Internet Basics
- 1. Connect to the World! Internet and the World Wide Web: The Basics Thousand Oaks Library
- 2. Our goal is to answer these questions What is the Internet? What is the World Wide Web? What can I find on the Web? Why should I use the Web? What is a Web browser? What is a hyper link?
- 3. … and help you … Use browser tools Learn how to surf the Web … and inspire you … To get online and have fun!
- 4. A Network of Networks The Internet is the largest group of computers ever linked together.
- 5. Network of Computers - Serving out Information
- 6. Anarchy by Design Works!! Client/Server Architecture TCP/IP Protocol
- 7. A Connected Community Cities and Towns = Networks and Servers Connected by Roads and Highways = Cables and Wires
- 8. Connecting the World Self Governing Self Organizing
- 9. World Wide Web Collection of hypertext documents Linked pages for easy movement Graphics, images, audio, video, multi-media The most popular part of the Internet
- 10. Why should you use the Web? Search the Library catalog and place holds on specific books Web-based E-Mail (e.g., Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, Gmail) Socialize (Chat rooms, IM, Forums or Message Boards) Job search Current news Academic research Shop, trade, and sell Driving directions and maps Games Phone numbers Tour museums Listen to music Watch videos Read online books Plan vacations Consumer information Finances (taxes, investing, banking) Health information Genealogy research Weather Movie times Sports and Entertainment
- 11. Who is putting information on the Web? Libraries Individuals Governments Educational institutions Non-profit organizations Commercial companies
- 12. Web Browser Used to locate and display Web pages A software application A choice of browsers Most browsers have similar looks and functions Use browser icon to open the browser Multiple browsers can be opened on your desktop
- 13. Web Browser Icons Internet Explorer Mozilla Firefox Click the icon to open the browser.
- 14. Title Bar Menu Bar Navigation Toolbar Address Bar Display Area Scroll Bar Hyperlinks Search Box The Web Browser Screen
- 15. Web Addresses http://www.amazon.com http://ca.gov http://www.redcross.org http://www.ucla.edu URL basic address structure: http://www.toaks.org/library | | | Type Server File Name of address or Service (Domain Name) Directory
- 16. GOING TO A WEB SITE: 1 - Enter a Web address . This is the most direct way of opening, or going to, a Web page, if you know the Web address already. Highlight the current address in the Address Bar by clicking to the right of the address, or by clicking and dragging the mouse over the address. TYPE a new web site address in the same space. (You don’t need to delete the previous address.) Press the ENTER key on the keyboard. The browser will open the new Web page..
- 17. Back/Forward Buttons : To go back to the previous page viewed, click on “BACK.” “FORWARD” brings you one screen ahead per click if you’ve gone back and want to come up again to where you’ve been. (Also, to GO BACK SEVERAL PAGES to a page visited earlier, click on the triangle at the right end of the “Address” bar.) 3 – Tool Bar Controls
- 18. Stop Button : While the network is retrieving a new page, an hourglass appears next to the pointer arrow, indicating that the Internet is trying to link to your new page. If it takes too long for you, click on “STOP” to stop the link from happening. Then try another link, try or the same one again. Refresh Button : If the page has rapidly changing information, such as a stock ticker, or ball game scores, but the screen does not change at all, click on “REFRESH.” Sometimes clicking on this button also might help a slow page come up, or a message might instruct you to hit Refresh to clear a network lag.
- 19. Home Button : To go back in one step to the Homepage for the browser, click the HOME button. Search Button : To access the search engine chosen by the browser (or one you choose as your default), click on “SEARCH.” It will bring the browser to the homepage of the chosen search engine. Favorites Button : To retain a quick link to sites, store them in “FAVORITES.” Clicking this button opens up a frame on the left showing sites or sites within folders. You can click on the name or address of the site listed and it opens on the right.
- 20. To ADD a site to the Favorites list: Click on “ADD” and a window opens up with the site’s address or name as decided by the site maker. You may rename as you wish to make it memorable and short enough to fit. Netscape™ uses the term “Bookmarks” instead of Favorites. Favorites can also be accessed from the Menu Bar.
- 21. Hypertext: The Motion of the Web Hyperlinks connect web pages Hyperlinks can be text or graphics Hyperlinks can be anywhere on the page Point to a link … Click the left mouse button
- 22. The mouse pointer changes from an arrow to a hand when you have found a link. The link often changes color to let you know you have used it before. There can be many types of links. Besides highlighted words, they can also be graphical elements. Here are a few of the common link designs. Buttons -- round, square or rectangular signs, usually with obvious commands. Here are a few examples:
- 23. Pictures -- Photos, cartoons, exaggerated letters, and other designs. Each of these images is a link to some other page:
- 24. Some of the links are advertisements – annoying and intrusive, but they help pay for the Internet! Ads are often banners at the top of pages, or sometimes at the edges, such as the ad below: Be careful! Some ads are disguised as search links, but link to the advertiser’s own site. For example, this site about the Academy Awards has placed its 0wn search boxes on the left. The “Message Alert” is actually an ad. Don’t click on it!
