Internet Basics Training

ComputerandInternetBasicsTraining aNm
COMPUTERAND INTERNET BASICS TRAINING

2008alterNativeMedia
www.alternativemedia.biz
Authors: MichaelSheyahshe(Caddo) aNmChiefInformationOfficer MarySkaggs aNmChiefFinancialOfficer
2008alterNativeMedia www.alternativemedia.biz
TableofContents
SectionOne:ComputerBasicsIntro......................................................................................................... 5 SectionGoals....................................................................................................................................... 5 WhatisaComputer? ........................................................................................................................... 5 TheRoleofComputers ........................................................................................................................ 5 ComputerParts ................................................................................................................................... 7 UsingaComputer.............................................................................................................................. 15 UsingaKeyboard............................................................................................................................... 16 MouseBasics..................................................................................................................................... 17 Section Review ...................................................................................................................................... 19 SectionTwo:CommonComputerTerminology...................................................................................... 20 SectionObjectives ............................................................................................................................. 20 ComputerHardware.......................................................................................................................... 20 AboutOperatingSystems .................................................................................................................. 21 ComputerPrograms .......................................................................................................................... 21 UnderstandingNetworks................................................................................................................... 22 InternetPreview(moreinfolater)................................................................................................... 24 SectionReview ...................................................................................................................................... 26 SectionThree:OperatingSystems ......................................................................................................... 27 SectionGoals:.................................................................................................................................... 27 IntroductiontoOperatingSystems .................................................................................................... 27 UnderstandingtheWindowsUserInterface ...................................................................................... 30 Desktop ......................................................................................................................................... 30 Taskbar.......................................................................................................................................... 30 NotificationArea ........................................................................................................................... 30 Start .............................................................................................................................................. 30 ManagingFilesandFolders................................................................................................................ 31 PerformingBasicFileOperations ....................................................................................................... 33 ComputerBasicsSummary ................................................................................................................ 34 SectionReview ...................................................................................................................................... 37
SectionFour:TheInternet ..................................................................................................................... 38 SectionGoals..................................................................................................................................... 38 AbouttheInternet............................................................................................................................. 39 ConnectingtotheInternet................................................................................................................ 39 TypesofInternetConnections ........................................................................................................... 40 DedicatedInternetconnection ...................................................................................................... 40 DialupInternetconnection ........................................................................................................... 41 UnderstandBandwidth...................................................................................................................... 41 SectionReview ...................................................................................................................................... 42 SectionFive:TheWorldWideWeb........................................................................................................ 43 SectionGoals..................................................................................................................................... 43 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 43 IntroductiontotheWorldWideWeb ................................................................................................ 43 WebAddresses.................................................................................................................................. 44 UsingInternetExplorer...................................................................................................................... 46 UseaSearchEngine........................................................................................................................... 47 GoogleSearchTips ............................................................................................................................ 49 UseLikelyWords ........................................................................................................................... 50 BeSpecific:Usemorequerytermstonarrowyourresults. ............................................................ 50 Brevity:Bebrief............................................................................................................................. 51 Spelling:Youdonthavetocorrectyourspelling............................................................................ 51 CraftingYourQuerybyusingSpecialCharacters ................................................................................ 52 SectionReview ...................................................................................................................................... 55 SectionSix:CommunicatingontheInternet .......................................................................................... 56 SectionGoals:.................................................................................................................................... 56 CommunicationPrograms ................................................................................................................. 56 Programsusedtosendemailmessages........................................................................................ 56 Programsusedtochat ................................................................................................................... 57 WritingandSendingEMailMessages ............................................................................................... 57 AboutOnlineCommunities................................................................................................................ 59 UnderstandingInstantMessaging...................................................................................................... 61
PublishingontheWeb....................................................................................................................... 61 InternetSummary ............................................................................................................................. 62 SectionReview ...................................................................................................................................... 64 GlossaryTerms...................................................................................................................................... 65
SectionOne: ComputerBasicsIntro
SectionGoals
Describetheimportanceofcomputersintodaysworld. Identifythemainpartsofacomputer. Identifythestepsforstartingacomputer. Identifythedifferentgroupsofkeysonakeyboard. Performdifferenttasksbyusingamouse.
WhatisaComputer?
Acomputerisanelectronicdeviceusedtostoreandprocessinformation. Itplaysamajorroleinourlives.Weusecomputersineducationand research,forbroadcastingnews,receivingandsendingmessagesto familyandfriends,makingpresentations,maintainingofficialand personalrecords,makingweatherforecasts,andforvariousother businessandrecreationactivities.Byusingcomputers,wesavealotof time,effort,andmoney.
TheRoleofComputers
Computersplayamajorroleinourdailylives.Theyareusedinindustries,schools,governmentoffices, andshops.Youcanusecomputerstocommunicatewithyourfamilyandfriends,createahousehold budget,booktravelandmovietickets,ormanageyourbusiness. Businessandindustry o maintain accounts o createpersonnelrecords o trackinventory o preparepresentationsandreports o manageprojects o communicatebyemail Design o publication o newsletters
o fashionmagazines o marketingmaterials o books o newspapers Education o delivertraining o maintainstudentrecords o trackperformance o searchforinformationondifferenttopics o createorsubmitassignments. Government o storingandupdatingrecords o providingservicestocitizens o viewinformationoncurrentpoliciesandgovernmentissues medicine o reviewmedicalrecordsofpatients o findinformationaboutthelatestdrugsavailabletotreatadisease o discussandshareinformationaboutvariousdiseases. Scientists o Research, gather, andanalyzeinformation o viewimages o publishinformationonrecentresearch Personal o bankaccount. o stockmarkets,totradestocks,andtomanageinvestments
