to the Internet
2) Web Directories
3) Search Engines
4) Understanding a URL
5) Five Types of Webpages
6) Evaluation Criteria
to the Internet
The Internet is a giant worldwide network of computers. This
vast collection of interconnected networks is actually a network of
networks constantly exchanging information. This giant network of networks
not only consists of large corporate and government computers but universities
and personal computers are also a part of this large network. Many computers
are joined together on the Internet by modems, which are machines that
make connections using telephone lines. Most people who use the Internet
at home are connected by modems (Guernsey, College.Edu 93).
In 1960 the U.S. Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects
Agency funded research project involving linking computers together
through telephone hook-ups. The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA)
was interested in developing a secure military research system that
would withstand power outages. In the past the ARPA used one line to
link its computers together. If one computer went down the entire network
would fail. So, ARPA's researchers developed a new software program
called Internet Protocol (IP) to send data in packets along a network
of communication lines. Packets carried bits of information from one
network node to another until they reached their destination. Once these
bits of information reached their destination, computers were able to
read this information. These scientists who developed the Internet did
most of their work at universities. They discovered new ways to communicate
electronically; one of these new ways of electronic communication was
The National Science Foundation developed five supercomputer networks
called ARPANet in 1986. However, traffic was so heavy on this network
that it soon became overloaded. NSF came to the rescue by providing
more communication lines and faster computers. Up to this time only
researchers at universities and a few governmental agencies used the
Internet. The five supercomputer networks were increased to fifteen
and thousands of colleges, research companies, and governmental agencies
now had access to the Internet. This new network was called NSFNET.
The National Research & Educational Network (NREN) legislation expanded
NSFNET to include K-12 schools and community colleges. Vice President
Al Gore was instrumental in spearheading this legislation.
Now there are thousands of people using the Internet everyday. Approximately
96 countries were connected to the Internet as of June 1995. Usage on
the Internet has changed no longer are academic and research institutions
the sole users. American Online, CompuServe, and Prodigy are large commercial
networks that provide Internet services to thousands of people. No one
controls the Internet; by 1994 the U.S. government had relinquished
the daily maintenance of the Internet. The Internet does not belong
to any one person, government, or private entity. Anyone with access
to a computer with modem and telecommunication software can connect
to the Internet and if they so desire publish on the Internet. The only
authoritative body over the Internet is the Internet Society, which
is a non-governmental international organization. Its main function
is to foster worldwide cooperation in the use of the Internet.
Most of the cost is paid by each network that passes on the cost to
their customers. Universities and colleges pay for connection to the
Internet for faculty and students from their budgets.
Uses the Internet and Why:
Millions of people from every aspect of society and from all over the
world use the Internet everyday. They use it for communication, to access
information on a host of subject areas and topics, to conduct business,
and for education and research. Much of the information on the Internet
cannot be found anywhere but some information does duplicate printed
material. The Internet is very current and this aspect is very important
for people such as research scientists who need access to the most current
information. The instant a newspaper is printed it is available on the
Internet and so are court cases and federal regulations.
-- There are numerous ways to exchange information on the Internet.
One way is through e-mail. E-mail is a message sent from one person
to another via computer. E-mail can also be sent automatically to large
numbers of addresses called a Listserv.
World Wide Web -- The World Wide Wed is a unit within the Internet that
allows the user to have universal access to an infinite amount of information.
Information on the Web comes in various formats i.e. sound, pictures,
and text files.
HTML (Hyper Text Mark Up Language) is a coding language used to create
hypertext documents for use on the Web. All web browsers i.e. Netscape,
Microsoft Explorer can read HTML.
WEB BROWSERS -- Browsers are powerful tools used for reading HTML documents.
Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer are the most well known web
browsers. Browsers have fields where a person can type in the URL to
find a web page. After the URL is typed the browser reveals the web
page. Browsers have status bars and scroll bars. The status bars display
the address of the URL you are viewing; scroll bars allow you to move
quickly up and down pages. Buttons are available to help you to move
back and forth between web sites, and bookmark icons are there for you
to add your favorite sites. In this course you will learn how to use
the Netscape browser (Guernsey, College.Edu 94.)
Guernsey, Lisa. c 1998. College.Edu: On-Line Resources for the Cyber-Savvy
Student. Alexandria, VA: Octameron Associates.
Mytle S. and Gayle A. Poirier. 1997. The Research Process: Books and
Beyond. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co.