This section of UPLift! is aimed at all students. It focuses on the core skills required to make effective use of the internet for academic purposes. For example, it will help you to locate and evaluate websites and explore the pros and cons of social networking sites. Perhaps you know how to do some of these things already? Take the short quiz to find out. Perhaps you need to develop a particular skill? Take the link to find out more. If you would like some more help click on the Help! button, otherwise move to the next page using the arrow icon. Core Skills Using the Internet for Academic Purposes UPLift! is designed to work with Microsoft Office If required, a viewer can be downloaded from here. To interact with UPLift! view as a Slide Showhere

Click on Q&A to link to a short quiz to see if you can do the basics of this skill. Click on the ? icon to find links to information, guides, video clips etc. to help you develop this skill. Move between slides by following the navigation buttons at the bottom of the screen. Tick the box when you have completed the quiz. First of all, select Slide Show, then From the Beginning.

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Core Skills Describe the nature of the web as an information source and when Google might be a good place to start your research Using the Internet for Academic Purposes The Information Landscape has a section on websites, which suggests when the web might be a good starting point for research.Information Landscape

Your tutors and faculty librarians select good quality library resources for you, but if you use the internet for research, you have to make selections for yourself. What kind of information might it be necessary to find on the web? Core Skills Describe the nature of the web as an information source and when Google might be a good place to start your research Using the Internet for Academic Purposes Reveal answer Current information, e.g. news, information from the Government and companies

Core Skills Locate and navigate an important site for your subject, using the Library’s ‘My Subject’ pages The nature of the Internet means that web sites vary hugely in the way they are presented, however, you should be able to locate at least some of the following features: a homepage (often with a 'home' button to link to it) some sort of list of contents (though it's not often actually called 'contents') a site map a search facility links contact details sections labelled 'About...' or 'About us', as well as, 'News', 'Events' 'Resources' or 'Publications'. A website might also have a sign-in or log-in box for members. Using the Internet for Academic Purposes

Core Skills Locate and navigate an important site for your subject, using the Library’s ‘My Subject’ pages Using the Internet for Academic Purposes The University Library’s website is important for your studies, whatever your subject. If you are working from home and want to attempt to troubleshoot some problems you are experiencing with a resource, which of the following might be your first click on the library website? Click on the boxes below. A) Help and Support C) Essentials B) Services and Facilities Here you will find an option Troublshooting problems You could arrive at ‘Troubleshooting problems’ by taking the link to Computing in the library Known problems is useful to enable you to see if it’s a problem with the resource

Core Skills Explain the importance of evaluating information from the web Searching the internet is not usually the best place to start research for academic work. However, it may provide you with useful supplementary information. Because the internet is such an unregulated resource, unlike the University Library, you must be confident that the websites you choose are trustworthy and accurate. Using the Internet for Academic Purposes Follow the link to find a useful tutorial called ‘Internet Detective’. The section ‘Wise Up’ explains why students sometimes get poor marks for assignments because they have used the internet in ways that are inappropriate for work at this level.‘Wise Up’

Core Skills Using the Internet for Academic Purposes Why is it so important to evaluate the stuff I find on the internet? If you use poor quality websites you might get low marks or even fail your assignment Click to reveal answer

Core Skills Identify the parts of a URL that aid online source evaluation Checking the ‘domain names’ part of a URL might be useful in judging any bias the web site might have. Here are some common domain types:.acan academic (e.g. college or university) site in the UK.eduan educational institution (outside the UK).coa company or commercial organisation (normally in the UK).coma company or commercial organisation (any country).gova government (local or national) site.orga non-profit organisation.netoriginally for administrators, now more widely-used Using the Internet for Academic Purposes

Core Skills Identify the parts of a URL that aid online source evaluation Using the Internet for Academic Purposes Can you identify the parts of this URL (web address) that might help you to decide if you would trust this website? Click here to reveal the answer This informs you that the ‘domain name’ is owned by an academic institution in the UK

Core Skills Evaluate a web page using academic criteria, e.g. authority, purpose, bias Using the Internet for Academic Purposes Follow the link to find a useful guide on Evaluating Internet Sources. It explains that you need to think critically, especially when using the internet. This means you should not accept content at face value. By asking yourself questions about the authority, accuracy, objectivity and currency of the information you should be able to filter out unreliable and unsuitable material.Evaluating Internet Sources

Core Skills Using the Internet for Academic Purposes Link to this website and consider the following questions Who ‘owns’ the site? What is the purpose of the site? Do you think there is any bias to be concerned about? Do the links work? Can you contact the owner of the site? Reveal answer Explicitly stated: “The Oxford Text Archive...” No, but there is a section restricted to University of Oxford users They did when I tried, but I can contact the owner of the site if any are broken Yes: via the Contact and Feedback link University of Oxford Evaluate a web page using academic criteria, e.g. authority, purpose, bias

Core Skills Explain how to conduct an advanced Search on Google Advanced searching is often misconceived as a more difficult way of searching the Internet, in fact it is often easier because you are prompted to consider your search more fully. You should get fewer, but more relevant, search results. Advanced Search on Google is a guide which will help you search effectively.Advanced Search on Google Using the Internet for Academic Purposes

