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AN INTRODUCTORY GUIDE TO THE INTERNET
As a netis made up of a series of nodes, so everything in this world is connected by a
series of nodes. If anyone thinks that the mesh of a net is an independent, isolated
thing, he is mistaken. It is called a net because it is made up of a series ofinterconnected meshes, and each mesh has its place and responsibility in relation to
the other meshes.
- Buddha -
The following handout will provide some helpful information about the Internet and
specifically about how to use it to explore websites for academic discourse. It does
not aim to provide a detailed account of the Internet but only to offer some basic
information which will enable you to start using the Internet for academic purposes.
2. 1 What is the Internet and the Web
The Internet is the accessible collection of networked computers physically located
around the world. You can think of the Internet as a network or networks.
t a basic level! a computer network is a collection of computers " say in an
office or a university " connected in such a way that they can communicate with each
other and share information. This communication is facilitated by the common
adoption of specific coding #communication protocols$. If such a structure is imposed
in an inwards oriented network #say the %niversity of thens network$ it is called an
intranet. If this network #or a part of it$ is linked to other external networks it
becomes an extranet. The collection of networks exposed to a global access #be itfree or under conditions$ is the ever expanding Internet.
The availability of this networking substructure to all people around the globe
became feasible due to the adoption of a standard communication protocol! the so
called HTTPprotocol#&yper Text Transfer 'rotocol$. It was the first to offer easy
linking in between documents! figures and images and the first to facilitate the design
of graphically accessible #via a software program called browser$ sites. The collection
of all nodes of Internet which offer such accessibility comprises the World Wide Web
#WWWor (ust Web$. The Web is usually the first thing that you see when you go
online. )n the web you can read text and graphics! you can watch videos! etc.
2.2 Web pages and sites
Information on the Internet is presented on pages you see on the screen. When you
bring one page to your computer screen! you discover its contents! and have the
option of bringing more pages of information. You can move between web pageby
clic!ingon "#pertext lin!! wandering far from the pages you originally opened.
collection of web pages stemming from the same Internet node and serving a specific
purpose comprises a ite.
2.* Internet addresses
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+very page on the Internet is distinct from all others because it has a uni,ue Internet
address. The system of addresses that has been standardi-ed and adopted by all sites
existing in the Web is known as UR$ #%niform esource /ocator$. site0s %/
#also called Web address$ differentiates it from all other sites and helps you find your
way to the specific information you are interested in. s we shall see! Web addresses
consist of a few standard parts
Take the address #the %/$ of theNational and Kapodistrianniversity of Athens
web site! for instance " "ttp%&&www.'oa.gr
The first part "ttp%&& refers to the protocol used to access this address! in this case
&yper Text Transfer 'rotocol. It is used to send web pages across a network.
The second part " www" indicates which part of the Internet we are talking about "
in this case! the World Wide Web.
The third part .'oa" is the name of the institution #or people in other cases$ running
the site #%niversity of thens$.
The fourth part .gr" is the identifier of the country the site is located #.gr standing
for 3reece in our case$. +xamples of identifiers for countries
.'! %nited 4ingdom
.(e 3ermany
.)r 5rance
.*p 6apan
Note:
The third part may be further expanded by an extra indicator showing the nature of
the owner institution of a site. 5or example! the %/ "ttp%&&www.g'ar(ian.co.'!
tells us that it is the site of 3uardian! which is a company #.co in %4 or .com
elsewhere$! established in %4 #.uk$.
number of other identifiers that could appear in the place of .co is
.ac indicates a university or other sort of academic establishment
.e(' indicates academic establishments! used mainly in the %7
.go+ a governmentrun site
.,il a site run by the military
.org used by nonprofit organi-ations
.co, the noncountry specific version of .co! this is used by companies that want tolook like global businesses
.net used mainly by internet service providers
The identifiers .com! .org! and .net are considered global! so they are not always
followed by the country identifier #e.g. www.microsoft.com$.
The above address takes you to the "o,e page of theNational and Kapodistrian
niversity of Athens. &owever! %/s can also specify a specific document and the
directories in which it is stored. In such a case the electronic address ends with ."t,l
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or ."t,. 5or instance "ttp%&&www.cc.'oa.gr&engli"&Con)erence."t, is the %/
for the 5aculty of +nglish 7tudies conferences.
Note% The recommended web pages for selfstudy in the third part of this leaflet take
you directly to specific pages which deal with various issues of academic discourse.
Ta!
T"e )ollowing web a((ree are )ro, t"e lit o) webite prepare( )or el) t'(#
in t"i co're. Tr# to anal#e t"e, in ter, o) t"e ele,ent (ic'e( abo+e.
1$ http88www.powa.org8docufrms.htm
2$ http88www.ashland.edu8stuserv8writing8parag8parafram.htm
*$ http88www.mdx.ac.uk8www8study8ecords.htm
9$ http88www.uefap.co.uk8writing8function8certain.htm
2.9 Web browser
To access the Internet easily and circulate through the Web you only need a program
called Web brower. 7uch a browser is capable of handling text! sound! video and
graphics. The two most widely used Web browsers are the Internet Explorer #by
:icrosoft$ and the Netcape Na+igator #by o/$.
