Module 3: Internet, WWW and Email PDF

MODULE 3: INTERNET, WWW AND EMAIL Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of this module, students should be able to: 1. Understand the different types of networks. 2. Understand the history and jargon associated with the Internet. 3. Identify the purpose of a browser in accessing information...

MODULE 3: INTERNET, WWW AND EMAIL Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of this module, students should be able to: 1. Understand the different types of networks. 2. Understand the history and jargon associated with the Internet. 3. Identify the purpose of a browser in accessing information on the World Wide Web (WWW) and navigate the Web. 4. Understand how to deal with web browser tools such as: bookmarks, display and hide built-in toolbars, deleting browsing history and print web pages. 5. Use search engines. 6. Understand how electronic mail works including the components of electronic mail message, electronic mail address, and electronic mail options. 7. Use electronic mail. 8. Understand how social media works. 9. Use social media. 10. Explain the essential concepts of cloud storage. 11. Describe the effect of IT on our lives and on society generally.  3.1 COMPUTER NETWORK 3.1.1 What is a Computer Network? A computer network is a collection of computers that are linked together so that one computer can connect with another and share resources, data and applications. It also refers to the interconnectivity of two or more computers that enables them to communicate and share their resources. 3.1.2 Computer Network Types Network types depends on how large they are and how much an area they cover geographically. The following are the most popular Computer Network Types: PAN (Personal Area Network) is a computer network that is used on a personal level. It is generally used in transferring small files and uses wireless technology such as Bluetooth, IR. Personal Area Network (PAN) LAN (Local Area Network) is a group of computer and peripheral devices which are connected in a limited area such as school, laboratory, home, and office building. Local Area Network (LAN) 3. WAN (Wide Area Network) is a computer network that extends over a large geographic area. It is also referred to as the connectivity of multiple LAN. Wide Area Network (WAN) 4. MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) is computer network that connects multiple LANs across a large area but is smaller than a WAN. It consists of a computer network across an entire city, college campus, or a small region. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)  3.2 INTERNET 3.2.1 What is the Internet? The Internet is a global wide area network that connects computer systems across the world. It enables the users to send, receive, collect, store, update, delete, and many other operations of the data across the world. What we can do in the Internet? Email is one of the oldest and most universal ways to communicate and share information on the Internet, and billions of people use it. Social media allows people to connect in a variety of ways and build communities online. Keep up with news or shop for anything online. Pay your bills, manage your bank accounts, meet new people, watch TV, or learn new skills. 3.3 HISTORY OF THE INTERNET Originally funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) in October 29, 1969. January 1, 1983 is considered the official birth of the Internet. The online world then took on a more recognizable form in 1990, when computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. The web helped popularize the internet among the public, and most of us now access on a daily basis, any kind of information from the internet. 3.4 WORLD WIDE WEB What is the Web? The World Wide Web: usually called the Web for short, is a collection of websites you can access through the Internet. A website is made up of related text, images, and other resources. Websites can resemble other forms of media—like newspaper articles or television programs—or they can be interactive in a way that's unique to computers.  The purpose of a website can be almost anything: a news platform an advertisement an online library a forum for sharing images or an educational site, and a lot more. 3.5 WEB BROWSER 3.5.1 What is a Web Browser? A web browser is an application software that allows you to access and view websites on the Internet. There are many different web browsers, but some of the most common web browser includes: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, Microsoft Edge, Opera and Mozilla Firefox. Figure 3.5: Common Web Browsers 3.5.2 URLs and the Address Bar Each website has a unique address, called a URL (short for Uniform Resource Locator). Also known as an internet address or web address is a tool used to find a web site. It's like a street address that tells your browser where to go on the Internet. When you type a URL into the browser's address bar and press Enter on your keyboard, the browser will load the page associated with that URL.  