Core Skills Explain how to conduct an advanced Search on Google Using the Internet for Academic Purposes There are 2 ways of conducting an advanced search on Google; you can go to the ‘Advanced search’ option or you can use some simple commands along with your keywords. Can you match the commands (in blue in the statements below) to the advanced search options on Google? There are 2 ways of conducting an advanced search on Google; you can go to the ‘Advanced search’ option or you can use some simple commands along with your keywords. Can you match the commands (in blue in the statements below) to the advanced search options on Google? C) “planet of the apes” B) Library catalogue : port.ac.uk A) Portsmouth dockyard - historic A) C) B) Reveal answers

Core Skills Explain the pros and cons of social networking sites The following guides from the Tangled in the Web series are useful both for academic and social purposes: Tangled in the Web: Sharing Tangled in the Web: Sharing introduces a range of shared content resources on the web including sites for photos, video, essays, presentations and podcasts Tangled in the Web: Web 2.0 Tangled in the Web: Web 2.0 introduces some sites which actively encourage social networking and interaction Tangled in the Web: Social Bookmarking Tangled in the Web: Social Bookmarking introduces some tools to enable you to save and share your internet ‘favourites’ Tangled in the Web: Blogs Tangled in the Web: Blogs provides some examples of blogs and some things to consider before starting your own All of the above guides look at the pros and cons of such resources. Using the Internet for Academic Purposes

Core Skills Explain the pros and cons of social networking sites Using the Internet for Academic Purposes You can find the University Library’s social media icons at the bottom of the Library web pages. Click on the icons below to have a look at what we include on each. Why not choose your favourite and follow us.Library web pages You can find the University Library’s social media icons at the bottom of the Library web pages. Click on the icons below to have a look at what we include on each. Why not choose your favourite and follow us.Library web pages

Core Skills Describe the nature of a wiki and when to use it appropriately The Oxford English Dictionary (OED Online) defines ‘wiki’ as:OED Online “A type of web page designed so that its content can be edited by anyone who accesses it, using a simplified markup language.” The most well known wiki is Wikipedia, a free collaborative encyclopedia that anyone can author or edit. It is often deemed unacceptable to use it for academic purposes. However, visit the guide, Wikipedia to see why and find out how you can make effective use of this resource, through careful evaluation.Wikipedia Using the Internet for Academic Purposes

Core Skills Describe the nature of a wiki and when to use it appropriately Using the Internet for Academic Purposes Anyone, even you, can contribute to Wikipedia True or false? Click on the correct answers TrueFalse On Wikipedia, you can see when an article has been updated and who by Plounsbury CC Flickr TrueFalse  

Core Skills ‘My Subject’ is a good place to find specialist internet resources, including non- textual sources.My Subject Follow the links to any of the guides that might interest you. Using the Internet for Academic Purposes Locate other specialist internet resources in your subject area, e.g. maps, statistics, audio-visual Market Data Mediascape: Mediascape: interactive guide to image video and sound Box of BroadcastsBox of Broadcasts: for TV and radio programmes DigimapDigimap: map data Legal Information

Core Skills Locate other internet resources in your subject area, e.g. maps, statistics Using the Internet for Academic Purposes On the screenshot below, click on the link that might enable you to find recommend internet resources in your subject area. You will know when you have clicked on the correct link as an example will appear. Visit the Library homepage to explore.Library homepage On the screenshot below, click on the link that might enable you to find recommend internet resources in your subject area. You will know when you have clicked on the correct link as an example will appear. Visit the Library homepage to explore.Library homepage Try again

Core Skills Using the Internet for Academic Purposes Locate other specialist internet resources in your subject area, e.g. maps, statistics, audio-visual Click the screenshot below to watch a short video clip:

Core Skills Using the Internet for Academic Purposes Explain the concept of ‘Creative Commons’ when referring to multimedia information All rights reserved Full copyright All rights reserved Full copyright From: Creative Commons A range of licenses in between Creative Commons A range of licenses in between Public domain No copyright Public domain No copyright

Core Skills Using the Internet for Academic Purposes Volcano types diagram CC. by Alan Levine, Flickr I’ve found this useful image on a photo-sharing website. Would it be okay to use it on my own website? I checked out the license and it said it was available under ‘Creative Commons’ Read the license Do you think he can use the image on his website? Click on the correct answer. Read the license Do you think he can use the image on his website? Click on the correct answer. Explain the concept of ‘Creative Commons’ when referring to multimedia information YesNo Providing he gives the original author credit 

Core Skills Identify guidance and comply with copyright law when using the internet Staffordshire University has created a web page with useful information on copyright, aimed specifically at students, which includes information about copyright on the web: A student's guide to copyright. Visit their website and follow the link to ‘The Web’. Using the Internet for Academic Purposes

Core Skills Identify guidance and comply with copyright law when using the internet Using the Internet for Academic Purposes Visit the BBC’s homepage – Locate the Terms of Use for this website and find out it the statement below is true or false. Visit the BBC’s homepage – Locate the Terms of Use for this website and find out it the statement below is true or false. “I can watch TV programmes as they are being broadcast using BBC online services on my mobile device. I don’t need a TV licence, as long as it is for personal use.” True False Click on the correct answer  Link to section 3 from this part of the BBC’s Terms of Use page: If you do not have a valid television licence