Course descriptions are based on the newest versions of the Internet Technologies Platforms of the subjects offered and software listed. Programs Plus is continually updating the information in presentations and courses listed here according to the ever changing technologies and new information available.

Internet Safety:

Adware, Spyware & Spam

ID Theft

Photography:

Digital Photography Made Easy

Internet & The Web:

Bringing Your Library's Resources to the Web

Creating Effective Web Search Strategies

Educational Resources on the Internet

Google Like A Goo-Ru

I Came, I Saw, I Blogged

Instant Messaging & Chat

Internet Resources For Children & Young Adults

Internet & Search Engines

OnLine Auctions, Shopping Carts & Storefronts

Internet & The Web : Podcasting (NEW)

Pounded By The Surf

Understanding RSS & Aggregation

Search Engine Ready Your Site & Submitting

Tangled in the Web?

Web Accessibility

Web Marketing

Internet Safety Adware, Spyware & Spam
(3 or 6 hours) Basic Computer/Internet Skills

In this class students will get the answers to the following questions, and more:

• Is your PC feeling sluggish?
• Has your browser recently acquired a mysterious new toolbar?
• Are new programs showing up unexpectedly in your system tray?
• Do advertising windows pop up even when you're not browsing the Web?

Students will identity and learn how freeware, shareware, cookies, media players, interactive content, and file sharing contain code or components that allow the developers of these applications and tools to actually collect personal data without your knowledge!

Students will get hands on experience by visiting several recommended web sites and links to programs that can help control these malicious programs.

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Internet Safety ID Theft
(3 hours) Basic Computer/Internet Skills

Many people think it can’t or won’t happen to them.

Discover how easy it is for your identity to be stolen. 

Learn how it could happen to you, how to reduce your risk and what to do if you are a victim.

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in our nation today.

Besides dumpster diving, mail theft and lost/stolen wallets, criminals are stealing information by hacking into computers, from telephone and email scams, and even from careless online shopping and banking. 

It is of prime importance to understand how thieves steal your information from computer systems. Are you at risk for identity theft? Test your "identity quotient". 

Are the businesses you frequent exposing you to identity theft?

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(3 or 6 hours) Beginner to Intermediate: General Overview

Photographs, whether digital or taken traditionally (with film) begin with an understanding of the camera.

It begins with the realization of an outstanding scene or subject.

Recognizing the opportunity is not enough to capture it.

A large part of being able to shoot a great photo involves understanding your camera well enough to capture what you see.

Learn more about using a digital camera to improve photography skills and capture professional-quality digital photographs. Get good advice on how to take better digital pictures for a variety of uses from professional marketing materials to creating a photo album.

• Digital Cameras 101: Features, Functions, and File Formats
• Photography Fundamentals: Take Better Pictures
• Understand formats for shooting
• Understand resolutions and real size.
• Links to more information on the Web including storage, albums and online editing

A second module (making a 6 hour class) will take students to online editing, file storage, and file sharing.

A 3 hour class is presentation with hands-on link paths.

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(6 hours) All Levels: General Overview

Is your library's Web page all that it could be? Does it represent all that you have to offer community -- and to users across the world? If not, there are organizational and design changes you can make that will make yours a world-class library Web page.

This full-day workshop examines some of the best libraries' Web pages and the design considerations they use to bring their resources to the Web. Through lecture, discussion, use of Web page examples, and team exercises, you will gain insights into how to showcase your library's resources and facilities to their best Web advantage. These include the following design considerations:

• Assessing your library’s resources to be presented on the Web site
• Logical grouping of materials
• Exceptional navigation for users
• Creation of tool sets for patrons of all ages, such as government links, search engine collections, homework help facilities and online newspapers and periodicals
• Addition of your online catalog to your Web site
• Including and promoting the online databases

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(6 hours) All Levels: General Overview

Sometimes searching databases can be quite frustrating.  You know the information is there, but just can’t find it.  Come join us and learn about:

• Identifying appropriate search terms
• Combining search terms appropriately
• Boolean or logical operators
• Truncation and Wildcards
• Proximity Operators
• Limiting a Search
• Field Searching
• Troubleshooting failed searches

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(3 or 6 hours) All Levels: General Overview

Teachers and media specialists, are you confident that you are using the Internet in your daily school life to its fullest advantage?

This hands-on interactive class will help you get the most out of the Web -- from implementing information literacy lessons to complying with standards; from finding excellent professional development tools to employing sophisticated sites aimed specifically at students.

Come try out new sites and expand your list of favorite resources!

A 3 hour class is presentation with hands-on link paths

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(6 or 12 hours) All Levels: General Overview & Workshop

Come to this interactive, hands-on workshop and learn to Google Like a Goo-Ru!