In the example below, we've typed https://www.ict.edu.om/en-US/IT/Academic- Programme/ into the address bar. 3.5.3 Navigation Buttons The Back and Forward buttons allow you to move through websites you've recently viewed. You can also click and hold either button to see your recent history. The Refresh button will reload the current page. If a website stops working, try using the Refresh button. To create a new blank tab, click the button to the right of any open tabs and to close a tab, click the X. 3.5.4 Bookmarks and History Bookmarks, also known as favorites, are a great way to save websites so you can revisit them again. Simply locate and select the Star icon to bookmark the current website. Your browser will also keep a history of every site you visit. To view your history, open your browser settings—usually by clicking the icon in the upper-right corner—and select History.  3.6 SEARCH ENGINE There are different Search Engines you can use, but some of the most popular include Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. To perform a search, type one or more keywords—also known as search terms—then press Enter on your keyboard. In this example, let’s search for internet. After you run a search, you'll see a list of relevant websites that match your search terms. These are commonly known as search results.  Most browsers also allow you to perform a web search directly from your address bar. Type your search terms (example: email) in the address bar and press Enter to run the search. 3.7 ELECTRONIC MAIL 3.7.1 What is an Email? Email, short for "electronic mail", is one of the most widely used features of the Internet, along with the web. It allows you to send and receive messages to and from anyone with an email address, anywhere in the world. Almost everyone who uses the Internet has their own email account, usually called an email address. 3.7.2 Email Addresses To receive emails, you will need an email account and an email address. Email addresses are always written in a standard format that includes a user name, the @ (at) symbol, and the email provider's domain. The user name is the name you choose to identify yourself.  The email service provider is the website that hosts your email account. Some businesses and organizations use email addresses with their own website domain. 3.7.3 Email Providers Today, the top three webmail providers are Yahoo!, Microsoft's Outlook.com (previously Hotmail), and Google's Gmail. See pictures below. Other Email Providers Many people also have an email address hosted by their company, school, or organization. These email addresses are usually for professional purposes. For example, students and staff’s email addresses in UTAS-Ibra will end with @ict.edu.om Many hosted web domains end with a suffix other than.com.  Depending on the organization, your provider's domain might end with a suffix like.gov (for government websites),.edu (for schools), or.org (for nonprofit organizations). 3.7.4 Email Features An Email interface, including the Inbox, the Message pane, and the Compose pane. Below are some examples of email interfaces from Gmail. Inbox and Sent Panes The inbox is where you can view and manage emails you receive and the sent folder is where you can manage and keep all sent mails. Emails are listed with the name of the sender, the subject of the message, and the date/time received. Message Pane When you select an email in the inbox (or sent), it will open in the Message pane. You can read the message and choose how to respond with a variety of commands. Compose Pane You can click the Compose or New button from your inbox to open the Compose pane to create your own email message. From here, you'll need to enter the recipient's email address and a subject. You'll also have the option to upload files (photos, documents, etc.) as attachments and add formatting to the message. A Compose pane will also appear when you select Reply or Forward. 3.8 SOCIAL NETWORKING Social Networking refers to the use of social media websites and apps, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, to connect with family, friends, and people who share your interests. It is commonplace throughout the world, especially with young people. Social networking is the use of Internet-based social media platforms to stay connected with friends, family, or peers. The most popular social networking sites in the U.S. include Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Marketers use social networking for increasing brand recognition and encouraging brand loyalty. Social media can help connect people and businesses and help promote brand awareness. There are disadvantages related to social media, including the spread of misinformation and the high cost of using and maintaining social network profiles. Sample UTAS Social Media accounts like Instagram, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ICT.IBRA and Twitter : https://twitter.com/ICT_Ibra/ are shown below.  Other SAMPLE SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS using mobile applications are shown below: 3.9 ESSENTIAL CONCEPTS OF CLOUD STORAGE 3.9.1 What is Cloud Storage? Cloud storage is a cloud computing model that stores data on the Internet through a cloud computing provider who manages and operates data storage as a service. Cloud storage allows you to save data and files in an off-site location that you access either through the public internet or a dedicated private network connection. 3.9.2 Cloud Storage Application File storage: You can store all types of information in the cloud, including files and email. You can access these things from any computer or mobile device with an Internet connection. Dropbox and Google Drive are some of the most popular cloud-based storage services. File sharing: The cloud makes it easy to share files with several people at the same time. For example, you can upload photos to a cloud-based photo service like Flickr or iCloud Photos, then share them with friends and family. Data Backup: Data and applications on a business's servers are backed up and stored on a cloud server. There are apps such as Carbonite that automatically back up your data to the cloud. 