CIS 101 Module 2: The Web

The Internet

a global collection of millions of computers linked together to share information

the web (World Wide Web)

a collection of webpages located on computers around the world, connected through the Internet

webpage

an electronic document that can contain text, graphics, sound, video, and links to other webpages

homepage

the main page in a website

static webpage

webpage where the content doesn’t change very often

dynamic webpage

content that changes as you interact with it, such as a news site that updates based on breaking news, or for a weather website that displays content based on the visitor’s location or preferences

responsive web design

a way to provide content so that it adapts appropriately to the size of the display on any device, such as on a laptop or a smartphone

website

A collection of webpages (often shortened to “pages”)

browser

an app designed to display webpages

navigate

an app designed to display webpages

link (hyperlink)

specially formatted word, phrase, or graphic that, when clicked or tapped, lets you display a webpage on the Internet, another file, an email, or another location within the same file, or perform another action, such as sending an email message

uniform resource locator (URL)

web address used by a browser to locate a website on the Internet

hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP)

the most common way to transfer information around the web

web server

stores webpages and delivers them to computers requesting the pages through a browser

Internet Protocol (IP) address

unique number that consists of four to six sets of numbers from 0 to 255 separated by periods, or dots used to identify every computer on the internet

address bar

the part of a browser window that displays the location of the current webpage

cache

A holding area where your browser keeps a copy of each webpage you view. This temporary storage area helps speed up processing time.

breadcrumbs

A step in the path you follow to display a webpage

navigation bar

includes buttons such as Back and Forward that you can use to revisit webpages along the breadcrumb path.

modem

a device that sends and receives data over telephone or cable lines and is connected to your computer

Wi-Fi

a wireless data network technology that provides high-speed data connections that do not require a physical connection

Internet Service Provider (ISP)

a company that sells Internet access

hotspot

wireless network device that provides Internet connections to mobile computers and devices

mobile hotspot

enables you to connect a phone, computer, or other device to the Internet through the cellular network

what does “G” stand for in 4G and 5G

generation

top level domain (TLD)

The three-letter extension after the period in a domain name, the TLD identifies the type of organization associated with the domain. provides a clue about website content

Public Technical Identifier (PTI)

An organization that approves and controls TLDs

.biz

unrestricted use, but usually identifies businesses

.com

most commercial sites that sell products and services

.edu

academic and research sites such as schools and universities

.gov

u.s. government organizations

.mobi

sites optimized for mobile devices

.int

international treaty organizations

.mil

military organizations

.net

network providers, ISPs, and other Internet administrative organizations

.org

organizations such as political or not for profit (any website can have the .org TLD but, traditionally, only professional and nonprofit organizations such as churches and humanitarian groups use it)

.pro

licensed professionals

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)

A nonprofit group that sets standards to allow devices, services, and applications to work together across the Internet. Sets standards for IP addresses, rules for routing data, securing websites, developing guidelines for responsible internet use

World Wide Web Consortiam (W3C)

One of the leading organizations that set guidelines for the web and that work together to write web standards. Topics: building webpages, enabling web access on any device, browser/search engine design, etc.

content aggregator

A website that gathers, organizes, and then distributes web content.

media sharing site

A website that enables members to manage media such as photos, videos, and music.

social network

A website that encourages members in its online community to share their interests, ideas, stories, photos, music, and videos with other registered users.

social media

The many ways individuals and businesses share information and interact using the Internet; includes stories, photos, news, and opinions to complete diaries, daily life updates, professional networking, and job searching, as well as sophisticated games.

web portal

A website that combines pages from many sources and provides access to those pages. Also shortened to portal. often customized to meet your needs and interests

search engine

In Computer Concepts, software used by search sites to locate relevant webpages by creating a simple query based on your search criteria and storing the collected data in a search database.

wiki

a collaborative website where you and your colleagues can modify and publish content on a webpage

web app

an app stored on an Internet server that you can run entirely in a browser. stores data using cloud computing and can make collaboration easy, but requires an internet connection and can be less secure

header

Located at the top of a webpage, the header or banner usually includes a logo to identify the organization sponsoring the webpage and a title to indicate the topic or purpose of the webpage. Headers and navigation bars can also provide a Search tool for searching the website.

navigation bar/menu

A bar or menu lists links to other major parts of the website.

body

The body is the main content area of the webpage, and can provide text, images, audio, and video.

social media links

An area that includes links to social networking accounts and platforms. These often appear in a sidebar on the webpage, near the navigation bar, or in the footer.

footer

Located at the bottom of a webpage, the footer contains links to other parts of the website and lists information about the webpage, such as who owns the content.

