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Research Disk Handout | Research Disk Template | Return to Prof. Dev. 2000

Creating a Research Disk

Why create a research disk?

  • It's easy, fun, and portable
  • Helps to overcome searcher's block
  • Provides a hands-on introduction to how hypertext documents work
  • Acts as a convenient, well organized file for the online resources most relevant for the task at hand
  • Keeps you oriented and in control working in a fluid environment

What you need?

  • A PC with basic word processing (we'll use Microsoft Notepad)
  • An Internet WWW Browser (we'll use Microsoft Explorer)
  • Connection to the Internet for online testing (we'll use the BHCC connection)
  • A floppy disk
  • A few basic HTML tags (editors like Front Page make the job easy but, for today, you'll enter your own code)
  • URL's for your most important links

Here's your template, which you will type or copy into the notepad text editor.(See basic HTML tags below for detail)

Six steps to create your own project research disk...

  • Go to the Windows 95 Start Flag
  • Highlight Accessories
  • Open Notepad
  • Type in the HTML TAGS as they appear on the template
  • Click on Save as
  • Name your file start.htm in the FILE NAME FIELD and save using the .txt file extension in the FILE TYPE FIELD extention

The HTML tags

Tip: tags come in pairs. There is always an opening and a closing tag. The basic tags are: 

    <HTML> </HTML>
Defines the extent of the HTML markup text 
<HEAD> </HEAD>
Contains descriptions of the HTML page. This meta information is not displayed as part of the web page. 
    <TITLE> </TITLE>
    Describes the title of the page. This description is usually displayed by the browser as the title of the window in which the web page is displayed. This information is also used by some search engines to compile an index of web pages. 
    <BODY> </BODY>
    Delimits the body of the web page. In the body is the text to be displayed as well as HTML markup tags to hint at the format of the text.
    <H1></H1>
    Allows you to control the size of your headings
    <P></P>
    Sets off a paragraph of text
     
    <A HREF="  "></A>
    Create a hypertext link to an Internet File 
    <A HREF="http://mypage.htm">
    The words you want to display on the screen with the hypertext link underline go here. 
    <B> </B>
    Displays the enclosed text in a bold typeface.

     

    That's it! You're on your way to working in the same medium That you'll use for the final product.