File: Chat Log 10/31/93
Date: 10/31/93
Start Time: 8:02:01 PM
End Time: 9:02:20 PM

Participants: AFA Bard, AFL Gayle, AnneH48931, Ljpm, LoveTennis, MaristR, NormaB5172, SandyE, StratfielD

AFA Bard   : Welcome, Norma! Tonight, Norma, we'll be discussing INTERNET We usually have a great mix of educators and parents (and students) here.  It's very informal, but we all learn alot.
NormaB5172 : I'd like to know what areas all of you teach in. 
AFA Bard   : areas as in subjects? I'm a former middle school Science teacher who's now a district computer coordinator.  Gayle's a
AFL Gayle  : I'm a school library media specialist in a high school in Goldsboro, NC, Norma.
AFA Bard   : media specialist extraordinaire.
NormaB5172 : Yes, subjects.  I'm a media specialist.  I teach research skills and computer skills.
AFA Bard   : Where are you from, Norma? <--- Atlanta, GA
AFL Gayle  : Whoa! Another media specialist? :))) Great! :)
AFA Bard   : Welcome CMulter!
AFL Gayle  : What grade levels, Norma?
NormaB5172 : I'm from Northvale, NJ.  Northern New Jersey.  I teach grades 3 & 4 right now. 
AFL Gayle  : Is your media center automated?
AFA Bard   : Saaaaaannndddyyyy!
SandyE     : good evening ghosts and goblins, anyone else in costume this eve?
NormaB5172 : We're not automated yet, but I'll be putting it in the budget for '94-'95.
AFA Bard   : Meet Norma, Sandy & Anne, she's a media specialist from Northvale NJ.  Why not introduce yourselves!
AFL Gayle  : Have you chosen a company yet to use?
AnneH48931 : I'm a computer ed teacher in Ok
AFA Bard   : What level, Anne?  ES, MS or HS?
NormaB5172 : Probably Follet since our middle school has gone with them. We'd all like to network.
SandyE     : Hi, Norma, I'm Sandy, and I maintain a Macintosh Lab in a middle school in Lawrenceville, GA 
AnneH48931 : ES 1-6th
AFA Bard   : Ann, Norma's working with grades 3 & 4 right now.
SandyE     : Norma, how much automation do you plan?
NormaB5172 : I maintain an Apple IIe lab (old-fashioned, huh?).  I do use Macs and IBM's in the library
AFL Gayle  : No, Norma! Apples are wonderfully useful computers. :)
SandyE     : WOW, you do an Apple IIe lab AND a library!!!??? Do you eat, sleep or go home?
AnneH48931 : We we both 
NormaB5172 : I want to computerize my circulation and possibly the card catalog.  
AFL Gayle  : Definitely do the card catalog. :) That's the best part of automation. :) 
SandyE     : Our media center uses the Mandarin system for card catalog 
NormaB5172 : I'm in a small school, only 180 students so doing both jobs is fun.  I do work till 4 or 5
AnneH48931 : Our library is on Follett, seh seems to like it prett well
AFL Gayle  : Speaking of Mandarin, I was at the NC Library Association conference several weeks ago. Elliott Goldstein from SIRS said his company is going to be doing a deal with Mandarin.
AFA Bard   : What kind of a deal, Gayle?
SandyE     : I hope SIRS can become more user friendly.  The last time I saw it, it wasn't...still true?
AFL Gayle  : Not sure, Bard. Going to be selling Mandarin, I think. You mean the SIRS CD-ROM, Sandy? ::puzzled:: It's very friendly? 
NormaB5172 : We use CD-ROM software in the media center.  Any suggestions for grades 3 & 4?
SandyE     : No, it was on a DOS machine, hooked into a modem and we used line commands to access info. Maybe I'm thinking of something else...
AFL Gayle  : Must be. SIRS is Social Issues Resources Series, based in Boca Raton, FL.
NormaB5172 : We love using Nat'l Geog. Mammals and Grolier Multi-Media encyclopedia.  Any others?
AFL Gayle  : In the past (and still do) they publish big notebooks with collected articles
SandyE     : Norma, our middle schoolers use Compton's Encyclopedia and Nat'l Geog. Mammals also
AFL Gayle  : about topics. Don't know many elementary topics on CD-ROM, Norma.
SandyE     : Yes, Gayle, that sounds like the lookups we were doing...Mag. articles, abstracts etc.
AFL Gayle  : Well, the SIRS CD-ROM I have lists the topics right on the screen. No typing unless you want to jump quickly to a topic.
