Basic Internet 101
A Session in the University of Central Florida Library
Internet Workshop
Series
Scope:
- This session is aimed at people unfamiliar with the Internet.
It is intended to provide an overview and brief history,
to define some of the major terms and tools, to
point users to Internet sites where they can teach themselves to use the
Internet (including both course-length
and brief tutorials), to show hints
and troubleshooting help, and how to keep
up with new developments. For assistance on searching for information
and conducting research on the Internet, click on the following titles
from the UCF Library Internet Workshop Series:
- Research
via the Internet
- http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~holcomba/rvi.htm
This page pulls together background information about doing research
on the Internet, studies comparing search engines, documents on how to
evaluate Internet sites and sources, links to search sites, and one of
the best lists around on how to cite Internet information.
- Internet
Subject Searching: A UCF Library Workshop
- http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~s-holler/subjects.html
A Web page dealing with subject searching (or directory) sites, i.e.,
where human beings have indexed and often rated and summarized Internet
sites.
- World
Wide Web Search Engines: A UCF Library Workshop
- http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~s-holler/engines.html
A Web page dealing with search engines, i.e., sites that use software
to automatically create searchable databases attempting to "index"
the Internet.
Internet History and Timelines
- Yahoo!
- Computers and Internet:Internet:History
- http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/History/
The Yahoo entry on the history of the Internet, this links to many
sites, both formal and informal, on the technology and the timetables of
Internet (and computer) development.
- Hobbes'
Internet Timeline
- http://info.isoc.org/guest/zakon/Internet/History/HIT.html
This is one of the better-known timetables on Internet development.
Also contains tables of Internet statistics.
Defining Terms
- PC
Webopaedia - Internet and Online Services category page
- http://www.sandybay.com/pc-web/Internet_Category.html
From the PC Webopaedia, this is the Internet and Online Services page
linking to definitions of various terms related to the Internet. The Webopaedia
itself allows searching PC-related terms by category or keyword.
- Internet
- PC Webopaedia Definition and Links
- http://www.pcwebopaedia.com/Internet.htm
The "PC Webopaedia" entry on Internet, this also lists sites
for tutorials and frequently asked question files, among others.
- ILC
Glossary of Internet Terms
- http://www.matisse.net/files/glossary.html
A fairly formal, but quite complete glossary of Internet terms with
"see" and "see also" references. From Internet Literacy
Consultants, a San Francisco Internet training and consulting firm.
- McGraw-Hill
Internet Training Manual - Internet Glossary
- http://www.marketing-coach.com/mh-guide/glossary.htm
A searchable version of the glossary included in the 1996 book, The
McGraw-Hill Internet Training Manual.
- Sympatico
Help: Glossary of Internet terms
- http://www.sk.sympatico.ca/Sympatico_Help/Resources/gloss.html
From a Canadian national Internet supplier, this is a glossary of Internet
terms.
- YIL:
Surf Lingo -- A
- http://www.zdnet.com/yil/content/surfschool/lingo/lingotoc.html
An authoritative Internet glossary from Yahoo.
- EFF's
(Extended) Guide to the Internet - Smiley Dictionary
- http://www.cosy.sbg.ac.at/doc/eegtti/eeg_286.html#SEC287
Just for fun, this is a lexicon of "smileys," the punctuation
marks that when viewed sideways simulate faces indicative of a writer's
emotional intent.
Tutorials for Beginners
Selected Tutorial Courses or Lengthy
Explanations
- The
Roadmap96 Workshop Homepage (http://ua1vm.ua.edu/~crispen/roadmap.html)
- http://ua1vm.ua.edu/~crispen/roadmap.html
A 27-lesson self-paced tutorial on various aspects of the Internet.
Originally written in 1994, this was updated in 1996 and is still one of
the most useful tutorials around.
- BCK2SKOL
Home Page
- http://web.csd.sc.edu/bck2skol/
This is a 30-lesson tutorial created initially in the spring of 1995
as an e-mail course for South Carolina librarians and information providers.
Updated regularly, this covers well most of the basics of using the Internet,
plus "addendum" lessons on how to do Internet research in business
and in health.
- Understanding
and Using the Internet
- http://www.pbs.org/uti/
Created to accompany two PBS documentaries of the same titles, these
clearly written lessons for beginners cover subjects ranging from history
and netiquette to applications and creating a home page.
- Learn
the Net
- http://www.learnthenet.com/
Available in English, French, Italian, and Spanish, this site provides
an extensive "interactive index" that makes it easy to find topics
that run the gamut from Internet history to children online to setting
up and publicizing a Web site.
- Internet Education
- http://www.uwannawhat.com/NetCourse/index.html
From U Wanna What?, an information provider in western Canada, these
are a series of fairly short, straightforward, sequential, and mostly text-based
introductions to the Internet, e-mail, the World-Wide Web, newsgroups,
HTML, and others.
