Free, Fast, and Factual: Carole Leita's Top Online Reference Sources for 2004 and Beyond (online learning course)

Instructor: Carole Leita

Free, Fast, and Factual: Carole Leita's Top Online Reference Sources for 2004 and Beyond
(An Infopeople online learning course)

September 14 - October 12, 2004

This four-week online learning course will teach you the tools you need to quickly mine the web for answers to ready reference questions. Additionally, through exercises, quizzes, and threaded discussions, you will update your knowledge of the best, free, online web sites for finding factual answers to questions you used to have to refer elsewhere. You will also explore gateways and portals designed to lead you to the best information on specific topics and will learn new uses for old ready reference standbys. Carole Leita, founder of the Librarians' Index to the Internet and life-long reference librarian, will provide cheat sheets, guided discussions, and a webliography as well as practical tips for improving your search strategies to reduce the time spent searching for that elusive answer.

When you register for this course, you will receive the URL to get to the course and a username and password in your registration confirmation. Free, Fast, and Factual: Carole Leita's Top Online Reference Sources for 2004 and Beyond will start on September 14, 2004 and be available until October 12, 2004. We ask that you log in sometime during the first week of the course to begin the course work.

Preliminary Course Outline:

• Module One: Gateways, Portals, and Specialized Databases
  • Definitions and type
  • Sources for finding them
  • The best health, legal, and business gateways
• Module Two: The online "Ref Desk" collection
  • New uses for old standbys
  • Cool new resources
• Module Three: Subject resources for ready reference
  • Religion
  • Music
  • Statistics
  • Elections
• Module Four: Additional Techniques for Finding and Using Online Reference Tools
  • Using search engines for ready reference
  • "Limiting" for success

Instructor: Carole Leita

Who Should Take This Course: Anyone from the library community with an interest in learning about some of the latest web resources for ready reference.

Online Learning Details: This four-week course will be taught online using the web. When you register, you will receive a registration confirmation which will include the URL to get to the course, as well as a username and password. Free, Fast, and Factual: Carole Leita's Top Online Reference Sources for 2004 and Beyond will start on September 14, 2004 and end on October 12, 2004.

The workshop consists of four one-and-a-half to two-hour learning modules. You can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night. However, you will be expected to log in to the course each week to do that week's assignment. We ask that you log in sometime during the first week of the course to begin the course work.

The materials will remain available to work on for two additional weeks following the official end date, but you will be expected to accomplish the majority of the course in synchronization with your peers during the first four weeks.

Prerequisites: This course is taught over the web. You must:

• have an Internet connection and Internet Explorer 5 or higher. (Some of the quiz functions do not work properly in Netscape.)
• Be able to save a file to your computer and print it out using Microsoft Word or a compatible word processing program (free Word viewer available at http://www.microsoft.com/office/000/viewers.asp ).
• be comfortable navigating on the web and going back and forward in a website that uses frames.

If you are not comfortable with any of the above, please consider taking this course with a buddy who does meet these requirements.

If space is available you may register for this online class up to seven days after the official start date. Please contact Linda Rodenspiel at assist@infopeople.org if you are trying to register after the official start date.