What is the Internet?

The internet is a worldwide network of computers that are all linked together via phone lines, cable and satellites. This allows information to be exchanged between computers from anywhere in the world.

The Internet is, in simple terms, lots of computers joined together - similar in concept to a spider's web, hence it sometimes being referred to as the World Wide Web (WWW). This global network allows people to share all sorts of information. Anything stored on any computer's hard disk can be shared over the internet.

The internet is not just one technology - it is made up of e-mail, on-line shopping, video chat, file transferring and newsgroups amongst many others.

You can think of the internet as the largest library in the world. Accessing the internet gives you access to a vast amount of information in the form of text, graphics, diagrams, animations, sounds, videos and many others.

How Do I Get on the Internet?

To connect to the internet you need an Internet Service Provider (ISP), this is the company that you will be paying to grant you access to the internet - in the same way that you can pay various different electricity providers to use their services. 

When you set up an account with an ISP you will normally be given a Router. This is the physical piece of equipment that provides your connection to the internet by transferring information from your phone lines into your computer.

Getting Started

The tool that you use to view the internet on your computer is called a Web Browser. You can think of the Web Browser as a window, through which you can look at things available on the internet. The main Web Browser that you will likely be using is Microsoft Internet Explorer.

To open the internet, double click on the browser Icon (as seen to the right) this is located on your Desktop (the screen that you see when you first turn on your computer). If you have an internet connection then the browser window will open and the computer will automatically connect itself to the Internet, which may take a moment or two. When the connection has been made you will see a window open, this will normally show a Website.

The Website that opens when you first open your Browser is known as your Home Page. This can be set to whatever Website that you wish it to be.

Websites

You can think of Websites as being the electronic equivilant of a magazine. There will be Websites on the internet about anything that you can imagine.

And just like a magazine has different pages contained within it, each Website will contain many Web Pages.

Each Web Page will contain all sorts of information displayed in the form of text, pictures, video and sound.

Searching the Internet

To search the Internet you can either use your Search Bar or go to a Internet Search Engine Website.

Both of these searches will browse through the internet for any sites that you have asked it to look for and then list the results for you to chose from.

Most computers have a Search Bar at the top of the Browser window. This will look like a blank, white box (shown below).

Search Engine Websites specialise in searching the Internet and will contain their own Search Box, which is located on the Web Page itself. (Google's is shown below).

The most popular Search Engines are Google, Yahoo, Ask and Bing, among others.

To use a Search Engine or Search Bar, first, click into the search box and then type key words relating to the Website that you wish to find into it

For example if you are looking for

When you have finished entering these key words press Return/Enter (located on your keyboard) to begin the search.

A new page will be shown displaying a list of Websites that contain information relating to your key words. Next, choose the most relevant of these and click on the blue, underlined Link to go to that Website.

Using Website Links

You will notice as you move your cursor around the screen that it changes from an arrow to a pointing finger. This means that there is an active Link beneath, available for you to click on. This Link will then take you to a new Web Page. Links can be in the form of text, graphics or animated elements. Text Links are traditionally underlined and are in blue writing.

Moving from one Web Page to another is a case of finding the links and clicking on them.

• Move your cursor over a Link (it should turn to a pointing finger).
• Click on the Link.
• What happens next will depend on what you clicked on. What is most likely to happen is that a different Web Page will begin loading into the window.

Backwards/Forwards/Home

1. The Back button:

The Back button is used to return to the previous Web Page that you had visited.

The Back Button is probably the button you will use most often. When you get that "I'm Lost" feeling, you can use it to retrace your steps.

2. Click on the Forward button

When you click the Forward button you should be taken to the Web Page you were on before you clicked the Back button.

3. Click on the Home button

You will be taken straight back to your Home Page.

Believe it or not, you now have the majority of skills you'll need to surf the Internet.