SandyE     : It was about 2 years ago...could it have changed since then? Ours was definitely not a CD-ROM
AFL Gayle  : Our announced topic tonight, besides Halloween, :) is Internet. Dunno, Sandy. I've never seen SIRS in the form you're talking about. We have one FREE hour to give away this evening to one lucky person! You must stay until the end of the chat to be eligible. :) We'll be looking for a word
SandyE     : OH, wait....maybe it was something called ERIC.  Ever hear of that?
AFA Bard   : Sandy, are you talking about the disk-based, thematic SIRS, like the ones at Trickum?
AFL Gayle  : to be said that will go to the winner. :) Ah... ERIC! That's something completely different! Speaking of ERIC, Internet is a good place to find and use ERIC. :) 
SandyE     : Bard, it was at Trickum, and I think it was ERIC, after all I just happened to be walking through the media center and Debby K. needed some DOS advice.  That's been the extent of my experience. How does it work on Internet?
AFL Gayle  : The site for ERIC, which is Syracuse, NY, is available on Internet. The people
SandyE     : Hi, Lawrence, how's Arizona?
AFL Gayle  : who work at ERIC offer a service where you can send them topics, and they'll do an ERIC search for you and send you back the citations.
AnneH48931 : An article I just finished is asking that Internet be more accessible to more people.
AFA Bard   : We can get to ERIC through Internet at the University of Georgia site, Sandy.  If you're a student, you automatically get an account. :)
AFL Gayle  : Also, the staff at ERIC runs my very FAVORITE Listserv, LM_NET, which is for library media specialists.
Ljpm       : Arizona is great, but my name is really Mary Anne
AFA Bard   : I agree, Anne.  Several private companies, as well as the BIGGIES like Paramount and the BELL 
SandyE     : Yes, if I remember correctly, that's exactly what Debby K. was doing with it.
AFA Bard   : companies are working on bringing Internet to every household.
SandyE     : Well, OK, hi Mary Anne....
AFL Gayle  : I think Internet IS becoming more accessible to more people, Anne. AOL will soon be expanding users' access to Internet.
SandyE     : Internet to every household....there's a concept
AFL Gayle  : That's got to be an improvement because the access to INET offered by universities isn't very user-friendly (my personal opinion. :) Certainly, Internet and how to use it is a booming topic in the publishing industry.
AnneH48931 : I think they were wanting an easy to use date base kind of  format with real names!
SandyE     : I've always wondered who actually controls Internet, or maintains it...it seems to be so huge!
AFL Gayle  : Not sure I understand what you're saying, Anne? Database format? No one really controls it, Sandy. It's sort of an anarchy, although there is an Internet Society. It's maintained individually at each site. Huge it definitely is!
AFA Bard   : Internet is *not* for the feint of heart.  Luckily, there ARE "front-end" tools like GOPHER and other that make it a breeze.
SandyE     : I take it each Listserv has an administrator, or sorts...
AFL Gayle  : Do you use Internet regularly, Sandy and Anne?
AnneH48931 : With  real names so when you find something you  will know how  you found it so you can  
LoveTennis : Hi Sandy E. Thanks for the mail. 
AnneH48931 : find it again.
AFA Bard   : In case you missed 'em there are two GREAT files in our TEACHER TOOLS library- they're called THE 
SandyE     : I've been there, but not much recently.  I've had some friends at Emory University that forward mail to me
AFA Bard   : INCOMPLETE GUIDE TO THE INTERNET.  Great tutorial and overview!
AFL Gayle  : OK. Listservs are not the same as a site. One administrator can run several
AFA Bard   : (They're in ASCII format!)
SandyE     : Hi--LoveTennis
AFL Gayle  : Listservs, but, yes, Sandy, each Listserv has at least one adminstrator. Many have two. The Listserv people are often "ordinary" ;) people like us, not necessarily computer experts at colleges.
AnneH48931 : go to go too many intrerruptions tonight.
AFA Bard   : And a LISTSERVE is nothing more than a "group mailing address"- kind of an automatic cc: G'night Anne!
AFL Gayle  : No "e" on Listserv, Bard. :) But you're correct about what it is. :)
SandyE     : Teacher Tools....in AED?
AFA Bard   : Yup.. used to be in NEW FILES. ;)
AFL Gayle  : Yes, Sandy. AED Libraries. :)
AFA Bard   : To get on a list (once you know the name) you simply send a note saying:   subscribe LISTNAME, your first name, your last name From then on, you're on the LISTSERV.  A similar unsubscribe message gets you off.
