How can I find answers to my questions more quickly? Which Web search engines are the best? How are they best used? What tool should be used for what purpose? This in-depth course will help build skills in using the main web search tools and applying effective strategies for searching the Web. The course is completely updated for each session to include the latest features and rising stars among search tools. */Mastering Web Searching/* is a seven-week course conducted entirely via the Internet. The tours, exercises and assignments in this course along with direct tutoring from the instructor will give you the hands-on experience you need to search the Web more effectively. On completion of this course, you will:

• Be knowledgeable about the types of subject directories and be able to use them to improve searches.
• Be able to use social bookmarking services to find resources.
• Be skillful in using the syntax and special features at the leading search engines - Google, Yahoo, Ask.com, and Bing
• Be acquainted with the features of specialty search engines and be able to evaluate relative strengths
• Know the best meta-searchers to help with big-sweep searches
• Be able to find resources on the Invisible Web
• Be able to apply various strategies for starting a web search and refining it
• Be familiar with personal search tools for use in discovery and web searching.

Syllabus:

• Week 1: Orientation to the course and an overview to web searching and styles of web search.
• Week 2: Subject Directories: Value of subject directories, ways to use them, types of directories, introduction to best directories; Social Bookmarking - using social bookmarking for discovery.
• Week 3: Search Engines: How search engines work, search strategies for working with words, introduction to main web search engines.
• Week 4: Boolean: Using boolean logic to analyze questions and construct queries. Introduction to visual search tools as another way of working with search. Being more productive with personal search tools .
• Week 5: Fielded Search: Exploiting fielded searches at the major search engines for title, site, domain, url, and links to sites.
• Week 6: Meta-Search: Using meta-search engines - their features and limitations. Vertical search in the health sector. Building a custom search engine.
• Week 7: Invisible Web: Tools and approaches for penetrating the Invisible Web: scholarly web search tools, databases available at the local public library, searching inside books. Also video search tools.

How the Course Works:
For instructor-led courses such as this one, an email each Monday introduces the topic for the week. Material about the topic, pointers to important sites, and short assignments are provided at the website. Students work with the lessons and then submit their assignments for discussion with the instructor and other students. There are also scheduled live-chat sessions. Students receive individual attention from the instructor. Please allow between 5 - 8 hours each week to comfortably cover the material.

Course Requirements:
Web-based courses are modular in structure and learning builds on the lessons in the previous module. For this reason it is essential that assignments be completed in sequence and no later than one week (Sunday to Sunday) after being assigned. Students may request an extension from their instructor for medical or other valid reasons.

Computer Requirements:

• Computer with Internet connection and a personal email account accessable from any location - home, office, internet cafe. You must also have the ability to join in chat sessions at certain points during the course.
• Windows: Windows: XP or Vista with browsers Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher or Firefox 2.0/3.0.
  Apple: Mac OS 10.3 and higher using Safari 2 or 3 or Firefox 2.0.

• "I thank you for your support and your advices all the way. I really loved this course, I learned so much. It was my first experience of distance learning and I must say that I did't feel the distance at all. You were always there, very generous of your time and expertise."
• "I sure enjoyed learning a lot of new types of searches, strategies & using search engines I'd never heard of before. Lots I'm putting to use now in my daily work & getting better & quicker results."
• "It's a shock to have finished the course and not have another assignment to do. I still need to practice some things to get them right but I now have a lot of tools to work with that most people don't even know exist and I am able to search for information for some of my colleagues with more results than before."
• "I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the course. .. I got a lot out of the course and enjoyed it immensely. Thank you for sharing your expertise and all the best to you in the future."
• "I enjoyed your course so much and learned an incredible amount."