Google Intermediate
Training
This training session was provided in July 2004 by Tom
Peters (tpeters@tapinformation.com)
on behalf of the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center (www.mitbc.org) and the InfoEyes
Project (www.infoeyes.org), a
multi-state online reference and training service for the blind and visually
impaired.
This intermediate session builds on the Beginning Google session offered in June 2004. The outline for the beginning session is
available online at http://www.tapinformation.com/Googleintro.htm.
After a brief review of the software we are using for this
session, we will explore various intermediate and advanced aspects of Google, including:
1. Changing
your Google preferences
2. The
advanced interface for searching the Web
3. Google News
4. Froogle
5. Google Local
6. Google Groups
7. Adding
a Google toolbar to your browser software
Brief Review of iVocalize
training software from Talking Communities
Making an Audio Recording
If you wish to record today’s session for later playback, simultaneously
press the Alt and R keys on your keyboard.
This will open a “Save As” dialogue box.
The cursor already should be positioned in the input box for a file
name. Type in the name you wish to give
this file, then press the Enter key on your keyboard.
The file will be saved in the Windows Media Audio file format. WMA files can be played back in many of the
free media software programs, such as Windows Media Player, Real Player, and
Music Match Jukebox.
Please note that you need version nine of the Windows Media Player software
to be able to make an audio recording of a discussion in an iVocalize
room.
Text Chat
Simultaneous press ALT and T to move your
cursor into the text chat input box. When you have finished typing your text message, simply press
Return to send your message to everyone in the room.
Voice over IP
If you have a microphone connected to your
computer, you can speak over the Internet by pressing and holding the Control
key.
Remember to release the Control key when you have finished speaking.
Only one person can speak at once. If you press and hold the Control key while
someone else is speaking, when it is your turn to speak you will hear a little
beep.
Changing Your Preferences
The default interface language is English, but you may change it to another
language.
By default, Google searches for webpages written in all languages, but you may change it to
search only for pages written in English and Spanish, for example.
By default Google uses moderate filtering, which
means that webpages containing explicitly sexual
imagery are blocked. You can change your
preference so that no filtering is applied, or so that strict filtering is
applied, meaning that sexually explicit text and images are blocked.
By default ten webpage summaries are presented on each results page in Google. You may
change that so that 20, 30, 50, or 100 summaries are presented on each
page.
If you change any of your preferences, tab down to the “save preferences”
hot button and press enter. You will be
presented with an alert box indicating that your preferences have been
changed. Tab to the “OK” button and
press enter. This will return you to the
Google homepage.
Note: Changing your preferences in Google will not work if you have disabled cookies on your
browser.
Advanced Interface for Searching the Web
Four search input boxes are presented.
The first looks for webpages containing all of
the words you enter. This is the same as
the basic search method. The second
option looks for webpages with the exact phrase you
enter. The third input box looks for webpages containing at least one of the words you
enter. The fourth box looks for webpages without the words you enter.
In advanced search mode you also can change on the fly the number of
summary results to be displayed on each results page (10, 20, 30, 50, or
100).
You also may search for webpages written in a
specific language.
You also may search only for webpages in a
specific file format, such as PDF, Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, and
Rich Text Format. You also may use the
file format filter in advanced search mode to exclude a file format from your
search results.
By default Google searches for webpages updated anytime, but you can change that parameter
to return only webpages updated with the last three
months, six months, or a year.
By default Google searches for your search words
or phrase everywhere in the webpage. You
can change that so that Google searches only in the
title, the text, the URL, or the embedded links.
By default Google searches across all domain
names used in Internet addresses, such as .com, .edu,
.gov, .org, .mil.
In advanced search mode you can have Google
search only for pages that end in a particular domain. Alternatively, you can ask Google to exclude the webpages
that end in a certain domain.
Google News
Start your browser software (for example, Internet Explorer, Netscape)
According to the Google News website, “Google News
presents information culled from approximately 4,500 news sources worldwide and
automatically arranged to present the most relevant news first. Topics are
updated continuously throughout the day….Google News
is highly unusual in that it offers a news service compiled solely by computer
algorithms without human intervention.”
Google News includes
articles that have appeared within the last 30 days.
The “most relevant” news stories are clustered automatically into
categories, including top news stories, world, U.S., business, science
and technology, sports, entertainment, and health.
A text version of Google News is
available. Find and click on the “text
version” hotlink on the Google News homepage.
An advanced news search interface is available at the following URL:
Google News is offered in several national versions, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, the UK, and the US.
Froogle
Froogle is a service from Google
that helps you find information about products that are available for sale
online. You cannot purchase goods and
serviced directly in Froogle. It points you to sites where items of
interest to you may be purchased. It is
a good way to comparison shop for items and to get a sense of the current
street price for something.
Froogle ranks the list of store sites it returns
entirely on relevance, not on paid placement.
Sponsored links are separated and clearly marked.
You can rearrange the display order either from highest priced item to lowest, or from lowest to highest.
An advanced Froogle search interface also is
available.
Google Local
This feature enables you to search for local businesses that provided goods
and services.
Enter your search terms and your ZIP code
Google Groups
Contains the
entire archive of Usenet discussion groups dating back to 1981.
Discussion groups can be a good source of information and opinions
about nearly every conceivable topic.
Google Toolbar
You can add a Google toolbar, including a search
input box, directly onto your browser screen.
English is the default language, but you may select another.
Tab to the “Download Google Toolbar” button and
press Enter.
Questions and Discussion
To leave the iVocalize online meeting room, simultaneously
press the Alt and the F4 keys.