Establish a connection to the Internet/Resources

Internet Fundamentals

Introduction to the Internet

Before you go any further, you might like to watch this video called The Internet.

Internet Tutorial

There is an excellent web-based tutorial about the Internet which covers the following topics:

• What is the Internet?
• Language of the Internet
• Using a Web Browser
• Finding things on the Web
• Navigation Tips
• Using the Internet
• How the Internet Works
• Other Internet Applications
• Writing Web Pages

History of the Internet

There is a lot of information available about the history of the Internet. This video gives a good overview of Ethan Zuckerman talking about the history of the Internet. If you are interested in some reading,The Internet Society ISOC)history is a very good place to start looking for information about the history of the Internet. You will find a brief history written by the people who started it all. Take note of the items called: A Brief History of the Internet and A History of the Internet.

Internet Backbone

This term refers to connections of the Internet which make up the main "trunk". For more information about this topic have a read at Wikipedia.

Internet Security

If you want to keep your computer and your family safe when using the Internet, there are several things you need to think about and have an understanding about when accessing and sending information over the Internet. For example, antivirus software, spyware, cookies, encryption, hackers, disposing of information, monitoring and filtering. There is a wealth of information on the site run by Netsafe The Internet Safety Group.

Internet Culture

This refers to the ways in which the Internet is used and appropriate use. This covers items such as etiquette, abbreviations and the use of smileys. There is more about these things on the Internet tutorial.

Internet Applications and Usage

Internet tools

There are a number of applications and tools you may or may not be familiar with using on the Internet.

• World Wide Web- collection of linked documents.
• Usenet -
• Electronic Communication - email, Discussion Board or Bulletin Board, chatroom.
• FTP/SSL - a secure method used to transfer files across the Internet.
• TELNET (TELetype NETwork) - a network protocol used on the Internet or on local area network (LAN) connections where several computers are networked.
• Search tools - search engines, databases, digital libraries.
• Web 2.0

If you are looking for meanings of terms associated with the Internet, the Digital Dictionary is a good place to look for quick definitions. The free online Dictionary and Thesaurus is also helpful. There are several tools you need to know about when using the Internet, such as blogs (weblogs), search engines and social bookmarking which are outlined in the following sections.

World Wide Web

This term is used to describe all the documents which are linked on the Internet. There is lots of information about the world wide web you might like to read. Do you know why www is added to some web addresses and not others? Look here to find out.

Blogs (weblogs)

There are different blog platforms you can use.

• Setting up a blog is really easy using blogger. It is a good idea to watch this short video first.
• For a more sophisticated blog try using Word Press.

Search Engines

Two search engines seem to get most of the traffic. They are Google and Yahoo. For more information on search engines, and their current and historical significance and use have a gander at the Wikipedia article on search engines. There is also lots of cool information on the Search Engine Watch site. This site gives you lots of information about different search engines, and which ones to use for finding specific information.

Social bookmarking

A social bookmaking site allows you to share the information you find on the Internet more easily with others. Read all about social bookmarking on Wikipedia. A good site to get started with is Del.icio.us.

General resources

• An assessment resource to support computing unit standards (levels 1 to 4) can be found on the NZQA website at http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/forproviders/resources/index.html.

General resources from RSS feed

If you find any reusable and open educational resources that you think would be useful for this unit, please tag them to del.icio.us with the tagword informationliteracy-tekotago. The latest 10 resources saved to that tag are displayed through RSS as follows:

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