IC3/Internet Fundamentals

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to serve several billion users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of private, public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope, linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless, and optical networking technologies.

This lesson introduces Internet fundamentals and helps learners prepare for the IC³ Living Online certification exam.

Objectives and Skills

Objectives and skills for the Internet fundamentals portion of IC³ certification include:

Objectives

• Identify information about the Internet, the World Wide Web and Web sites and be able to use a Web browsing application
• Understand how content is created, located and evaluated on the World Wide Web

Skills

• Internet vs. Browsers vs. WWW: Concepts about each, differences between each, uses of each
• Navigation: Domains, hyperlinks, home page, back, forward, refresh, favorites/bookmarks, plugins, history, search, tabs, downloading/uploading
• Using Search Engines: Acquire knowledge, solve problems, evaluate search results, forums, ads, sponsored links, knowledge bases, validity of sources, articles
• Using advanced features of search engines: Search types

Readings

1. Wikipedia: Internet
2. Wikipedia: Web browser
3. Wikipedia: World Wide Web
4. Wikipedia: Domain name
5. Wikipedia: Web search engine
6. Wikipedia: Plug-in (computing)
7. Wikipedia: Download
8. Wikipedia: Upload
9. Wikipedia: Bookmark (World Wide Web)
10. Wikipedia: Generic top-level domain

Multimedia

1. YouTube: Welcome to the Internet - Web Fundamentals Part 1
2. YouTube: Organise Bookmarks on Internet Explorer
3. YouTube: Internet Basics for Beginners
4. YouTube: Browsers and Search Engines
5. YouTube: Using Google's Advanced Search

Activities

1. Complete the tutorial Navigating a Website.
2. Complete the tutorial Internet 101.
3. Complete the tutorial How to Read a Webpage.
4. Complete one or more of the following tutorials:
   • Chrome
   • Mozilla Firefox
   • Internet Explorer 8
5. Complete the tutorial Finding Your Downloads.
6. Review WHOIS Search for Domain Registration Information. Search WHOIS records for the domain name wikiversity.org.
7. Complete the tutorial Basic Search.
8. Complete the tutorial Google Search Tips.
9. Complete the tutorial Search Better.

Lesson Summary

• The Internet is the global system of interconnected computer networks that use the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to link devices worldwide.
• The origins of the Internet date back to research commissioned by the United States federal government in the 1960s to build robust, fault-tolerant communication via computer networks.
• A web browser (commonly referred to as a browser) is a software application for retrieving, presenting and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. The first web browser was invented in 1990 by Sir Tim Berners-Lee.
• The most popular web browsers are Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge (preceded by Internet Explorer), Safari, Opera and Firefox.
• Most major web browsers have these user interface elements in common: Back and forward buttons to go back to the previous resource and forward respectively, refresh or reload button to reload the current resource, stop button to cancel loading the resource, home button to return to the user's home page, address bar to input the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) of the desired resource and display it, search bar to input terms into a web search engine, status bar to display progress in loading the resource and also the URI of links when the cursor hovers over them, page zooming capability, the viewport: the visible area of the webpage within the browser window, and the ability to view the HTML source for a page. Major browsers also possess incremental find features to search within a web page.
• The World Wide Web (abbreviated WWW or the Web) is an information space where documents and other web resources are identified by Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), interlinked by hypertext links, and can be accessed via the Internet. English scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989.
• The World Wide Web has been central to the development of the Information Age and is the primary tool billions of people use to interact on the Internet.
• The terms Internet and World Wide Web are often used without much distinction. However, the two are not the same. The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks. In contrast, the World Wide Web is a global collection of documents and other resources, linked by hyperlinks and URIs. Web resources are usually accessed using HTTP, which is one of many Internet communication protocols.
• Bookmarks are normally accessed through a menu in the user's web browser, and folders are commonly used for organization.
• A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System (DNS).
• Domain names serve to identify Internet resources, such as computers, networks, and services, with a text-based label that is easier to memorize than the numerical addresses used in the Internet protocols.
• A web search engine is a software system that is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web. The search results are generally presented in a line of results often referred to as search engine results pages (SERPs). The information may be a mix of web pages, images, and other types of files.
• A plug-in (or plugin, add-in, addin, add-on, addon, or extension) is a software component that adds a specific feature to an existing computer program. Well-known browser plug-ins include the Adobe Flash Player, the QuickTime Player, and the Java plug-in, which can launch a user-activated Java applet on a web page to its execution on a local Java virtual machine.
• In computer networks, to download is to receive data from a remote system, typically a server[1] such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar systems. This contrasts with uploading, where data is sent to a remote server.
• In computer networks, to upload is to send data to a remote system such as a server or another client so that the remote system can store a copy.

Key Terms

bookmark

A bookmark is a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) that is stored for later retrieval in any of various storage formats.

domains

A location on the internet. It's a particular web server and is the middle part of the address. The domain name tells the location and the type of address. Components of domain names are separated by periods or dots. The three letter extension at the end describes type of domain such Google (www.Google.com), or Government (www.gov.ca) etc. the "Google" and "gov" are the domains.

download

To receive data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar systems. This contrasts with uploading, where data is sent to a remote server.

email (electronic mail)

A method of exchanging digital messages between computer users.

home page

The initial or main web page of a website.

hyperlink

A reference to data that the reader can directly follow either by clicking, tapping or hovering.

Internet

The Internet is the global system of interconnected computer networks that use the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to link devices worldwide.

Internet forum (message board)

An online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages.

IP address (Internet Protocol address)

A numerical label assigned to each device (e.g., computer, printer) participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.

online advertising (online marketing, Internet advertising, web advertising)

A form of marketing and advertising which uses the Internet to deliver promotional marketing messages to consumers.

phishing

The attempt to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and sometimes, indirectly, money), often for malicious reasons, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.

plug-in (add-in, add-on, or extension)

A software component that adds a specific feature to an existing computer program.

upload

To send data to a remote system such as a server or another client so that the remote system can store a copy.

web browser

A software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web.

web browsing history

Refers to the list of web pages a user has visited recently—and associated data such as page title and time of visit—which is recorded by web browser software as standard for a certain period of time.

web page

A document that is suitable for the World Wide Web and web browsers. A web browser displays a web page on a monitor or mobile device. The web page is what displays, but the term also refers to a computer file, usually written in HTML or comparable markup language.

web search engine

A web search engine is a software system that is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web.

website

A collection of related web pages, including multimedia content, typically identified with a common domain name, and published on at least one web server.

World Wide Web

An information space where documents and other web resources are identified by URLs, interlinked by hypertext links, and can be accessed via the Internet.

Assessments

• Flashcards: Quizlet: IC3 Living Online
• Quiz: Quizlet: IC3 Living Online

See Also

• Internet Fundamentals
• Introduction to Computers
• Internet
• Georgetown University Library: Evaluating Internet Resources

References

Subject classification: this is an information technology resource.

Type classification: this is a lesson resource.

Completion status: this resource is ~50% complete.

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