o createdrawingsandpaintings o editandenhancepictures o writecontentforbooks
o createillustrations Inthefieldofentertainment,youcanusecomputerstolistentomusic,watchmovies,storeandprint photographs,sendgreetings,andplaygames.
Computer Parts
Acomputerhasvariousparts,andeachpartperformsaspecificfunction.Thefollowingtabledescribes thepartsofacomputer. Part Description
Part InputDevices Description Youuseinput devicestoprovideinformationtoa computer,suchastypingaletterorgiving instructionstoacomputertoperformatask. Someexamplesofinputdevicesaredescribedin thefollowinglist. Mouse:Adevicethatyouusetointeractwith itemsdisplayed onthecomputerscreen.A standardmousehasaleftandarightbutton.You usetheleftbuttontoselectitemsandprovide instructionsbyclickinganactiveareaonthe screen.Youusetherightbuttontodisplay commonlyusedmenuitemsonthescreen. Keyboard:Asetofkeysthatresemblesa typewriterkeyboard.Youusethekeyboardto typetext,suchaslettersornumbersintothe computer. Microphone:Adevicethatyoucanusetotalkto peopleindifferentpartsoftheworld.Youcan recordsoundintothecomputerbyusinga microphone.Youcanalsouseamicrophoneto recordyourspeechandletthecomputerconvert itintotext. Scanner:Adevicethatissimilartoaphotocopy machine.Youcanusethisdevicetotransferan exactcopyofaphotograph ordocumentintoa computer.Ascannerreadsthepageand translatesitintoadigitalformat,whicha computercanread.Forexample,youcanscan photographsofyourfamilyusingascanner. Webcam:Adevicethatissimilartoavideo camera.Itallowsyoutocaptureandsendthelive picturestotheotheruser.Forexample,a webcamallowsyourfriendsandfamilytoseeyou whencommunicatingwiththem.
Part Output Devices Description Youuseoutputdevicestogetfeedbackfroma computerafteritperformsatask.Someexamples ofoutputdevicesaredescribedinthefollowing list. Monitor:Adevicethatissimilartoatelevision.It isusedtodisplayinformation,suchastextand graphics,onthecomputer. Printer:Adevicethatyouusetotransfertextand imagesfromacomputertoapaperortoanother medium,suchasatransparencyfilm.Youcanuse aprintertocreateapapercopyofwhateveryou seeonyourmonitor. Speaker/Headphone:Devicesthatallowyouto hearsounds.Speakersmayeitherbeexternalor builtintothecomputer.
Part Central Processing Unitand Memory Description Thecentralprocessingunit(CPU)isadevicethat interpretsandrunsthecommandsthatyougive tothecomputer.Itisthecontrolunitofa computer.TheCPUisalsoreferredtoasthe processor. Memoryiswhereinformationisstoredand retrievedbytheCPU.Therearetwomaintypes ofmemory. RandomAccessMemory(RAM):Itisthemain memoryandallowsyoutotemporarilystore commandsanddata.TheCPUreadsdataand commandsfromRAMtoperformspecifictasks. RAMisvolatile,whichmeansitisavailableonly whilethecomputeristurnedon.Thecontentsof RAMmustbecopiedtoastoragedeviceifyou wanttosavethedataintheRAM. ReadOnlyMemory(ROM):Itisthememorythat retainsitscontentsevenafterthecomputeris turnedoff.ROMisnonvolatile,orpermanent, memorythatiscommonlyusedtostore commands,suchasthecommandsthatcheck whethereverythingisworkingproperly.
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Part Motherboard Description The motherboard isthemaincircuitboardinside thecomputer.Ithastinyelectroniccircuitsand othercomponentsonit.Amotherboardconnects input,output,andprocessingdevicestogether andtellstheCPUhowtorun.Othercomponents onthemotherboardincludethevideocard,the soundcard,andthecircuitsthatallowthe computertocommunicatewithdeviceslikethe printer.Themotherboardissometimescalleda systemboard.
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Part Expansion Cards Description An expansioncard isacircuitboardthatcanbe attachedtothemotherboardtoaddfeatures suchasvideodisplayandaudiocapabilitytoyour computer.Anexpansioncardeitherimprovesthe performanceofyourcomputerorenhancesits features.Expansioncardsarealsocalled expansionboards.Sometypesofexpansioncards are describedinthefollowinglist. VideoCard:Itisconnectedtothecomputer monitorandisusedtodisplayinformationonthe monitor. NetworkInterfaceCard(NIC):Itallowsthe computertobeconnectedtoothercomputersso thatinformationcanbeexchangedbetween them. SoundCard: Itconvertsaudiosignalsfroma microphone,audiotape,orsomeothersourceto digitalsignals,whichcanbestoredasacomputer audiofile.Soundcardsalsoconvertcomputer audiofilestoelectricalsignals,whichyoucanplay throughaspeakeroraheadphone.The microphoneandthespeakersortheheadphones connecttothesoundcard.
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Part Storage Devices Description Youuse storagedevices tostorecomputer information.Storagedevicescomeinmany forms.Someexamplesarehard driveordisk,CD ROM,floppydisk,andDVDROM.Storagedevices canbedividedintotwotypes,internalstorage devicesandexternalstoragedevices. Somecommonstoragedevicesaredescribedin thefollowinglist. HardDisk: Amagneticdiskthatisusuallythe mainstoragedeviceonmostcomputers.Itcanbe anexternaloraninternaldevice. FloppyDisk: Aportablestoragedevicethat allowsyoutostoreasmallamountofdata.A disadvantageofthisdiskisthatitcanbeeasily damagedbyheat,dust,ormagneticfields. CDROM: Aportablestoragemediumthatallows youtostore400timesmoredatathanona floppydisk.Itislesspronetodamagethana floppydisk. DVDROM: Aportablestoragemediumthatis similartoaCDROM;however,itcanstorelarger amountsofdatathanafloppydiskoraCDROM. ADVDROMiscommonlyusedtostoremovies andvideos.
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Part Portsand Connections Description A port isachannelthroughwhichdatais transferredbetweeninput/outputdevicesand theprocessor.Thereareseveraltypesofports thatyoucanusetoconnectthecomputerto externaldevicesandnetworks.Sometypesof portsaredescribedinthefollowinglist. UniversalSerialBus(USB)Port: Youusethisto connectperipheraldevicessuchasamouse,a modem,akeyboard,oraprintertoacomputer. FireWire: Youusethistoconnectdevicessuchas adigitalcamera.ItisfasterthantheUSB. NetworkPort: Youusethistoconnecta computertoothercomputerstoexchange informationbetweenthecomputers. ParallelPortandSerialPort: Youusetheseports toconnectprintersandotherdevicestoa personalcomputer.However,theUSBisnowthe preferredmethodforconnectingperipheral devicesbecauseitisfasterandeasiertouse. DisplayAdapter: Youconnectamonitortothe displayadapteronyourcomputer.Thedisplay adaptergeneratesthevideosignalreceivedfrom thecomputer,andsendsittoamonitorthrough acable.Thedisplayadaptermaybeonthe motherboard,oronanexpansioncard. Power: Themotherboardandothercomponents insideacomputerusedirectcurrent(DC).A powersupplytakesthealternatingcurrent(AC) fromthewalloutletandconvertsitintoDC power.
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UsingaComputer
Toturnonacomputer,pressthepowerbutton onthesystem unit.Whenyouturnonthe computer,lightsonthekeyboardmayblink brieflyandyoumayalsohearabeep.Thisisan indicationthatthepoweronselftest(POST)has started. Thecomputerperformsasequenceofquicktests tocheckwhetherthemotherboard,memory, harddrive,andothercomponentsareworking. Ifyouhearaseriesofbeeps,themonitormaydisplayamessageindicatingthatacomponentisnot functioning.Forexample,ifthekeyboardcableisnotattached,anerrormessagemayreportthat there isnokeyboarddetected. AfterPOST,thecomputerstartstheoperatingsystem,andthendisplaysthelogonscreen. Younowlog ontothe Microsoft WindowsXP operatingsystem.Theoperatingsystemallowsyoutoinstructthe computerwhattodoafter youhaveturnediton. The operatingsystem controlsthecomputershardwareandalsomanagesthecomputersoperations andtasks,suchasloggingon,loggingoff,andshuttingdown. Forexample,tologontoWindowsXP,youneedtotypeyourusernameand password.Thesettingsfor theuseraccountareappliedandyouarenowloggedontoWindowsXP.Afteryoulogon,youcan performvarioustasks,suchascreatinganewfileormodifyinganexistingfile. Afterperformingtherequiredtasks,youneedtosavethechangesyoumadetothefile.Youcanthen logofffromWindowsXP.Tologoff,youneedtoclickStart,andthenclickLogOff. Tosecurelyturnoffyourcomputer,youmustshutdownWindowsXP.Todothis,youneedtoclickStart, andthen,atthebottomoftheStartmenu,clickShutDown.YoucanendyourWindowsXPsessionby clickingtheShutDownWindowsdialogbox. Ifyouencounterproblemswhileusingthecomputer,youcanchoosetheRestartoptiontorestartthe computer.Todothis,click RestartintheShutDownWindowsdialogbox. Onmostcomputers,youshouldneverusetheactualpowerbuttononthefrontofthesystemunitto turnoffthecomputerunlessitstopsresponding.
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UsingaKeyboard
Thekeyboardisaninputdeviceyouusefor typingcommandsortextintoacomputer. Thedifferenttypesofkeysonastandardkeyboardarelistedbelow: AlphanumericKeys: Thesekeysareusedforenteringlettersandnumbers. SpecialKeys: KeyssuchasControl(CTRL), SHIFT, SPACEBAR, ALT, CAPSLOCK,and TAB arespecialkeys. Thesespecialkeysperformspecialfunctionsdependingonwhenandwheretheyareused. PunctuationKeys: Punctuationkeysincludekeysforpunctuationmarks,suchas colon (:), semicolon (;), questionmark (?), singlequotationmarks (),and doublequotationmarks (). CommandKeys: Keyssuchas INSERT(INS), DELETE(DEL),and BACKSPACE arecommandkeys.Youuse thesekeystoinsertanddeletetextandobjects.YoucanturntheINSERTkeyeitherONorOFF.When turnedON, theINSERTkeyhelpsyouoverwritecharacterstotherightoftheinsertionpoint.When turnedOFF,theINSERTkeyhelpsyouentertextorcharacterstotherightoftheinsertionpoint,without overwritingthistextorcharacters.Aninsertionpointistheblinkingverticallinethatindicatesthe locationatwhichtheinsertedtextappears.TheDELETEkeyisusedtoremovetypedtext,characters, andotherobjectsontherightsideoftheinsertionpoint.TheBACKSPACEkeyisusedtoremovetyped text,characters,andotherobjectsontheleftsideoftheinsertionpoint. Note: ThefunctionoftheDELETEandtheBACKSPACEkeysmayvarydependingonthetypeofcomputeryou
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areusing.
ENTERorRETURNKey: Thelabelonthiskeycanbeeither ENTER or RETURN,dependingonthebrand ofcomputerthatyouareusing.Youusethe ENTER orthe RETURN keytomovetheinsertionpointto thebeginningofanewline.Insomeprograms,itisusedtosendcommandsandtoconfirmataskona computer. NavigationKeys: Keyssuchasthe arrowkeys, HOME, END, PAGEUP,and PAGEDOWN,arenavigation keys.Youusethearrowkeystomovetheinsertionpointup,down,right,andleft.TheHOMEkeyis usedtomovethecursortotheleftendofalineoftextorthetopofadocument.TheENDkey,in contrast,movesthecursortotheendofalineorafile,dependingontheprogram.ThePAGEUPkeyis usedtomoveonepageupandthe PAGEDOWN keyisusedtomoveonepagedownwhileviewinga document.Thefunctionsof PAGEUP and PAGEDOWN keysdifferfromprogramtoprogram. FunctionKeys: Keyslabeledfrom F1 to F12 arefunctionkeys.Youusethemtoperformspecific functions.Theirfunctionsdifferfromprogramtoprogram.ThefunctionoftheF1keyinmostprograms istoaccessthehelpfileassociatedwithaprogram.Somekeyboardsmayhavefewerfunctionkeys. NumericKeypad: Notallkeyboardshaveanumerickeyboard.Ifavailable,thisisaseparatesetofkeys withnumbersfrom0to9,thedecimalpoint,specialcharacters,andnavigationsymbols.TheNUMLOCK keyonthiskeypadallowsyoutoswitchbetweenthenumericandthenavigationkeys. WindowsKey: Thekeybetweenthe CTRL keyandthe ALT keyisthe Windows key.IthastheMicrosoft LogoortheWindowsflag.ThiskeyisusedtoopentheStartmenu,orisusedincombinationwitha secondkeytoperformcommonWindowstasks.TheexactuseoftheWindowskeymayvaryfrom programtoprogram. Note: Differentkeyboardshavedifferentkeylayouts.Therefore,thefeaturesofthekeysmaydiffer.