3.10 EFFECTS OF IT IN THE SOCIETY Technology affects the way individuals communicate, learn, and think. Technology plays an important role in society today. It can be said that the social impact of information technology has two sides. It cannot be one hundred percent negative nor hundred percent positive. Technology has a great impact on learning. Information technology has made the education process more effective and productive. It has increased the performance of the students. It developed a methods of education have made the process easier, such as the replacement of books with tablets and laptops. Technology has influenced society in communication, how we talk and communicate with one another worldwide. Communication is now easy; in case of situations when you want to convey something urgently to someone, mobiles and emails come in handy. There are technological advancements within the health industry. There are many innovate apps to monitor your health at any time of the day. However, studies show that mobile communication affects people in a negative way when it comes to being sociable and making face-to-face contact. Mobile technology can decrease communication and relations between people. There’s less personal time. It can also be distracting from student’s schoolwork. There is also loss of privacy, because anyone can find you anywhere, at any time of the day. In conclusion, the impact is both positive and negative. Logically thinking, technology has bettered the communication process and has done negligible harm. The positive points of the technological advancements cover up the negative points. It all depends on how we use technology; don’t abuse them for malicious motives. SUMMARY This module covered three main topics which are the INTERNET, WWW and EMAIL. It included the different types of Networks, the History of how computer networks became popularly known with the terms Internet and the Web. Web browsers tools and search engines are included in this module. Internet-related topics such as Electronic Mail (E-Mail), Social Media and Cloud Storage are also part of this Module. REVIEW QUESTIONS/EXERCISES Answer the questions or to do the exercises required below: 1. What are the other types of Network available aside from the given types in this Module? 2. What is the current Network type you are using in your home or for your personal use? Discuss in the class. 3. What are the uses of Internet for a university student like you? 4. What Web Browser do you have in your computer? Find out and give the list with a short description of any of the Web Browsers you have in your computer. 5. Open any two Search Engines and search for the word “Social Networking”. Compare the search results shown in your two Search Engines. 6. Create a new email account using any Email provider (or your Teacher will require specific email account to be created). Then send the email to your Teacher using this newly created email. Compose new email and write your Name, ID Number and Section/Group. Send CC to your university email account. REFERENCES 1. Gary McCauley. (2019). What is a Computer Network? Field Engineer Blogs. https://www.fieldengineer.com/blogs/what-is-a-computer-network 2. javatpoint. Types of Computer Network. https://www.javatpoint.com/types-of- computer-network 3. Guru99. Types of Computer Networks: LAN, MAN, WAN, VPN. https://www.guru99.com/types-of-computer-network.html 4. Evan Andrews. (2019). Who invented the Internet? History Stories. https://www.history.com/news/who-invented-the-internet 5. Log, Mayeul. (November 13, 2018). OER Commons. Brief history of the internet https://www.oercommons.org/authoring/49058-brief-history-of-the-internet/view#h1 6. https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/internetbasics/what-is-the-internet/1/ 7. https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/internetbasics/using-a-web-browser/1/ 8. https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/internetbasics/using-search-engines/1/ 9. https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/internetbasics/understanding-urls/1/ 10. https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/internetbasics/what-can-you-do-online/1/ 11. https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/email101/introduction-to-email/1/ 12. https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/email101/common-email-features/1/ 13. https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/chapter/9-5-5-social-media/ 14. https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/internetbasics/understanding-the-cloud/1/ 15. https://www.bctv.org/2019/11/07/technological-influence-on-society/ 16. https://www.totalphase.com/blog/2017/05/impact-technology-lives-future-technology/ 17. Internet Definition. (2021). https://techterms.com/definition/internet (Retrieved 31 May 2021) 18. Investopedia. 2021. Understanding Social Networking. Available at: (Retrieved 31 May 2021) 19. Amazon Web Services, Inc. 2021. What is Cloud Storage? | AWS. [online] Available at: (Retrieved 31 May 2021) 20. Education, I., 2021. cloud-storage. Ibm.com. Available at: (Retrieved 31 May 2021)