Introductionary Internet Concepts

by John Kuzmich, Jr.

2005-2006 School Year

Essential Internet Tools

E-Mail: the ability to send message electronically over the Internet.

Domain Types:

com Business	.edu Education
gov Government	com Business
.net Internet Service Provider, information provider	.org Private or non-profit organization

Countries:

.au Australia	.ca Canada
.de Germany	.fr France
.jp Japan	.uk United Kingdom

Mailing Lists (userlists or newsgroups).

FTP (File Transfer Protocol). FTP allows you to connect to a distant computer on the Net and download, or retrieve, a specific program or file to your computer. To do this, you need to type: ftp://ftp.classroom.com
Gopher. Invented in 1991, gopher quickly took the Internet by storm because it was the very Internet tool developed to help users easily find information online by following a menu-based system for navigation. An example of a gopher URL is: URL: gopher://ericir.syr.edu

Telnet: Telnet is another example of a once-popular Internet navigation tool that is rapidly being replaced by the Web. With Telnet, users can connect to a computer in the next room or halfway around the world and use it as it they were sitting at its keyboard. Telenet makes it possible to access databases of information or powerful, complex programs that couldn't possibly run on the limited machines of most Internauts.

Netiquette Rules

Consume unnecessary amounts of bandwidth such as junk mail
Storing or circulating unlawful materials on Internet systems, such as pirated software or illegal graphic materials.
Abusive language including cured comments and hate literature.
Transmitting messages or programs designed to slow down or incapacitate another's computer or network.

World Wide Web:
- URL: Uniform Resource Locator. This is simply an Internet address. The first part or prefix of a URL indicates which area of the Internet will be accessed
- World Wide Web: http://www.classroom.com
- E-mail: mailto:teacher@school.edu
- File Transfer (ftp): ftp://ftp.classroom.com
- Gopher: gopher://ericir.syr.edu
- Telnet: Telnet://fedworld.gov
- Usenet Newsgroup: news:k12.ed.tech
http://: This stands for hypertext transmission protocol, the method by which Web pages are retrieved from the Internet.
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) HTML is the language used to create Web pages. HTML pages are plain text documents that include simple codes or tags around words.
Internet Browser Softwar - such as Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer are programs that enable you to navigate the World Wide Web by pointing and clicking with your mouse. A browser program is stored in and runs from the hard drive of the Internet user's computer. It retrieves pages of text written in HTML, interprets the HTML codes and displays the information for readers.
Parts of a Browser:

Title: This is on the Web page title as specified by the page's author.
Button: This handy tool lets you click burtons to navigate the Web. Like button bars in other programs such as word processors or graphic design programs, it serves as a shortcut for some items.
Back and Forward buttons allow you to flip through pages you've already visited.
Home: takes you to a Web page you specify as your home page. It is the first page to be loaded when you start your Web browser.
Open: gives you a blank box for typing in a new Internet address.
Print: sends the current document to the printer.
Location: this field shows you the Internet address (URL) of the site you're viewing. You can place your cursor in this box, delete the text, and type a new address to go to a different destination.
Graphics: web browser display most graphics right on the browser screen.
Web page text: Web page authors can format text in a variety of ways, including bold, italic or colored text of numerous sizes, fonts and justification.
Text hyperlink: click on these highlighted and underlined words will immediately take you somewhere else on that Web site or on the Internet.
Graphic hyperlink: graphics can be hyperlinked, too. Click this graphic now!
Scroll bars: use the scroll bars to move to and view different parts of a Web page.
Link URL: move your mouse around the screen and watch this area. The address in this space changes to show the Internet address you'll travel to if you click on a particular hyperlink.
Bookmarks: Internet browsers offer an easy-to-use bookmaking feature. Web bookmarks make it simple for Web users to maintain a list of their most prized links. Simple select "Bookmarks" and select Add Bookmark from your Bookmarks pull-down menu. Your browser "captures" the site's name and address for future use. Then, no matter where you are on the Web, you can look at a pull-down menu of bookmarks, select one, and instantly travel to that site, without having to remember or type the address! Internet browsers even let you edit your bookmarks or create categories (folders) for organizing them.

Web Netiquette:
- If you create your own pages for the Web, keep graphics to a minimum or give users the option of being able to select to view, or not to view them.
- Pay attention to copyright restrictions when adding graphics or photos to your Web pages.
- It is usually a good idea to ask a Web site's owner for permission to put lots of links to his or her site on your own site.
- Search Engines: Search engines contain millions of up-to-date references to online information which be easily searched with keywords. Keywords are words which describe the kinds of things you're looking for online. Most search tools update their database at least once a month. Most search tools deploy Internet "spiders" to continually update themselves. These small programs are sent all over the Internet by each tool and are designed to visit sites to record what they find there. These records are immediately sent back by the spider to the search engine and added to its master index. Popular search engines:
Search Tips!
1. If you're in a hurry, HotBot, AltaVista, MetaCrawler, and Yahoo! Should be your first research stops on the Internet. They're fast, up-to-date, easy to use and always open for your use.
2. Another tip if you're in a hurry - set the search tools to return the smallest number of results, perhaps 10. This can usually be set by using the pull-down menus of each of the engine's home pages. That way the search takes less time, and you still get a good sampling of the best results.
3. Always remember that the Internet is not a be-all, end-all information resource. (All of the experts agree with this tip!) Your school library, an encyclopedia, or even textbooks should also be used as sources of information for your needs.
4. The search engines are busiest about 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. If you can do your research early in the morning or later in the evening, do it! If not, don't be discouraged. You'll just have to wait a little longer for search results to get to you.
5. Don't limit your search to just one area of the Internet. While many of the search engines hunt out links to your keywords in Web sites and Usenet newsgroup postings, many do not. Familiarize yourself with the reviews in the last section to see what areas of the Internet are searchable with each tool. Be sure to use at least three of the engines to do your searches.
6. Don't get frustrated when you click on a search result and get some kind of an error. There are many possible reasons for this.
7. The Internet computer serving the information may be down at the moment.
8. Access restrictions may have been introduced at the server since the last time the engine indexed its information.
9. The server may be so overloaded that you can't get in for the moment. Try again in a few seconds.
10. Your Internet Service Provider or commercial online service may be having problems with their Internet lines. Call Technical Support if the problem persists.
11. The information may have been renamed or removed by its owner since the last time the engine indexed its information.
12. Capital letters in a search will usually force an exact case match.
13. Some search engines allow you to sue the word "near" in your searches.
Internet Newsgroups: Thousands of bulletin boards for every interest. A newsgroup exists for just about everything imaginable, ranging from agriculture to tips and tricks for using software. Here are some examples of what you can do with Usenet:
1. Discuss professional issues with others in your field.
2. Correspond with experts in disciplines such as biology, photography, nuclear physics and carpentry.
3. Broadcast school news, announce projects, and seek collaboration with other schools on projects.
4. Read articles about your favorite sports, hobbies, authors, and other interests.
5. Newsgroup articles can be printed, saved, replied to, or forwarded.
6. Newsgroup messages circulate around the world to approximately several million computers each day.
7. You can access to newsgroups by selecting Newsgroups or Collabra Discussion groups in your software. When you access the newsgroups via your browser, a blank wind will open and it will allow you to access, or subscribe to, the lists you're interested in. There are many kinds of newsgroups.
- Advance Internet Tools
  1. Videoconferencing: CU-SeeMe: http://www.cuseeme.com
  2. Videostreaming: http://www.networks.com