Mouse Basics
A mouse isasmalldevicethatyoucanuseto move,select,andopenitemsdisplayedon yourmonitor. Themouseisusuallykeptonthedesknextto thekeyboard.Mostmousedeviceshaveat least two buttons,leftandright.Mostofthe actionsareperformedbyclickingtheleft button.
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Asyoumovethemouseonyourdesk,a pointer movescorrespondinglyonyourscreen.The mouseallowsyoutoselectanitemonthescreen. Asyoumovethepointerover differentareasofthescreen,theitemsorthepointerchange. Thesechangesindicatethatyoucanclickanitemtoopenit,orseemoreofitsoptions. Youcanopenanitembymovingthepointertoit,and clickingtheleftmousebuttontwice. The right button isusedforspecificfunctions.Someadvancedtypesofmousedevicesprovide additionalbuttonstospeedupcommontasks,suchasscrollingtext. Therightbuttononthemouseisusedtodisplaya menu.Theoptionsonthismenuincludethemost commontasks,suchascopyingtextfromonelocationandpastingittoanotherlocation.Theseare calledcontextsensitivemenus.Thesemenushelpyoucompletetasksquickly. Inadocument,youcanusethemousetoselectapositiontostarttyping. Youneed topositionthepointerinthedocument,clickwhereyouwanttoinserttext,andthen useyourkeyboardtobegintyping. Tomoveanitem,youneedtoclickit,andthenholdingthemousebuttondown,movetheitem toadifferentlocation.Afteryoumovetheitemtothenewlocation,youreleasethemouse button. Mostmousedevicesalsohavea mousewheel thathelpyoutoscrollthroughdocumentsorpages. Toscroll,placeyourfingeronthewheelandrollitbackandforth.Thismovesthedocumentupand down. Therearedifferenttypesofmousedevicesavailableinthemarket.A regularmouse hasarubberora metalballontheunderside. Themechanicalmovementofthemousedevicemovestheball.Thismovementfurthermovesthe pointeronthescreen. A trackball islikearegularmouse,butupsidedown,withtheballonthetop.Itallowsyoutohavethe samecontrolasamouseinaconfinedspace. Youcanusethethumborthefingertomovethetrackballtomovethepointer. An optical mousecanbeusedin thesamewayasaregularmouse.However,itdoesnothaveaball.It usesalasertodetectmovement.
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SectionReview
1. Whatisacomputer?
2. Whatisoneuseofamoderncomputer?
3. Identifythemainpartsofacomputer.
4. Whatare thestepsforstartinga computer?
5. Identifythedifferentgroupsofkeysonakeyboard.
6. What differenttasks canbedone byusingamouse?
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SectionTwo: CommonComputerTerminology
Section Objectives
Identifytheprimaryhardwarecomponentsofacomputer. Defineanoperating systemanditsrole. Definethetermprogram. Explainwhatismeantbydata. Definethetermnetwork,andidentifythebenefitsofnetworking. DefinethetermInternet. Anautomobile,suchasacaroravan,isavailableindifferentmodels andcolors,butitsessentialcomponentsremainthesame.All automobileshaveanengine,abody,andwheels.Similarly,computers areavailableinvarioussizesandshapes,buttheyallhavecommon componentsthatworkinthesamemanner. Theessentialcomponentsofa computerarehardwareandsoftware. Inthislesson,youwilllearnaboutcommoncomputerterminology, suchashardware,software,data,andnetwork.
Computer Hardware
Hardware referstoallthephysicalcomponentsofa computer.Itincludesall inputdevices, processing devices, storagedevices,and outputdevices. The keyboard,mouse,motherboard,monitor,harddisk, cables,andprinterareallexamplesofhardware. Youuseakeyboardandamousetoprovide input andto selectandrunprograms.Youcanviewthe output ona monitorthatissimilartoatelevisionset,orusethe printertoviewtheoutputonpaper. Apartfrominputandoutputdevices,acomputeruses processingdevicestoworkontheinputdataand generatethedesiredoutput.Themostimportant processingdeviceisthe CPU.The CPU isthe brain ofthe
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computer.Itprocessestheinputtoperformcalculationsandproduceoutput. A motherboard isalargecircuitboardthatconnectsinput,output,andprocessingdevices.The motherboardcircuitsprovidepathwaysthatallowdatatopassthroughthesevariouscomponents.It alsocontainschipsthatdeterminehow,when,andwheredatacanflowthroughthecomputer.
AboutOperatingSystems
Inadditiontohardware,acomputer needs software tofunction.Software isjustafancynamefor specific computer instructions that perform a necessarytasks. Themostimportantsoftwareonthe computeristheoperatingsystem, whichcontrolsandmanagesthe hardwareconnectedtoyour computer.Theoperatingsystem providesaninterfacethathelpsyouto interactwiththecomputer.An exampleofoneofthelatestoperating systemsis WindowsXP or Vista. Auserinterfacecanbeeithertextbasedorgraphicsbased.Mostoperatingsystemsprovideagraphical user interface(GUI),whichdisplaysimagesandpicturesthatallowyoutointeractwithacomputer easily. AnoperatingsystemwithaGUIprovidesaneasytouseinterfacetohelpyouinstallhardwareor software.Forexample,WindowsXPprovidesasetupwizard,whichguidestheuserthrougheachstepof aparticulartask,suchinstallinghardwareorsoftware. Anoperatingsystemensuresthatyourcomputerisfunctioningproperly.Youneedto update your operatingsystemregularlytoensurethatitiscompatiblewithanynewhardwarethatyouinstall. (Updatingyoursoftwareisawholelessonbyitselfandwillnotbecoveredhere.)
Computer Programs
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Thehardwareandtheoperating systemtogetherarereferredtoasa platform. Programs,alsocalled applications,usethisplatformto performtasks.Therearemanytypes ofprograms.Someprogramsallow youtoperformtaskssuchaswriting letters,doingcalculations,orsending emailmessages. MicrosoftOffice Wordisanexampleofa programthat helpsyoucreatelettersandother publications. Otherprogramsallowyoutocreate illustrations,playgames,watch movies,orcommunicatewithother computerusers.
Understanding Networks
Considerascenariowhereanorganization has10employees.Theseemployeesuse computerstoperformdailytasks.Theyalso needprintdatafrequently.Insteadofgiving eachemployeeaprinter,whichwouldbe expensive,allcomputerscanbeconnectedto asingleprinter. Youcanconnectyourcomputertoother computerstoshareinformationand hardwarecomponents.Agroupofcomputers andassociateddevicesthatarelinked togethertofacilitatesharinginformationis calleda network.Networkscanalsobeused tosharedataanddevicessuchasprinters. Anetworkoffersmanyadvantagesforthecomputerconnectedtoit.Inadditiontosharinghardware andsoftware,youcansharefilesandcommunicatewithothercomputerusersonthenetwork.Atypical networkhasthefollowingthreecomponents:
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Server: Themaincomputeronanetwork thatprovidesservicestoothercomputersonthe network.Aserverdecideswhichcomputersareallowedtoaccessthehardwareandsoftwareon thenetwork. Workstation: Acomputerconnectedtoanetwork.Youuseaworkstationtoaccessthe hardwareandsoftwareonanetwork. Communicationchannel: Apathorlinkthatconnectscomputersorperipheraldevices,suchas printersanddiskdrives,totransferinformation.Cablesarecommonlyusedascommunication channelsinanetwork,butnetworkscanalsotransferinformationthroughwirelessconnections. Anetworkexpandsasmoreworkstationsandserversareconnectedtoit.Dependinguponthearea covered,anetworkcanbecategorizedasalocalareanetwork(LAN)orawideareanetwork(WAN). Typesof Network LAN Feature
ALANconnectsdeviceswithinalimitedarea,suchas ahomeorasmallgroupofoffices.Itcommonly includescomputersandsharedresourcessuchas printersandscanners.
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WAN AWANisanetworkthatconnectsdevicesin geographicallyseparatedareas.Youcanusethe resourcesofaWANtoconnecttwoormoreLANsby usinglongwires,opticalcables,andsatellites.Many organizationsuseaWANtoconnecttheirnetworks acrossdifferentcountries.TheInternetisanexample ofaWAN.
Internet Preview(moreinfolater)
The Internet isaworldwidecollectionof publicnetworksthatarelinkedtoeach otherforinformationexchange.The Internetstartedasanetworktofacilitate communicationbetweengovernment andeducationaldepartmentsinthe UnitedStates. Whenothernetworkswereconnectedto thisnetwork,itbecameavastmedium forexchanginginformationandideas. Today,theInternetconnectsmany commercial, government,and educational networks,aswellasindividualcomputers,whichsharedata. TheInternetoffersarangeofservicestoitsusers,suchasfiletransfersbetweenInternetusersand electronicmailforsendingmessages. The WorldWideWeb(WWW),ortheWeb,isanotherservicethattheInternetprovides.The Web includesspeciallyformatteddocumentsthatareinterlinkedandstoredonserversaroundtheworld. YoucanusetheInternetanditsservicestosendmessagestootherInternetusers,searchandapplyfor jobs,watchmovies,andbuyandsellproducts. Manyorganizationsuseaspecialtypeofnetworktocommunicateandshareinformationwithinthe organization.Suchanetworkiscalledanintranet.
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An intranet issimilartotheWebbutisaccessibleonlytoauthorizedusersoftheorganization. AnintranetismuchsmallerthantheInternetandcanprovideservicessuchas documentdistribution, softwaredistribution, accesstodatabases,and training.
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SectionReview
1. Identify some primaryhardwarecomponentsofacomputer.
2. Whatdoesan operatingsystem doforthecomputer?
3. Whatisaprogram?
4. Whatismeantbydata?
5. Definethetermnetwork.
6. Identifythebenefitsofnetworking.
7. Whatisthe Internet?
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Section Three: OperatingSystems
SectionGoals:
Explainthecommonfunctionsofanoperating system. IdentifythebasiccomponentsoftheWindowsXPuserinterface. WorkwiththeWindowsXPuserinterfacewithinprograms. ManagefilesandfoldersinMicrosoftWindowsExplorer. Performbasicfileoperations. Theoperatingsystemisthemostimportant programinthecomputer.Anoperatingsystem performsfourprimaryfunctions.Itmanagesand controlsthehardwareconnectedtoacomputer. Ithelpsotherprogramsrunningonacomputer tousethehardware.Ithelpsyouorganizeand managefilesand foldersonthecomputer.It providesauserinterfacethatallowsyouto interactwiththehardware,theoperatingsystem itself,andotherprograms. Examples ofanoperatingsystem include WindowsXP/Vista,Linux,andMac.
IntroductiontoOperatingSystems
Anoperatingsystemcontrolshowprogramsworkwitheachotherandhowtheyinteractwiththe computerhardware.Italsocreatesthefilesystemthatdetermineshowyourdataisstoredwithina storagedevice. Theperformanceofanoperatingsystemdependsonthenumberofbitsthatitcantransferatatime. Earlyoperatingsystemscouldtransferonly8bitsofdataatatimeandwerecalled8bitoperating systems.However,withtheintroductionoftheGUIinterface,16bitoperatingsystemsweredeveloped. Currently,operatingsystemssuchasWindowsXPare32bitoperatingsystems.Thenewestoperating systems,suchasMicrosoftWindowsXPProfessionalx64Edition,cantransferupto64bitsatatime, whichenablesprogramstorunmuchfaster. AnoperatingsystemsuchasWindowsXPprovidesaGUIthatmakesiteasierforyoutogiveinstructions toacomputer.Thefollowingtabledescribesthefunctionsofanoperatingsystem. Functions Description
