Introduction to the Internet

History

    The internet has been in existence since 1969.  It began when a group of scientists saw a need for sharing data quickly, and developed a way of using telephone lines to send data.  There were four computers connected in 1969 - three in California and one in Utah. 

    Originally, only text could be be sent over the internet.  It took a high degree of technology knowledge to connect to a remote computer and communicate data.

    In 1994, the development of the World Wide Web brought the technology that was capable of sending pictures and sounds along with the text.  This revolutionized the internet and made information available to a wider audience.  The graphical point and click interface brought the Web and its vast stores of knowledge to the ordinary user. All that is needed to access these resources is a computer, a phone line, dial-up modem, and an Internet Service Provider. You may also be able to get internet access through high speed DSL service or broadband cable access with a cable modem through your local cable TV company.  These services are not available everywhere, but they are becoming more prevalent.

 Browsing

    There are many ways to browse or "surf" the internet.  A software program that provides a link between your computer and the internet is called a browser.  The two most popular browsers are Netscape and Microsoft's Internet Explorer.  Both  are free and can be downloaded from the internet itself. 

Navigating:

There are several ways to open an internet site through the browser window.

What is a link?

    A link is a shortcut to an internet address.  In the browser window,  links are usually underlined.  If you move your mouse pointer over a link, it turns to a hand.  Double click the mouse to open the site.  Buttons and pictures can also represent links. Links can be found in other types of documents such as word processing, presentations or spreadsheets.

    Below is a link to a site that contains current internet statistics.  Remember that there were originally four computers linked together.  Follow this link to see how many there are today.

http://www.isc.org/ds/host-count-history.html - Text form

http://www.isc.org/ds/hosts.html - Graph form

Dot Com's and other extensions

Internet addresses come in several forms.  Each internet host site has a unique number called an IP address that identifies its location. Since it is not easy to remember 12 digit numbers, each site also has a domain name that is matched to the IP address.  Our school's domain name is www.homercenter.org.  You probable have seen lots of domain names advertised on TV or in magazines.  Some populare ones are www.amazon.com or www.irs.gov .  

Just what does .com mean?  The three letters that follow the period in a domain name tell you a little bit about the site.  .com sites are commercial - they are in business to make money in some way.  Amazon.com started out selling books at great prices.  Today they have expanded to provide many different types of products.  

Educational institutions wanted to distinguish themselves from the "for profit" internet sites.  Schools usually have a  .edu extension.  Other extensions stand for different types of sites.

New extensions have been proposed.  One of them is .kid which would only be allowed to displayed material appropriate and safe for children.

Searching

        So, with all this information available how do you find what you want?  Search engines are programs that search available pages on the internet for the words that you enter.  There are many search engines available, some geared to adults, some more suitable for children.  The following links are general purpose search  engines geared to adult use. Try searching different engines for the same item.  Some produce better results than others.

	Yahoo
	Google
	Altavista
	Infoseek
	Dogpile
	Lycoseek
	AskJeeves

Search Engines for Kids

    Now, try the same search using these "kid friendly" sites.

	Yahooligans
	Kids Click!
	Ask Jeeves for Kids
	One Key

Safety

Safety is an important issue for all ages when using the internet.  Some safety tips to follow can be found at the Safe Kids site.   

Sites for Parents

There are many software packages and web-based services available for filtering internet content and providing a safe internet environment for children.  Listed below are just a few that will provide information on children and the internet. Our school uses SurfPatrol to filter inappropriate sites.

	SafeKids.com
	Cyber Patrol - used here at Homer-Center to filter internet access
	America Links Up   - online safety tips for parents
	Internet Safety
	Netshield
	Netparenting
	Disney Surfswell - tips for parents and an interactive safe surfing activity for kids.

Sites for Kids

Use WebMonkey to learn how to build your own webpage!