Lesson 1: What is the Internet?

This self-paced course provides a basic understanding of the Internet and

the World Wide Web, but assumes students have basic web searching
skills.

By the end of this lesson, learners should be able to:

• Briefly explain a short history of the Internet

• Briefly explain a local area network (LAN) and wide area network
(WAN)
• Briefly explain servers and clients
• Understand how the Internet works (on a basic level)

A Brief History of the Internet

In 1969, the US Department of Defense started a project to allow researchers and military
personnel to communicate with each other in an emergency. The project was called
ARPAnet and it is the foundation of the Internet.
Throughout the 1970's, what would later become the Internet was developed. While mostly
military personnel and scientists used it in its early days, the advent of the World Wide
Web in the early 1990's changed all that.
Today, the Internet is not owned or operated by any one entity. This worldwide computer
network allows people to communicate and exchange information in new ways.
According to www.commerce.net, in April of 1999, there were 92.2 million Internet users
over the age of 16 in the United States and Canada. By 2005, it is predicted 75% of the
total US population will be online.

What is the Internet?

The Internet is the largest computer network in the world, connecting millions of
computers. A network is a group of two or more computer systems linked together.

There are two types of computer networks:

• Local Area Network (LAN): A LAN is two or more connected

computers sharing certain resources in a relatively small
geographic location (the same building, for example).
• Wide Area Network (WAN): A WAN typically consists of 2 or
more LANs. The computers are farther apart and are linked
by telephone lines, dedicated telephone lines, or radio waves.
The Internet is the largest Wide Area Network (WAN) in
existence.

Servers

All computers on the Internet (a wide area network, or WAN) can

be lumped into two groups: servers and clients. In a network, clients
and servers communicate with one another.

A server is the common source that :

• Provides shared services (for example, network security

measures) with other machines

AND

• Manages resources (for example, one printer many people use)

in a network.
The term server is often used to describe the hardware (computer),
but the term also refers to the software (application) running on the
computer. Many servers are dedicated, meaning they only perform
specific tasks.

For example,

• An email server is a computer that has software running on it

allowing it to "serve" email-related services.
• A web server has software running on it that allows it to
"serve" web-related services.

Clients

Remember, all computers on the Internet (a wide area network, or

WAN) can be lumped into two groups: servers and clients, which
communicate with one another.
Independent computers connected to a server are called clients.
Most likely, your home or office computer does not provide services
to other computers. Therefore, it is a client.
Clients run multiple client software applications that perform
specific functions.

For example,

• An email application such as Microsoft Outlook is client

software.
• Your web browser (such as Internet Explorer or Netscape) is
client software.

Servers and Clients Communicate

• Your computer (client hardware) is running a web browser

such as Internet Explorer (client software).
• When you want to surf the web, your browser connects to a
remote server and requests a web page.
• The remote server (server hardware) runs web server software
(server software).
• The web server sends the web page to your computer's web
browser.
• Your web browser displays the page.
Lesson 2: What is the World Wide Web?

By the end of this lesson, learners should be able to:

o Briefly explain the World Wide Web

o Understand some important web-related terms

The World Wide Web (WWW)

As you now know, the Internet is the physical computer network (computer, monitor,
modem, cables, phone lines, etc).

So, what is the World Wide Web?

o Tim Berners-Lee, a software engineer, invented the World Wide Web in

1991.
o The Web is a system of Internet servers that support specially-formatted
documents.
o These specially formatted documents are text documents created in HTML,
a formatting language. In conjunction with the World Wide Web, your web
browser interprets these text documents so they become web pages.
o Web pages contain formatted text, graphics, sound, animation, and video,
allowing point and click navigation.

Before the Web, the Internet was mostly text-based. To use it, you had to know lots of
keyboard command prompts, making it largely unusable to the average person. The
World Wide Web changed all that.
Some Important Web Terms:

WWW
Also called the Web or World Wide Web. See previous page for full definition.

Web Browser
A piece of software used to navigate the Web. Internet Explorer and Netscape are web
browsers. Learn more about web browsers in Unit 2.

GUI (Graphical User Interface)

A GUI (pronounced GOO-ee) takes advantage of your computer's graphics (picture)
capabilities to increase ease of use. For example, the buttons you point and click to
surf the web is part of your web browser's GUI . Most operating systems include a
GUI, such as Windows and Mac OS. In the past, there was no pointing and clicking;
rather, the user had to know a command language to operate the computer.

More Important Web Terms:

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)

The formatting language used to create web documents.

