.
They also begin to find out that there is a wealth of information on the
Internet that they want and perhaps need to know."
Of the 320 students in his introductory class in spring 1996, Dunsmore says,
only 20 were computer science majors.
"I think I had at least one person from every major I can think of
on this campus," he says. "We had quite an interesting range of
students and quite an interesting range of Web sites."
Creative arts students see the gallery of the future on the Web, where they
can create and post their art - and even sell it.
Communication and public relations students see it as a way to reach many
more people than they possibly could by phone or mail.
Scientists, engineers, business majors and others can research their careers,
work with other researchers, and explore new ideas and the history of their
fields.
Marty Burns, who took Dunsmore's class last fall, is a graduate student
and an instructor in the Department of Restaurant, Hotel, Institutional
and Tourism Management.
Before the Internet class, Burns knew next to nothing about computers. Now,
she uses the Internet in her RHIT international tourism class.
"One of my concerns upon returning to school was how in the world I
could compete with the kids who have grown up with computers," says
Burns, who received her bachelor's degree 30 years ago.
"The media began to report more and more on the developments on the
Web, and all the companies that were opening Web sites. Plus, the travel
magazines I got were beginning to report on the Web and how it might hurt
their sales after the year 2000. I knew I needed to know about the Web and
how it could be used in the travel industry."
Burns signed up for an Internet seminar in 1994 and says she was lost through
much of the course. But when she saw the notice for Dunsmore's 100-level
course, she thought that it might be for her - "I enrolled pass/fail
just in case."
She loved the course and learned more than she ever thought possible.
"I strongly believe," Burns says, "that we are doing the
students a great disservice if they leave Purdue and do not know how to
use the Web. The ease with which they can do research is amazing, not to
mention the demand in industry for employees who know how to use the Web.
I truly believe it will be a requirement in most industries very soon."
In an effort to make sure RHIT students are at least exposed to the Web,
Burns used it in her RHIT 372 International Tourism and Geography course
in spring 1996.
"I built a class home page and put all the homework on the Web,"
Burns says. "Since it is a geography course, the information on the
Web is plentiful and more up-to-date than the textbook. And the color photos
and maps add so much to the course. Students learned to use the search engines
and prepared their term projects using only information they were able to
locate on the Web.
As a result, they can now add an item to their resumes that they have Web
experience."
And the students are glad they do. On the course evaluation, 100 percent
of the students said the Web was a valuable addition to the class, Burns
says.
Dunsmore says other students who have taken the class or who have learned
to build a Web site have found their knowledge is desirable in the workplace.
"Several students have told me that once their employers or their summer
internship supervisors found out they knew about the Web, that became part
of their job," Dunsmore says. "More and more companies are looking
for people with this knowledge.
"More and more computer users are finding that the Web and the Internet
are valuable tools for personal and professional use."
Stories by Julie Rosa
Photograph by David Umberger
Buster Dunsmore, associate professor of computer sciences, uses a large
screen to show students the ways of the Web.
My, how it's growing
The Internet was born in the 1980s, spawned from research and development
projects done mostly in universities and sponsored by the National Science
Foundation and the Department of Defense.
The Internet, an abbreviation for "International Network," is
a global, interconnected network of computer networks.
With the Internet gaining roughly 150,000 new users per month, experts speculate
that by the year 2000, more than 250 million people will use the Internet.
The volume of business-to-business electronic commerce over the Internet
will exceed $50 billion annually, experts say.
The World Wide Web, accessed through the Internet, was born in 1989 when
high-energy physics researchers in Europe devised it as a means of sharing
research information and ideas effectively throughout their organization.
According to computer scientists, the Internet is the physical network that
allows information to be sent through cables among networks all over the
world. The World Wide Web, on the other hand, is the electronic information.
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Talking the talk
Here are a few key phrases in the Internet
language...
WWW or W3: World Wide Web.
URL: Uniform Resource Locator, or the address of a Web site.
URI: Universal Resource Indicator, same as URL, a newer term for a Web Site
address.
HTML: Hypertext Markup Language, the coding that enables articles/photos/graphics
to appear on the Web.
HTTP: Hypertext Transfer Protocol, the software that allows transfer of
World Wide Web pages and images.
FTP: File Transfer Protocol, the software that allows transfer of information
and files.
Search engines: Programs, such as Yahoo or WebCrawler, that allow computer
users to look for Web sites about specific subjects.
Links: Allow the computer user access from the current Web site to other
sites of interest.
Home page: Like the cover of a magazine, the home page is the introduction
to a Web site.
Web site: The home of all the information - like the entire magazine.
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Web sites to see
Some oft-visited, interesting and helpful Web sites at Purdue:
Purdue University Home Page. The main gate to the University has links to
academic departments, services, activities, student organizations and athletics.
URL: http://www.purdue.edu
Office of Admissions. With complete information for prospective students,
the site includes an admissions application that can be printed out and
mailed. URL: http://www.purdue.edu/Admissions
Purdue Alumni Association. Site contains information about the alumni association,
its officers and staff, member services, and an application that can be
printed out and mailed. URL: http://www.purdue.edu/PAA/Index.html
The Purdue Libraries. With links to academic journals, index databases,
media outlets throughout the world, and information about instruction available
at the libraries, this site often is named to "best of the Web"
lists. URL: http://thorplus.lib.purdue.edu/
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. One of the most popular Web
sites on the West Lafayette Campus contains various weather maps of the
United States and regional areas, including satellite and infrared image
maps. URL: http:// thunder.atms.purdue.edu/main.html
The On-Line Writing Lab. OWL, as it is known, has been recognized in many
publications for its information on writing and its on-line tutorials for
term papers, business writing, correspondence and more. URL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
Purdue Calumet. Celebrating Calumet's 50th anniversary, this site features
the fall schedule, admissions information, and pages for visitors and alumni.
URL: http://www.calumet.purdue.edu
Purdue North Central. Main site at the North Central campus contains information
about admissions, academics and student services. URL: http://www.purduenc.edu
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. Information about the Fort
Wayne campus includes admissions, activities, services and academic departments.
URL: http://www.ipfw.indiana.edu
Tippecanoe County Cooperative Extension Service and Purdue Cooperative Extension
Service. Site contains information about agriculture, youth and 4-H programs;
community development; and links to county and state fair information. URL:
http://www.tippecanoe.acn.purdue.edu/
Purdue News Service. News releases, photos, faculty experts database, and
faculty, staff and student directory. URL: http://www.purdue.edu/UNS/
CS 190W. Web page for an introductory course that covers the history of
the Internet, electronic mail, the World Wide Web, features and facilities
of Web browsers, putting information on the Web, and finding information
on the Web. URL: http://mentor.cc.purdue.edu/~cs190w/
RHIT 372. Web page for a course about U.S. and world travel destinations.
URL: http://mentor.cc.purdue.edu/~rh37200/
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Please send comments
to: Julie Rosa