What is the Internet?

The Internet is a global network of smaller networks over which computers can communicate once they are connected.  The World Wide Web  opened to the public in 1993 and is therefore quite a new phenomonen which is constantly growing and developing.

To connect to the Internet, you open up your browser (for example Explorer or Netscape) and type the url (ie the Internet address) of the page you want to look at, into the address bar. Your computer sends out messages to other computers which send back  text and pictures that appear on your screen. On most homepages there are active links that direct you to other url’s or homepages.

In fact, using the Internet is not so different from changing channels on your TV, you just use a mouse instead of a remote control. But while the TV only offers about 20 – 30 channels the Internet offers millions of websites. Like some shows on TV, some web pages are not that exciting or entertaining, so we just leave and go somewhere else where it’s more interesting!

What is a Browser?

To be able to use the Internet you need a browser on your computer. The most popular browsers are Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, but there are many other browsers available, like Opera and Mozilla.

The browser is a very helpful tool. The “Back” and “Forward” buttons can help you navigate your way around websites with relative ease. 

How to Use Your Browser

1. Open your browser  by double clicking on the browser icon on your desktop, or by going to Start/Programs/Internet Explorer (assuming Internet Explorer is your preferred browser).
2. Type in http://www.lego.com which will take you to Lego’s homepage.
3. Look around on the site; try clicking on some hyperlinks to go to other parts of the page.
4. Try using the Back and Forward buttons in the top left corner.

Learning to Use Search Engines

You can use search engines to help you when you are surfing. Just like walking into a library and asking for one of the Harry Potter books, you can look for material about Harry Potter on the Internet. At the library all the books about Harry Potter are in one place. But on the Internet the information can be found on millions of websites throughout the world. That is why it is very convenient to use search engines. The search engine identifies  the information for you and sorts the relevant information in a list.

The first decision when using a search engine is deciding which one to use. Some search engines have material sorted by librarians but others have computers that do the sorting. That is why they work in different ways.

Here are some examples of popular search engines: Google, Alta VIsta, Yahoo, Yahooligans. There are many more search engines out there, but these are the most common ones.

Getting to know search engines

There are now many millions of web pages available to Internet users, therefore sometimes it can prove difficult to find exactly what you are looking for. Search engines make it easier to surf the Internet particularly if you don’t know the exact url for the web page you are searching for.  The search engine  perfroms the searching for you and sorts all relevant material in a list. There are many search engines out there like http://www.google.com and http://www.yahooligans.com

How to find sites with material you are interested in

1. Open your browser.
2. Type in www.yahooligans.com
3. Type into the search window: Harry Potter and click the Search button.
4. Check out a few of the sites that the search engine found for you.

You should get a list of pages that all contain material about Harry Potter. There will probably be about 3 or 4 million in total. This is because your computer has found every single page on the Internet, from all over the world that contains the words “Harry Potter”. 

You can do this with any subject you are interested in, for example: Lord Of The Rings, Spiderman, Pokemon, Lego, football, etc.

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