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CO 73.3 [Spring 1996], pp. 96-99: World Wide Web discussed; ElectronicResources for Classics (Pantelia) and Perseus Web sites; Mythology,Artes Latinae, Latin Through the Ages, Humanist Latin Dictionary;update on Wrath of the Gods

Caught in the Web, Yet?

Unless you have been playing Rip Van Winkle for the last year or so,you should be aware that "The World According to the Internet"has been taken over by the World Wide Web (WWW), or just "the Web,"for short. It has been rather startling, but in many ways gratifying, tosee a truly user-friendly interface finally make the Internet the attractiveand accessible information source that its proponents have touted it asfor many years.

The Web brings a graphical user interface (GUI) to the Internet, makingit work much like standard, mouse-based Macintosh and Windows software.This, of course, requires a whole new level of complexity in data transfer,which means that only newer, high-powered computers can handle the Web withmuch dexterity. Older machines will show a pronounced sluggishness in manipulatingWeb materials. If you don't have a direct Internet connection through acampus or corporate network, the other determining factor is the speed ofyour modem. A 14,400 bps (baud per second) modem is now considered minimalfor Web usage (approx. cost: $100).

The standard upon which the Web is based is HyperText Markup Language (HTML)and its correlative, HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP). HTML allows forthe posting of sophisticated graphical images and the creation of "hot"buttons or links between words or symbols on the screen and related information.These links can be connected to another page of information or to a completelydifferent site on the other side of the world!

Mosaic Spawns Netscape

Usually, your Internet server will provide you with Web "browser"software. Many of the big, national servers, like America On-Line and CompuServe,have their own built-in Web browsers. Others are usually some version ofeither Mosaic or Netscape. The former was developed at the Univ. of Illinoisby Marc Andreessen, while he was still a grad student there. The latterhe also wrote, after starting up a new, independent business for that specificpurpose. Netscape has a few additional features that make it somewhat moreflexible and easy to use. There are versions of each that are free for useby nonprofit, educational institutions.

Once you get your Web browser up and running, the first place I would recommendyou check out is Maria Pantelia's site at the Univ. of New Hampshire. Itis called "Electronic Resources for Classicists," and it is probablythe most comprehensive collection of information and direct links to othersites on the topic. The address is:

http://www.circe.unh.edu/classics/resources.html

Notice how a standard Web site address begins with "http://,"followed by an Internet server address (ending in ".edu," ".com,"".org," ".net," or a country code), and sometimes aspecific directory and filename at that address. There is now a new acronymbeing used for all Internet-based information sources: an "URL"(pronounced like the man's name, Earl) is a "Universal (or Uniform)Resource Locator." Some URLs might begin with "ftp://" or"gopher://" for those respective protocols. (See CO 72.3 [Spring1995]: 97-8 and CO 73.1 [Fall 1995]: 28-9, regarding FTP and Gopher.)

If you want to see the state-of-the-art in Web sites, then you should trythe Perseus site (http://medusa.perseus.tufts.edu). It contains an on-lineversion of portions of Perseus 2.0, allows powerful text searches and morphologicalanalyses, and now offers forms drilling on-line, too. If you don't havea Greek font installed, you can download a font from the site to use withit.

As the Web becomes more and more interactive, it threatens to replace theneed to have software installed on your own hard drive. Some people suggestthat you will someday merely go on-line to do all your computing and payuser fees (by the second) for the time spent using the programs and dataat each site. Ironically, such a trend could lead us back to the centralizedmainframe and "dumb" terminals.

CD-ROMs Keep Coming On Strong

Every few months I seem to run across a new CD-ROM program for the Classics.My latest discovery is a spanking new release from the Thomas S. Klise Co.,a publisher of educational filmstrips and videos that is now getting intocomputer-based materials. Their initial classical CD-ROM release, simplycalled Mythology, is subtitled "An Introduction to Greek and RomanMythology." It aims to be a fairly comprehensive look at the meaningof myths in general, using the Greek and Roman classics as models. The indexshows its range by listing references to Paul Bunyon, Aborigines, Chaucer,Shakespeare, Freud, and O'Neill.

The program is very well-organized, with menus that lead the user progressivelyfrom a basic definition of myth to the early Greek creation myths, throughthe Olympic "melodramas," and eventually to Roman assimilationof the Greek originals with their own indigenous myths. Each section followsa consistent format of informative exposition followed by what are called"Fun Activities," which could be anything from a true-false quizto the building of a personal family tree (to mimic the Olympic one). Thisformat looks well-suited to independent work by students or even self-teachingat home. The graphics are creative and colorful watercolor renditions ofmythological figures and scenes. The cost of the disk is $98.

The same publisher is about to release three other new classical CD-ROMtitles in preparation, to be called The Road to Ancient Egypt/Greece/Rome($78 each). All four programs are available in both Mac and PC formats.To receive a complete catalog or more information, contact the Thomas S.Klise Co., P.O. Box 317, Waterford, CT 06385; tel. 860-442-4449.

