internet for beginners

Internet for beginnersInternet for beginners

Workshop presented to library assistants in Worcester, Western Cape, 6 & 7 July, 2011

1Sandy Zinn [email protected]

Workshop outlineWorkshop outlineBackground to Internet & WWWWeb browsersHow to navigate a web pageHow to read a URLEmail for beginnersSetting up a web-based email

accountNetiquetteSearch enginesHow to use Google effectively

2Sandy Zinn [email protected]

What is the InternetWhat is the Internet Internet is a global network of networksThe Internet is a collection of computers and

telecommunications hardware linking those computers together. It is the highway that the applications use to transfer the data.

The Internet is intangible, more a concept. Nobody owns the Internet. People and

institutions may own computers and web sites but nobody regulates the Internet.

People connect to the Internet to access its vast store of shared information

The Internet is an inherently participative medium. Anybody can publish information or create a new service.

Sandy Zinn [email protected] 3

Brief historyBrief historyResearch that led to the Internet as we know

it was funded by DARPA, the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency in the USA. It was envisaged as a communications system to be used in a national emergency.

The first Internet went "live" in 1969 with two sites, UCLA and SRI (Stanford Research Institute). The Internet originated as the realm of the military, research centres, universities and government who identified its data transporting capabilities as significant.

In the 1980s the use of computers became more widespread. In 1989, Compuserve (now run by America Online) and MCI Mail provided the first commercial email connections to the Internet.


African undersea cables as African undersea cables as at 28 September 2010at 28 September 2010

http://manypossibilities.net/african-undersea-cables/

The Broadband Revolution is upon us!




Source: Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats1.htmhttp://www.internetworldstats.com/stats1.htm

Internet penetration in Africa (Jun 2010)

Country Percentage

Nigeria 39.6%

Egypt 15.4%

Morocco 9.4%

South Africa 4.8%

Algeria 4.3%

Kenya 3.6%

Tunisia 3.2%


Source: Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats1.htmhttp://www.internetworldstats.com/stats1.htm

Internet in Africa (March 31, 2011)Country % %

ChangePopulation %

Nigeria 44%

+4.4 29%

Egypt 20.1%

+4.7 25%

Morocco 13.2%

+3.8 42%

S. Africa 6.8%

+2 14%

Algeria 4.7%

+.4 14%

Sudan 4.2%

+1 10%

Kenya 4.0%

+.4 10%


More Internet StatisticsMore Internet Statistics

S. Africa now has 6,800,000 Internet users

out of a population of 49 million = 13.9%


How to connect to the How to connect to the InternetInternetComputer Connection -Phone Line, ADSL,

Wireless, Satellite Modem Network Software -TCP/IP Application Software - Web

Browser, EmailInternet Service Provider (ISP)


Tools & services on the Tools & services on the InternetInternetEmail & IM (e.g. Google chat) Join Listservs or Discussion

groupsWWWBlogsFile Transfer Protocol (FTP) –

download free software such as Adobe Reader to access pdf


The Web is a sub-section of the Internet, but it is the fastest growing part of it.

The Web is a large number of computer documents or "Web pages" that are stored on computers around the world and are connected to one another using hyperlinks.

These Web pages can be seen by anyone through their computer's "Web Browser,“

Originator of the Web is Tim Berners-Lee (1991)

Web pages are written in coded language such as html making it possible to add pictures, sound & interactivity to plain text


What you can do on the What you can do on the WebWebOnline shoppingSubmit your tax return to SARSFind Government info –

Cape LibrarianRead e-books Entertainment – Cinema newsWebcamsLibrary catalogues


http://www.woolworths.co.za/caissa.asp?Page=ITB4_RHContext&Post=SHOP_home

http://www.sars.gov.za/

http://www.capegateway.gov.za/eng/pubs/mags/53744

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

http://www.moviesite.co.za/where/Mountain_Mill_Mall.htm

http://www.earthcam.com/

How to navigate a web How to navigate a web pagepage


AB

CD

E

How to read a URLHow to read a URLhttp://www.ala.org/ala/onlinelearning/index.cfm

http:// - (hypertext transfer protocol)

indicates that this is a web pagewww - indicates that this a web resourceala.org – (American Library Association) is

the domain name (unique address) of the machine on which the file is found, the host system

online learning - is the directory indicating the location of the resource on the system