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Functions Providesauser interface Description Manyoperatingsystems providevisual elements,suchasiconsandmenus,tohelpyou interactwithacomputer.Youcanuseamouse toselecticonsandissuecommands.For example,youcandoubleclickafiletoopenit withtheappropriateprogram.
Provides utilitiesto configureyour system
AGUIbasedoperatingsystemprovideseasyto useutilitiestohelpyouconfigureyour computer.Theseutilitiesaresmallprograms thathelpyouperformspecificfunctions,suchas connectingtoanetwork,managingresources, andaddingnewprogramstoyourcomputer.For example,WindowsXPprovidesabackup programtosaveyourimportantdata.In addition,itprovidesauserfriendlysetupwizard thatallowsyoutoinstallhardwareorsoftware, orconnecttoothercomputers.
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Functions Helpsmanage computer resources Description Anoperatingsystemhelpsmanagehardware. Programscommunicatewiththeoperating systemtoworkwiththerequiredhardware, suchastheCPU,tocompletetherequiredtasks.
Helpssecure databy controlling useraccess to acomputer
Anoperatingsystemallowsyoutosecureyour data.Ithelpsyouspecifyauthenticationand authorizationrightstocontrolaccesstoyour computeranditsresources. Authenticationistheprocessbywhichthe computersystemvalidatesauser'slogon information.Anoperatingsystemcanhelpyou createausernameandapassword,sothatonly thoseuserswhoknowtheusernameand passwordcanaccesstheresourcesonyour computer. Inaddition,youcanassociatespecific permissionstoeachusername.Thisiscalled authorization.Forexample,youcanprevent usersfromprintingdocumentsfromyour computer.
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UnderstandingtheWindowsUserInterface
WindowsXPprovidesaGUIthathasanumberofcomponentstohelpyouinteractwithacomputer.The followingarethecomponentsofaWindowsuserinterface:
Desktop
Thedesktopisanonscreenworkareathatusesa combinationofmenusandicons.Thedesktop includesthefollowingcomponents: Wallpaperisapatternorpictureonthescreen backgroundthatyoucanchoose.Youcanconsiderit asatableclothplacedonatable. Aniconisasmallimagedisplayedonthescreento representanobject.Iconshelpyouperformcertain computeractionswithouthavingtoremember commandsortypethem. Forexample,youcanclicka fileicontoopenthefilewiththeappropriate program.
Taskbar
Thetaskbarisarectangularbarthatisusuallylocatedatthebottomofthescreen.Youcanusethe taskbartoselectaprogramrunningonyourcomputer.Thetaskbardisplaystheprogramsintheformof taskbarbuttons.TheprogramdisplayedonthetaskbarinthegraphicisWord.
NotificationArea
Whenthetaskbarislocatedatthebottomofascreen,thenotificationareaislocatedontherightside ofthetaskbar.Thenotificationareadisplaysthetime,avolumeicon,andiconsofsomeprograms runningonacomputer.Forexample,theprintershortcuticonappearsafteradocumenthasbeensent totheprinteranddisappearswhentheprintingiscomplete.
Start
InWindowsXP,theStartbuttonopenstheStartmenu.YoucanusethecommandsontheStartmenuto startaprogram,ortorestartorshutdownthecomputer.TheStartmenutypicallydisplaysthefollowing commands: MyDocuments: WhenyouclickMyDocumentsontheStartmenu,thecontentsintheMyDocuments folderappearinarectangulararea,calledthewindow.Thewindowdisplaystwospecializedfolders,My
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PicturesandMyMusic.YoucanusetheMyDocumentsfoldertoshareyourdocumentsandalsokeep privatethedocumentsyoudonotwanttoshare. MyComputer: WhenyouclickMyComputerontheStartmenu,thecontentsofyourfloppydisk,hard disk,CDROMdrive,andnetworkdrivesappearinawindow.YoucanusetheiconsandmenusinMy Computerwindowtosearchfororopenfilesandfolders. MyNetworkPlaces: WhenyouclickMyNetworkPlacesontheStartmenu,theMyNetworkPlaces windowappears.Itprovidesaviewofallthesharedcomputersandotherresourcesonthenetworkto whichyourcomputer isconnected. ControlPanel: WhenyouclickControlPanelontheStartmenu,theControlPanelwindowappears.It allowsyoutocontrolthevariousaspectsoftheoperatingsystemorhardware,suchassettingthe systemtimeanddate,addingandremoving programs,troubleshootinghardwareandsoftware,and settingkeyboardcharacteristics. PrintersandFaxes: WhenyouclickPrintersandFaxesontheStartmenu,thePrintersandFaxeswindow appears.Itallowsyoutoinstallandshareprintingresources.Afteryouinstallaprinter,youcanprint documentsfromyourcomputer. HelpandSupport: WhenyouclickHelpandSupportontheStartmenu,theHelpandSupportCenter windowappears.YoucanusetheMicrosoftHelpandSupportCenterwheneveryouhaveaquestion abouttheoperatingsystem.ItisacomprehensiveresourcethathelpsyoulearnaboutWindowsXP.You canusetheSearchortheIndexfeaturetoviewallWindowsHelpresources,includingthoseavailableon theInternet. Search: WhenyouclickSearchontheStartmenu,theSearchwindowappears.Itallowsyoutosearch forafileorafolderonyourcomputer.Inaddition,ifyouareauthorizedtoaccessothercomputerson yournetwork,youcansearchfilesonthosecomputers. Run: Thisallowsyouto startaprogram.
ManagingFilesandFolders
The WindowsExplorer windowisoftendividedintotwo sections,calledpanes (ifnot,pleaseaskinstructorforhelpto makeitso).Thepaneonthe left side,calledthe Folders pane, displaysthestructureof drivesandfoldersonyourcomputer.A folderisacontainerforprogramsandfilesinGUIinterfaces.It isrepresentedbyaniconofafilefolderonthescreen.Itcan holdbothfilesandadditionalfolders.Thepaneonthe right is calledthe details pane.Itdisplaysthecontentsofadriveor folder.Youcanselectfoldersfromthelistdisplayedinthe Folderspanetoviewitscontentsinthedetailspane.
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TouseWindowsExplorer: 1. Openthe Start Menu 2. Toopen WindowsExplorer,pointto AllPrograms, pointtoAccessories,andthenclick Windows Explorer. 3. Toexpandafolder,clicktheplussignnexttothe Activities folder. 4. Afoldercancontainbothfilesandsubfolders.Toviewthecontentsofafolder,intheFolders pane,clicktheVacationfolder. 5. Toviewdetailedinformationofthecontentsinafolder,suchas name, size, type,and date modified,click View,andthenclick Details. ToaddanewfolderinWindowsExplorer: 1. Click File,pointto New,andthenclick Folder. 2. Togivethenewfolderadescriptivename,press SPACEBAR tohavethefoldernametypedfor you,andthenpress ENTER. Torenameafolder 1. Clickthe Activities folder. 2. Click File,andthenclickRename. 3. Tospecifythenewname,press SPACEBAR tohavethefoldernametypedforyou,andthen press ENTER. To moveafiletoanewlocation 1. Click the filethatyouwanttochange 2. Click Edit,andthenclick Cut. 3. Toselectthedestinationfolder,inthe Folders pane 4. Tomovethefile,click Edit,andthenclick Paste. 5. Toverifythatthefilehasbeenmoved,clickthe destination folder. Tocopythefile 1. ClickEdit,andthenclickPaste.
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Todeletethefilefromthefolder 1. Click thefileandthenclick Delete. 2. Toconfirmthatyouwanttosendthefiletothe RecycleBin,inthe ConfirmFileDelete box,click Yes.
PerformingBasicFileOperations
Everyfilehasanassociatedformatthatdefinesthewaydatais storedinthefile.Thefileformatisidentifiedbyaperiod(also calledadot)appendedtoafilename,followedbythreeorfour letters.Thefollowingaresomeofthemorecommonfileformats: Worddocuments(.doc) Images(.gifand.jpg) Executableprograms(.exe) Multimediafiles(.wmaandothers) Whenyouopenafile,theoperatingsystemselectsanappropriateprogramtodisplaythecontentsof thefilebasedonthefileformat.Forexample,whenyouopenaWorddocument,theoperatingsystem opensawordprocessor,suchasWord,todisplaythecontentsofthedocument.
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ComputerBasics Summary
Topic Introduction toComputers Computershelpyouperformyourtasks efficientlyandquickly.Theyareusedinalmost everyfield,suchasindustry,governmentoffices, shops,andeducationalinstitutions. Computersaremadeofvariouspartsthatcanbe broadlycategorizedintoinputdevices,output devices,processingdevices,andstoragedevices.
Common Computer Terminology
Theessentialcomponentsofacomputerare hardwareandsoftware.Hardwarereferstoall thephysicalcomponentsconnectedtoa computerandsoftwarereferstotheinstructions forthehardwaretoperformthenecessarytasks. Themostimportantsoftwareonthecomputeris theoperatingsystem,whichcontrolsand managesthehardwareconnectedtoyour computer. Youcanshareyourcomputercomponentswith othercomputerusersbyconnectingyour computertoothercomputers.Agroupof computersandassociateddevicesthatarelinked togethertofacilitatesharinginformationiscalled anetwork.TheInternetisacollectionofthese networksthatarelinkedtogether.
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Topic Computer Performance andFeatures Thedifferentkindsofcomputerscomeinawide selectionbasedonshape,size,andperformance. Theseincludedesktopcomputers,laptop computers,handheldcomputers,andtablet computers.Allcomputershavememory, whichis usedtostoreinformationthatisbeingusedby theoperatingsystemandprograms.Information thatthecomputerusesisrepresentedinthe formof0sand1s. Differentcomputerprogramsperformdifferent tasks.Productivityprogramshelpyouorganize numbers,writelettersorproposals,maintain records,andcreateimages.Communications programshelpyoutalktoothercomputerusers. Withentertainmentprograms,youcanwatch movies,listentomusic,orplaygames.
Computer Operating Systems
Anoperatingsystemisaprogramthatcontrols howthehardwareworksandhelpsmanagefiles andfoldersonthecomputer.Someoperating systems,suchasWindowsXP,provideaGUI, whichmakesiteasierforyoutoprovide instructionstoacomputer.WindowsExplorerisa programintheWindowsoperatingsystemthat helpsyoulocateandopenfilesandfolders.Each filehasanassociatedformat.Dependingonthe fileformat,theoperatingsystemdecidesthe appropriateprogramtoopenthefile.
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Topic Career Computersareextensivelyusedeverywhere, Opportunities fromhouseholdstolargebusinesses.Computers areusedtomaintainrecords,exchange information,andanalyzedailytransactionsto generatereports.Computersarealsobeingused foronlinetradingandcheckingstockprices.This widespreaduseofcomputershascreatedmany careeropportunities.Withrelevantcomputer knowledge,youcanworkasaninformation worker,anITprofessional,orasoftware developer.
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SectionReview
1. Whatisan operatingsystem(OS)?
2. IdentifythebasiccomponentsoftheWindowsXPuserinterface.
3. ExplainwhatitmeanstomanagefilesandfoldersinMicrosoftWindowsExplorer.
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Section Four:TheInternet
