20890 ACE Language (Yr 4) Features of Online Texts

Search engines and navigation
Resource sheet
When you want to use the internet, you open up a web browser. This is a computer program for
accessing sites or information on a network (such as the World Wide Web). Some examples of web
browsers are Internet Explorer , Safari , Firefox or Chrome . Web browsers let people access the
contents of web pages on the World Wide Web.
There are millions of web pages on the internet. If you know the address of the website you want
to visit, you type it into the web browser. If not, you use a search engine to find the web pages
containing the information you are looking for. A search engine is a computer program that searches
documents, especially on the World Wide Web, for a word or words, then gives a list of links to places
they are found. Search engines allow users to find websites or documents with the information they are
looking for. Google , Bing , Yahoo search and Ask are examples of search engines.
To help the search engine find exactly what you are looking for, you have to type exactly what you are
looking for into the search bar. Type at least two words into the search bar. Use nouns and put the main
subject first. Some words like ‘and’, ‘in’, ‘or’ and ‘of’ are often ignored by search engines in order to
make the search quicker.
If you type in two words, the search engine will give you information on both words. If those two words
need to be together (for expressions or phrases), place quotation marks around them. To make sure the
search engine doesn’t give you information you don’t want, include a minus sign directly in front of the
word. For example, if you are looking for information on how you could make olive oil soap, but not in
a factory, you could type
‘olive oil soap’ AND make –company –factory
Once you reach a web page or website, you need to be able to navigate (find your way around) the
pages without getting lost. Websites provide many different tools to help you navigate. One useful
navigation tool is the navigation bar. It is a group or list of hyperlinks to different pages on the
website, or to other websites or documents. The navigation bar groups the website content into a small
number of sections. Each section is shown by an option in the navigation bar, which can be shown as
icons, tabs or words in a ‘button’. When you move the arrow or cursor over an option, the arrow
should change to a small hand . Clicking on one item in the navigation bar will take the user to a
certain page or document. The navigation bar can be along the top, bottom or sides (often the lefthand
side) of the page.
Sometimes, when the mouse pointer
(hand or arrow) is held over an item in
the navigation bar, other options appear.
This new menu can drop down from the
navigation bar or fly out. Drop-down menus
store large numbers of links in a small space,
help users to find the information they need
and make pages deeper in the website easier
to find. Navigation helps the whole text to
be more readable. It helps readers to work
out where to find more information, and
where they will go to when they click on a
link.
Australian Curriculum English – Language: Text structure and organisation (Year 4) www.ricpublications.com.au R.I.C. Publications ®
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Identify features of online texts that enhance readability including text, navigation, links, graphics and layout (ACELA1793)
© Australian Curriculum: Assessment and Reporting Authority 2012