BEHIND THE SCREEN Searching the Web: Web Search Tools

Today’s agenda Web search tools How to validate a site? Google Company Google Services: Book Search Calculator Currency converter Site search Maps , etc. Google logos.

Web search tools

How to validate a site?

Google Company

Google Services:

Book Search

Calculator

Currency converter

Site search

Maps , etc.

Google logos.

Search Strategies To become proficient in locating information , you need to develop sophisticated search strategies: develop a list of key words to aid you in your searching, understand how to conduct Boolean searches – searches which combine key words and terms, such as “and”, “or” and “not”

To become proficient in locating information , you need to develop sophisticated search strategies:

develop a list of key words to aid you in your searching,

understand how to conduct Boolean searches – searches which combine key words and terms, such as “and”, “or” and “not”

Important tips to remember when searching: 1. Choose your tool Search Directory Is good for looking at general topics; contents have been sorted by real people. Search Engine Lists content which has been gathered automatically from the net. 2. Refine your searches You need to ba able to refine or narrow down your searches – this can be done in a number of ways: Use key words and terms; Use advanced search tools; Use Boolean operators (+ - ~)  see ex., next slide Validate your searches

1. Choose your tool

You need to ba able to refine or narrow down your searches – this can be done in a number of ways:

Use key words and terms;

Use advanced search tools;

Use Boolean operators (+ - ~)  see ex., next slide

Validate your searches

Boolean Searching “ Immigration NOT Mexico” “ Immigration AND Mexico” “ Hispanics OR Latinos” Michael Jordan “ Michael Jordan” ~ peanut butter  nut butter; cashew butter

“ Immigration NOT Mexico”

“ Immigration AND Mexico”

“ Hispanics OR Latinos”

Michael Jordan

“ Michael Jordan”

~ peanut butter  nut butter; cashew butter

Things that can help you judge a site: The domain – *.edu; *.com; *.ro; *.ru The author – check the reputation of the company; consider the author’s credentials, background, experience. Linguistic accuracy Date of last updating

The domain – *.edu; *.com; *.ro; *.ru

The author – check the reputation of the company; consider the author’s credentials, background, experience.

Linguistic accuracy

Date of last updating

Every day, 200 million people use Google - one of the largest and a very popular search engine on the World Wide Web. That is 200 000 000 people Google's main office ("Googleplex") has in Mountain View, California, USA.

Every day, 200 million people use Google - one of the largest and a very popular search engine on the World Wide Web.

That is 200 000 000 people Google's main office ("Googleplex") has in Mountain View, California, USA.

" To google ," as a verb means " to search for something on Google "; because Google is so popular (perhaps 80 percent of all web users work with it) today it also means "to search the web". Google officials do not like this use of the company name, because really, "Google" is a trademark. A license plate seen in the Googleplex parking lot. The Googleplex Sign at the Googleplex

" To google ," as a verb means " to search for something on Google "; because Google is so popular (perhaps 80 percent of all web users work with it) today it also means "to search the web". Google officials do not like this use of the company name, because really, "Google" is a trademark.

Google has more than 40 offices around the world Offices in USA

Google began in January 1996 , as a research project by Larry Page , who was soon joined by Sergey Brin , two Ph.D. students at Stanford University, California.

Google began in January 1996 , as a research project by Larry Page , who was soon joined by Sergey Brin , two Ph.D. students at Stanford University, California.

is an American public corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, in Silicon Valley and a global Internet services company. It was founded by Stanford University graduate students Jerry Yang and David Filo in January of 1994 and incorporated on March 1, 1995.

Yahoo! headquarters in Sunnyvale purple Yahoo! chair at reception area

In addition to providing easy access to billions of web pages, Google has many special features to help you to find exactly what you're looking for. Google Employees love to work and rest ...

In addition to providing easy access to billions of web pages, Google has many special features to help you to find exactly what you're looking for.

Whenever books in our Google Book Search index contain content that matches your search terms, you'll see links to those books under Book Results at the top of your search results page. Click on any book title and you'll see the page in that book which contains your search terms, as well as other information about the title. Click one of the links under " Buy this Book " and you'll go straight to a bookstore selling that book online.