Hypertext
The system of electronically linking words or pictures to other words or pictures.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator)

Each web page has its own address on the Internet, which is called a URL. To recognize
one another over the Internet, computers convert human-friendly addresses like
www.gcflearnfree.org to numerical IP addresses. You may type in either
216.119.102.26 (GCF Global Learning's IP address) or www.gcflearnfree.org (our
human-friendly domain name) to get to our homepage.

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)

You may have noticed the http:// preceding URLs. For example:
http://www.gcflearnfree.org. The first part of the URL, usually HTTP, indicates the
file type. HTTP, the system for transferring web documents, defines how messages
are formatted and transmitted over the Internet.
Today, many people use the terms Internet and World Wide Web interchangeably.
For example, "I need to get on the Web." Or, "I need to get on the Internet."
Lesson 3: Modems, Browsers, and ISPs

By the end of this lesson, learners should be able to:

• List the four requirements necessary to access the Internet

• Define a modem
• Define a web browser
• Understand the function of an Internet Service Provider (ISP)

Connecting to the Internet

In the previous lessons, you learned a short history of the Internet,

how the Internet works, what the Web is, and some important Web
terms.

In this lesson, you will learn what you need to access the Internet:

1. Computer
2. Modem
3. Web Browser
4. Internet Service Provider

For the purpose of this lesson, we assume you already have access
to a computer. To learn more about your computer and its peripherals,
please take our self-paced Computer Basics course.

Modems and Web Browsers

To connect to the Internet, your computer requires a modem and a

web browser.

What is a modem?

• A modem is a device that converts a computer's outgoing data to

a format that can be transferred via telephone lines. Modems can
also convert incoming data so the computer can read it.
• A modem can be located inside or outside your computer. Some of
the different types of modems are internal, external, voice/data,
and fax modems.
• What is a web browser?
• Remember, along with a computer equipped with a modem, you
need a piece of software called a web browser to navigate the
Web.
• Internet Explorer and Netscape are examples of web browsers.

To learn more about modems, please take our self-paced Computer

Basics course.
Learn more about Internet Explorer and Netscape later in this
course.

Internet Service Providers

To access the Internet, you need a computer equipped with a

modem and web browser, but you'll also need an ISP.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are companies that provide access
to the Internet.
For a monthly fee (and an initial activation fee), you can purchase a
software package from your ISP. These packages feature different
levels of Internet access. Flat-rate service will buy you unlimited
hours, whereas a less-expensive hourly package buys limited Internet
access. In either case, the speed with which you access the Internet
factors into how much you pay per month.

The ISP software package usually includes:

• Username. A unique name used to gain access to a computer

system.
• Password. A combination of keyboard characters. Used in
combination with a username, passwords allow access to restricted
computer information. It is important to keep passwords secret.
• Access phone number. For example, (919) 555-5555.

If you connect to the Internet at work, you may be part of a LAN

(local area network) that shares network resources. To gain Internet
access, your employer contracted with an ISP.

• .
Lesson 4: Bandwidth

By the end of this lesson, learners should be able to:

• Discuss the need for speed

• Discuss bandwidth

The Need for Speed

If you surf the Web frequently, you are probably used to waiting, and waiting, and
waiting some more.
Slow Internet access means some users are unable to access certain web pages, especially
those loaded with graphics, sound, and video. So, to access the latest web technologies,
users need more speed.
In response to the need for speed, modems (a device used to access the Internet) were
built that were capable of faster data transmission rates.

Faster data transmission means:

• Faster web pages

• Faster email services
• Music, animation, and video plays smoothly

Data Transmission Rates

At higher speeds, modems are measured in terms of bits per second (bps). A bit is a unit
of measurement that measures the transfer of data, or information. For example, if you
have a 56K modem, your modem may be capable of transferring 56,000 bits per second.
Did You Know? Eight bits of data is roughly the amount that you enter each time you
tap a key on your keyboard.

Data Transmission Rates:

• Early 90's
o 19.2K bits per second
o 28.8K bits per second
o 33.6K bits per second
• 1998-Present
o 56K bits per second
o Almost 10 Million bits per second (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line,
(ADSL), Cable modems)
All about Bandwidth

A fast modem doesn't ensure fast transmission rates. Fast data transmission often depends
on bandwidth.
Bandwidth is the amount of data actually being sent through a network circuit.
Example: Think of bandwidth in terms of the road system.
Let's say you want to estimate the time it takes for you to commute from home to work.
You have to travel through a physical network of roadways to travel from home to work.