AFL Gayle  : What lists do you subscribe to, Bard? Sandy, which ones did your friends find interesting? LoveTennis, have you used Internet?
AFA Bard   : Beware, though, get on three or four large lists and you'll get REAMS of e-mail daily!!! (learned the hard way!)
LoveTennis : No, I am lost during this conversation.
AFL Gayle  : LOL, Bard! Which ones wiped you out? ;)
SandyE     : I was doing a quilt panel for the AIDS quilt and a quilting acquaintance forwarded some quilting info to me
AFA Bard   : Sandy, you QUILT?  Jeesh- is there no end to your talents???
AFL Gayle  : Interesting. I didn't know there was a quilting list. Or was the information from an AIDS list?
SandyE     : Gayle, I wish I could remember the LISTSERV, but I can't.
AFA Bard   : Love, are you enrolled in graduate school, per chance?
LoveTennis : Yep, I  am going for my 2nd masters. I am now a counselor -7th grade.
AFA Bard   : That might be an easy (and free) way for you to get access to Internet. Simply contact your campus MIS department and ask for an account.  Most schools grant them on request!
SandyE     : OK, someone brave....define (in 25 words or less) the Internet. 
LoveTennis : Thanks AFA Bard. Sounds great.
AFL Gayle  : 1) (n) a source of vasts amounts of information Make that vast :)
AFA Bard   : an international network of colleges, universities, research institutions, gov't, and a few businesses Internet started, as all whiz-bang stuff does, with a military project called ARPA-Net.  (Is that 25?)
SandyE     : Close enough to 25...I've ready many interesting articles about Internet, but it's always seemed to 
LoveTennis : Can you do research projects from Internet?
SandyE     : me to be a huge octopus...that's how I've always envisioned it. ready=read
AFA Bard   : Yes, LoveT, there are hundreds of teachers online, as well as databases full of information.  The trick to doing projects on Internet is helping your students to navigate the knowledge. ;)
AFL Gayle  : But you can get first hand information from experts in the field on the INET, LoveT.
AFA Bard   : Welcome Stratfield!  We're discussing the INTERNET.
StratfielD : Hi, I've never used the internet, but I'd like to
AFL Gayle  : Sandy, many more tenacles than an octopus. :)
AFA Bard   : Are you an educator, Stratfield?
StratfielD : I'm an elementary librarian
AFL Gayle  : Wow! Another librarian! :) Where?
AFA Bard   : Yippee!  Another media specialist!!! Gayle, this is your luck day! ;)
StratfielD : Where are you, Gayle, Bard? I'm in Fairfield, Ct.
AFL Gayle  : Goldsboro, NC, at Goldsboro High School
LoveTennis : StatfieldD I have a program going at our middle school where we read to 1st graders. Any book suggestions for low level middle school readers?
AFA Bard   : <-- Atlanta, Ga. LoveT- have you discovered the CD-ROM versions of GRANDMA & ME and ARTHUR'S TEACHER TROUBLES by
StratfielD : I was in a high school last year, so I'm just getting acquainted with lower reading levels.  You
AFA Bard   : Broderbund?  They're terrific!
AFL Gayle  : Gee, we just switched jobs, Stratfield. ;) I was in a K-9 school until this year.
StratfielD : The kids at middle level and 1st grade might enjoy Chris van Alsburg's books
LoveTennis : I love the CD-ROM books. Those intergrated books are fantastic. I'm looking for reading materials.
AFL Gayle  : Hi, Roger! :)
AFA Bard   : Welcome ROGER!  We're chatting about INTERNET.
MaristR    : Hey guys. Great, I have a session at GISA on internet next week.
LoveTennis : Chris van Alsburg - what are the titles of some of his work?
MaristR    : I just picked up a new book about internet. Internet for Dummies.
AFL Gayle  : LoveT, Arthur's Christmas would be a good choice soon for your students to read Try Polar Express by Van Allsburg. Who publishes that book, Roger?
StratfielD : Do you know each other?  Van Alsburg: Jumanji, The stranger,of course, polar express, and The widow's broom
LoveTennis : Thanks, AFL Gayle.Polar Express is a great book. 
AFL Gayle  : Roger has been here before, Stratfield. Bard knows Roger "in person."
StratfielD : Van Alsburg has other books also: the wretched stone, harris burdick, and ben's dream
MaristR    : Sorry, I got dropped offline.
AFL Gayle  : Re-HI, Roger! Who publishes Internet for Dummies?
LoveTennis : Thanks for the info. I love the book The GivingTree by Shel Silverstein.