TheInternetprovidesaneasyandaquickmethodtosearchanytypeofinformation.Withthehelpof theWorldWideWeb,apopularserviceontheInternet,youcanaccessinformationfromavastpoolof resourcesatanytime.Youcansearchinformationforjobvacancies,currentnews,trainschedules,or holidaydestinations. TheInternethasalsotransformedthewaypeoplecommunicate witheachother.Ittakesdays,andsometimesweeks,forapostal lettertoreachafriendontheothersideoftheglobe.However, withthecommunicationtoolsthattheInternetprovides,youcan communicatewithfriendslivingindifferentpartsoftheworldin justafewseconds.Youcanalsoconductyourbusinessoverthe Internetandaccessyourbankaccountsfromanywhereinthe world.
SectionGoals
DefinetheInternet andelaborateonitsuses. IdentifythedifferentcomponentsrequiredtoconnecttotheInternet. IdentifythefeaturesofdifferenttypesofInternetconnections. ExplainthetermbandwidthinrelationtothedifferenttypesofInternetconnections.
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AbouttheInternet
Whenthecomputerisconnectedtothe Internet,itissaidtobe online. Youcanuse theInternettocommunicatewithpeople allaroundtheworldinstantaneously.When yousendmessagesovertheInternet,itcan reachanypartoftheworldinjustafew seconds. TheInternetalsohelpsyoutogetthelatest informationona currentevent.Many leadingnewschannelsusetheInternetas themediumtoprovideupdatednews. YoucanusetheInternettosearchforinformationonanyspecifictopic,suchas history ofcomputers. YoucanalsotakeanycourseofyourchoiceandregisterforonlinecertificationexamsovertheInternet. TheInternetcanalsobeusedasasourceof entertainment.Youcanlistentomusic,playgames,watch movies,or sharefamilypictures. Inaddition,youcan buyandsell products,suchasbooksandelectronicgoods,overtheInternet.You canalsopayforthesegoodsonlinebyspecifyingyourcreditcarddetails. YoucanalsousetheInternettoperformbankingtransactions,suchasviewingdetailsofyourbank accountandtransferringmoneyfromoneaccounttoanother.
ConnectingtotheInternet
ToconnecttotheInternet,youneeda computingdevice,aconnectiondevice, andan InternetServiceProvider(ISP). The computingdevicecanbeapersonal computer,aportablecomputer,oreven amobiledevice,suchasacellphoneora handhelddevice. Youneedaconnectiondevice,suchasa modem,toconnectyourcomputertothe Internet.Amodemconvertsdigital informationintoanaloginformationand transmitsitoveraphoneline.Amodemcaneitherbebuiltinyourcomputer,orexternallyattachedto it.
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An ISP isacompanythatprovidesInternetconnectivitytoindividuals,businesses,andorganizations.It mayalso provideadditionalservicessuchasthestoragespacetoshareyourpersonalcontent. TherearedifferentmethodsbywhichyoucanconnecttotheInternet.Whenyouconnecttothe Internetbyusingcables,theconnectioniscalledaphysicalconnection. YoucanalsoconnecttotheInternetbyusingwirelesstechnology.Acomputingdevicethatsupports wirelesstechnologyhasa WirelessFidelity orthe WiFi cardthatprovideswirelesscommunication betweenthecomputingdeviceandthenetwork.A WiFi card isnotphysicallyconnectedtoan ISP. Anotherdeviceyouneedforwirelessconnectivityisan accesspoint(AP).AnAPisusedtoconnecta wirelesscomputingdevicetoawirednetwork.ThiswirednetworkmaybelongtoanISP.Youcanthen connecttothe InternetthroughthisISP.
TypesofInternetConnections
TherearetwodifferenttypesofInternetconnections,dedicatedInternetconnectionsanddialup Internetconnections.Youcanchoosethetypeofconnectiondependingonyourrequirementand budget.
DedicatedInternetconnection
Ina dedicatedInternetconnection,youdonot needtorequestyourISPforaconnectionevery timeyouwanttoconnecttotheInternet.Many largeorganizationsanduniversitiesuse dedicatedInternetconnectionsbecausethese organizationsanduniversitiesneedtousethe Internetextensively.
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DialupInternetconnection
Ina dialup connection,youneedtoconnectto theISPeverytimeyouwanttoconnecttothe Internet.YoucandisconnectfromtheInternet aftercompletingyourwork. AdialupInternetconnectionisusuallyless expensiveandhasaslowerdatatransferrate comparedtoadedicatedInternetconnection.
Understand Bandwidth
Bandwidth isthe amount ofdatathatcan betransmittedoveranetworkina certainamountoftime.Bandwidthis measuredin Mbps (megabitsper second), Kbps (kilobitspersecond),or bps(bitspersecond). Ifthebandwidthofanetworkis1Mbps, itmeansthat1megabitofdatacanbe transmittedoverthatnetworkin1 second.Theactualrateoftransferof datawillvarydependingontheISPs equipment,thetypeofInternetconnection,andthenumberofpeopleusingthesameconnectionat onetime. Thebandwidthofanetworkalsodependsonthetechnologyyouusetoconnecttothe Internet.For example,youcanconnecttotheInternetbyusingadialupconnection.Mostdialupconnections offeredtodayallowdatatransferratesupto56.6Kbps. DigitalSubscriberLine(DSL) isanothertechnologythatyoucanusetoconnecttotheInternet.Ifyou useaDSLconnection,youdonotneedtoconnecttotheISPeverytimeyouwanttousetheInternet.By usingaDSLconnection,youcanuploaddataatspeedsofupto128Kbpsanddownloaddataataround 512Kbps. Youcanalsousea cablemodem toconnecttotheInternet.IfyouhaveacableTVconnection,youcan getahighspeedInternetconnectionfromthecableTVprovider.Youcanachievedatatransferratesof upto36Mbpsbyusingacablemodem. Inaddition,youcanconnecttotheInternetbyusingwirelesstechnology.Withthistechnology,youcan achievedatatransferratesofupto30Mbps.
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SectionReview
1. DefinetheInternetandelaborateonits many uses.
2. WhataresomeelementsthatareNEEDED to connecttotheInternet?
3. What aresome differenttypesofInternetconnections?
4. Whatisbandwidth?
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Section Five:TheWorldWideWeb
SectionGoals
DefineWWWanditsrelationtotheInternet. ExplainhowWebaddresseswork. ExploreWebsitesbyusingasearchengine. IdentifytheguidelinesusedtoevaluateaWebsite. ExplainhowtoperformtransactionsovertheWeb. Definebrowserpluginsandexplaintheiruses.
Introduction
Byusingthe WorldWideWeb(WWW),youcanquicklygetinformation suchasthehoteldetailsortheplaces tovisitoranyotherinformation youmayneed. Inthislesson,youwilllearnthebasiccomponentsoftheWWW,whichis oftenreferredtoastheWeb.Youwillalsolearntousea searchengine to findinformationontheWeb.Inaddition,youwilllearnto navigateWeb sitesforinformationandperformonlinetransactions.
Introductionto theWorldWideWeb
The WorldWideWeb (WWW orsimply, the Web)referstothecollectionof informationthatisaccessibleonthe Internet.Theinformationisintheform of text,pictures,andsound,whichare arrangedlogicallyandstoredon computersknownasWebservers.The Webisaverypopularserviceonthe Internet.Manypeopleusethetermsthe WebandtheInternetsynonymously,but theyaretechnicallytwodifferentterms. TheInternetconnectsmultiplecomputers andformsanetworkonwhichacomputercancommunicatewithanothercomputer.However,the WebisawayofaccessingandsharinginformationovertheInternetbyusingWebbrowsers. Theimageaboveshows variouscomponentsassociatedwiththeWeb.
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Webbrowser: AWebbrowserisasoftwareprogramthatenablesyoutoviewandinteractwithvarious resourcesontheWeb.AnexampleofawidelyusedWebbrowserisMicrosoftInternetExplorerthat displaysbothtextandgraphics. Webpage: AWebpageisadocumentontheWeb.ItisaformattedtextdocumentthataWebbrowser candisplay.MostWebpagesontheInternetallowyoutoquicklymovetoanotherWebpage.Youcan dothisbyclickingahyperlink (orlinks).ClickingalinkopensthenewWebpageinyourWebbrowser. YoucanaccessexistingWebpages, evencreateandpublishnewWebpagesontheWeb.Youcancreate Webpagesbyusinga programming languageknownas HypertextMarkupLanguage(HTML).Web browsersuseHTMLtodisplayWebpages. Website: AWebsiteisoneormoreWebpagesthatresideonasingleserver.Thisserverisknownasa WebserverandisconnectedtotheInternet.ThefirstWebpagethatisdisplayedwhenyouaccessa Websiteis knownasthehomepage.EveryWebsitehasauniquehomepage.
WebAddresses
EveryWebsiteontheWebisstoredonacomputerthatispartofavastnetwork.ToaccessaWebsite, youneedtoaccessthecomputeronwhichtheWebsiteisstored.Justaseveryhousehasaunique address, eachcomputerontheWebisidentifiedbyauniqueaddress,knownasthe InternetProtocol (IP) address.TheIPaddressisanumericaddressthatspecifiestheexactlocationofacomputeronthe Web.YoucanaccessacomputerontheWebbyusinganIPaddress,suchas192.168.0.1. TheIPaddressislinkedtoacorrespondingdomainnamebecauseitiseasiertoremembernamesthana stringofnumbers.Forexample,thecorrespondingdomainnamefortheIPaddress127.0.0.1can be proseware.com.WebbrowserscanuseeitherthedomainnameortheIPaddresstolocateanddisplaya Webpage. AWebsiteforadomainisaccessedwiththehelpofauniquealphanumericaddressknownastheWeb address.TheWebaddressisalsoknownas the UniformResourceLocator(URL),whichspecifiesthe protocoltobeusedandtheexactlocationoftheWebsite.Aprotocolisastandardmethodof transferringdatabetweendifferentcomputers. Intheexample http://www.alternativemedia.biz,httpindicateswhatprotocoltouseand www.alterantivemedia.biz specifiestheexactlocationoftheWebpage.Thefollowingtableliststhe componentsofaURL. Element http:// www Description Indicatestheprotocolto beusedtoaccessafile. IndicatesthattheWebsiteisontheWorldWideWeb.
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alternativemedia IndicatesthenameoftheWebsite. .biz /index.html Indicatesthetypeofdomain. Indicatesthepathofthedocument(notshowinthisexample,butthatiswhatit pointsto)
A URL alsoincludesadomainnamesuffixthatindicatesthetypeoforganizationtowhichtheWebsite belongs.Forexample,inthedomainname alternativemedia.biz, thedomainnamesuffixis.biz.The followingtablelistssome examplesofdomainnamesuffixes. Suffix .biz .com .edu Description IndicatesthattheWebsiteisforacommercialorganization. IndicatesthattheWebsiteisforacommercialorganization. IndicatesthattheWebsiteisforeducationalinstitutions, suchasschools,colleges,and universities. IndicatesthattheWebsiteisforanetworkorientedorganizationorforanISP. IndicatesthattheWebsiteisforanonprofitorganization. IndicatesthattheWebsiteisinformativeinnature.
.net .org .info
.museum IndicatesthattheWebsiteisusedforamuseumorforanindividualofthemuseum profession.
Note: Therearecountryleveldomainsthatarespecificallyusedbyacountryoranindependentterritory. Someexamplesofcountryleveldomainsinclude.keforKenya,.inforIndia,and.jpforJapan.
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Using InternetExplorer
TheInternetoffersarangeofservices,suchasfiletransferbetweenInternetusers, electronicmailforsendingemailmessages,orWebsitesforviewingnews.Youcan usetheInternetanditsservicestosearchandapplyforjobs,sendmessagestoother Internetusers,watchmovies,andbuyandsellproducts. Inthisexercise,you will learnhowtouseaWebbrowser,suchasInternetExplorer, tosearch forinformationoncurrentaffairs.Inaddition,youwanttolearnhowtosaveandprintthe informationthatyoufindovertheInternet. OpenaWebsite: 1. ToopenInternet Explorer,click Start,andthenclick InternetExplorer. 2. ToopenaWebsite,click inthe Address bar, type http://www.alternativemedia.biz inthe addressbar,andthenclick Go. 3. Clickononeofthe Menu linksontheleft. 4. ToupdatetheWebpagecontent,clicktheViewmenu,andthenclick the Refresh button. AddawebsitetoyourpersonalFavoriteslist: 1. ToaddaWebpagetoyour Favorites list,clicktheFavoritesmenu,click AddtoFavorites,and thenclick OK. ToprintaWebpagewiththedefaultprintersettings: 1. Click the File menu 2. Thenclick Print 3. NextinthePrintdialogbox,click Print. ToviewaWebsitevisitedpreviously: 1. clickthe Backbuttoninyourbrowsers TocloseInternetExplorer,intheWebbrowserwindow,clicktheClosebutton.
