ABOUT INTERNET COURSES

ONLINE COURSES

• General Information

SUCCESS WITH ONLINE COURSES

• Are Online Courses Right for You?
• Being Successful Online
• Online Success Survey
• Explanation of Online Success Factors
• The Importance of Communication
• Getting Comfortable With Online Learning

USING THE INTERNET

• Using Search Engines
• Downloading Steps
• Zipping Files
• Browser Plugins

USING WEBCT

• Using the Course Software
• Using the Course Tools

REFERENCES

• Online Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
• Code of Conduct
• Appendix A - Net Etiquette
• Appendix B - Terminology
• Appendix C - Common File Extensions

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Asynchronous. Anytime access or access to a site, as with e-mail or bulletin boards.

Browser. A software program used for viewing and accessing information on the Internet. Provides an interface (defined below), through which you view web pages.

Button Bar. A row of tabs or buttons found consistently in a given area of the screen, which allows one to perform various functions within Blackboard.

Compression. A technique used to considerably reduce the size of a file without losing any of the original information.

Cookie. A file that is written to your hard disk when you access certain web pages on the Internet. The file contains certain information, which may influence the sequence of pages viewed in the web site.

CPU. Central Processing Unit, the brain of your computer.

Cursor. A flashing line or rectangle on the screen that shows exactly where you are working.

Domain Names. Endings indicate the type of organization for which the web site was created:

Download. To transfer (software, data, character sets, etc.) from a distant to a nearby computer, or from a computer to a peripheral device.

FAQ. Frequently Asked Questions

File Extension. The three letters after the dot (.doc) that indicate the file type.

Homepage. The main starting point or screen for all Blackboard courses, which shows a group of icons representing the tools within the course.

html. Stands for Hyper Text Markup Language, which is the primary coding language used to present information over the Internet and post text materials (regardless of what software application they were created in - Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) onto a web site.

http. Hypertext Transport Protocol: a protocol for transferring hypertext documents, the standard protocol for the World Wide Web.

Hypertext. A way of creating documents that allows for interactive navigation - that is, for jumping from one place in the text to another via links within the document itself.

Icons. Graphics on the webpage that lead you to tools and content within your course.

Interface. The visual and physical interaction with your screen. The look and feel working within a particular computer program (or Blackboard).

Internet. A large computer network linking smaller computer networks worldwide.

ISP. Internet Service Provider is a company that provides access to the Internet for average users. The company handles the link from your computer to the rest of the Internet.

JPEG. It is a type of image file used on the Internet that is compressed.

Link. A line of text or a graphic which when clicked takes the user to another document or a different location within the same document.

Login/Logon. These are the terms for the process of actually gaining access to the resources on a particular computer. This is normally done by entering a username and a password.

LOL. Laughing Out Loud is an abbreviation used in e-mails and chat rooms.

Search Engines. One of the most essential tools on the Internet which help you find web sites related to a particular subject. The search engines are huge databases containing millions of records. The most popular are:

Server. A computer that makes files available to workstations on a network. The GWC online course servers are in the New Media Center.

SPAM. Sending e-mails to people who did not request the information. Usually done in huge numbers to promote a product.

Surfing the net. Looking around the Internet, jumping from web page to web page.

Synchronous. Simultaneous communication or access to a site, as with a chat room. Can also refer to a course in which material or quizzes are available only for a specific length of time.

Thread. A series of messages or discussion area postings all related to the same topic.

Upload. To transfer (software, data, character sets, etc.) from a smaller to a larger computer or server.

URL. The Universal Resource Locator is the identifier used over the Internet to find different web site addresses. Allows Blackboard to Link outside web pages to your course for additional information.

Virus. A program, usually created intentionally, that can damage files on you computer

Blackboard Tools. Various functions that facilitate the use of the web site.

Web Site. A connected group of pages on the World Wide Web regarded as a single entity, usually maintained by one person or organization and devoted to one single topic or several closely related topics.

Whiteboard. An on-line shared graphical palette that may be accessed by multiple users. Each user can modify the information on the board for others to see.

WWW. The World Wide Web that allows you to browse linked web pages.

Zip. Zip files contain vast amounts of information that have undergone compression to reduce the amount of disk space required. This file type is very popular on the Internet. Two popular Zip programs are PKZIP and WinZip. (This is unrelated to Zip Drives which are devices that contain 100MB or larger disks for storage of information.)