main parts of a webpage

header or banner, navigation bar or menu, body, social media links, and footer

encryption

A security method of “scrambling” information as it is transmitted over a network. Information is scrambled in such a way that it cannot be read unless the user possesses the “key” to unlock it back to a readable format.

digital certificate

In Computer Concepts, a technology used to verify a user’s identity by using a digital key and that has been “signed” by a trusted third party. This third party verifies the owner and that the key belongs to that owner.

what does a secure website start with?

https

e-commerce

Business transactions that occur over an electronic network such as the Internet.

business-to-consumer (B2C)

E-commerce model in which businesses provide goods and services to consumers; the most widespread example is online shopping.

consumer-to-comsumer (C2C)

E-commerce model in which consumers provide goods and services to other consumers; the most widespread example of this is online auctions.

business-to-business (B2B)

E-commerce model in which businesses provide goods, information, and services to other businesses, such as advertising, credit, recruiting, sales and marketing, technical support, and training.

pros of e-commerce

variety, convenience, communication, budget

cons of e-commerce

security, fraud, indirect experience

electronic storefront

An e-commerce website selling products or services. usually contains product descriptions, images, and a shopping cart to collect items you want to purchase

cookies

A small text file created by a website that stores information on your computer, such as your website preferences; also called a first-party cookie.

3D secure

A standard protocol for securing credit card transactions over the Internet. uses both encryption and digital certificates

transport layer security (TLS)

Technology used to encrypt data that helps protect consumers and businesses from fraud and identity theft when conducting commerce on the Internet.

information literacy

The ability to find, evaluate, use, and communicate online information.

general search engine

A nonspecialized search engine designed to find general results; general search engines include Google, Bing, and Yahoo!

spiders

Software that combs the web to find webpages and add new data about them to the database. builds an index of terms and their locations. Also called crawler.

query

In Computer Concepts, a search term entered into a search engine on the web to obtain results. In a database, a database object used to specify criteria that extract data based on criteria that the query creator specifies. Criteria are conditions for a field.

search engine optimization (SEO)

Tools to allow search engines to better find or index your website.

search tool

An electronic tool that finds online information based on criteria you specify or selections you make. includes search engines and search boxes

web/subject directory

An online guide to subjects or websites, usually arranged in alphabetic order. Also called a subject directory. a human editor creates the index for a web directory

specialized search tool

A search tool that concentrates on specific resources, such as scholarly journals or the United States Congress.

keywords

the descriptive words you enter to obtain a list of results that include the words or phrase

hits

In Computer Concepts, an item in the list of results returned by a search engine in a web search.

usage rights

A right that indicates when you can use, share, or modify the images you find online.

search operators

A character, word, or symbol that focuses a web search. Also called a Boolean operator.

search operator: “ “

find webpages with the exact words in the same order

search operator: |

OR

search operator: -

NOT

search operator: *

wildcard (placeholder for any number of characters)

search operator: #..#

find webpages within a range of numbers

word stem

The base of a word, used in a web search to broaden a search.

net neutrality

The concept that one website has the same value or priority as other websites, resulting in equal, unrestricted access to each site.

bandwidth

A term commonly used to describe the capacity of a communication channel. supports a large amount of data at one time = high-bandwidth

U.S. Federal Communication Commission (FCC)

responsible for releasing rules surrounding Internet access for U.S. users

specialty search engine

A search engine that lets you search databases, news providers, podcasts, and other online information sources that general search engines do not always access.

how can you tell if a website is worth your time?

trusted experts, avoid bias or outdated info

CARS checklist

using credibility, accuracy, reasonability, and supportability to evaluate a website

intellectual property

Unique and original works, such as ideas, inventions, art, writings, processes, company and product names, and logos.

intellectual property rights

Legal rights protecting those who create works such as photos, art, writing, inventions, and music.

copyright

gives authors and artists the legal right to sell, publish, or distribute an original work. goes into effect as soon as the work exists in physical or digital form.

digital rights management (DRM)

A collection of technologies used by software publishers and trade groups to fight software piracy and prevent unauthorized copying of digital content; includes authentication, certificates of authenticity, encryption, and digital watermarks.

public domain

an item, such as a photo, is available and accessible to the public without requiring permission to use, and therefore not subject to copyright. applies to material for which the copyright has expired and to work that has been explicitly released to the public domain by its owner.

fair use doctrine

Allows you to use a sentence or paragraph of text without permission if you include a citation to the original source.

Creative Commons (CC)

A Designations for licensing online content where owners specify conditions for reusing or adapting it, such as with attribution or modification

ethics

The moral principles that govern people’s behavior; many schools and other organizations post codes of conduct for computer use, which can help you make ethical decisions while using a computer.

citation

a reference to a source, such as a published work.