The file name “index.cfm” is the actual document name or specific page you require


http://www.ala.org/ala/onlinelearning/index.cfm

http://www.ala.org/ala/onlinelearning/index.cfm

Can you read this URL?Can you read this URL?

http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/


Domain name extensions – guess Domain name extensions – guess what they mean what they mean .edu.org.ac.comco.za.nl.net


A few ways to access A few ways to access websiteswebsitesEnter a Web address into your

browser and retrieve a page directly Browse through sites and select links

to move from one page to another both within and beyond the site

Do a search on a search engine such as Google to retrieve pages on any topic

Click on links within e-mail messages


HyperlinksHyperlinksHyperlinking is a way of moving

between website pagesThe text to be hyperlinked is

recognizable by being underlined or a different colour

Images or a combination of text + image can also perform hyperlinks


Web browsersWeb browsersBrowsers are programs used to explore the Internet

Name Image

Internet Explorer

Firefox

Safari

Opera


Email for beginnersEmail for beginners


What is email?What is email?Electronic mail or e-mail is one of the

most popular uses of the Internet. With an e-mail account you can send

an electronic message (much like a letter) to anyone with an e-mail account but you need to know their e-mail address.

An e-mail address looks like this: it is your username, then an @ ('at') symbol, and then a domain name (something .com, .net, or .org in most cases). E.g. [email protected]


Setting up a Setting up a accountaccountType the URL “gmail.com” in the

address barSelect (click on) “create an account”Have your diary or cell phone handy

to record the user name and password you decide to choose

Complete the online format and submit

You will receive a welcome message from Gmail


Sending an emailSending an emailSelect “Compose mail”In the “To” field, enter the recipient’s

email addressIn the “Subject” field type a heading

describing the gist of the email The space below is the area where

you type your message much like a letter

When completed you select the “send” button


Other options and fieldsOther options and fields“Attach a file” option allows you to

attach documents, images or any files saved on your computer

CC stands for carbon copy & is used if you want to send a message to multiple people, add the extra addresses in the CC field separated by commas

BCC stands for blind carbon copy. BCC works just like a carbon copy, except the e-mail addresses you type in BCC cannot be seen by recipients.


Netiquette Netiquette Never send an email in CAPITAL

LETTERS only. It is the equivalent of shouting

When communicating with people not your closest friends address them with respect. Use complete sentences with proper capitalization and punctuation. Refrain from using shorthand abbreviations, such as “u” for you.

Refrain from flaming (bashing) - hostile and insulting interaction between Internet users

Don’t use emoticons with people you don’t know well.


Search EnginesSearch Engines


Search engines - Search engines - introductionintroductionA collection of programs that gather

information from the Web, index it, & put it in a database so it can be searched.

The search engine takes the keywords or phrases you enter, searches the database for words that match the search expression, and returns them to you.

The results (called hits)are hyperlinks to sources that have descriptions, titles, or contents matching the search expression.


Types of search enginesTypes of search engines General

◦ Ask http://www.ask.com ◦ Google http://www.google.com◦ Exalead http://www.exalead.com

Specialist KidsClick http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/KidsClick!/ Ananzi (South Africa) http://www.ananzi.co.za SearchEdu (education information)

http://SearchEdu.com/

Meta Dogpile http://www.dogpile.com/ Mamma http://www.mamma.com MetaCrawler http://metacrawler.com


Using Google - homepageUsing Google - homepage


Google DirectoryGoogle Directory


SearchingSearchingWith basic searching use the

fewest, most apt wordsWith advanced search you can

tailor your results to be more accurate

Change search settingsResults page


Standard View of results for a search Standard View of results for a search on “health” on “health”


Wonder Wheel view of Wonder Wheel view of resultsresults


Google Librarian CentralGoogle Librarian Central


Web Hunt! Web Hunt!

Are you ready?


Useful ReferencesUseful Referenceshttp://www.webopedia.com/http://www.sharpened.net/

glossary/


internet for beginners

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