Assignment 1

Name:______________________________

(Print clearly)

Student Number:______________________

(Social security)

E-mail:__________________________

This assignment provides a gentle introduction to computing and the information network. I want to make sure every one can send and receive e-mail and "browse the web." As indicated in the syllabus both of these activities are an integral part of the course.

First using an e-mail system or program that makes you comfortable send me an mail message with "Assignment 1" in the subject line. Just briefly reassure me that this form of communication is not going to be a problem.

Make sure you do this within one or two days.

Now find a desktop computer (or terminal) that connects to the University's network. Almost every machine in the public sites will do so. So too will PCs in "private" locations such as Urban Affairs (Graham Hall). Of course if you have your own machine that can access the network, by all means use it.

Start the browser (On the campus it will most likely be Netscape Navigator or perhaps Netscape Communicator).
Open the course page: http://www.udel.edu/htr/Statistics815

Note: most browsers do not require the "http://" tag.
If you have trouble, let me know via e-mail.

This is the main page or web site for the course. As the semester rolls on you will find more and more required and optional information here.

If you are working on your own machine, you can "bookmark" this place by clicking on the bookmark icon or menu item and then selecting "Add bookmark."

Click on the "sign in" link and fill out the brief questionnaire. It should be self-explanatory.
Click on the "Back" button to return to the course home page.
Click on syllabus to make sure that you can move around the page.

You might want to try printing it.
If you are in a public site using a personal computer, the printer will be in the vicinity. If, however, you are using an X-terminal, you might have to go to an adjoining "I/O" room to pick up the printout.

Now click on "Contact the Instructor" and send another e-mail message with a subject line "Assignment 1 - Part II" (or something similar.)
Do this within the next two days.

I will want you to "visit" various places on the net in order to extract data so we should start now. (Pretty soon you will see that I have automated this process.)

Use your browser's open key or menu to go to www.census.gov
The Census Bureau has a great site so spend some time exploring it.

After exploring that site return to the class web page, and down load the comparative education data.

If you have your own machine, you can just store the file on your hard drive.
If you are working on a public PC, then you need to have a diskette and have to follow the instructions described in the Class 2 notes.
If you are using a public X-terminal, any data you save will be stored on the main system (e.g., copland).
Here's an outline of what to do.

First note that these data are in regular text format. That is, they contain simple characters (numbers) and nothing else. A blank separates each number and a carriage return ends the line.

You may not need to know this.

Click on the reference, "Comparative Education Example."
You will soon see a window with the data listed in columns. (But note: these are raw data so there are no labels.)
Click on the file menu and then "Save as."
Type a name and click OK
Keep track of where you stored the data.

Alternative method:

On the Data page highlight the link "Comparative Education Example," and right click the mouse. That is, click the right most mouse button.
You should see a menu with Save link as option. Click on it and type a name; then click OK.

Make sure the data window is visible and click the browser's print button.

Attach a printed copy of the data to this sheet.
I need reassurance that you really can browse the web and print documents.

Finally, go to a public site and try to find and start MINITAB.

If you have a machine and bought the Student Edition, try installing it and doing the tutorial.

Go to Statistics main page

Go to H. T. Reynolds page.