• Use Google to search the Internet using advanced operators
• iGoogle: Custmize Google to suit your own preferences
• Gmail
• Share Calendars
• Use Emails updates on the topics of your choice
• Search blogs
• Search the full text of books
• Search and personalize your own computer
• Explore the world from your computer, get directions, find people and businesses with Google Maps and Google Earth
• Use your Cell phone (FREE) to search Google
• Advanced image search
• Business info, news, and interactive charts with Google Finance
• Search thousands of news stories with Google News and Archive Search
• Clip and collect information as you surf the web with Google Notebook
• Use Google to access package tracking information, US patents, and a variety of online databases
• Search scholarly papers with Google Scholar
• Search for videos on Google Video and YouTube
• Find movies, music, stocks, books, and more with boxed results
• Explore Google Labs
• Create and share your projects online and access them from anywhere
• Translate and view web pages in other languages
• Create mailing lists and discussion groups
• Find, edit and share your photos with Picasa
• Use Google's calculations options including weights, measures and currency exchanges
• Use Google to get glossary definitions gathered from various online sources
• Search for non-HTML file formats including PDF documents and others
• Search specialized sites

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(6 or 12 hours) All Levels: General Overview & Workshop

What exactly are Blogs, and if they're capturing your imagination, how can you start your own? 

While a Blog can have many of the same qualities as a personal Web page, a Blog is usually seen as more of a diary or a commentary, a core upon which a virtual community can form. 

• Learn what types of Blogs are out there, and visit some of the 'popular right now" blogs
• Be introduced to Blog Engines and how to use them to find Blogs
• Learn how becoming a Blogger and blogging can ultimately increase visitors to their business, organization or library
• Learn some of the most current Blog slang and definitions, such as Blogoshpere and Blogorama
• Create a blog: Edit, Add Images, Upload, and add more pages

A 3 hour class is presentation with hands-on link paths.

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(3 or 6 hours) All Levels: General Overview & Workshop

Instant Messaging is a form of electronic communication which involves immediate correspondence between two or more users who are all online simultaneously.

One of the fastest-growing forms of Internet communications is Instant Messaging (IM). Think of IM as a text-based computer conference between two or more people. An IM communications service enables you to join an established chat room, create an on-line conference chat room inviting specific individuals, or create a private chat room with one other individual in order to communicate in real-time over the Internet.

Typically, the IM system alerts you whenever somebody on your buddy or contact list is online.

You can then initiate a chat session with that particular individual.

Learn how to use AOL Instant Messenger, and be introduced to other IM programs which integrated more than one program's ID. Take part in a hands-on workshop chatting within the classroom parameters*.

Students will learn the following features:

• Instant Messaging programs and their basic chat environments, Screen Names, Passwords and Registration
• Setting up and editing the Buddy List
• Sending and accepting chat invitations
• Setting up personal preferences
  • Allowing specific users
  • Blocking specific users
  • Add ons
• Sharing files and security
• Changing the chat environment
• Creating a conference room chat room
• Voice chat
• Text Messaging
• Acronyms, Emoticons, and Smileys

*3 hour class is presentation with hands-on link paths.

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(3 or 6 hours) All Levels: General Overview & Workshop

The Internet is a wealth of great information!

But how can you ensure that the children and young adults with whom you interact are finding appropriate and useful pages on the World Wide Web?

Visit great sites for children and young adults and cover general issues to consider when using the Internet with kids and teens--including rules to set, filtering options, safety, security, and recent legislation.

*3 hour class is presentation with hands-on link paths.

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(3 or 6 hours) All Levels: General Overview & Workshop

Could it be that search engines have specialties? 

Find out what each search engine does best! The Internet is an ever-changing medium—find out what information is available and accessible at your fingertips

Students will become knowledgeable:

• Using search tools from A-Z to discover how search several Internet search engines work and how to effectively search for information on the Internet.  
• Choose appropriate Internet search tools using the seven habits of effective web searchers and to use these tools effectively to pinpoint specific web sites.
• Use keyboard shortcuts and other time savers are part of this interactive course. 
• In specialized search engines by searching newsgroups, mailing lists, people and businesses. 

*3 hour class is presentation with hands-on link paths.

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(6 or 12 hours) All Levels: General Overview & Workshop

eBay is The World's Online Marketplace®, enabling trade on a local, national and international basis.

With a diverse and passionate community of individuals and small businesses, eBay offers an online platform where millions of items are traded each day.

Buying and selling on eBay is fun and rewarding. In business, buying and selling merchandise to the greatest market is critical. Ebay offers the purchaser opportunities for savings on many areas of business equipment and supplies, and allows the business an opportunity to sell products (great for overstocks, discontinued items, and one-sies / two-sies).

The courses offered cover the basics of searching, buying and paying for your items, easily and confidently.

Keep track of all your eBay searching and shopping on your own My eBay page.

Learn a complete introduction to the world of eBay!, including the following:

• First Time Bidding & Buying
• Selling Basics
  • Open a Seller Account
  • Successful Searching and Researching
  • Creating Successful Listing and photographs(selling)
• Buying Basics
  • Researching a Seller (buying)
• My Ebay (monitoring listings and watching your bids)
• Completing transactions

A second day includes:

Running a successful eBay business requires good planning, processes, and great customer service. By putting processes in place, students set the stage for successful transactions, consistency, and in turn, repeat customers. Scale your business by becoming more efficient.