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UseaSearchEngine
Tosearchforinformationonaspecifictopic,youuseasearch engine.Afteryouspecifyakeywordinasearchengine,it displaysalistofWebsitesthatcontaininformationrelatedto thatkeyword.AnexampleofasearchengineisMSNSearch providedbyMicrosoft,whichhelpsyoutoquicklyfindWeb sitesthatcontaininformationrelevanttoyoursearch. Youcanalsosearchinformationwiththehelpofportals,which areWebsitesthatofferinformationrelatedtoaspecifictopic intheformofadirectory.Theinformationonaportalisusually arrangedinaspecificorder.Aportalactsasastartingpointtoa numberofresourcesontheWeb.Forexample,inmsn.com,variousWebpagesarelinkedtogetherto formthecompleteWebsite.TheseWebpagesactasgatewaystoahostofinformationontheWeb. FromtheMSNWebsite,youcanaccessyouremail,performakeywordoradirectorysearch, participateinonlinediscussions,findthelocationofamovietheater,joinWebcommunities,andget thelatestnews. Usethe Google SearchEngine: IfyourbrowserisntpointingtoGoogle,visitGoogleshomepagebyenteringoneofthefollowingweb addressesintoyourbrowser: http://www.google.com/(thefullwebaddressforGoogle) www.google.com(acommonabbreviationforGoogleswebaddress) google.com(forlazytypists) google(worksonsomebrowsersforthelaziestoftypists) TheGooglehomepagewillhaveasearchboxinthemiddle,somemenusatthetop,anditmayhave otherfeaturestoo.Sometimes,Googlechanges theimageabovethesearchbox.Theimagehereisone ofthecleverplaysonGooglesname(calleda GoogleDoodle)duringthe2008BeijingOlympics:
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Whatisa query?Itsarequestforinformationfromasearchengine.Aqueryconsistsofoneormore words,numbers,orphrasesthatyouhopeyouwillfindinthesearchresultslistings. To enteraquery,typedescriptivewordsintoGooglessearchbox.Youcanuseeitherthesearchboxon Googleshomepage(shownabove)orthesearchboxthatalwaysappearsatthetopofaGoogleresults page(showninthenextscreenshot). Nowpressthe ENTER keyorclickontheGoogleSearchbuttontoviewyoursearchresults.Anew windowwillopenwiththeGoogleresultspageforasearchonthewords youentered. Theresults includelinkstopagesthatmatchyourqueryaswellasrelevant snippets(excerpts)withyoursearch termsinboldface.
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Theresultspageisfullofinformationandlinks,mostofwhichrelatetoyourquery.ResultsGoogle considerstobe mostrelevant toyourqueryareshownfirst.TotherightofGooglessearchresults appear sponsoredlinks,whicharepaidadvertisements. Thefirstlineineachresultisthepagetitle.Thetitlewillbeunderlined,i.e.,itsalinktotheweb page. Youcanclickonthetitletoviewthatpage.(TheURLofthepageisshowningreenatthestartofaline, neartheendoftheresult.)Underthetitleareoftenexcerpts,calledsnippets.Snippetsincludeoneor moreofyourquerywordsshowninboldface.
GoogleSearchTips
Thesearchtermsyouenterandtheorderinwhichyouenterthemaffectboththeorderandpagesthat appearinyoursearchresults.Intheexamplesbelow,clickonthesimilarwaysofspecifyingvarious searchesandnotehowtheresultsdiffer. Forsimplicitysake,thistutorialusessquarebracketstodenoteGooglessearchbox.Forexample,to searchforacheaphotelinMykonos,Illputthewordscheap,hotel,andMykonosinsquare brackets,[ cheaphotelMykonos ],toindicateyoushouldtypethosethreewordsinGooglessearchbox. Youshouldnottypethebrackets,althoughGooglewillignorethemifyoudotypethem. Furthermore,intheexamplesthatfollow,eachsetofsearchtermsislinkedtotheresultsofaGoogle searchonthoseterms.Soclickingon[ cheapMykonoshotel ]returnstheGoogleresultspagefora searchonthosethreewords.
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UseLikelyWords
Usewordslikelytoappear onthepagesyouwant. [ salarynegotiationtips ] [ sciatica ] [ windowtreatments ] Avoidusingaquestionasaquery.Forexample,thequery,[ DoesAustraliahaveTarget ],instructs Googletofindpagescontainingalltheterms.Suchaquerywont necessarilyfindpagesansweringyour question.Abetterquerymightbe[ AustraliaTargetstore ]. USE[ AustraliaTargetstore ] NOT[ DoesAustraliahaveTarget ] WhenGoogledetectsverycommonwordssuchas where, do, I, for,and a,knownasstopwords,it ignoresthem so that Googlemayreturn themost relevantresults.Ifyoureseekingpagesthatinclude astopword,e.g.,howthewestwaswon,learnhowtoforceGoogletosearchforacompletephrase oraspecificword. USE[ lasikeyesurgery ] NOT[ documentationonlasikeyesurgery ] USE[ jobsproductmarketingSunnyvale ] NOT[ listingsofproductmarketingjobsinSunnyvale ] Supposeyouwanttoknowhowoldsomeoneis,suchasNelsonMandela(theformerPresidentofSouth Africa).Pageswithbirthdayoragemightbemorethanayearold.Searchingforpagesthatinclude NelsonMandelaandbornarelikelytoincludeeitherNelsonMandelabornorNelsonMandela wasbornfollowedbyhisbirthdate.Youcanfigureouthis agefromknowingwhenhewasborn(todo themath,trytheGoogleCalculator). USE[ NelsonMandelaborn ] NOT[ NelsonMandelabirthday ]nor[ NelsonMandelaage ]
BeSpecific:Usemorequerytermstonarrowyourresults.
DoesyourqueryhaveenoughspecificinformationforGoogletodetermineunambiguouslywhatyoure seeking?Ifyourqueryistoovague,itsunlikelytoreturnrelevantresults.Consider,forexample,the query[ java ].WhatdoyousupposeGoogleincludesinthefirstpageofresults? AnislandinIndonesia?
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Abeverageconsistingofaninfusionofgroundcoffeebeans?Acomputernetworkorientedplatform independentprogramminglanguagedevelopedbySunMicrosystems? USE[ JavaIndonesia ],[ javacoffee ],or[ javaprogramminglanguage ] NOT[ java ] Howcanyoucomeupwithmorespecificsearchterms?Whatdoyouknowaboutthetopic?Consider answerstothequestions,who?,what?,where?,when?,why?,andhow? Whenyousearchfor[ TomWatson ],onthefirstpageofresultsyoumaygetreferencestoamemberof Parliament,thegolfer,theIBMexecutive,andaPopulistPartycandidateforPresidentin1900and1904. Ifyouresearchingforsomethingthatcouldreturnmanydifferenttypesofresults,youshouldadda term thatdistinguishesamongthem.ThiswayyoullgetonlyresultsaboutthespecificTomWatson youreinterestedin. USE[TomWatsonMP],[TomWatsongolf],or[TomWatsonIBM] NOT[TomWatson] USE[babydevelopment]or[babymilestones] NOT [babies] USE[BettyFordCenterdrugaddiction] NOT[FordCenter] Note: Googlelimitsqueriesto32words.
Brevity:Bebrief.
Forbestresults,useafewprecisewords.Forexample,aprogramonquittingsmokingismorelikelyto includethetermsquitsmokingprogramthanthewordsprogramonquittingtobaccocigarette smokingaddiction. USE[ quitsmokingprogram ] NOT[ programonquittingtobaccocigarettesmokingaddiction ]
Spelling:Youdonthavetocorrectyourspelling.
TheresagoodchancethatGooglewillrecognizeyourmistakesandsuggestanalternativemore commonspelling,usuallyfasterthanyoucanlookuptheterminanonlinedictionary.
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Whenyouenter:[ Anna Kornikova tennis ] Googleresponds: Didyoumean:Anna Kournikova tennis Note: BeforeclickingonGooglessuggestedspelling,considerwhetheritswhatyouwant.Spelling checkers,likepeople,makemistakes. Note: EvenifyouusethesearchtipsdescribedinGoogleGuide,youwontbeabletoaccess authoritativeinformationthatsavailableoffline,e.g.,oldreferencebooks,orisstoredinspecialized databases.ForsuchinformationisnotcurrentlysearchablewithGoogle.
CraftingYourQuerybyusingSpecialCharacters
Byusingspecialcharactersandoperators,suchas +, ,~,..,*,OR,andquotationmarks, youcanfine tuneyoursearchqueryandincreasetheaccuracyofitsresults. QuotedPhrases () o Aquerywithtermsinquotesfindspagescontainingtheexactquotedphrase.For example,[LarryPage ]findspagescontainingthephraseLarryPageexactly.Sothis querywouldfindpagesmentioningGooglescofounderLarryPage,butnotpages containingLarryhasahomepage,LarryE.Page,orCongressionalpageLarry Smith.Thequery[LarryPage](withoutquotes)wouldfindpagescontaininganyof LarryPage,Larryhasahomepage,orCongressionalpageLarrySmith. 1. The+Operator o ToforceGoogletosearchforaparticularterm,puta+signoperatorinfrontofthe wordinthequery. Notethatyoushouldnotputaspacebetweenthe+andtheword. So,tosearchforthesatiricalnewspaperTheOnion,use[+TheOnion],not[+The Onion]. o The+operatoristypicallyusedinfrontofstopwordsthatGooglewouldotherwise ignoreorwhenyouwantGoogletoreturnonlythosepagesthatmatchyoursearch termsexactly.However,the+operatorcanbeusedonanyterm. o WanttolearnaboutStarWarsEpisodeOne?Iisastopwordandisnotincludedina searchunlessyouprecedeitwitha+ sign. USE[StarWars+I] NOT[StarWarsI] 2. The Operator o Precedeeachtermyoudonotwanttoappearinanyresultwithasign.
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o Tofindpageswithoutaparticularterm,puta signoperatorinfrontofthewordinthe query.The signindicatesthatyouwanttosubtractorexcludepagesthatcontaina specificterm.Donotputaspacebetweenthe andtheword,i.e. USE[dolphins football] NOT[dolphins football] 3. The~Operator o Findsynonymsbyprecedingthetermwitha~,whichis knownasthetildeorsynonym operator. o Thetilde(~)operatortakesthewordimmediatelyfollowingitandsearchesbothfor thatspecificwordandforthewordssynonyms.Italsosearchesforthetermwith alternativeendings.Thetildeoperatorworksbestwhenappliedtogeneraltermsand termswithmanysynonyms.Aswiththe+and operators,putthe~(tilde)nexttothe word,withnospacesbetweenthe~anditsassociatedword,i.e.,[~lightweightlaptop] NOT[~lightweightlaptop]. o WhydidGoogleusetilde?Inmath,the~symbolmeansissimilarto.Thetildetells Googletosearchforpagesthataresynonymsorsimilartothetermthatfollows. o [~inexpensive]matchesinexpensive,cheap,affordable,andlowcost o [~run]matchesrun,runners,running,aswellasmarathon 4. TheORand|Operators o SpecifysynonymsoralternativeformswithanuppercaseORor|(verticalbar). o TheORoperator,forwhichyoumayalsouse|(verticalbar),appliestothesearchterms immediately adjacenttoit.Thefirstandsecondexampleswillfindpagesthatinclude eitherTahitiorHawaiiorbothterms,butnotpagesthatcontainneitherTahitinor Hawaii.Thethirdandfourthexampleswillfindpagesthatcontainanyone,two,orall threeofthetermsblouse,shirt,andchemise. [TahitiORHawaii] [Tahiti|Hawaii] [blouseORshirtORchemise] [blouse|shirt|chemise] 5. The..Operator
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o Specifythatresultscontainnumbersinarangebyspecifyingtwonumbers,separatedby twoperiods,withnospaces. o Forexample,specifythatyouaresearchinginthepricerange$250to$1000usingthe numberrangespecification$250..$1000. [recumbentbicycle$250..$1000] o FindtheyeartheRussianRevolutiontookplace. [Russian Revolution1800..2000] 6. The*Operator o Use*,anasteriskcharacter,knownasawildcard,tomatchoneormorewordsina phrase(enclosedinquotes). o Each*representsjustoneormorewords.Googletreatsthe*asaplaceholderfora wordormorethanoneword.Forexample,[Google*mylife]tellsGoogletofind pagescontainingaphrasethatstartswithGooglefollowedbyoneormorewords, followedbymylife.Phrasesthatfitthebillinclude:Googlechangedmylife, Googlerunsmylife, andGoogleismylife. [Google*mylife] o Ifyouknowtheresadateonthepageyoureseekingbutyoudontknowitsformat, specifyseveralcommonformatsusingtheORoperator.Forexample: [CaliforniaelectionOct*2003OR10/*/03OROctober*2003]