To enter the Internet! you need to start your browser by clicking or doubleclicking on
its icon on your computer. When you start up your browser! it loads a home page. 5or
instance! when you use the computers in our /ibrary you will see the home page of
the %niversity of thens
2.; The toolbar
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To the right a >scroll bar? that lets you move up and down the page
To the top right the three symbols
-ini,ie %minimi-es the page and keeps it on the botton of the screen-axi,ie % maximi-es the page which appears on the screen
Cloe % closes the page which appears on the screen
=otice the function of the following on the first upper toolbar
A((re bar % the place where you type the %/ #and then
hit Enter&Ret'rn$
P'll/(ownmenu % at the right end of the box! it lists the %/s you havepreviously entered in the ddress bar
Go % pressing it after typing an address takes you to the re,uested page
=otice the function of the buttons on the second upper toolbar #from left to right$
0ac! arrow % it will take you to a page you have previously seen
1orwar( arrow % it will take you to the next page
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2top % it stops a page from loading
Re)re" % for sites which move slowly! click on the 2topbutton
and then Re)re"to have another go
Ho,e % it will take you to your home8start page #in cases you
have followed a long set of links and you want to go
back$
Hitor# % it lists all the pages you have visited in the particular
session #and over the previous days$
Print % it prints the entire web page you have opened
2.@ /inks
When you read a web page! certain words or phrases are marked as links. lin!is a
connection from one page to another. You find a link by looking for one or more
words highlighted with colour! underlining! or both! in the content area of a page.
Images and icons with coloured borders also serve as links. When you click on these!
you go to another document with a connection to the first " e.g. an essay on a relatedsub(ect. These "#pertext lin!connect documents so you can easily move between
them! following up specific ideas. 7o a document stored in a computer could be linked
to another on the same or a different computer. 7ee for example the underlined word
"ere in the following%
The connection of pages through links is achieved through the use of a specific
language! the HT-$#&yper Text :arkup /anguage$. &T:/ is in fact an easy to
learn and use set of text commands which define the linking of a document to otherdocuments and determine the way a document is laid out! including line spacing!
placement of images! etc. Today! graphical interfaces automate further the application
of &T:/. In addition! the capability of such an automatic reformatting of a document
is included in popular word processors #e.g. :icrosoft Word for Windows$.
s you move the cursor over the highlighted words #links$ of a Web page! the arrow
will change to a pointing finger indicating a clickable link. If you click on this! you
will move to another document or web page " either on the same computer or on
another one on the other side of the world. If you move the cursor over another link
and click on it! you will go to another page. If you find another link there and click!
another page will come up. This is what has often been called 'r)ing.
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When the mouse cursor points over a link! the %/ location of the link appears in the
status field. In the home page of the %niversity of thens there are two main links
which allow the user to select the language of
communication
2.A The mouse
%sing the le)t ,o'e b'ttonto click on a link will bring up that link #or download a
file or an image$. You can also use the rig"t ,o'e b'ttonto help you with your
web browsing. When you rightclick on something on a web page #e.g. a link! an
image! etc$! a ,o'e ,en'will appear which offers you various options #such assaving the page$. s you attempt more complex operations online! you will be using
the mouse menus more.
To use the websites we have prepared for you! click on the A((re&$ocation barat
the top of your browser! and then delete the address that is there. Type in a web
address from the list of Websites for cademic Biscourse! then hit Enter&Ret'rnor
click on the Gobutton at the right end of the A((re&$ocation bar.
lternatively
In Internet Explorer select the 1ilemenu! then Open! and then write the %/ in thetext box and click O3.
In Netcape Na+igatorselect the 1ilemenu! then the Open Page! then write the %/
in the text box. Check that the line Open $ocation or 1ile has a tick next to the
Na+igatorbox. Then click Open.
2.D 7ave a web page
To take the information you find with you! you may do the following
&ave a word processor #e.g. :icrosoft Word$ blank page open and
Cop#&Pateinformation you find on it. Then save the word processor document in
your diskette #if the computer you are working on is not yours! and you cannot save it
in the hard disk$.
lternatively! go to the Doc',ent menu on the topmost toolbar of your
browser! and click on 2a+e A. Then specify A%&&on the 2a+e inblank box! give it a
name on the lower screen box that says 1ilena,e! and press the 2a+ebutton next to
it! or Enter. This will save the entire Web page #with images$ on your diskette!looking exactly like it does on the Web. If you want to save text only #without the
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images or irrelevant stuff$! highlight the entire text by dragging the mouse pointer
over it and then follow the same 2a+eprocedure described above.
2.E %seful tips
2.E.1 Bifficulties accessing a web page
7ometimes you may not be able to get to a particular web page. Your browser will
usually tell you what the problem is and flash some kind of error message.
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may not have specific electronic addresses but need to search on your own.
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5or more hints on how to search efficiently! (ust click the hyperlink 89:;?
@BFF?. The following page opens! guiding you to specific functions of the
search engine
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