This lesson helps learners understand what the web is, and about how web pages are constructed. It is the first of two lessons in a unit exploring how content on the web is constructed, and about how it appears.
When we use our computers, we send a lot of information across the wires. Some of this information is material we want to keep private from prying eyes, such as our username and password, our account information for banks, or school applications. Encryption plays a vital role there – why do you think it’s important? Who are we protecting the information against?
So, what does the company that owns Farmville know about you? What about Facebook? And, what about the various advertising companies that scan the web for information — about you? What’s that? Almost everything? Tell me more!
We all use computers all the time. Somehow, we’re able to type things on a keyboard and have them show up on a screen, or use them to surg the web. But how does that work? Let’s find out!
Web search is critically important. How many of us search the web every day? But how does it work, and how do we know what results we’re going to get? This lesson helps teach about how web searching finds content, and teaches about how some content must be treated as suspect.
TCP-IP is the communication protocol for the internet. It is the enabling structure for vast digital communications; among its many uses, it allows web pages to be remotely loaded, e-mails to be sent (and received), and files to be transferred. However, these mechanisms are not widely understood.
Feel free to use any combination of or all exercises as a warm up! 1. There are 21 generic top level domains available. How many can you (as a class) come up with, right off the top of your head? Hint: .com is a popularly used one! (See here for a list of all 21) […]
How do computers talk, and how do they know they’re able to talk without losing parts of the conversation? This happens through something called TCP/IP, or Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol, which governs the way that information is sent from Point A to Point B.
