How to Find and Evaluate Free Online Resources

How to Find and Evaluate Free Online Resources

Teresa S. Welsh, [email protected]

Types of Web Sites Advocacy

Seeks to influence people' opinion

Promotes a cause

Business Promotes a product ,

service, customer support

Informational Provides factual info on

a topic or topics

News Provides current info on

local, regional, national, or international events/topics

Personal Author is person or family

with no official org affiliation

Entertainment Games, music, animation,

or video for entertainment

Southern Miss OLLI Seminar3/28/2014 2

Criteria to Evaluate Web Content1. Currency – Is there a date created or updated on the Web page and

is it current or appropriate?

2. Authority – Is the author/creator of the Web page named and do they have expertise?

3. Reliability – Is the domain .edu .gov or .mil (most reliable), .net or .org (depends on org), or .com (least reliable)? Is content objective/unbiased, accurate?

4. Scope – Is the information complete? Is it basic or advanced? Who is the intended audience?


Web Indexes Compiled by Info Specialists http://www.ipl.org/

Internet Public Library

http://www.itcompany.com/inforetriever/ Internet Library for Librarians

http://libraryspot.com/

https://scout.wisc.edu/archives/index.php?P=Advanced Internet Scout Project


http://www.beaucoup.com/

http://www.dmoz.org/

Meta-Search Engines http://www.dmoz.org/ http://mamma.com/

Vortals (Subject Specific) www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/pages/bones/less

on4.shtml

Search Engines Compiled by Robots


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and (default) (limits search results)

or (expands search results) “ ” + - ~ .. *

bound (exact) phrase bound (exact) phrase “blue “blue sky”sky”

required required +google+google without without -yahoo-yahoo

synonymssynonyms ~automobile~automobile

year range year range president president 1940..19601940..1960

wildcardwildcard “francis * coppola”“francis * coppola”(one or more words in a phrase)(one or more words in a phrase)

Searching


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Searching

Domain library site:usm.edu

File type filetype:pdf

Images

Local search pizza Hattiesburg

Within URL or Title allinurl, inurl, allintitle, intitle

www.google.com/intl/en/help/features.html


Google Translate translate.google.com/

Toolbar toolbar.google.com

Book Search books.google.com

Scholar/Citations scholar.google.com/

Documents, Spreadsheets docs.google.com

Picasa (upload photos) picasa.google.com

Google Guide www.googleguide.com


Free Online Databases:

eric.ed.gov/ Education Resources Information Center

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?otool=wiuwiblib PubMed

www.ingentaconnect.com/ IngentaConnect

www.osti.gov/scitech/ SciTech Connect


Free Tech Tools: https://www.openoffice.org/

Similar to Office Suite, compatible w/Word, Excel, Ppt

http://www.wix.com/ Create a personal Web page

http://animoto.com/ Create a video photo album with background music

http://pixlr.com/ Photo editor

http://www.skype.com/en/ Video call anywhere for free


Virtual Cloud: Sign up for free account www.dropbox.com/ Save files in various formats to virtual cloud:

photos, documents Access Dropbox account from computers, phone Can invite persons to share access to specific

folders Syncs files from multiple computers Dropbox tutorial at SlideShare


Fun Apps

Create a Bio Poem cuip.uchicago.edu/~adarice/cwsite/poems/ biopoemform.htm

Create Cartoons www.toondoo.com/

Delicious.com bookmarks delicious.com/

Create Map www.google.com/mapmaker

Create Your Own Newsletter paper.li/


More Useful Sites for Seniors Free senior newswire, resources http://savvysenior.org/

Weebly.com Web site, blog builder http://www.weebly.com/

The Internet Archive/Wayback Machinehttp://www.archive.org

Instagram Phone App filter images, post to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr http://instagram.com/


