1. Saving Content

By now you may have seen content on the web that you would like to keep. There are several ways of saving the content depending on what you want. Save two images and the text from one page.

Individual images can be saved fairly simply. On the PC, you point at the image and right-mouse-click. On the Macintosh, you point, press and hold the mouse button or control-click on the image. In any case, a menu will appear and you can select "save image" from that menu. Note that sometimes images are stored on the web page in several pieces. You may not get a whole image.

The text from a page (except for text in images) can be saved almost as you would any file. Selecting "Save" or "Save As" from the file menu will produce a new window. In this window, you select the name and location of the saved file. However, you will also be asked if you want to save "Source" or "Text." Saving the source is interesting if you want to know how the page was designed. Source files contain the formatting instructions for the page. If you choose the "Text" option you will only save the words on the page. Safari for the Macintosh will also save files as a "Web Archive." A web archive file contains the entire contents of a web page (i.e., text, graphics, audio, and video).

Remember to check for copyright warnings before copying site materials, and do not copy protected work without the written consent of the site publishers.

2. Local Newspapers

Even local newspapers have gone online. Find the online page for a newspaper closest to your hometown. Find another in a distant city - maybe a former hometown. What are the papers doing, if anything, that they cannot do in print? Which one does a better job serving the community?

3. Online Newsletters

To encourage loyalty, many web sites have created their own newsletters. Surf your favorite sites and find three that offer newsletters. You may have to look in the "join" or "news" areas. If possible, print out sample copies.

4. Find a Health Forum

Getting authoritative information is important to journalists. The Internet provides information with somewhat inconsistent levels of reliability. Choose a specific health issue and find three different sources of information online. Try to find support groups and specific experts or expert organizations. How credible is the information you are getting?

5. Background a News Story

The ability to archive information is a great advantage of the Internet. Take a current news story and find previous news articles on the same topic. How much information can you get? How has the story changed over time?