Download History of the Internet

ED526 INTERNET LITERACY
FOR EDUCATORS
PROJECT 1: RESEARCH
PROJECT
Bonnie Whisler
History of the internet
What is it?
How has it grown?
Where is it headed?
Part 1: What is the internet?
According to the Internet Society
“The Internet is at once a world-wide
broadcasting capability, a mechanism for
information dissemination, and a medium for
collaboration and interaction between
individuals and their computers without
regard for geographic location.”
How has it grown?
According to information from the How Stuff
Works website, the internet has been around
since 1969. It further states that the internet
began with just four host computer systems
but has grown to tens of millions. It is a
hierarchy of networks in that every computer
that is connected to the internet is part of a
network.
Where is it headed?
The Learn the Net website says, “The
incubator for many of the emerging
technologies shaping the future is known as
Internet2.” This is a not a single network,
but a consortium of hundreds of high-speed
networks linked by fiber optic backbones
that span the United States and links to
other countries.
“The network transmits data at speeds up to 2.4
gigabits per second--45,000 times faster than a
56 Kbps modem-- allowing scientists to test their
laboratory discoveries in the real world.”
“Internet2's high-speed network, previously
reserved for research institutions, is expanding
to include additional colleges and K-12 schools.
That could mean a national education network
connecting thousands of schools around the
country. The backbone network, called Abilene,
supports high-quality audio and video.”
Potential applications include a digital video
archive of best practices for teacher training,
videoconferencing that would enable
schoolchildren to take a virtual tour of the
Smithsonian, and allow for musical collaborations
between musicians in different geographic
locations.
Sources:
What is the internet?
http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml
How has it grown?
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet-infrastructure.htm
http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2001/03/42112
Where is it headed?
http://www.learnthenet.com/english/html/03future.htm
http://www.gcis.ca/english/cdne-096-oct-09-2001.html
Part 2: Phishing
What is it?
Examples of how it is it being
used today.
How would I use it in my
curriculum?
What is it?
According to Wikipedia when computing
“phising is a criminal activity using
social engineering techniques. Phisers attempt
to fraudulently acquire sensitive information,
such as usernames, passwords and credit card
details, by masquerading as a trustworthy
entity in an electronic communication.” The
term is a variant of fishing and alludes to the
use of sophisticated lures to “fish” for a user’s
password and financial information.
Examples of how it is used today:
In this Pay Pal
example spelling
mistakes in the email
and the presence of
an IP address in the
link are both clues of
a phishing attempt.
Another clue is the
lack of a personal
greeting.
Damages caused by phishing range from loss of
access to email to financial loss to identity theft.
Approximately 1.2 million computer users in the
United States between May 2004 and May 2005
lost about $929 million due to phishing.
How would I use it in my
curriculum?
I would not use phising in my curriculum other
than to make my students aware of what it is
and to use extreme caution when emails ask
for personal information.
Sources:
What is phising? All examples.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phising
Picture
http://people.howstuffworks.com/enlargeimage.htm?terms=
phishing&gallery=1&page=1
Part 3: Social Networking
What is it?
What is its impact on society?
What is its impact on
education?
What is it?
Whatis.com defines social networking as
the practice of expanding the number of
one’s business and/or social contacts by
making connections through individuals.
Social networking has gone on almost as
long as societies themselves existed. The
potential of the Internet to promote such
connections is only now being fully
recognized and exploited through Webbased groups established for that purpose.
Examples:
MySpace.com is an example of social
networking.
Another example is Google Docs
What is its impact on society?
There is a lot of information on social
networking and its impact on society. One I
found interesting was taken from New Scientist
Print Edition. It states that for some people
things move from “I have a feeling, I want to call
a friend” to “I want to feel something, I need to
make a call”. In either case, what is not being
cultivated is the ability to be alone and to
manage and contain one’s emotions.
What is its impact on education?
Social networking impacts education in different
ways. The following is only one way.
According to eSchool Newsonline, social
networking might be a way for schools to
increase student access to, and participation in,
course activities. Campus-based sites offer a
safe space for students to build ties with
community members. The university of
Pennsylvania offers incoming freshmen
membership in “Pennster,” a social-networking
site, so they can get to know their classmates
before they arrive on campus.
Sources:
Whatis.com
MySpace.com
Google Docs
New Scientist Print Edition;
http://blog.xleo.com.ar/2006/09/21/the-impact-of-socialnetworking-on-society/
eSchoolnews.com