To estimate your commute, consider:

o What is the speed limit?

o Where are you located (big city or rural setting?)
o How big (wide) is the road? (2-lane roads, 4-lane roads, or a 6-lane
interstate?)
o How much traffic will be on the road at any given time?
o Is there any construction?

The Internet is similar to the roadway example. Remember, the Internet is a physical
network (phone lines, etc). Data has to travel through that physical network. Too much
traffic on the network means you may be unable to connect at a fast rate, or at all. The
more open and wider your network is, the faster you can connect and surf.

The next time the Internet is creeping, the quality of bandwidth may be to blame.

Lesson 6: Surfing Strategies

CONTENTS:

o Review web browser basics

o Discuss cached web pages
o Refresh and stop web pages
o Define a search engine and provide an example
o Demonstrate effective searching techniques

Browser Basics

If you found our web site, you're already familiar with your web browser's basic tools
such as
the Back button, Forward button and Address bar.

Here is a quick review of web browser basics:

 o To return to the last page you viewed, click your Back button.
o To return to the page you visited before you clicked the Back button, click the
Forward button.
o Click the drop down menu to the right of the back and forward buttons to
view
o and select from a list of recently visited sites.
o To visit a web page, type the URL in the address bar and click the Go button
or
o simply hit the Enter (Return) key on your keyboard.

Cache

Have you ever started typing your favorite website's address, and the entire address
displays?

Or, have you tried clicking the address bar's drop down menu to display a list of
sites
you've recently visited?

What about the Back and Forward button's drop down lists of recently visited
sites?
If you've used any of the methods listed above to surf the Web, you are using your web
browser's cache.

Your web browser stores recently visited sites (as temporary Internet files) on your
computer's hard disk. When you revisit your favorite sites, the browser displays the
pages from the cache instead of requesting them from the web server.
This makes surfing the web faster and easier.

Refreshing and Stopping Web Pages

While using your browser's cache may increase ease of use, you may not
be getting the most up-to-date information a site has to offer. To do so,
you need to refresh, or reload, a web page. Refreshing requests fresh
pages from the web server rather than from the cache stored on your
machine's disk.

Most browsers include a Refresh button on the toolbar. (F5)

Refresh a web page when:

• You want to view the latest version of the page. For example, when viewing a
discussion forum, or a news-driven website.
• You get a message that a web page cannot be displayed. For example, "Error
404, File Not Found."

Most browsers include a Stop button on the toolbar. (Esc)

Stop a web page when:

• You want to stop a web page from loading.

• A page is taking too long to load.
• You mistyped a URL.
Search Engines

Instead of trying to guess where certain information may be located on the Web, search
engines allow you to search both the Web and newsgroups.

A search engine searches for keywords and returns a list of documents

where the keywords can be found. Most search engines allow you to
search using plain language relevant to the topic of interest, meaning you
don't have to know any special programming tricks to effectively search the
Web.

You're probably already familiar with search engines such as Yahoo,

Google, Excite, or AltaVista. You may have even used a search engine to
find our site.

There is tons of information available on the Web; you just have to know how to find
it fast.
Tips for Effective Searching
Beware of using slang or partial words. If you use slang or parts of
words, you may have some luck, but your results may be too broad. For
example, flick instead of movie, or Macs instead of Macintoshes may
yield different results.

Correct Spelling, Pluralization and Capitalization. Be aware of

pluralizing your words, and spell them correctly. For example, good will,
goodwill, Goodwill, Goodwills, and Good Will may yield different
results.

AND. Use AND (all caps) to search for multiple words that must appear
in a web page. Some search engines support a plus sign (+) in place of
AND. For example, free AND coupon, or free + coupon.

NOT. Use NOT (all caps) to exclude certain words or phrases. For
example, casserole NOT chicken NOT beef.

OR. Use OR (all caps) to include any of the search words (rather than
most.) For example, George Washington OR Bush.

Wildcards. The percentage symbol (%) can be used to replace only one
character. The asterisk (*) can be used to replace multiple characters.
For example, post* could produce postwar, postgame, or postmarital.

Phrases. Put quotes around a phrase so each word in the phrase isn't
searched for separately. For example, if you put quotes around "free
online computer training," the search engine searches for that entire
phrase in a web page. However, if you simply type, free online
computer training, the search engine searches for each of the words
individually in a web page.

Get Help. Go to your search engine's Help page for more specific
information on a particular engine.

Try Something New. There are many different search engines on the
Web. If you can't find what you are looking for using your favorite engine,
go somewhere else.

Bookmark it. Add your favorite search engines to your Favorites to

increase ease of use. If you're not sure how to do this, you'll learn how
later in this unit.