Book Search in Google

To use Google's built-in calculator function, simply enter the calculation you'd like done into the search box and hit the Enter key or click on the Google Search button. These sample queries demonstrate the utility and power of this new feature: 5+2*2 2^20 sqrt(-4) half a cup in teaspoons 160 pounds * 4000 feet in Calories Calculator

To use Google's built-in calculator function, simply enter the calculation you'd like done into the search box and hit the Enter key or click on the Google Search button.

These sample queries demonstrate the utility and power of this new feature:

5+2*2

2^20

sqrt(-4)

half a cup in teaspoons

160 pounds * 4000 feet in Calories

Currency Conversion To use our built-in currency converter, simply enter the conversion you'd like done into the Google search box and hit "Enter" or click the Google Search button Here are some sample queries : 3.5 USD in GBP currency of Brazil in Malaysian money 5 British pounds in South Korean money 2.2 USD per gallon in INR per litre

Currency Conversion

To use our built-in currency converter, simply enter the conversion you'd like done into the Google search box and hit "Enter" or click the Google Search button

Here are some sample queries :

3.5 USD in GBP

currency of Brazil in Malaysian money

5 British pounds in South Korean money

2.2 USD per gallon in INR per litre

The "I'm Feeling Lucky™" button takes you directly to the first web page Google returned for your query. You will not see the other search results at all. An "I'm Feeling Lucky" search means you spend less time searching for web pages and more time looking at them. For example, to find the homepage for Stanford University , simply enter Stanford into the search field and click on the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button. Google takes you directly to "www.stanford.edu" , the official homepage of Stanford University.

The "I'm Feeling Lucky™" button takes you directly to the first web page Google returned for your query. You will not see the other search results at all. An "I'm Feeling Lucky" search means you spend less time searching for web pages and more time looking at them.

For example, to find the homepage for Stanford University , simply enter Stanford into the search field and click on the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button. Google takes you directly to "www.stanford.edu" , the official homepage of Stanford University.

You may occasionally see small images at the top of your Google search results. These are images that Google thinks is relevant to your search terms . You can also find relevant images by doing a Google Image Search , or by adding words like 'pics' or 'pictures' to your search terms when you do a regular web

You may occasionally see small images at the top of your Google search results. These are images that Google thinks is relevant to your search terms .

The word "site" followed by a colon enables you to restrict your search to a specific site. To do this, use the site:sampledomain.com syntax in the Google search box. For example, to find admission information on Stanford's site, enter: Site Search

The word "site" followed by a colon enables you to restrict your search to a specific site. To do this, use the site:sampledomain.com syntax in the Google search box. For example, to find admission information on Stanford's site, enter:

To use Google to find street maps, enter a U.S. street address, including zip code or city/ state (e.g. 165 University Ave Palo Alto CA), in the Google search box. Often, the street address and city name will be enough. example: When Google recognizes your query as a map request, we'll show you your address on a Google map and enable you to obtain directions and store your default location. Street Maps

To use Google to find street maps, enter a U.S. street address, including zip code or city/ state (e.g. 165 University Ave Palo Alto CA), in the Google search box. Often, the street address and city name will be enough.

example:

When Google recognizes your query as a map request, we'll show you your address on a Google map and enable you to obtain directions and store your default location.

Search in Chisinau View from the satellite Tags on the map show some places around

Google Maps Google Sky

To see weather conditions and a four-day forecast for a particular U.S. or worldwide location, type "weather," followed by the location. Usually a city name will be enough. If you like to see the weather of this location on your personalized Google homepage, you can do this by clicking on the button 'Add to my Google homepage' in the upper right corner.

To see weather conditions and a four-day forecast for a particular U.S. or worldwide location, type "weather," followed by the location. Usually a city name will be enough.

If you like to see the weather of this location on your personalized Google homepage, you can do this by clicking on the button 'Add to my Google homepage' in the upper right corner.

Web Page Translation Google breaks the language barrier with this translation feature. Using machine translation technology, Google now gives you the ability to access web pages in languages other than your own. Currently, Google offers the following translation pairs: English to and from Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, and Portuguese; and German to and from French. If your search results contain a page in one of these languages, and we support your translation pair, you can translate that page into your language with a single click.

Google breaks the language barrier with this translation feature. Using machine translation technology, Google now gives you the ability to access web pages in languages other than your own. Currently, Google offers the following translation pairs: English to and from Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, and Portuguese; and German to and from French.