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SectionReview
1. Whatdoes WWW inrelationtotheInternet?
2. ExplainhowWebaddresseswork.
3. Whatisasearchengine?
4. HowcanyounarrowasearchtermonGoogle?
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Section Six:CommunicatingontheInternet
Imaginethatyouworkatan organizationwheretheemployees arelocatedallovertheworld,andyouneedtotalktothem frequently.Youmightalsohavefriendsandrelativeslocatedin differentpartsoftheworld.Ineithercase,youwillgetahuge phonebillifyoutalktothem frequently. TheInternetprovidesaquick,easy,andcosteffectivemethodto exchangemessageswithothercomputerusersinanypartofthe world.Youcanuseemailmessages,onlinecommunities,or instantmessaging,tocommunicateovertheInternet.
SectionGoals:
Explainhowemailworks. Writeandsendemailmessages. Manageemailmessages. Identifythefeaturesofonlinecommunities. Explainhowinstantmessagingworks. ExplainhowtheWebauthoringsoftwareisusedtocreateandpublishWebpages.
CommunicationPrograms
Justasyouuseatelephoneorpostalmailtocommunicatewithfriendsandfamily,youcanalsouse computerstocommunicatewithpeople.Computersusespecialprogramscalledcommunication programsthatallowyoutosendandreceivemessageswithotherpeopleinadigitalformat.
Programsusedtosendemailmessages
Sending emailmessages istheexchangeofmessagesfromone computerusertoanothercomputeruser.Thisexchangecanbe withinalocalareaorfromonepartofacountrytoanother.You cansendanemailmessagetoorreceiveanemailmessage fromoneorseveralpersonsatanytimeoftheday. Sendinganemailmessageissimilartomakingaphonecall;you musthaveaphoneconnectionandknowthephonenumberof thepersonwithwhomyouwanttospeak. TosendanemailmessageyoumusthaveanInternet
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connectionandanemailaccount.ThisInternetconnectionisprovidedbyanInternetserviceprovider (ISP). Ifyouhaveanemailaccount,itwillbesimilarto username@example.com,wheretheusernameis yourname.The @ istheatsignandexample.comisthedomainname.Adomainnameidentifiesthe nameandtypeoforganizationwithwhomyouhaveanemailaccount. Afteryouhaveanemailaccount,youneedtoknowtheemailaccountofthepersontowhomyou wanttosendanemail. Youcansendbothtextandpicturesthroughemail;however,thisdependsonvariousfactors,suchas thetypeofserviceyouhaveorthekindofpictureyouaresending. Sendingandreceivingemailmessagesisaninstantwayofcommunicatingwithanyone.Itonlytakesa fewsecondstosendandreceiveanemail.ThisalsodependsonthespeedofyourInternetconnection.
Programsusedtochat
Anothertypeofcommunicationisthrough chat programs,whichallowsyoutosendandreceive messagesimmediately.Youcanuseachat programtocommunicatewithseveralpeopleat thesametime.Commonlyusedcommunication program isMSNMessenger,YahooMessenger, and AOLMessenger. Whenyouare chattingwithsomeone,thepersonontheotherendreceivesyourmessages immediately. Throughchatyoucanalsotalktothepersonyouarechattingwith.Thisiscalled voice chat. Anotherformofchattingallowsyoutoalsoseethepersonyouaretalking to.Youuseadevice calleda webcam todothis.
WritingandSendingEMailMessages
Youcancreateemailmessagesandsendthemtomultiplepeopleindifferentpartsoftheworldby usingyouremailaccountandemailclient. Eachemailmessageismadeupoftwoparts,theheaderandthebody.Theheaderissimilartothe envelopeofapostalletter.Itincludesinformationsuchastheemailaddressofthesenderand recipientandthesubjectoftheemail.Thebodyissimilartotheletterinsidean envelope.Itincludes thetextmessageandanyattachments. Tobeginanewmessage 1. Click NewMessage thiswilldifferamongvariousemailproviders 2. Tospecifytheemailaddressoftherecipient
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a. Clickinthe To box b. Typetheemailaddressofyouthepersonyouwilltocontact Ifyouneedtosendthemessagetomultiplepeople,youcanincludetheiremailaddresses.Eachemail addressmustbeseparatedbya comma(,) or semicolon(;),dependingontheprovider. c. Includeadditionalemailaddressesinthe boxesnextto Cc (carboncopy)or Bcc (blind carboncopy). Ifyoudonotwanttodirectlyaddressthemessagetothatperson,butwouldliketosendthemessage forinformationalpurposesonly,includetheemailaddressintheCcbox.Ifyoudonotwant theother recipientstoknowthatyouhavesentamessagetothatrecipient,includeanemailaddressintheBcc box.Youmusttypethecorrectemailaddress,ortheemailmessagewillnotreachtheintended recipientandwillbereturnedtoyouundelivered. 3. Tospecifythe subject ofyouremail,clickintheSubjectbox,and typethetexthere. 4. Typeyourmessage inthemessagebox 5. Toattachfilestoyourmessage,clickAttach. Thelistshowsyouthetypesoffilesyoucanattach:Pictures,Files,orContactInformation.Toattacha filetoyourmessage,clickFile. a. Toselecttherelevantfilefromyourcomputer,clickBrowse. b. Toreturntoyourmessage,clickOK. Justasyouendaletterbysigningyourname,inanemailmessageyoucanaddpersonalsignature information.Youcanaddyourname,yourcompanysname,andanyothercontactinformation. 6. Tosendyourmessage,clickSend. Yourmessageissenttotheintendedrecipients. 7. Toviewallthemessagesthatyouhavereceived,click Mail. Alltheunreadmessagesarehighlighted.Toopenoneofthemessages,clickonit. 8. Toreplytothemessage,click Reply. Therecipientsemailaddressistyped foryou inthe To box.Thesubjectisthesameasthemailyou receivedandisprefixedwith RE: toindicatethatyouarereplyingtothemessage.Youcantypeyour messageinthemessagebox.Clickinthemessagebox,andthenpressSPACEBARtohavethetexttyped foryou.Click Send tosendyourmessage.Yourmessageissenttotheintendedrecipient.
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About OnlineCommunities
Onlinecommunitiesareformedbygroupsofcomputeruserswhohavecommoninterestsandpurpose tocommunicatewitheachotherovertheInternet.SomeWebsitesprovidetoolsthatallowyouto exchangeideasandinformationinanopeninteractiveforum.Youcanparticipateandinteractwith otheruserswhoareonline.SomeWebsitesallowyoutoaddyourresponsesorviewstoanongoing conversationwhenotherusersarenotonline.Someonlinecommunitiesprovideafacilityforsendinge mailmessagesaboutthedetailsofdiscussions. Therearedifferenttypesofonlinecommunities,someofwhicharelistedinthefollowingtable. Typeofonline community Newsgroups Description
Newsgroups areonlinediscussionforums dedicatedtospecifictopics.Thereare newsgroupsavailableforallkindsoftopicssuch ascomputers,literature,socialissues,current affairs,andmore.Thesenewsgroupsarecalled Usenet. Newsgroupsarelike bulletinboards.They includearticlesondifferentareasof atopic, otherpeoplesviewsonthattopic,and announcementsofvariouseventsorjob openings. Youcansearchforanewsgrouprelatedtoyour topicofinterestandsubscribetoit.Then,similar tosendingemailmessages,youcanlogonto thenewsgroupandpostyourmessages.The onlydifferenceisthateveryonewhologsonto thenewsgroupcanreadyourmessages. Alldiscussionsrelatedtoaparticulartopicare groupedandlinkedbyasinglethreadof discussion.So,overaperiodoftime,youcan continueadiscussiononaparticularsubject withotherpeople.
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Typeofonline community Chat groups/rooms Description
Chat groupsorroomsareWebsitesthatyoucan usetocommunicateinstantlywithotherpeople whohaveloggedontothesameWebsite. Whenyouchatwithsomeone,itmeansthatyou typealineoftextandthenpressthe ENTER key. Thewordsthatyoutypedappearonthescreens oftheotherparticipants,whocanthenrespond inkind.Youcanevenuseaudioandvideomedia whilechattingsothatyoucantalkandseethe personyouarechattingwith.Youcanalso transferfilestootherparticipants. Therearemanychatroomsavailablethatcater todifferenttopicareas.Dependingonyourtopic ofinterest,youcansignintoachatroom.You needtosignintothechatroomsothatother peopleinthechatroomcanknowthatyouare online.
Blogs
Blogs areonlinediariesorjournals.Youcanpost articles,dailyevents,oryourthoughtsonany subject. Blogsarelikepersonaldiaries,whereyoucan restrictaccessto peoplewhocanviewand commentonyourpostings.Youcaneitherpost yourarticlesonspecificWebsitesthatallowyou topostblogs,oryoucancreateyourownWeb site. ManyblogshaveRSSfeedsthatyoucan subscribeto,whichallowyoutobealerted whennewentriesareposted.
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UnderstandingInstantMessaging
Instantmessaging (IM) allowsyoutocommunicatewithother computerusersovertheInternet.However,unlikeemail messages,youcansendandreceivemessagesimmediately. Instantmessagingissimilartoatelephoneconversation;the onlydifferenceisthatyouaretypingyourconversation. Instant messagingworksjustlikeachatroom,butitallowsonlyyour friendsandcolleaguestoseeifyouareonlineandstarta conversation. ManycorporatesettingsnowencourageIM, ratherthanclogginganemailserverwithemailmessages. Examplesofinstantmessagingsoftwareinclude: MSN, Yahoo,and AOL. Tosendamessagetosomeonewhoisonline,youneedtodoubleclickthepersonsnameon thelist.A windowwillopen,andyoucantypeyourmessageinthatwindow.Mostinstantmessagingapplications provideanumberofemoticonsthatallowyoutoexpressyouremotionsthroughicons. Mostinstantmessagingapplicationsallowyoutochangeyourstatus,suchasOnline,Busy,Away,orOut ToLunch,toindicatewhetheryouareavailableforchattingornot. Incaseyoudonotwantthepeople inyourlisttoseethatyouareonline,butyouwouldliketosendmessagestosomeofthem,youcanset yourstatusasAppearOffline.Dependingontheapplicationyouuseforinstantmessaging,therecanbe manymoreoptions.
PublishingontheWeb
Webpages arefilessavedonanetworkserverandmadeavailableontheWorldWideWeb.Theprocess ofmakingWebpagesavailabletoothercomputerusersiscalled publishing.Youcancreateyourown Webpageandpublishit.Forexample,youcancreateaWebpagethatcontainsinformationaboutyour interests,hobbies,family,andyourwork.Youcanalsoincludepictures,audio,andevenvideoonyour Webpage. ExpertuserscancreateaWebpagebyusingasimpletexteditor,suchas Notepad.Anyonecanproduce refinedpagesusingspecializedWebauthoringsoftware,suchasMicrosoftOfficeFrontPage2003 or AdobeDreamweaver,whichmakesiteasytopublishyourWebpagesontheWWW. Whilethiscourse willnotteachyouhowtomakeawebpageorwebsite,itisimportanttounderstandthattheoverall processisverysimple.
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Internet Summary
Lessons TheInternet The Internet isagroupofnetworksthat providesvarioususefulservices.The componentsrequiredtoconnecttothe internetareacomputingdevice,a connectingdevice,andan ISP.Thereare twomethodsofconnectingtothe Internet,namelyphysicalandwireless. Theamountofdatathatcanbe transmittedoveranetworkinacertain amountoftimeisknownasthe bandwidth.Thebandwidthofanetwork dependsuponthetechnologyyouuseto connecttotheInternet.
TheWorldWide Web
WWW isapopular serviceprovidedon theInternet.Itactsasastorehouseof interlinkeddocuments.Documentsonthe WebareidentifiedwiththehelpofIP addresses,domainnames,andURLs.You canuseWebbrowserstolookfor informationontheWeb.Youcanalso makebusinesstransactionsontheWeb.
