ATS The Art of Tech Support John Abbott College How to Study & Use Technical Information M. E. Kabay, PhD, CISSP Director of Education, NCSA President, JINBU Corp Copyright © 1997 JINBU Corp. All rights reserved

ATS How to Study and Use Technical Information l SQ3R -- Method for effective studying l Types and use of information media

ATS The SQ3R Method l Background explaining origins of SQ3R l Survey = S l Question= Q l Read= R 1 l Recite= R 2 l Review= R 3

ATS Background to SQ3R l Studying is not just reading and rereading l Oberlin College studies in 1960s led to SQ3R Time Retention

ATS SQ3R: Survey l 1st pass: preface, foreward, table of contents l 2nd pass: entire document QUICKLY l 3rd pass: section or chapter LESS QUICKLY l 4th pass: 1st sentences of paragraphs, captions LOOK FOR STRUCTURE AND CONTEXT

ATS SQ3R: Question l Jot down questions l Draw pictures l Use your own diagrams l Think about purpose of your study and use imagination Be actively involved in your own learning

ATS SQ3R: Read l One paragraph at a time – Paragraph is basic unit of written communication l Pay special attention to emphasized words – Boldface – Italics – May signal definitions, key concepts l Stop reading after each paragraph and go to the next stage: recite

ATS SQ3R: Recite l After every paragraph – Stop, look away – Summarize main ideas – Use your own words -- this is not memorization – If not crystal clear, reread and try again l Prevents your mind from wandering off topic l Provides crucial practice in recall l Forces you to integrate new information into your existing memory and conceptual framework

ATS SQ3R: Review l Use review questions to test yourself to be sure you have integrated the information you need l Repetition is a key to success in studying l Review frequently; e.g., at end of each study period: – Daily – Weekly – Monthly

ATS Types of Information Resources l Paper documents l Online databases l Hypertext l CD-ROMs l The World Wide Web l Online forums

ATS Paper documents l Location l Order l Up-to-date l Types and structure

ATS Paper documents: Location l Central l Consolidated l Accessible

ATS Paper documents: Order l Alphabetical by title l Alphabetical by author l By part or document number l NOT by subject

ATS Paper documents: Up-to-date l 6-24 month half-life l Monthly updates l Remove superseded info l Save discards in separate binder

ATS Paper documents: Types and structure l Manuals l Bug reports l Journals l Commercial reports – Datapro Reports – Gartner Group – Auerbach l Textbooks

ATS Online databases l Overview l Features and costs l News clippings services

ATS Online databases: Overview l Remote mainframe or other servers l Search using Boolean logic l Qualify hits by keyword, type, date.... l Read abstracts and select best hits l Download target information--dont read online!

ATS Online databases: Features and costs l Thousands of OLDBs l Connect-time charges; e.g., $15-$90/hr l Per-item charges; e.g., U$1.00/item l Levels of detail available – Index entry only – Abstracts – Full-text

ATS News clippings services l Several sources – e.g., CompuServe Executive News Service – PointCast ( – specialized newsletters; e.g., EDUPAGE l Some can be customized – Select newswires – Define keywords l Scan daily – Expect false-positives – Download best items for review

ATS Pointcast News l Pull vs push distribution of information l Software available free – – automatic or manual retrieval of news l Highly customizable – news sources (e.g., Globe and Mail, Boston Globe, LA Times, TIME Magazine, People) – types of information desired (e.g, specific industries, sports, entertainment, stocks) l Subsidized by advertising – small panel in upper right hand side of window

ATS FTPspace Internet FTP sites l Need full Internet access l Try Excite ( to search l Often different, incompatible text formats – e.g., ASCII (.txt) – Postscript (.ps) – word processors (.doc,.wpd) – Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) l Can use interpreter programs – e.g., KeyView from FTP Software (

ATS Hypertext: Concepts & Demonstration l Pull-down menus l Table of contents l Context-sensitive help l Text buttons or hotlinks

ATS Hypertext: Types l Windows HELP files (switch online) l Macintosh HyperCard l LOTUS Help l Specialized files l The World Wide Web

ATS CD-ROMs: Basics and Demonstration l CD-ROM = Compact-Disk Read-Only Memory l Multimedia kits for PCs/Macs ~C$ l Minimum requirements: Pentium 100 MHz w/ 600 Mb disk & 16Mb RAM minimum & quad- speed CD-ROM drive l Full text, graphics l Network compatible l Integrate information in own documents l Boolean operators: AND, OR, NOT l Copyright issues

ATS CD-ROMs for Tech Support l TechNet l Support on Site l Computer Select l Datapro Reports

ATS TechNet from Microsoft l MS Knowledge Base l Patches l Customer solutions l Training materials l MS conference notes l U$295/year single, $U695/year server l to order

ATS Support on Site from Ziff Communications l Technical manuals, white papers, magazine articles l Costs – U$1,495/year single-user license – U$2,395/yr 2-user – U$4,995/yr 5-user l to order

ATS Computer Select l Full text articles from over 110 technology publications on monthly CD-ROM l In depth abstracts from trade and business magazines, industry and company newsletters, local and national newspapers. l Specs for over 70,000 products l Contacts and profiles for over 12,000 VARs, vendors and manufacturers l See access/compsel.htm l Ext. 222 l

ATS Datapro Reports Worldwide IT Analyst l Entire contents of Datapro's master database (>67 titles) updated monthly l Selected Northern Business Information Telecom Studies l NSTL's Software Digest and PC Digest l Purchase licenses to selected segments l Searchable index of non-purchased segments l Instant activation by phone of additional segments on CD-ROM l See l l

