What the Internet Offers

1
What the Internet Offers

• Communications
• Across the country or across the world
• Information resources and services
• On a huge scale
• A wide range of subjects
• Many formats
• Publishing
• The ability to publish and provide online services

2
Information Resources

• Many subjects and formats available
• Documents
• Graphics, video audio
• Software (free shareware)
• Newspapers
• Directories
• Library catalogues databases
• Books journals
• Junk

3
Basic Internet Tools

• Require very basic hardware and have existed for
  a number of years
• Telnet
• Provides simple text based access to a remote
  computer
• File transfer
• Allows files to be moved from one computer to
  another
• Often called FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

4
World Wide Web

• World Wide Web (WWW or Web)
• Distributed multimedia hypertext system
• Uses client/server architecture
• Clients known as browsers - Netscape, Mosaic, IE,
  Lynx

5
Client/Server Architecture
WWW is based on a client/server architecture
Give me file x
Here it is
Desktop Client
Remote Server
Request made using http
A computer elsewhere on the Internet
holding information
Your desktop computer
6
Locating Internet Resources

• Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
• Standard address format for Internet resources
• URL indicates
• Method of access
• Location
• For example
• http//www.isiswomen.org
• http//www.jca.apc.org/aworc/index.html

7
Terminology
WWW - World Wide Web Distributed multimedia
hypertext system HTML- HyperText Markup
Language Native language for documents on the
WWW HTTP - HyperText Transfer Protocol Set of
rules for communication between client
server URL - Uniform Resource Locator Address of
an object on the Internet
8
Uses of the Web Research

• WWW was developed at CERN for particle
  physicists.

http//www.cern.ch/
Sources of research material and funding are
available for researchers, administrators
students.
http//www.ex.ac.uk/MAPatric/sgroup/eurinfo.html
9
Teaching/Distance Learning
WWW is used widely for teaching. This UK-based
example describes one teaching, research and
administrative initiative
http//www.talisman.hw.ac.uk/about/general.html
10
Women are using the Web to teach and to support
educators
http//research.umbc.edu/korenman/wmst/updates.ht
ml
http//women.or.kr/
http//www.lynda.com/
11
Providing Information Resources

• Library catalogues
• Information gateways
• Electronic journals
• News services
• Online support

http//www.loc.gov
12
Searching for Information
http//www.yahoo.com/
Subject catalogues and sophisticated search
engines can help in finding information using the
WWW.
http//www.lycos.com/
13
Women-focused Search Engines
http//wwwomen.com/
http//femina.cybergrrl.com/
14
Activism and Advocacy
Women, individually and collectively, are using
the Web to enhance their social activism by
networking with other like-minded women, by
publisizing news and information, as well as
their analysis of issues affecting women
www.jca.apc.org/aworc/bpfa/index.html
15
Women are also using the Web for Social Advocacy
http//womensnet.za.org/
http//www.mediawatch.ca/frames.htm
www.igc.org/igc/womensnet/
16
Group Work and Project Collaboration
Together with groupware applications, the Web can
also be a space --a virtual office--for people
living in different continents and time zones to
share and organize files, track projects and
timelines, share address books, and conduct
meetings.
http//www.lycos.com/
17
Commerce
Increasingly used for sales, marketing and online
services
http//www.women.com