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March 1, 2000
Technology Tidbits #2
by Helen DeWitt
When a teacher is new to the 'Net, there are several questions that might need to be answered. Listed below are a few Web sites and explanations that will help answer those questions.
1. Is there someplace that I can learn about Internet basics?
Internet 101
Internet 101 is a site that explains in detail the basics on the Internet. It also explains other Web-related topics like Web terminology, browsers, safe surfing, viruses, e-mail, and so on.
Beginner's Guide to the Internet for Educators
Beginner's Guide to the Internet for Educators is a tutorial made to help teachers develop the necessary skills needed to effectively use the Internet.
2. Where can I learn more about e-mail?
Everything E-mail
Everything E-mail is a site that shows teachers that e-mail is much more than just sending a message. It covers a wide variety of e-mail related topics.
3. What is the Internet?
The History of the Internet
That site contains a timeline of the history of the Internet. The Internet was started by the U.S. military's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) in the mid-1960s. It was used mainly as a communication network for government and university research across the nation. In 1990, policies controlling the use of the Internet were relaxed, and it was open to commercial use. In 1991, private and commercial Internet Service Provider (ISP) businesses started to offer low-cost Internet access to businesses, schools, and individuals.
4. What is the World Wide Web?
See the History of the Internet
for a history of the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web (WWW) forms a structure by logically connecting together computer sites according to content-based criteria. It was started in the late 1980s when a computer program was written that allowed pages within one computer to be linked together using keywords. It soon became possible to link documents in different computers, as long as they were connected to the Internet. The document formatting language used to link these documents is called Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).
5. What is a URL?
See Internet 101 for a complete explanation of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). The URL is really the address of a Web site. The domain ending tells you the type of organization that is operating the site.
For example, in the URL http://www.techlearning.com, http:// stands for Hypertext Transmission Protocol, the server language, www. stands for World Wide Web, and techlearning.com is the domain name of a commercial site made by Technology & Learning Magazine. The individuals behind techlearning.com are the producers of Technology & Learning Magazine, SchoolTech Expo & Conference, and the Well Connected Educator Web site. They are journalists, former educators, parents, event planners, and supporters of advancing the integration of technology into schools and K(12 curricula.
The most common domain suffixes are
.com ( a commercial entity. Anyone can use these.)
.org ( a noncommercial entity. These can include associations, clubs, and other organizations.)
.edu ( a school, college, or university. Use of these suffixes is restricted.)
.gov ( government entities. Use of these suffixes is also restricted.)
.net ( network operators. Use is restricted to organizations operating Internet network services.)
.mil ( military sites. Nobody gets these except the military!)
Those suffixes are used almost exclusively within the United States. Most international Web sites use suffixes that indicate the country in which the site originates. Some of the more common international suffixes include the following:
.ca (Canada)
.fr (France)
.uk (Great Britain)
.nl (The Netherlands)
.jp (Japan)
.au (Australia)
.ch (China)
.nz (New Zealand)
.es (Spain)
Here is a URL example of a school Web site in Illinois: http://www.k111.k12.il.us/king
http:// stands for Hypertext Transmission Protocol
www. stands for World Wide Web
k111. stands for the school district's name
k12. stands for K(12 district
il. stands for Illinois
us. stands for United States
/king is the school name
Once you are familiar with the Internet basics, you are ready to start integrating the Internet into your classroom activities.
Email: Helen DeWitt
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