Help for New Surfers

Help for New Surfers

This page provides a basic introduction to the internet. It provides answers to the simple questions you may have about the Internet . More in depth information exists on Whitehall On-line in the form of:

The Internet Handbook in the Learn section

Below you will find general answers to:

What is the Internet?
Using The World Wide Web - a basic introduction

What is the Internet?

The Internet is the general name given to the global network of computers. This network allows any computer connected to it to communicate with any other computer that is also connected. This means that information can be easily passed around the world.

The internet is not owned by anyone. Each company, organisation or individual connected has a degree of autonomy. This is particularly evident if we look at the World Wide Web where information can be published very easily. This means anyone with access to the Internet can put forward their own ideas - for good or bad. When viewing information available on the Internet it is particularly important to verify that the information can be trusted.

The Internet network is similar to other networks, for instance the telephone network.

Some of the Common Technologies that make up the Internet include:
World Wide Web:	Information made publically accessible in the form of web pages that are viewed using a web browser. This information can take the form of text, images, animated graphics, sound and video. Hyperlinks allow for one page to link to other pages anywhere else on the web.
E-mail:	The technology that allows people to send text based messages from one computer to another - anywhere in the world. These messages can have 'attachments'. Attachments can be any other kind of computer information in a file format that is appended to the text based message.
Conferencing:	Conferencing takes different shapes and forms. In Whitehall On-line you will find a web-based conferencing system that we refer to as the Seminar Rooms. Conferencing systems can also be found outside of the World Wide Web. Conferencing refers to an on-line messaging system that may be organised into different 'threads (topics or subjects). Multiple users can access messages 'posted' to a conference. Any user can usually submit a new message or respond to other messages for other conference members to read. Sometimes topics are made private by using password protection. Such activity may happen over a period of time ('asynchronous').
Chat:	Chat is the term given to on-line multi-user discussions that happen in real time. The chat, or conversations, usually take the form of text. In Whitehall On-line you will find a web based chat system that we refer to as 'Debates' and the 'Cyber Cafe'. Unlike our chat facility, most chat systems are not web-based. Because Chat is live it has a different dynamic to other means of electronic communication. Chat input is usually less considered and so is not the most appropriate way of sharing information with others, but it is good for 'thinking aloud', offering immediate solutions to problems and establishing friendships and a team spirit amongst fellow students even when studying at a distance. The biggest problem with Chat is finding other people who want to chat at the same time as you do, and who want to chat about the same things as you do.
Video Conferencing:	Video Conferencing is more similar to Chat than Conferencing because it is a 'synchronous' technology. Internet Video Conferencing requires that participants have access to a camera and microphone. There are web based video conferencing systems available such as CUSeeMe. Video Conferencing can be surprisingly cheap to set up. Its strength is in providing live visual and audio information. Use in education is limited, though for on-line Distance Learning, some people appreciate the ability to see and hear fellow students.
File Transfer (FTP):	One of the great strengths of the Internet is that it allows users to share information. File Transfer Protocol allows a person to transfer files from one computer to another computer anywhere in the world. It is not an activity with which general users of the Internet will need to be involved.
Mailing Lists:	Mailing lists are usually e-mail based services set up to support groups of people who share an interest. People subscribed to a list can e-mail news, information or queries on the agreed subject to all other subscribed 'members' of the list. Mail messages will arrive in the e-mail boxes of fellow subscribers who can then read and respond at their leisure. Some list members will choose to take an active role while other members may be happier to 'lurk', soaking up the information passed by others. Some mailing lists have a lot of traffic (hundreds of messages everyday) while other lists are much quieter (one or two messages a month). Active lists can be very dynamic and can provide useful sources of information especially when you are new to a subject and wish to be part of an on-line community with a common interest. To discover if mailing lists exist on a subject that may be of interest to you, look at web sites that cover the subject to see if they reference lists, speak to people who you know share your interest, check out magazines and journals on your subject, or post to a News Group.
News Groups or Discussion Groups	News Groups exist as part of the Internet referred to as USENET. There are News Groups discussing most areas of interest from serious academic research to the weirdest of hobbies! To access a News Group you need a News Reader software application. Such an application is now available with the Netscape Communicator package (which includes the Netscape web browser and the Netscape e-mail client). News Groups are often less focussed and less disciplined than e-mail based mailings lists. Which News Groups are available to you will depend upon your Internet Provider.

Using The World Wide Web - a basic introduction

The World Wide Wide (W3) is a huge and uncontrollable collection of web sites. Web sites are sets of related materials that take the form of web pages. Any page on the World Wide Web can contain hypelinks - connections to other web sites, pages or parts of pages anywhere on the Web. It is this linking ability that gives the Web a distinctive power.

The information displayed within a web page may take the form of text or image. More sophisticated sites may use other media such as sound, animation and video.

How do I connect to the World Wide Web?

If you wish to access the World Wide Wide you need an Internet connection.

If you are wanting to access it from work or college it is possible that this is already provided for you - you will just need to identify a computer that has a connection and has a web browser installed on it.

If you need to set up from scratch (for home use for instance) you will need a Personal Computer and a modem and a telephone line. Modems (sometimes built into the computer) are devices that pass your computer information onto the phone line (using the same socket as your telephone). The same device receives information from the Internet through your phone line and passes it back to your computer.

Where does your computer phone when you wish to receive or send information? You need to set up an account with an Internet Service Provider - they act like an exchange. By connecting to your ISP, you open your lines of communication to the World Wide Web.

What is a Web Browser?

Pages on the web are viewed using a web browser. A web browser (sometimes called a Client) is a software application that is installed on your computer. The most popular browsers are Netscape Communicator and Microsoft's Internet Explorer. New, and more capabable versions of these browsers are being developed continuously. People designing web sites often design for the newest versions of the browsers. This means it is important to keep uptodate. You can obtain the latest version browsers from the web sites of Netscape and Microsoft free of charge.

How do I Display new Pages?

A web page is a file located on a computer known as a web server. The file will have a name such as mypage.htm. To see this page you need to call it either by clicking on a hyperlink with your mouse or by typing the name of the file and its location in the 'address' or 'location' bar at the top of your web browser window. The file location address is commonly referred to as a 'URL' (Uniform Resource Locator). As a web page starts to appear (is downloaded) into your web browser it may call in other files that it needs such as the images that are displayed around the text.

What Can I do with a Web Page?

Obviously you can read the text displayed in a web page and you can follow the links (usually shown as coloured text). But you may not wish to spend too much time connected to the Internet just reading. Use the power of the web for surfing (finding the information you need by following links). Consider saving the reading for later. How?

You can print web pages using the print button on the tool bar. If this button is not active first click on the part of the page you wish to print.
You can also save web pages. To do this go to the File Menu and choose Save As... . If this option is not available first click on the part of the page you wish to save. Saving a page like this will save a copy of the web page file to a local disk on your computer. This file can be opened later using your web browser's File menu (note that saving a file in this way will save only the text - where any images were placed in the original screen you will only see image markers).
You can save images. If there is an image you like click on it with your right mouse button. You will see an option to Save Image As... .

There are many other ways of manipulating web pages and the World Wide Web. As a starting point explore some of the menus in your web browser. Also consider working through the Internet Handbook in the Learn section of Whitehall On-line.