- Internet
Starter Kit
- http://www.mcp.com/hayden/iskm/book.html
The Web version of the best-selling book "Internet Starter Kit"
by Adam Engst, one recommended by the campus computer store. Almost always
a very slow site.
- Internet
Web Text: Index
- http://www.december.com/web/text/index.html
Initially designed to accompany a Web-based course on learning the
Web, this interactive text is an excellent way to learn more Internet skills
once the absolute basics have been mastered elsewhere.
Selected Short Tutorials or Guides
- Internet
Workshop
- http://www.eng.auburn.edu/users/sprice/flex/flex.html
Written by a network engineer at Auburn with a masters in computer
science and engineering, this is a very clear, brief, and practical explanation,
frequently giving step-by-step instructions, on the Internet, how to connect,
World-Wide Web, e-mail, Usenet, and FTP.
- YIL:
Surf School
- http://www.zdnet.com/yil/filters/surfjump.html
This "Yahoo Internet Life" page is casual in approach, but
the content is authoritative. Most is either aimed at new users or focusing
on new technology.
- Exploring
the World-Wide Web
- http://www.gactr.uga.edu/exploring/index.html
Aimed at new users, this is a very concise, mostly text-based introduction
to the Web from the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education.
Covers definitions, hardware, software, searching, and more. The concluding
sections about creating Web pages are probably beyond most truly new users.
- C
y b e r C o u r s e (tm)
- http://www.newbie.net/CyberCourse/
Billed as the "New Newbie" home pages, i.e., somewhere for
beginners to start, this CyberCourse has much information for new users,
but the format will probably be a bit confusing for the true "Newbie."
- The Net: User Guidelines
and Netiquette - Index
- http://www.fau.edu/rinaldi/netiquette.html
A "Netiquette" guide written by a librarian at Florida Atlantic
University, this gives new users a feel for some of the Internet user conventions.
Covers e-mail, Web usage, and more.
- Using
the internet, for teachers, schools, students; an introduction>
- http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4610/
While not a tutorial per se, this site, written by a college senior
education major, provides a good, basic, narrative overview of the history
of the Internet and some of the frequently encountered terms, with a bias
toward using it in a classroom setting.
Major Listings of Other Tutorial
Sites
- Internet
Guides, Tutorials, and Training Information (Library of Congress)
- http://lcweb.loc.gov/global/internet/training.html
This Library of Congress page links to collections of guides and courses,
to individual guides and courses (these entries are annotated), to several
glossaries, and to resources for Internet trainers. Very useful site for
finding many training resources.
- Yahoo!
- Computers and Internet:Internet:Information and Documentation:Beginner's
Guides
- http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/Information_and_Documentation/
Beginner_s_Guides/
A lengthy list of guides, most briefly annotated, from the Yahoo site.
Helpful Hints and Troubleshooting
- The
Internet Help Desk
- http://w3.one.net/~alward/
The author of this useful page claims it to be "a site created
to meet my own nerdish impulses." Especially helpful are the troubleshooting
section, containing error messages and solutions, and the guides and FAQs
section, containing much basic instructional material.
- The
Internet Help Desk: Troubleshooting Netscape Chart
- http://w3.one.net/~alward/netscape.html
Excellent chart explaining many Netscape error messages along with
detailed suggestions for responding to each.
- Sympatico
Help: Error Messages
- http://www.sk.sympatico.ca/Sympatico_Help/Resources/error.html
From a Canadian national Internet supplier, this is a glossary of some
of the most common Netscape error messages and what to do about each.
- YIL:
For Starters, December 1996
- http://www.zdnet.com/yil/content/mag/9612/start9612.html
Yet another entry from Yahoo Internet Life, this offers an excellent
explanation of Internet addresses, how to interpret them, and some hints
and shortcuts on using them.
Ongoing Learning and "Real-Life"
Applications
- The Scout
Report
- http://wwwscout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/index.html
A weekly publication of the Internet Scout Project (part of the InterNIC),
this valuable current awareness tool is available by subscription or on
the Web (search archives
here [three-plus years]). Professional librarians and subject matter experts
select, research, and annotate what they judge to be "the best"
Internet resources available.
- The
Internet TOURBUS Home Page
- http://csbh.mhv.net/~bobrankin/tourbus/
This is the archive site for a sponsor-supported, bi-weekly, text-based
tour of "some of the neatest sites and tools on the Internet;"
ongoing posts are also available by subscription. Text is by Patrick Douglas
Crispen, creator of the popular ROADMAP series, and Bob Rankin, author
of "Dr. Bob's Painless Guide to the Internet."
- Yahoo!
- Education:Distance Learning:On-line Teaching and Learning:Teacher Resources
- http://www.yahoo.com/Education/Distance_Learning/On_line_Teaching_and_Learning/Teacher_Resources/
Aimed at K-12 teachers and university professors alike, this page provides
links to some interesting sites for and about Internet instruction. Includes
both tutorials on technology-mediated instruction and examples of sites
employing same.
Suzanne E. Holler, s-holler@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu,
2/25/97; Last revised 8/23/97