Students will learn more advanced options in the world of eBay!, including the following:

• Start and/or grow an eBay-based business
• Choose the right Listing format
• Create more compelling Listings
• Use eBay Listing Tools (Turbo Lister)
• Market the eBay business
• Benefits of an eBay Store
• Cross marketing the inventory and auctions
• Pack and Ship Inventory
• Use online payments from PayPal

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(3 or 6 hours) All Levels: General Overview & Workshop

What is Podcasting? Learn what it is and how to create your own.

Also learn the ins and outs of the Podcasting online society including:

• Audio podcasts
• Blogcasting
• Podcasting companies
• Mobilecast
• Video podcasts
• and more!

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(3 hours) All Levels: General Overview & Workshop

Pounded By The Surf: Technology Awareness

Prerequisite: Basic Computer, Keyboard and Mouse skills required  (3 Hours)

PUSH, PULL, PLUG-IN – What does it all mean?

Do you feel lost in a Sea of Computer Technology buzz words?

Let us simplify terms and concepts for you.

Get the answers to the following questions, and more:

• What is:
  • Push and Pull?
  • What are Plug-ins
  • What are Cookies, and why can they be dangerous?
  • Who is the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), and what do they do?
  • What is XML, and XHTML?
  • What are Wikis?
  • What is a Blog?

We hear the terms used every day, but what do they mean and why do you need to know what they mean?

The class will discuss what is happening today in the ever-changing world of the Internet and computer technology, and take a look at some future trends.

You will also get some hands-on practice visit sites on the Internet that will be useful.

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(3 hours) All Levels: General Overview & Workshop

RSS is an XML-based format (using the Resource Description Framework (RDF) - a language for representing information about resources in the World Wide Web) that allows the syndication of lists of hyperlinks, along with other information, or metadata, that helps viewers decide whether they want to follow the link.

RSS allows a person's computer to fetch and understand the information, so that all of the lists that person is interested in can be tracked and personalized for them. It is a format that's intended for use by computers on behalf of people, rather than being directly presented to them (like HTML).

A program known as a feed reader or aggregator can check a list of feeds on behalf of a user and display any updated articles that it finds.

It is common to find web feeds on major web sites and many smaller ones.

Learn about the process of RSS feeds and how they can be requested. They will learn how to:

• Use My Yahoo to receive RSS feeds
• Explore other Aggregators, including IE7
• Review XML and how/why it is placed into an Aggregator
• Edit, change and delete feeds

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(3 or 6 hours) All Levels: General Overview & Workshop

This course is primarily for webmasters, site owners and web marketers.

They covers search engine submission, placement and marketing issues. We explain how search engines find and rank web pages, with an emphasis on what webmasters can do to improve their search engine rankings by properly submitting, using better page design, HTML meta tags, and other tips.

• Create Meta tags
• Create search engine friendly page titles
• Use text as a tool
• Create Alternate tags and Title tags
• Find the submit links on the search engines and submit for free when possible
• Use the tools in Overture and understand how Sponsor ads work
• Review Google Adwords
• Review premium placements and submissions
• Create link exchanges
• Find out how 'popular' their own sites are
• how to rate their site by HTML, Image size, Browser Compatibility, W3C standards, and Accessibility

*6 hour class allows personal Website upgrading using these skills.

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(3 hours) All Levels: General Overview & Workshop

Your chances of finding the page you need on the Internet are about 2.5 billion to 1.

Come improve your odds with tips and suggestions on subject sites and search engines beyond the "normal" Yahoo! and Google.

You’ll have hands-on practice in finding information on the Web using subject sites such as Open Directory and the Librarian's Index to the Internet; search engines such as Fast and Vivísimo; and metasearch sites such as Ixquick, Dogpile and Momma.

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(3 hours) All Levels: General Overview & Workshop

Learn how to add accessibility features to your Websites according to the specifications of the W3C (World Wide Web Cosortium).

Understand how making your site more accessible will increase your visibiliy and give visitors with handicaps access to your information.

Visit special Websites dealing with accessibility and test your own site to see what issues you need to deal with and change to make your site more accessible.

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(3 or 6 hours) All Levels: General Overview & Workshop

Marketing your Web site can be a frustrating experience. There are many options on the Internet to do just that. From purchasing keywords and phrases in sponsored search results to purchasing memberships on premium sites that are related, to free opportunities, this course will answer the questions you have and give you many resources to get started.

• Make Web site ready for Search Engine submission (extended in Search Engine Ready Your Site & Submitting)
  
• Learn to create a simple Link Exchange Program
• Learn about affiliate programs
• How and where to advertise online
• Advertising offlline
• Delve into the world of Overture and Google Ad Words
• Researching keywords and key phrases
• Use URL's to bring traffic
• Use Blogs to bring traffic

*6 hour class allows personal Website upgrading using these skills.

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