🚀 go-pugleaf

Based on workshops and classes I have taught to hundreds of mental health
professionals, my strategy is to first take them on a case based tour of
clinical resources available for working with patients with substance
abuse, PTSD, medical illnesses, depression, and other problems. This serves
to show busy professionals the valuable resources one can find online, such
as sites for medication information,  practice guidelines, self-help
resources and support groups, research, MEDLINE searches, alternative
therapies etc. Then I provide more systematic coverage of search skills and
strategies. The web site with the links accompanying my course is at:

http://www.internetguides.com/mhilp.html

David

>Date:         Fri, 23 Apr 1999 10:47:26 -0400
>Reply-To: Jo-Ann Benedetti <BenedeJ@MAIL.AMC.EDU>
>Sender: Internet/BITNET Network Trainers
>              <NETTRAIN@LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU>
>From: Jo-Ann Benedetti <BenedeJ@MAIL.AMC.EDU>
>Subject:      Re: Teaching Search Engines: Charts Available
>Comments: To: Janet.E.Alexander@WIDENER.EDU
>To: NETTRAIN@LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU
>
>Janet (et al)
>
>I like your charts, and know that a lot of time and effort went into them. =
> I also use charts, and I get a lot of positive feedback about my =
>chart....but I think I'm going about it the wrong way. =20
>
>My outline USED to go something like this:
>
>1.  explain what a search engine is
>2.  describe the limits of a search engine (what is indexed, what is not)
>3.  define the following terms (with examples) on the board
>boolean
>+/- syntax
>phrase searching
>proximity operators
>field searching
>case sensitivity
>truncation
>
>4.  start the hands on portion:
>
>How to find a site=20
>
>1.  educated guess  (www.merck.com;  www.harvard.edu)
>2.  Yahoo (then I describe what it is, that humans index it....yadda =
>yadda) & we search a broad topic like "pediatric surgery"
>3.  briefly mention Inktomi (doing a specific search on Yahoo (like =
>pyloric stenosis) throws you into Intktomi's huge db, but results are not =
>ranked & often irrelevant)
>4.  Go to Alta Vista simple search (demonstrate +/-, phrase, field =
>searching, ) then to advanced search for Boolean and proximity
>5.  go to Excite (demonstrate boolean with AND, OR and reiterate phrase =
>searching) show advanced search drop-downs quickly
>6.  go to Infoseek (demonstrate +/- again, reiterate phrase searching)
>7.  go to Northern Light (you can use +/- or Boolean, truncation, phrase =
>searching
>8.  go to Hot Bot to briefly discuss stop words, demonstrate drop downs.
>
>
>Doing it this way, the students LOVED the chart, because it kept them =
>straight.  (Let's see, plus/minus syntax in Infoseek, but Boolean in =
>Excite...oh yes, it has to be in uppercase)  I just don't think they are =
>learning the concepts, and I think they end up confused a week later. =20
>
>(as Sean said: "if you are trying to impart some valuable take-away
>strategy to casual users in a brief show-and-tell type session, there
>may not be time to effectively teach separate techniques and query
>language quirks for each SE (at least not anything an audience will
>remember next week).")
>
>This, I think, has been my mistake.  I'm thinking of telling them less =
>about the quirks of each engine, and just focusing on what the engines =
>have in common.  By the way, my audience is medical students, physicians, =
>nurses, medical staff, biomedical researchers, and administrators =
>(secretaries, clerks, temps, )  They are, for the most part, impatient =
>about getting results....they don't care that AltaVista and ask Jeeves =
>have partnered so that queries will go through an "AskJeeves"  even if you =
>don't want them to.  No, just tell them how to find clinical practice =
>guidelines for the management of type II diabetes.  Skip the fluff.
>
>Anyway, I know this is long, but I need to revamp, and I know that many of =
>you have great courses you're offering. =20
>I enjoy hearing how the rest of you are doing this....when I revise the =
>course I'll send out the outline.
>
>Jo-Ann
>
>Jo-Ann Benedetti
>Education and Technology Librarian
>Albany Medical College
>benedej@mail.amc.edu
>518-262-6058
>


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David Lukoff, Ph.D.                     Case Based Learning

1035 B St                               Internet Guides Press
Petaluma CA 94952
http://www.internetguides.com
(707) 763-3576
dlukoff@home.com