The First Latin Textbook on CD-ROM

Waldo Sweet used the pedagogical principles of "programmed instruction"in the late 1960s to create the Latin textbook, Artes Latinae. This methodologywas designed to break the learning process down into "bite-size bits"and structure it carefully according to a flow-chart system of feedbackand looping, requiring a minimal level of competency before a student couldproceed to a higher level. This way a motivated and well-disciplined studentcould proceed through the textbook almost entirely on his or her own. Asa result, this text has been very popular with home schoolers and anyoneelse teaching themselves Latin without a Latinist friend on hand to helpthem. It is also used in a number of schools around the country, especiallyin multilevel classrooms.

The methodology, as you may recognize, was strongly based on systems theoryand computer programming, so it makes perfect sense that this textbook shouldbe the first one to be completely converted into a computer-based version.Bolchazy-Carducci, current publishers of the print version of Artes Latinae,have been working for the last few years with teacher-programmer JeffreyLyon and several other teacher-consultants to accomplish this. They haveincorporated some of the supplementary materials for the textbook into theCD-ROM, including audio recordings in both the American Scholastic and theRestored Classical styles of pronunciation.

The first CD-ROM disk to be published this spring is the Level 1 text forPCs (Windows 3.1, sound card, VGA monitor), with a special introductoryprice of $165. Future publications will include a Macintosh version, theLevel 2 text, the accompanying Graded Readers, and upgrades containing photographsand extended audio readings. To receive a free demo disk or more information,contact Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers Inc., 1000 Brown St., Unit 101, Wauconda,IL 60084; tel. 800-392-6453; e-mail: BOLCHAZY@delphi.com.

Reading Latin Through the Ages On Disk

Rose Williams has been teaching Latin at various levels for over 38 years,spending many summers searching Europe for new materials to hold her students'attention. She wants them to realize how Latin has been used to expressmany of the great philosophical and scientific ideas of Western Civilization.By collecting some of the most interesting pieces of writing from a broadrange authors, from Vitruvius and Quintilian to Galvani and Volta, and addinga glossary of the technical terms, lists of comprehension questions, andphotographs of some of the authors (in statue and bust form) and their inventions,all presented in a smooth, hypermedia format, Williams has compiled whatamounts to a complete electronic textbook for a reading unit at the intermediatelevel of Latin instruction.

The program is menu-driven and easy to follow, but students will still requireplenty of teacher assistance to evaluate translations and answers to theessay-type questions. Although there is no grammatical assistance or interactivequestioning provided by the program, all of the readings, vocabulary, andquestions can be printed out for work done without the computer. The programis sold by site license ($129), so that a school only needs to purchaseone master copy, which it may install on a network or on multiple hard drivesin computer labs. It is available in PC format (Windows 3.1, VGA monitor)and requires 5Mb of storage space. For more information, contact Rose Williams,2601 S. 38th, Abilene, TX 79605; tel. 915-692-5299.

A Latin Dictionary for Humanists et Al.

There is a new option available to those looking for a Latin dictionaryin electronic form. The Humanist Latin Dictionary has been created by WilliamHarris, Professor Emeritus of Middlebury College, and was recently releasedby Centaur Systems. It contains over 15,000 entries covering classical,literary Latin, with commentary on issues of grammar, syntax, and morphology;it allows searching on several levels: whole English or Latin words (maindictionary form) and partial Latin words (both stems and imbedded roots).There are also facilities for loading a textual passage in a separate windowor tagging word entries to create a list for quick review or printing.

The Basic version costs $95 for a school site license and $60 for a single-user,home license. A special Notes version provides more detailed notes on cultural,historical, and literary background (some of them containing adult language)and allows the creation of personal notes for any word (which may then besearched, too); it is priced at $125 (school) and $80 (home), respectively.Both versions are currently available for Macintosh; a PC version is expectedlater this spring. It requires 4Mb of RAM and 3.7Mb of hard disk space.There is also a demo disk available for $10 (deductible from a future purchase).For more information, contact Centaur Systems, Ltd., 407 N. Brearly St.,Madison, WI 53703; tel. 608-255-6979; Web: http://www.centaursystems.com.

Correction: It's Shareware, not Freeware

In my last column (CO 73.1 [Fall 1995]: 28), I mistakenly labeled Prof.Leo Curran's set of three programs for Latin teachers as freeware when,in fact, they are shareware. You can obtain a free evaluation copy of thesoftware; but, if you decide to actually use the programs with your classes,you are expected to send $20 per program to the author. To obtain your ownexamination copy of Roman Calendar, Natalis, and Vinco Bingo, send a blank,Mac-formatted disk with stamped, self-addressed return envelope to Leo Curran,4317 Harlem Rd., Snyder, NY 14226.

A Teacher's Guide for Wrath of the Gods

Since the release in 1994 of the now-popular, interactive fiction CD-ROM,Wrath of the Gods (see CO 72.1 [Fall 1994]: 31-32), the publisher has developeda detailed, 75-page teacher's guide to accompany the program for classroomusage ($10), made extra copies of the disk available at a substantial discount($20 each, with further discounts at quantity levels), and changed its namefrom Luminaria to SOME Interactive. To find out more, you can reach themdirectly at 539 Bryant St., Suite 303, San Francisco, CA 94107; tel. 800-821-2060.

Have fun wandering the Web!

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