About the Web Search Guide

Gwen Harris - Information Specialist, Instructor and course Designer

Gwen Harris is an information consultant specializing in Web searching and online education. At heart, an Internet junkee, Gwen has been teaching Web searching in classrooms and on the Web since 1994. Much of the teaching has been through the Professional Learning Centre at the Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto.

The Internet Guide (1996-2002) was one of the earliest self-paced web-based courses to build skills in using the Web and was used widely in Canada by librarians and the volunteer sector. Gwen developed and runs two other courses about web searching -- Mastering Web Searching and Current Awareness Services on the Net. These are instructor-led, web-based courses available through the Professional Learning Centre at the Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto. In 2001 she was awarded the Outstanding Teaching Award from the Professional Learning Centre.

She has been consultant and instructional designer on several other projects for web-based training and has developed courses using the WebCT and Blackboard courseware.

She presents workshops at Internet and Library conferences - Canadian Library Association, Ontario Library Association, Internet Librarian, Information Highways Information Summit and others. Her column - Web Search Alert - in Information Highways Magazine commented on what was hot on the search scene.

Gwen is a graduate of Queen's University (MBA) and the University of Toronto (MLS). She was active in the Special Libraries Association - Toronto Chapter promoting the use of the Internet (Director of Communications 1998-1999), and the Toronto CASLIS chapter of the Canadian Library Association (President of the Toronto Chapter 1996-97).

In the summer she abandons the Internet for time on the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario.

E-Mail: goharris @ websearchguide.ca

LinkedIn: Gwen Harris