Where can I find free medical info? http://nihseniorhealth.gov/

Information by topic Health videos Free Tips on Healthy Aging e-newsletter

http://www.webmd.com/ Search by symptom, health condition, medication

http://www.mayoclinic.org/ Symptom checker, First-aid guide

http://www.pdrhealth.com/ Search by drug name, health condition, or disease


Medical Info for Specific Illnesses Heart Disease

http://www.heart.org/ http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/

Cancer http://acor.org/ and http://www.cancer.org/ http://www.cancer.gov/

Diabetes http://diabetes.org/ http://ndep.nih.gov/


Keeping a Healthy Body, Mind go4life.nia.nih.gov/

Exercises, Tip sheets

www.helpguide.org/life/senior_fitness_sports.htm Exercise & Fitness over 50: Tips for Getting

Started

www.lumosity.com/ Brain games to exercise memory & attention

www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/features/ 7 Brain-Boosters

www.alz.org/ and www.alzinfo.org/ Southern Miss OLLI Seminar3/28/2014 16

Anti-Aging Nutrition

www.nutrition.gov/life-stages/seniors

www.helpguide.org/life/senior_nutrition.htm What your body needs, Tips for healthy eating

over 50

www.doctoroz.com/videos/ Dr. Andrew Weil Supplements, super foods, breathing exercise

www.doctoroz.com/slideshow/anti-aging-foods-gallery 32 foods that fight aging


Where can I find business and investment information?

www.usa.gov/topics/money/investing/tips.shtml

www.bbb.org/council/ Better Business Bureau

www.sec.gov/investor/seniors.shtml SEC Investing Tips for Seniors

www.investor.gov/news-alerts/ Tips to Avoid Investor Fraud


How can I find US government info? www.usa.gov/Topics/Seniors.

shtml Consumer protection, fed &

state agencies, money/taxes, retirement, travel/recreation

www.c-span.org/live/ videos, podcasts, smartphone

app

US Government Manual Official Handbook of US gov Lists gov agencies, contact info


What about info on congressmen?

Congressional Directory Bios of congressmen

www.govtrack.us/ Tracks congress voting record

http://www.opensecrets.org/ Fundraising amounts, top donors

http://www.contactingthecongress.org/


What about Mississippi info? www.ms.gov/content/Pages/ServicesResidents.as

px Online services for residents

www.statelocalgov.net/state-ms.cfm List of links to state by department, county, cities

www.866ourvote.org/state/ms Miss. election information

www.visitmississippi.org/

www.deep-south-usa.com/mississippi/


How can I find historical info? www.loc.gov/

Digital images, historic newspapers, audio American Folklife Center, American Memory

mhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/ Smithsonian exhibit

www.archives.gov/index.html Veterans service records, historical records,

photos

mdah.state.ms.us/new/ State archives, digital images, public reading room


How can I find historical videos?YouTube Videos www.youtube.com/

Create a free account, subscribe to channels

Favorite VideosThe Southern Miss Story

www.youtube.com/watch?v=z--6nAEEAO4

Beatrix Potter Collection at OLLI www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbRRFg9-tkU

de Grummond Children’s Literature Exhibit www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKuqEEJ6dgk


How can I find genealogy info? http://home.ancestry.com/

https://familysearch.org/

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/

http://usgenweb.org/

http://www.findagrave.com Cemetery search

mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/gen_research.php

libguides.lib.usm.edu/genealogy


Where can I find travel tips? www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/trip-planni

ng/

www.getyourguide.com/

www.tripadvisor.com/

www.retiredbrains.com/

www.usa.gov/Topics/Seniors/Travel.shtml Amtrak Senior Discount Federal Parks & Recreation Senior Pass $10 lifetime pass


Mississippi Resources mississippibelieveit.com/home/

www.mlc.lib.ms.us/ServicesToLibraries/BPHLS.html Blind, physically handicapped library services Audio books, braille books & magazines, large-

print books

www.gulfcoast.org/

www.natchezms.com/

www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm Natchez Trace beautiful, historic scenic drive


Hattiesburg Resources www.hattiesburg.org/

www.hattiesburgms.com/

downtownhattiesburg.com/ Historic Hattiesburg Downtown Association

www.hattiesburghistoricneighborhood.com/

www.hattiesburgms.com/cultural/museum African-American Military Museum, Armed Forces

Museum www.hahsmuseum.org/

Hattiesburg Area Historical Society
