Internet Terminology

Transcription

1 Internet Terminology Internet - A collection of interconnected computer networks throughout the world that allows a user to access and display information. Website - Information displayed in the form of a webpage(s) on the Internet as a result of opening a location from a web address. Home Page - A webpage used as an institution or individual s starting point on the Internet. Link - Text or graphic on a webpage, designed to provide a user with a connection to another web resource. Icon - A photo or graphic that serves as a link between web resources. Search Engine - A program that finds and indexes websites, allowing users to locate these links by searching for specific words, titles, phrases, etc. Back - A command button that allows one to go back to the webpage one was just on. Forward - A command button that allows one to visit the webpage one was previously on before hitting the Back button. Reload/Refresh - A command button that is used to refresh a webpage if the webpage does not wholly appear when one is first taken to it. Browser - A program used to access the Internet, contains the toolbar used to execute commands Back, Forward, and Reload. (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome) Desktop - The backdrop or initial display on a monitor when the computer is turned on. Default color is typically blue and has icons for the programs available on the computer.

2 How to go to a website when you know the address 1. Click in the location (address) box 2. Remove current web address by hitting Backspace or Delete on the keyboard and then type the web address in the box 3. Press Enter on the keyboard OR Hold down one of the CTRL keys on the keyboard and the letter L This will put your cursor in the location box and highlight the current web address. You are now ready to type the web address you would like to go to. Press Enter on the keyboard after typing the entire address. All websites have a web address. If you know the address you can go directly to the website by following the steps above. This can be done at any time. You do not have to close the window and start a new one. All you need is the web address of the website you want to go to. Ignore the part of a website, you do not need to type this in. The suffix of the web address can tell you something about the website..com = commercial website.gov = government website.org = usually a non-profit.edu = educational facility Tabs - Tabs are sometimes opened after clicking on a link (it depends on the website s creator). A tab is a basically a window inside a window. Click on the tab to jump back and forth or click the x in the corner of the tab to close that specific tab. The example below has 3 tabs open in 1 window.

3 Searching the Internet - how to find websites on a specific topic When you do not know the web address for a website or do not even know where to begin, you must use a search engine. There are many search engines on the internet. Yahoo, Google, and Altavista are examples of search engines that are completely free websites that can be used on any internet computer. The search engine will find websites based on the keywords you type in the search box. It will search through the billions of websites and give you a list of websites that contain the keywords you have typed. You do not need to type www or.com, only keywords that you want to find websites about. Do not confuse the address box with the search box Search Box: type words here 1. Click in the location box and remove the current web address 2. Type in the web address of a search engine and hit Enter on the keyboard Click inside the search box until the cursor is blinking 4. Type in the words of the subject you are looking for (Example: antiques, fishing, Gone with the Wind, Pittsburgh Zoo, etc.) You can use and to combine words to limit the search and use quotation marks to search for a phrase (Example: pittsburgh penguins, banjo repair, apple pie recipes ) 5. Click on the Search or Go button next to the search box (usually placed directly to the right of the search box) 6. The search engine will list the websites that have information on the words you have typed in. Move down the page to see all of the results 7. Choose a website from the list of results by clicking on the highlighted title of the website. Use the Back button to return to your list and choose another site.

4 Choosing a website from the results page Once you have performed a search, the search engine will generate a list of websites that are relevant to the keywords you have typed. Search engines usually put the more popular websites at the beginning of the list. From here, you will click on the link to the website you want to visit. The links will be listed down the page. The blue underlined title is the link. If you did not like the results of your search, you can perform another. Remember, the more words you type in the more it will narrow your search. You may want to try synonyms to make your searches more thorough. 5 different links to websites about the topic entered in the search box 1. Scroll down the page until you come to the search engine s list of results for your topic 2. Click on the underlined title of the website you want to visit Remember, if you do not like the website you have chosen from the list, click on the Back button, this will take you back to your list and you can choose the next site the search engine has found for you. 3. To perform a new search, type in your new search terms in the search box and repeat the steps

5 Ehow General Useful websites Amazon Books Literature Merriam Webster Online Dictionary Yellow Pages How Stuff Works National Gallery of Art Consumer World Internet Public Library Free Tutorials gcflearnfree.org Any Who Switchboard Map Quest Finding People Finding Places (maps) Oprah s Books Bartlett s Familiar Quotations Booksonline.com booksonline.com ABC News abcnews.go.com CBS News cbsnews.com CNN Interactive MSNBC Online Newspaper newslink.org News Games Coffee Break Arcade Addicting Games addictinggames.com Google Maps maps.google.com

6 Things to remember The arrow will change into a hand when over a link. Click when the hand is showing and you will be taken to another webpage. Links are usually underlined and/or highlighted. The Backspace key on the keyboard removes characters on the left side of the cursor. The Delete key removes characters to the right of the curser. To type into a box, you must first click inside the box. You will know you can type when you see the cursor blinking. When you see a drop-down box, click on the arrow and select an option by clicking on it. Usually when filling out a form online (ex. searching for flights, searching for a book in a library catalog, searching for jobs, etc) there will be a form (similar to the one on the right) and a box at the end of the form to click when finished. Usually it will say go, submit, or search. This will start the process. The x in the upper right hand corner of a window will close the window. To get rid of advertisement pop-up windows, click on their x. Sometimes webpages are not working, they could be updating the information. If the website does not appear, simply click the Back button at top left of your screen to take you back to the previous webpage. Click here to close window Please call the Bethel Park Library if you have any questions The Library has many computers for public use. If you need help, please ask!