If your search results contain a page in one of these languages, and we support your translation pair, you can translate that page into your language with a single click.

Web Page Translation Will use this link to see how it works

Who Links to You? Some words, when followed by a colon , have special meanings to Google. One such word for Google is the link: operator. The query link:siteURL shows you pages that point to that URL. For example, link:www.google.com will show you pages that point to Google's home page.

Some words, when followed by a colon , have special meanings to Google. One such word for Google is the link: operator. The query link:siteURL shows you pages that point to that URL. For example, link:www.google.com will show you pages that point to Google's home page.

link:www.etrc.md

logos The company includes various modifications of their logo for use on holidays, birthdays of famous people, and major events, like the Olympics . These special logos, designed by Dennis Hwang , have become known as Google Doodles . Hwang has been designing the Google Doodles ever since 2000. The current official Google logo was designed by Ruth Kedar . Dennis Hwang

Dennis Hwang's drawings are viewed by nearly 180 million people a day. He's one of the most important graphic designers in the business world being 29 years old. Holiday greetings, 2007 First day of spring, 2008 St. Valentine’s Day, 2008 National Teacher Day

In Britain every year is organized a special competition for students aged between 5 and 16. They have to create a Doodle. Each doodle requires a title and a statement that is less than 60 words. After some time, the regional winners are announced and then the winning doodles go onto the Doodle4Google website, where the public get the opportunity to vote for the winner. The prize is a trip to the Google campus in California and the hosting of your doodle for 24 hours on the Google UK website. Online Contest

In Britain every year is organized a special competition for students aged between 5 and 16. They have to create a Doodle. Each doodle requires a title and a statement that is less than 60 words.

After some time, the regional winners are announced and then the winning doodles go onto the Doodle4Google website, where the public get the opportunity to vote for the winner.

The prize is a trip to the Google campus in California and the hosting of your doodle for 24 hours on the Google UK website.

Claire Rammelkamp, a 14-year old , Winner of the “My Future” UK doodle contest for students. According to Google, over 65000 doodles were created around the theme “My Future” . http://www.google.co.uk/doodle4google/index.html The logo is titled This or this? and shows two variants of future earth; one destroyed (by global warming, pollution and/ or war), and one alive and green, powered by natural energy. The two letters in the Google logo are formed by these two alternative futures.

Discussion questions STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show to Student B) What do you know about the history of Google? How often do you use Google? How do you think Google compares with other search engines? Do you have any complaints about Google? What other services do you think Google should provide? What would life be like without Google (or other search engines)? Would you like to work for Google? How did Google come to be one of the biggest companies in the world in such a short space of time? How do you think Google’s owners feel about their success? What does the verb ‘Google’ mean? STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS What do you think of the name Google as a company name? What do you know about the different products and services Google has? Are you always happy with the searches you make on Google? What do you use Google (or other search engines) for? What do you think of Google’s mission statement to “organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful"? Have you ever used Google Earth? What do you think of Google’s slogan: “Don’t Be Evil”? Google employees are encouraged to spend 20% of their work time on projects that interest them. Is this a good idea? What do you know about these companies that Google bought – Blogger, YouTube and DoubleClick? Do you use Google Alerts or Google’s Desktop Toolbar?

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show to Student B)

What do you know about the history of Google?

How often do you use Google?

How do you think Google compares with other search engines?

Do you have any complaints about Google?

What other services do you think Google should provide?

What would life be like without Google (or other search engines)?

Would you like to work for Google?

How did Google come to be one of the biggest companies in the world in such a short space of time?

How do you think Google’s owners feel about their success?

What does the verb ‘Google’ mean?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS

What do you think of the name Google as a company name?

What do you know about the different products and services Google has?

Are you always happy with the searches you make on Google?

What do you use Google (or other search engines) for?

What do you think of Google’s mission statement to “organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful"?

Have you ever used Google Earth?

What do you think of Google’s slogan: “Don’t Be Evil”?

Google employees are encouraged to spend 20% of their work time on projects that interest them. Is this a good idea?

What do you know about these companies that Google bought – Blogger, YouTube and DoubleClick?

Do you use Google Alerts or Google’s Desktop Toolbar?

The End