- 25. CLOSING THE BROWSER: To CLOSE the browser either click on the “X” in the upper right on the title bar, or drop down the “File” menu from the upper left and choose “Close” or “Exit.” -OR-
Editor's Notes
- #5: The Internet is a vast collection of inter-connected computer networks connecting computers all over the world. No one knows exactly how many computers are connected to the Internet. It is certain, however, that these number in the millions and are increasing at a rapid pace.
- #6: 3 These networks contain special computers that store information and serve it out as needed to those who connect to them. “Serve” is a good word because you might have heard of servers – that’s another name for computers that store information and direct it out to people when they request it. So this network of networks is made up of lots of computers or servers, all over the world, that hold information – and ---
- #7: In spite of the lack of any central control, remarkably, this anarchy by design works exceedingly well. All computers on the Internet communicate with one another using a uniform set of rules which govern the transmitting and receiving of data. This is known as TCP/IP which is an abbreviation for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. Computers on the Internet use a client/server architecture. This means that the remote server machine provides files and services to the user’s local client machine. In other words, the computer we are using to access the Internet is the local client which we use to connect to remote servers.
- #8: 4 One way to think of and describe the Internet is a connected community of servers and networks. It is a virtual community, but just as cities and towns are linked together by roads and highways, the virtual “places” on the Internet are linked together by wires, cables and satellite connections. You’ve heard the phrase “Information Superhighway” – that’s a great way to think of it. To carry that analogy even further you might hear about “traffic” on the Internet. Sometimes we hear about servers crashing because of too much traffic—too many people trying to get to the same place at the same time. Again, this community is global. It includes servers all over the world, from the United States to Australia – from Greenland to Italy.
- #9: 4 It is also important to keep in mind that it is a connected community of people . The Internet provides a community in which you may participate if you like. There is something for everyone on the Internet – for any interest, hobby, fascination or curiosity that you have, you’ll probably find a community on the Internet that deals with it. An additional attribute of the Internet is that it is self-organizing and self-governing and has no central authority—in other words, there is no "Internet, Inc." that controls the Internet. Beyond the various governing boards that work to establish policies and standards, the Internet is bound by few rules and answers to no single organization. In other words, each of those virtual cities and towns on the information superhighway basically takes care of itself. So, how did this all get started?
- #11: Q: What are some reasons you might want to use the Web? There are an infinite amount of uses for the Web. There’s something for everyone.
- #12: Individuals and organizations make information available on the Web for a variety of reasons. Some of this information is made freely available to the general public and some of it is fee-based and only available for specific people. Q: Can you think of some specific individuals or organizations putting information on the Web? Libraries like the TOL have websites that allow people to search the entire collection, place specific items on hold, and research using electronic databases. Individuals can post information about themselves and their personal interests. Anyone can create a personal website and add to the WWW. Governments often make useful information available to their citizens. The City of TO, the State of CA, and the U.S. all have official government websites that provide a wealth of information for the public. Educational institutions such as T.O.H.S. and CLU have websites with information about academic programs, admission requirements, athletic programs, and more. Non-profit organizations like the Friends of the TOL have their own websites where they post information on various topics. Commercial companies often sell and provide information about their products through their websites. Internet companies often provide services over the Web and generate earnings from advertisements and fee-based services.
- #15: Title Bar identifies the current Web page. It is typically a blue bar that runs horizontally along the top of the page. The Menu Bar offers the choices of: File. Edit. View. Tools. Help. Clicking on these choices brings a drop-down menu of more options. Navigation Tool Bar has icons for commonly used functions and tools that help navigate through web pages. Address bar contains the address or URL of the page. Display Area occupies the majority of the space on the Web Page. Hyperlinks are often underlined text, but can be any kind of graphic. When the mouse pointer changes to a hand, click the left mouse button to access the hyperlink. Scroll Bars are used to view the portions of the page that are not currently on the monitor. Search Box : Many Web pages have a search box to help find the information you need.
- #16: The technical term for a Web address is URL which means Uniform Resource Locator. 1) We can learn a lot about addresses if we understand how they are structured. For example, “the http://” will always be there and that stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol . The http at the start of Web addresses means we are transferring hypertext documents. The “www” probably will be there, but not always. Following it will be the identifying name of the server – In this case, the tol.lib.ca.us is the Thousand Oaks Library’s Web server. Ideally, this tells you what the entity is that runs the site or what information you are likely to find there. The last portion of this Web address or URL identifies the file name. 2) A most telling part of the address is that portion or extension that identifies the domain, or type of entity represented. I’m sure you’ve all heard of the expression “.com.” This term relates directly to Web addresses. The .com or .org or .edu tells us what type of an organization it is. A .com is a business or commercial entity. That’s where the .com comes from. Do you recognize this address? Amazon.com was one of the first widely-known Internet business, and it remains a giant the emerging online marketplace. 3) .gov represents government entity. This is a address for the State of California’s Web site. What would you guess .org stands for? Yes. An organization. More specifically, a nonprofit organization such as the American Red Cross. 4) What about .edu? Yes! That’s an easy one. The .edu signifies a university or college. Grade schools and secondary schools don’t get .edu – they get an extension like K12 and their state and country. Those are just some of the domain extensions. There are others such as .net as well as geographic domains such as the .ca.us which is part of the library’s Web address.