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Communicating ontheInternet TheInternetoffersaquick,easy,andcost effectivemethodtoexchangepersonal andprofessionalmessageswithother Internetusersaroundtheworld.Youcan usevariousmethods,suchasemail messages,onlinecommunities,orinstant messaging,forcommunicationoverthe Internet. Email isoneofthemostpopularwaysof communicatingontheInternet.Youcan writenewmessagesandalsomanage youremailmessages. Online communities areformedby groupsofcomputeruserswhohave commoninterestsandreasonsto communicatewitheachotheroverthe Internet. Youcanuse instantmessaging to communicatewithothercomputerusers overtheInternet. Youcancreateyourown Webpage that listsyourinterestsandhobbiesand publishitovertheInternet.
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SectionReview
1. Explainhowemailworks.
2. Whatisthebasicsofwriting andsendingemailmessages?
3. Identifythe featuresofonlinecommunities.
4. Explain what instantmessaging means.
5. ExplainhowWebpages getpublished.
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Glossary Terms
Accesspoint Anaccesspointisawirelessconnectiondevice.Itisusedtoconnectawirelesscomputing devicetoawirednetwork. Applications Applications,alsocalledprograms,usetheplatformtoperformtasks. Authentication Authenticationistheprocessbywhichthecomputersystemvalidatesauser'slogon information. Authorization Authorizationistheprocessbywhichtheusercanassociatespecificpermissionstoeach username. Bit Abitisthesmallestunitofinformationthatacomputerhandles.Asinglebitcanholdonlyoneof twovalues,0or1. Byte Abyteisacombinationofeightbitsarrangedinsequence. CentralProcessingUnit(CPU) Thecentralprocessingunit(CPU)istheprimaryhardwaredevicethat interpretsandrunsthecommandsyougivetothecomputer. ChatProgram Chatprogramsallowyoutosendandreceivemessagesinstantly.Youcanuseachat programtocommunicatewithseveralpeopleatthesametime. Commands Acommandisaninstruction,whichyougivetoacomputer,thatcausesanactiontobe carriedout.Commandsareeithertypedbyusingakeyboardorarechosenfromamenu. CommunicationChannel Acommunicationchannelisapathoralinkthat connectscomputersor peripheraldevices,suchasprintersanddiskdrives,totransferinformation. CommunicationPrograms Communicationprogramsareusedbycomputerstoexchangemessagesand fileswithotherpeopleinadigitalformat. CPUspeed TheCPUspeedistherateatwhichtheCPUcanperformatask,suchasmovingdatatoand fromRAM,orperforminganumericalcalculation. Data DataisthepluralfortheLatinworddatum,meaninganitemofinformation. DatabasePrograms Databaseprogramsareusedtostoreandmanagedatainanorganizedway.You canalsousetheseprogramstosortorsearchforinformationstoredinadatabase. Desktop Thedesktopisanonscreenworkareathatusesacombinationofmenusandicons. DesktopComputers Desktopcomputersaremadeupofindividualcomponentssuchasamonitor,a keyboard,asystemunit,andaprinter.
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Ecommerce referstothebusinesstransactionsmadeovertheInternet,suchasbuyingandselling itemsonline. Email Anelectronic mail(email)isanelectronicformofthetraditionalpostalmailthatallowsyouto exchangemessagesandfilesoveranetwork. Email Anelectronicmail(email)istheelectronicformofthetraditionalpostalmail.Emailallowsyou toexchangemessagesandfilesoveranetwork. Folder AfolderisacontainerforprogramsandfilesinGUIinterfaces. Gigabyte Onegigabyte(GB)isequalto1,024MB,whichisapproximatelyequaltoonebillionbytes. GraphicalUserInterface(GUI) Agraphicaluserinterface(GUI)displaysimagesandpicturesthatallow acomputerusertointeractwithacomputereasily. GraphicsPrograms Graphicsprogramsareusedtocreateandeditdrawings.Youcanalsousethese programstoenhancephotographs. HandheldComputer Handheldcomputersaresmallerthanlaptopscomputersandprovidefewer featurescomparedtothandesktopcomputersorlaptopscomputers.Theyareusedforspecific everydaytasks,suchasmanagingpersonaldata. Hardware Hardwarereferstoallthephysicalcomponentsofacomputer. Icon Aniconisasmallimagedisplayedonthescreentorepresentanobject. InputDevices Aninputdeviceisusedtoprovideinformationtoacomputer.Akeyboardisanexample ofaninputdevice. Internet The Internetisaworldwidecollectionofpublicnetworksthatarelinkedtoeachotherfor informationexchange. Internet TheInternetisaworldwidecollectionofpublicnetworksthatarelinkedtoeachotherfor informationexchange. InternetServiceProvider(ISP) AnISPisacompanythatprovidesInternetconnectivitytoindividuals, businesses,andorganizations. Intranet Anintranetisaspecialtypeofnetworkusedtocommunicateandshareinformationwithinan organization. IPaddress AnInternetProtocol(IP)addressisanumericaddressthatspecifiestheexactlocationofa computerontheWeb. ISP AnInternetServiceProvider(ISP)isacompanythatprovidesInternetconnectivitytoindividuals, businesses,andorganizations.
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Kilobyte Onekilobyte(KB)isequalto1,024bytes. LaptopComputers Laptopcomputersarelightweightandportablepersonalcomputers.Laptop computersarealsocallednotebookcomputers. LocalAreaNetwork(LAN) ALANconnectsdeviceswithinalimitedarea,suchasahomeorasmall groupofoffices. Megabyte Onemegabyte(MB)isequalto1,024KB. Menu Amenuisalistofoptionsfromwhichausercanselectanoptiontoperformadesiredaction, suchaschoosingacommandorapplyingaparticularformatto partofadocument.Manyprograms, especiallythosethatofferagraphicalinterface,usemenusasameanstoprovidetheuserwithaneasy tousealternativetomemorizingprogramcommandsandtheirappropriateusage. Modem AmodemisaconnectiondevicethatallowsyoutoconnectyourcomputertotheInternet.It convertsdigitalinformationintoanaloginformationandtransmitsitoveraphoneline. Network Anetworkisagroupofcomputersthatareconnectedtoshareresourcesandexchange information. Network Anetworkisagroupofcomputersthatareconnectedtoshareresourcesandexchange information. NetworkDrives Anetworkdriveisadiskdrivethatissharedwithothercomputersonanetwork. NotificationArea Thenotificationarea islocatedontherightsideofthetaskbarwhenthetaskbaris locatedatthebottomofascreen.Thenotificationareadisplaysthetime,avolumeicon,andiconsof someprogramsthatarerunningonacomputer. Online WhenacomputerisconnectedtotheInternet,itissaidtobeonline. Online WhenacomputerisconnectedtotheInternet,itissaidtobeonline. Onlinecommunities Onlinecommunitiesareformedbygroupsofcomputeruserswhohavecommon interestsandpurposetocommunicatewitheachotherovertheInternet. OperatingSystem Theoperatingsystemcontrolsthecomputershardwareandprovidesservicesand accesstothehardwaretoprograms.Italsomanagesthecomputersoperationsandtasks,suchas loggingon,loggingoff,andshuttingdown. Platform Thehardwareandtheoperatingsystemtogetherarereferredtoasaplatform. Plugins Pluginsareprogramsthathelpyouviewfiles,suchasanimation,audio,orvideo,whichare includedinWebpages.
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Portal AportalisaWeb sitethatoffersinformationrelatedtoaspecifictopicintheformofadirectory. AportalactsasastartingpointtoanumberofresourcesontheWeb. PresentationPrograms Presentationprogramsareusedtopresentinformationintheformofslides. ProcessingDevices Processingdevicesareusedbycomputeruserstoprocesstheinputdataand generatethedesiredoutput. Programs Aprogramisasequenceofinstructionsthatcanbeexecutedbyacomputer.Aprogramis alsoknownassoftware. Protocol Aprotocolisastandardmethodoftransferringdatabetweendifferentcomputers. PublishingPrograms Publishingprogramsareusedtocombinetextandgraphicstocreatedocuments suchasbrochures,greetingcards,annualreports,books,ormagazines. Searchengine Asearchengineisaprogramthatallowsyoutosearchandretrieveinformationoverthe Internet. Server Theserveristhemaincomputeronanetworkthatprovidesservicestoothercomputersonthe network.Aserverdecideswhichcomputersareallowedtoaccessthehardwareandsoftwareonthe network. SetupWizard SetupwizardsareprovidedbyWindowsXP.Theyguidetheuserthrougheachstepofa particulartask,suchinstallinghardwareorsoftware. Software Softwareisasequenceofinstructionsthatacomputercanexecute.Itisalsoreferredtoas programs. SpreadsheetPrograms Spreadsheetprogramsareusedtocreatebudgets,manageaccounts,perform mathematicalcalculations,andconvertnumericaldataintochartsandgraphs. StorageDevices Storagedevicesareusedtostoredata.Aharddiskisanexampleofastoragedevice. SystemUnit Asystemunitreferstotheboxthatholdstheprocessor,motherboard,diskdrives,power supply,andtheexpansionbus. TabletComputer Tabletcomputersarecomputersthatallowyoutowritedirectlyonthescreenby usingatabletpen. Taskbar Thetaskbarisarectangularbarthatisusuallylocatedatthebottomofthescreen.Youcanuse thetaskbartoselectaprogramrunning onyourcomputer. Terabyte Oneterabyteisequalto1,024GB,approximatelyequaltotrillionbytes. Wallpaper Wallpaperisapatternorpictureonthescreenbackgroundthatyoucanchoose.
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Web TheWeb,alsoknownastheWorldWideWeb(WWW),isa collectionofinformationthatis accessibleontheInternet.Thisinformationisarrangedlogicallyandstoredoncomputersknownas Webservers. Webaddress AWebaddressspecifiestheprotocoltobeusedfortransferringdatabetweendifferent computersandtheexactlocationoftheWebsite.AWebaddressisalsoknownastheUniform ResourceLocator(URL). Webbrowser AWebbrowserisaprogramthatenablesyoutoviewandinteractwithvarious resourcesontheWeb. Webpage AWebpageisaformattedtextdocumentontheWeb. Website AWebsiteisacollectionofoneormoreWebpagesthatarelinkedtogetherandmade availablethroughaWebserver. WideAreaNetwork(WAN) AWANisanetworkthatconnectsdevicesingeographicallyseparated areas. Window InWindowsXP,awindowisarectangularareaonthemonitorthatdisplaysaprogram.Each programhasitsownwindow. WordprocessingPrograms Wordprocessingprogramsareusedtocreateandmodifytextbased documents. Workstation Aworkstationreferstoacomputerconnectedtoanetwork.Youuseaworkstationto accessthehardwareandsoftwareonanetwork.
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ComputerandInternetBasicsTraining aNm

COMPUTERAND INTERNET BASICS TRAINING

Authors: MichaelSheyahshe(Caddo) aNmChiefInformationOfficer MarySkaggs aNmChiefFinancialOfficer

o createillustrations Inthefieldofentertainment,youcanusecomputerstolistentomusic,watchmovies,storeandprint photographs,sendgreetings,andplaygames.

4. Whatare thestepsforstartinga computer?

6. What differenttasks canbedone byusingamouse?

ALANconnectsdeviceswithinalimitedarea,suchas ahomeorasmallgroupofoffices.Itcommonly includescomputersandsharedresourcessuchas printersandscanners.

2. Whatdoesan operatingsystem doforthecomputer?

Provides utilitiesto configureyour system

Helpssecure databy controlling useraccess to acomputer

Common Computer Terminology

Computer Operating Systems

3. What aresome differenttypesofInternetconnections?

.net .org .info

.museum IndicatesthattheWebsiteisusedforamuseumorforanindividualofthemuseum profession.

Note: Therearecountryleveldomainsthatarespecificallyusedbyacountryoranindependentterritory. Someexamplesofcountryleveldomainsinclude.keforKenya,.inforIndia,and.jpforJapan.

4. Explain what instantmessaging means.

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