Module 2: Communication Technologies
INTERNET PREREQUISITE SKILLS
Background of the Internet
Download Dr. Steve's PowerPoint presentation on the above topic.
Anatomy of a URL: Finding Broken Links
A URL (uniform resource locator) is the Web address of a page. To navigate to a particular Web page, you enter the URL in the location bar of a Web browser. The following is the format for a URL:
http://www.servername.domain.countrycode/foldername/filename.html
(For comparison, the format for an e-mail address is: username@servername.domain)
| Parts of a URL |
| http |
Refers to hypertext transfer protocol. Tells the Web browser that you are attempting to open a Web document composed in HTML (hypertext mark-up language). |
| :// | This punctuation is needed to separate the rest of the URL. |
| www | Indicates that you are seeking to load information from the World Wide Web. |
| server name | Server name is the name of the computer where the Web page is stored. |
| domain | Domain names are three-letter codes that differentiate differentiate different types of Web pages. For example: .com (commercial); .net (Internet service provider, also called an ISP); .edu (educational institution); .gov (government); .org (organization); .mil (military). |
| country code | Country codes are two-letter codes that indicate which country the Web page originates from. For example: CA (Canada); CH (Switzerland); FR (France); JP (Japan); UK (United Kingdom/Great Britain).
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| foldername | This is the name of a folder on the server in which files are stored, similar to the folders on your PC. |
| filename.html | This is the name of the Web page file, composed in HTML. If a filename is given a special reserved name, index.html, you do not have to type it to view it. This technique is used on most Web sites to reduce the amount of information you have to remember and type in. |
Capturing Information from Web Pages
Creating a "Temp Folder" on the Desktop
(How to Not Lose What You Capture!)
Have you ever saved something on the PC, never to find it again? If so, try the following technique:
- Right-click the mouse pointer on a clear spot on the desktop.
- From the pop-up menu, select new--folder.
- Type a new name for the folder: TEMP
- To edit/change the name of the folder, click on name of the folder, pause, then click it again. Then, edit the folder name.
Note: You can also create a folder while you are saving something. Before you hit the "OK" button, press the "new folder" button on the save dialog.
Now when you capture or download something from the Web, be sure to navigate into the TEMP folder on the desktop before pressing the "save" button. Now you won't lose things any more!
How to Capture Information from a Web Page
How to save a graphic from a Web page:
- Place mouse pointer over a graphic and right-click.
- Select save image as... from the pop-up menu.
- Navigate to the TEMP folder on the desktop and click the "save" button.
How to save text from a Web page:
- Copy and paste the text.
- Use the edit menu.
- Use control-C to copy, and control-V to paste.
- Right-click to select copy and paste.
How to save a Web page (for use off-line):
- From the Web browser menu, select file--save as.
- In the save as type field, select Web page complete (saves all graphics and text).
Sometimes it is tricky to differentiate text from graphics. To ensure a particular look of text on all computers (such as wording that appears in a logo), a Web designer may "take a picture" of text.
How to differentiate text and graphics:
- Right-click over an item on a Web page.
- If the options view image and save imageappear in the pop-up menu, the item is a graphic.
- If these options do not appear, highlight the material and copy and paste. The item is text. Also, over text (except for links) the mouse pointer turns into an insertion-type cursor (I-cursor).
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See if you can tell the difference between graphics and text at the following sites:
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