Unit 3 internet overview

Internet Overview

Linking the world one computer at a time

Unit Objectives:

• Discuss components of the Internet including networks, language, and servers vs. clients

• Demonstrate techniques of Internet use, including searching, media viewing and using media players

• Define things facilitated on the Internet including social networks, e-mail and chats, Voice over protocol applications and blogs

• Describe how to connect to the Internet from your home, and the use of hardware including modem, router and wireless card

• Identify key areas of the web browser• Demonstrate understanding of a web browser while performing tasks

related to the browser including links, bookmarks, privacy, browsing history, tabs, downloading and plugins

Lesson 1: Internet Overview

Terminology:• A network is a group of two or more computers networked together• The Internet is the largest computer network in the world.

Two types of computer network:

1. Local Area Network (LAN): 2 or more connected computers sharing resources in a defined area.

2. Wide Area Network (WAN): 2 or more LANs. The computers are linked by telephone lines or radio waves. The Internet is the largest WAN in existence.

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Class interaction

Activity: What does your network look like? Click Start>Control Panel>Network and Internet> View network status and tasks

Demonstration: My home network:

Question: What type of network are you connected to?

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Internet Overview (continued)

Servers and Clients:• A server holds information and software so that other computers can access

it. Websites are stored on servers.• When you access a webpage, your computer is a client. The client runs

software which allows it to see the information. An example of software includes web browsers or e-mail software.

• When you want to access a webpage, your computer requests data from the server where the webpage is stored. The server then processes the request, and sends it to your computer, where it is displayed.

• If you are using a network such as Skype, each computer is the server and client. This is called peer to peer (P2P). One computer requests data (the video and talk from the other) and the other computer processes the request (sends the video and talk). This type of network is also popular for live streaming TV and events

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Internet Overview (continued)

WWW and the Internet• Not exactly the same. Internet refers to the physical network of the

computers (the hardware) and the World Wide Web (www) refers to the virtual network of web sites on the Internet. These websites are connected by hyperlinks (links). If you see text highlighted, in blue and underlined, or perhaps just a different color, the text may actually be a link which, if clicked, will take you to a website.

HTML• HTML is the language that webpages use. HTML allows the webpage to

show not only text, but also images and other types of media.

URL• The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is also known as the web address. If

there is no link to click, you will type the web address into the browser.

Lesson 2: Internet in Action

Search engines: • A search engine allows you to do a search of all types of media on the web.

There are many types of search engines. Google is the most well-known, but other search engines include Bing, Yahoo, Excite, Dogpile, WebCrawler and more.

Social Networks:• Social networks are one of the main ways that people communicate online.

Social networks include Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Pinterest and more. Each social network has a different look, and a slightly different focus. Privacy is a factor in social networks. There are ways to increase your privacy while using them.

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Internet in Action (continued)

Chats and Instant Messaging:• These are no longer limited to e-mail and the phone. Some servers allow

instant messaging while on their site (Gmail, Facebook), where you can chat within the browser. If they are not there, you can leave them a message and they can retrieve it when you are online again.

Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)• VoIP allows you telephone service through your internet connection. This is

the way that Skype and Facebook video calling work. It does require that both users are on the same program (Facebook, Skype), and you do need an Internet connection for it to work.

Blogs:• A blog can be an online journal, or it can be a way to promote your knowledge

or business. There are sites which allow you to create a blog for free. These sites may even offer a simple template, so that all you have to do is add your own content.

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Internet in Action (continued)

Media on the Internet:

Streaming media• You can listen to radio or watch TV on your computer. In this case, the media

is downloading as it is playing. • Examples include Pandora (music), ESPN3 (sports) and news (CNN Live).• For the summer 2012 Olympics, NBC did an excellent job of live sports

coverage.• Caution on some of the sites: streaming may be unreliable if many users are

online. They are also more vulnerable to hackers. You need a good network connection with high bandwidth to work with streaming media. Also, higher resolution (HD) requires more bandwidth than lower resolution.

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Internet in Action (continued)

• If you have Internet but not a TV, you can purchase a TV tuner card which will allow you to access the free channels, as well as the ones that you receive on your cable service. Here is a website which explains how to go in this direction: http://www.pcworld.com/article/217884-2/stream_live_tv_to_your_pc.html

Media players• Sometimes, media is “embedded” in a webpage. When you see it on the

webpage, it will contain a forward button which you can click and you will see the video. Other times, you may need a separate program called a media player to view the media. Windows Media Player comes with your Windows 7 package, or you can use a free program such as iTunes.

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Internet in Action (continued)

Online media on your TV

• You can get TV, radio, movies and more over the Internet with today’s technology Some newer TVs are “internet ready”. Others may require a separate device to view content. Examples include Apple TV and Roku. With these devices, you can then access services such as Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and more.

• Learn more about Ruko • Learn more about Apple TV

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Lesson 3: Connecting to the Internet

Connections• Wired (modem only) and wireless (modem plus router, or modem plus router,

wireless)• 2 types:

Dial up (slower, connects through existing phone lines, requires phone service, you can’t use internet and phone at the same time))

DSL, Cable (also referred to as broadband)• DSL- phone line (connects through phone line, but you don’t necessarily need phone

service, can use Internet and phone at same time, unavailable in many locations)• Cable- cable TV connection (uses cable connection, but not necessarily a Cable TV

subscription. Only available where cable is available.

• Satellite is another option, not as good because data is delayed. However, doesn’t require phone or cable lines and can be used almost anywhere in the world.

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Connecting to the Internet (cont.)

Connections (continued)• 3G and 4G are wireless connections used with smartphones but may

also be used in the home. In some cases, it may be an alternative to DSL and cable. 3G may not be as fast as your DSL or Cable.