MaristR    : IDG Books
AFL Gayle  : Thanks, Roger. :) Silverstein's poetry books would be popular with both ages, too, LoveT.
SandyE     : I love the Giving Tree...still makes me cry 
MaristR    : Have you talked about The Whole Internet by Ed Krol?
StratfielD : They might like poems by Jack Prelutsky, too.
AFL Gayle  : Not yet. Do you want to talk about it, Roger? :) Great book!
SandyE     : Tell us about Internet for Dummies also Rog
AFL Gayle  : Excellent suggestion, Stratfield! New Kid on the Block!
MaristR    : I just bought Internet for Dummies this afternoon.  The other Dummies books are pretty good so I expect this one to be too.
StratfielD : Can you get on the Internet from AOL?
MaristR    : It is a very down to earth book.  Written for the novice.
AFL Gayle  : A friend of mine swears by WordPerfect for Dummies. Before that book, she was swearing at WP! ;)
MaristR    : AOL has plans for an internet interface in the near future.
AFL Gayle  : Stratfield, you can send mail to and from the Internet on AOL. AOL has plans to expand that access in the future.
MaristR    : They have a press release about it in the news sections.
AFL Gayle  : There's an area about Internet online here. Keyword... Internet
MaristR    : Delphi has 20 hours of connect time for $20 that includes access to internet
AFL Gayle  : Roger, Delphi's access is the best offer around right now if you can't get a
MaristR    : Those in Georgia can connect to Internet for free through the Peachnet Gopher.
AFL Gayle  : "free" account from your friendly local institution of higher education.
AFA Bard   : Rog- you'll see a similar deal from AOL- but WITH some of the nifty icon-access features (like those in Eudora).
MaristR    : I can't wait to see the AOL interface.
AFA Bard   : You can bet it'll be cutting edge!
SandyE     : what's Eudora?
MaristR    : Bard, have you used the Peachnet Gopher?
AFL Gayle  : Bard's girlfriend ;) ::ducking:: :)
AFA Bard   : Eudora's a front-end program for the Mac.  It automates Internet commands.  It's alot like using Quickmail or some "friendly" mail service.  It also automates file searches (through Gopher) and other things. Yes, Rog.  Have you?
MaristR    : I have, but you need a road map to get through it, and the line noise from school is really bad.
AFA Bard   : >>>-------------{{{{{]   Gayle! Right, Rog- line noise is bad for us too, I don't think it's only your school.
AFL Gayle  : Is that pumpkin pie, Bard? :) 
MaristR    : If you want to connect to Cleveland Freenet you have to go through about 7 or 8 menus.
AFA Bard   : WITH cinnamon, Gayle. ;)
StratfielD : This has been fun, but it's time for me to go home.  Bye.
AFL Gayle  : Speaking of Halloween and pumpkins, it's time to give away our free hour
MaristR    : I've used the internet mail link to build a mialing list of Marist alumni.
SandyE     : How does one access Peachnet Gopher?
AFL Gayle  : tonight. (Wait, StratfielD!) *Drumroll*
AFA Bard   : Sandy- I'll e-mail you some directions. ;)
MaristR    : Sandy, can you connect to Edunet?
SandyE     : Thanks, Bard!
AFL Gayle  : The Great Pumpkin stopped by earlier with a special Halloween Treat for
SandyE     : I think so, Roger...haven't tried
MaristR    : Edunet has the Peachent dial up numbers.
AFL Gayle  : all teachers tonight. We have one FREE hour for Sandy, LoveTennis, StratfielD, AND Roger! :)
SandyE     : A friend said there were some problems with Edunet these days...True?
AFA Bard   : Congrats to EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!  Yippee!!!!!!! FREE HOURS for EVERYONE!!! WOW!!!!! What a deal!!!!!
LoveTennis : Thanks.
AFL Gayle  : One free hour each, that is. You don't have to share one. ;)
SandyE     : Thanks!!!!  Love the free time.....love the free advice even MORE!  Thanks all
MaristR    : Thanks for the time. There is always problems with Edunet. 
AFA Bard   : Great to see you all online- remember that the INCOMPLETE GUIDES TO THE INTERNET can be downloaded
AFL Gayle  : Come back next week, same time, same place, for another exciting AED chat! :) And, of course, our complimentary free hour to give away again. :)
AFA Bard   : from the TEACHER'S TOOLS library here in AED.  The log of this chat will be posted sometime tomorrow in our NEW FILES area. Thanks for coming, folks!
MaristR    : Sandy, you use the same number to connect to the gopher that you use to connect to Edunet.
SandyE     : G'nite all...