Internet and WWW

Internet• Network linking computers to other

computers

• Access to numerous resources– Communications systems• E-mail• Instant messaging• FTP

– WWW

• Does not contain information!

Connecting to the Internet

• Dial-up– Telephone line & modem

• Broadband connections– Cable– Satellite– DSL

World Wide Web (WWW)

• Incorporates Internet services to retrieve– Documents– Images

• Uses HTML– Hypertext Markup Language

Step 5

Host server receives request and returns appropriate information.

Step 2

Request travels from your computer to local and regional companies.

Step 3

Requests are routed to national company, that provides main Internet pathway access.

Step 4

National company routes request to host server computer, where information you want is located.

Step 1

Request is made for information.

Information Sharing

Browsers

• Computer programs/ software that enable you to:– Locate, view & navigate the WWW • Including: text, graphics, sound & video

• What are the most common browsers?– Internet Explorer & Netscape

Navigating the Web

• Series of connected paths or links

• Each Web site has a unique address or URL– Uniform Resource Locator

URL

– Protocol

– Domain name

– Directories or path

– Resource Name

http://

www.uark.edu

/depts/aeedhp/courses/agme2903

/default.htm

http://www.uark.edu/depts/aeedhp/courses/agme2903/default.htm

Search Engines• Specific words • Have three parts

– Spiders select information – Indexer program organizes information into a database– Search engine software

• Searches database and returns results

• Engines only search their own index• More academic- or research-based• Most engines cannot include every Web site available

• What are examples of search engines?– Google, AlltheWeb, Altavista, Dogpile, Excite, Teoma

Subject Directory

• Structured outlines of Web sites– Topics – Subtopics

• More commercial or consumer-oriented

• Select a subject– Narrow search by selecting successive subfolders

• What are examples of popular subject directories?– Yahoo!, MSN, Lycos, CompletePlanet, LookSmart,

Open Directory Project

Search Strategies

• Use more than one search engine or subject directory

• Use operators– Words that make searches more effective

• And, Not, Or• Combine operators using parentheses

• Wildcards• +, -, “”

• Learn about your search engine

Advanced Strategy Examples

COOL

119,000,000 hits

COOL and agriculture

2,010,000 hits

COOL and agriculture and commodities

178,000 hits

Google

COOL

520,000,000 hits

COOL and agriculture

5,500,000 hits

COOL and agriculture and commodities

360,000 hits

Yahoo

Advanced Strategy Examples

Google

Yahoo

fashion merchandising

667,000 hits

fashion merchandising and careers

514,000 hitsfashion merchandising

and careers and international

223,000 hits

fashion merchandising

3,210,000 hits

fashion merchandising and careers

526,000 hitsfashion merchandising

and careers and international

374,000 hits

Sources

• UC Berkleyhttp://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/

• Evans, A., K. Martin and M.A. Poatsy. (2006). Technology in Action. New Jersey: Pearson Education.