• An ISP (internet service provider) sells the Internet connection. Examples: Cox, Time Warner, AT&T. The ISP will provide instructions on connecting to the Internet. They may provide a modem for a fee, or you may choose to purchase your own. Connects from the wall (cable or phone) to the modem to the computer

using an Ethernet cable.

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Connecting to the Internet (cont.)

Connections (continued)• A wireless home network (WiFi) attaches a wireless router to the modem, which then

allows the signal to be broadcasted through your home. Some modems have a wireless router built in. You will name your network (also known as an SSID). You should also use wireless security such as WPA or WPA 2 (you will see this when you set up the router). WPA and WPA2 use encryption which codes the data so it is not readable. This way, no one can see the data unless they know the password that you set up. Use a strong password with numbers, small and capital letters and special characters. It should be at least 8 characters long.

• To use the wireless network, go to your device, look for the WiFi heading, look for available networks, find your network (which you named with the SSID), and type in the password. It will remember this password for you.

• If a device needs a wire, you can plug it directly into the router with an Ethernet cable, or you can purchase a wireless card and install it into your computer.

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Connecting with a mobile device

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Connecting to the Internet (cont.)

Review of the home network setup:• Connect the modem to the cable or phone.• Connect the router to the modem. Make sure it is turned on.• Connect all non-wireless devices using an Ethernet cable.• From your computer, create the SSID and password for your router.• On each wireless device, go to network settings and select the name of the

network and then type in the password.

Lesson 4: Web browsers & sites

Web browsers:• Web browsers allow you to access the WWW. Examples include Internet

Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari. All are free to use. They all use a graphical user interface (GUI) which means you can point and click with a mouse instead of typing.

• Terminology: – title bar (at the top of the browser, often on a tab)– tool bar, (just under title bar, includes back and front arrows, refresh, etc.)– address field (place to input your website address)– search box (quick search, Chrome does not have separate search box)– status bar (at bottom of screen, shows URL of what your mouse is hovering over, also shows

progress of loading)– tabs (reflect each of the web pages that are open)– scroll bar (depending on the web page, might have them on the side, below or both)

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Lesson 4: Web browsers & sites

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Web browsers & sites (cont.)

Task 1: Open your web browser and do the following things: • Type an address into the address field (gcflearnfree.org)• Click on a link• Go back to the original page (back button)• Open another link in a “new tab” (right click on link, then click “open in new

tab”)• Mark a page as favorites (Click on the Star in Internet Explorer, or click on the

star in the web browser in Chrome). • Using the search bar, look for information on dogs

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Web browsers & sites (cont.)

Task 2: Let’s look at a web page: Go to National Institute of Health (http://nih.gov/)• Find the search box• Find the web address• Find some social plugins• Find the Contact us page• Find the FAQ page• Find the “about us” page

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Web browsers & sites (cont.)

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Web browsers & sites (cont.)

Task 3: Privacy on the browser:– To turn off features that send information in IE, click the wrench>options>privacy>”turn off

features that send information– For anonymous browsing (shopping for a gift, sharing a computer) use InPrivate browsing.

• For IE, you can initiate it from opening a new tab and clicking on “InPrivate Browsing”, or by clicking Ctrl+Shift+P.

• For Chrome, click on the wrench and select “New incognito window”.

Task 4: Find and delete your browsing history• In Internet Explorer, click on Favorites and click History• In Google Chrome, click on the wrench in the corner• Show how to delete your browsing history if you want:

– Internet Explorer: Click Tools and then Internet Options, then either delete or manage your history. Is your IE toolbar missing? Press ALT on your keyboard and it will appear.

– Google Chrome: Click on history, and then click on the sites you want to delete the history for and click “remove selected items” or click “clear all browsing data”

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Web browsers & sites (cont.)

Task 5: Using tabs• Tabs allow you to keep pages open while looking at other sites. Try to open a new tab

using the following methods:• From your browser, click on the little box next to the window that is open. This is a tab. • From a link, right click and then select Open in a new tab. • Close a tab by clicking on the x on the corner of the tab.

Task 6: Downloading files• Downloading allows you to put a file on your computer so you can access it while you

are offline. Note: If the file that you are downloading requires a certain program to open it (such as Microsoft Word), then you need that program installed on your computer. Practice: Right click on a link. Click “save target as” and your windows explorer menu will open. You would then find the folder that you want to put this into, click on the folder and then name the file. You have downloaded this file.

• Try a picture next. Right click on a picture. Click “save picture as”. Note you get the same windows explorer menu opening, but you are now in a pictures library (probably). Again, use a folder or make a new one, name your picture, and put it in the folder.

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Web browsers & sites (cont.)

Task 6: Plugins and extensions• Plugins allow your browser to play media, such as video and music.

Examples include QuickTime Player, Java and Flash. They live outside the browsers processing space, and can sometimes result in compatibility issues.

• Extensions are a little more limited. They act as part of the browser. Examples of extensions include the history function, bookmarks and privacy settings.

• What plugins are installed on your computer? Go to the start button and type in “plugins”. You will probably find at least one folder on your computer. Click on it to see what is installed.

• While in IE, go to Tools and then Manage add-ons. (If tool bar is not showing, click on ALT key).

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Final Review

• We looked at the Internet, and how it connects at home.• We discussed terminology related to the Internet• We looked at some of the components of the Internet, such as

blogging, social media, and TV on the computer.• We practiced tools and tricks on the web browser.• Next week, we will look at communicating online which includes a

closer look at e-mail, sharing photos and videos, social networking and more.

Note: Much of this information was found on GCFLearnFree.org, an excellent site for learning anything. It does an especially good job at explaining computers and all of the things related to computers. To view their computer tutorials, visit: http://www.gcflearnfree.org/computers