ATS CD-ROMs: Other sources l Libraries l Wayzata Technologys Newsbytes l D.A.T.A.s /P/A/L/ technical specifications for I.C.s l McGraw Hills Science and Technical Reference Set 2.0 l Time-Warner Interactive Groups How Computers Work l General-interest encyclopedias – Allegro Reference Series Business Library – Microsoft Bookshelf – Comptons Interactive Encyclopedia – Microsoft Encarta – New Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia – Canadian Encyclopedia

ATS Homework: (for credit) Library CD-ROMs l Visit John Abbott College Library and use CD- ROM databases OR use your own CD-ROM information sources l Explore at least two databases for any topic of interest to you l Write a one-page set of instructions and notes on how to use the two (or more) databases and what you found on your search topics – Was each database full-text or only bibliographic index? – How many hits at first? – How did you narrow your search?

ATS The World Wide Web l Concepts l History l Terminology

ATS The World Wide Web WWWWWW Web PagesWeb Pages

ATS The World Wide Web History l Method for integrating large collection of CERN documents l Mar 89 & Oct design memos by Tim Berners-Lee & Robert Cailliau l Aug WWW announced on alt.hypertext news group l Mar Marc Andreessen & Eric Bina release NCSA-UI Mosaic for X Windows l Fall NCSA-UI Mosaic for Windows & Mac

ATS The World Wide Web Terminology l URL = _________________________________ l = _______________________________ l 1st guess at home page of ACME Corp = ___________________________________ l ftp:// = _________________________________ l HTML = _______________________________ l hot link = ______________________________

ATS The World Wide Web Current Status l Hobbes Internet Timeline – – WWW: ,000 sites l New paradigms for use – Subscriptions: Members-only Web pages – Intranets: private Web pages l New programming paradigm – JAVA – ActiveX

ATS Lab exercises: (for credit) Demo WWW Make notes and submit after the quiz on Day 2 for credit l Web browsers (e.g., Netscape) l NCSA ( l News sources l Search engines ( l White Pages (

ATS Lab exercise: (for credit) Explore WWW Yourself Make notes and submit after the quiz on Day 2 for credit l Pick major mfr of interest (e.g., Microsoft, IBM, Novell) l Locate home page by guessing URL l Use YAHOO ( to locate other references to the mfr you have chosen l Find >=1 phone number and 1 address for getting technical support l Report on your experiences: How many tries to find contact info? How long did it take?

ATS Online forums l Types – Moderated vs unmoderated – Open vs closed – BBSs and VANs – USENET vs mailing lists l Other features – Message threads – Libraries – Etiquette

ATS Moderated vs Unmoderated l Moderated groups – explicitly named editor/moderator – controls what appears – can either filter (before posting) – or delete (after posting) – results in high signal-to-noise ratio l Unmoderated – automatic distribution of anything sent in – low signal-to-noise ratio – excessive quoting – frequent flamewars

ATS Open vs Closed l Open forums, groups or lists – Anyone can join – Uncooperative members may be excluded – Free l Closed – Restricted access – Explicit membership granted by owner – May have user ID, passwords – May have associated cost – E.g., professional discussion groups for lawyers, physicians, engineers, scientists

ATS BBSs l Professional and amateur l May require long-distance calls l Unregulated: may find hatred, obscenity l Some moderated, others unmoderated l Unreliable: virus-infected software l A few run by and for criminals – stolen software – ads for stolen goods

ATS VANs l E.g., CompuServe, AOL, MS-Network, Prodigy – Wide local access, good-quality lines – Provide – Gateways to online databases – Useful for EDI – Services for special-interest groups l High cost vs other ISPs (e.g., CompuServe U$19.95/month for 20 hours +U$3/hr thereafter) l AOL caused disaster by offering unlimited access for $19.95

ATS USENET vs Mailing Lists l Mailing lists – Store messages on servers – Function using – Send all new messages to all subscribers l USENET groups – Store messages on servers – Users actively retrieve new messages – USENET software remembers last ID

ATS Features: Message threads l Threads – are connected messages on one topic – can sometimes be mapped; e.g., l Avoid thread creep – Messages include subject line – Respect subject line: dont change subject – Change subject line when message initiates new topic

ATS Features: Libraries l Catalogued by topic l Often include demos and utilities l File descriptors l Key-word searches l Free uploads l May include archives of postings

ATS Netiquette for professionals l Lurk before you leap: learn specific style l Stick to the forum/section subject area l Make messages concise l Quote only relevant text from previous message l Respect copyright laws l Dont flame people l Avoid profanity, ethnic/religious slurs, etc. More on this topic on Day 9.

ATS Lab exercises: (for credit) Demonstration of CompuServe Make brief notes for credit on following demonstrations and submit after quiz on Day 2 for credit l CompuServe topics l Online database l Executive News Service l HelpDesk Institute Forum l Novell Forums l NCSA Forum

ATS Homework (for credit) l Hand in reports on exercises: – Demo CompuServe – Demo WWW – Explore WWW – Library CD-ROMs l Read Ralph Wilsons Help! Chapter 5, Information Techniques and Tools, USING SQ3R l Supplement your class notes based on text. l Prepare printed answers (use a computer systems) to all the review questions provided by the instructor and hand in after quiz at start of lecture 2. l Review your class notes in preparation for quiz at start of Lecture 2.