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Parents Guide to the InternetPart 4 |
CreditsSourceU.S. Department of Education ContentsA Message To Parents About The InternetForeword How To Use This Booklet What Is the Information Superhighway? Benefits of Getting on the Information Superhighway Starting the Engine Navigating the Journey Tips for Safe Traveling Supporting School Use of Technology Sites Along the Way Glossary Acknowledgments Reviewers ForumsEducation and KidsRaising our Kids Related ArticlesKids Belong on the Net, They Just Need a GuidePre-schoolers: Related Web Sites Do you want to encourage your child to be actively involved on the Internet? |
Back to Part 3GlossaryADDRESS: The unique location of an information site on the Internet, a specific file (for example, a Web page), or an email user. BOOKMARK: A saved link to a Web site that has been added to a list of saved links so that you can simply click on it rather than having to retype the address when visiting the site again. CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory): A computer disk that can store large amounts of information and is generally used on computers with CD-ROM drives. CHAT ROOM: A location on an online service that allows users to communicate with each other about an agreed-upon topic in "real time" (or "live"), as opposed to delayed time as with email. DOWNLOAD: To copy a file from one computer system to another. From the Internet user's point of view, to download a file is to request it from another computer (or from a Web page on another computer) and to receive it. EMAIL (Electronic Mail): A way of sending messages electronically from one computer to another, generally through a modem and telephone line connected to a computer. FREENET: A community network that provides free online access, usually to local residents, and often includes its own forums and news. HARDWARE: A term for the nuts, bolts, and wires of computer equipment and the actual computer and related machines. HOME PAGE: The site that is the starting point on the World Wide Web for a particular group or organization. HYPERTEXT LINK: An easy method for retrieving information by choosing highlighted words or icons on the screen. The link will take you to related documents or sites. HYPERTEXT TRANSFER PROTOCOL: A standard used by World Wide Web servers to provide rules for moving text, images, sound, video, and other multimedia files across the Internet.
ICON: A small picture on a Web page that represents the topic or information category
of another Web page. Frequently, the icon is a hypertext link to that page.  INTERNET: A worldwide collection of computer networks that allows people to find and use information and communicate with others. ISP (Internet Service Provider): A generic term for any company that can connect you directly to the Internet. MODEM: A device that allows computers to communicate with each other over telephone lines or other delivery systems by changing digital signals to telephone signals for transmission and then back to digital signals. Modems come in different speeds: the higher the speed, the faster the data is transmitted. MOUSE: A small device attached to the computer by a cord, which lets you give commands to the computer. The mouse controls an arrow on the computer screen and allows you to point and click to make selections. NETIQUETTE: Rules or manners for interacting courteously with others online (such as not typing a message in all capital letters, which is equivalent to shouting). ONLINE SERVICE: A company such as America Online or Prodigy that provides its members access to the Internet through its own special user interface as well as additional services such as chat rooms, children's areas, travel planning, and financial management. SEARCH ENGINE: A program that performs keyword searches for information on the Internet. SOFTWARE: A computer program or set of instructions. System software operates on the machine itself and is invisible to you. Application software allows you to carry out certain activities, such as word processing, games, and spreadsheets. URL (Uniform Resource Locator): The World Wide Web address of a site on the Internet. For example, the URL for the White House is http://www.whitehouse.gov. USENET NEWSGROUPS: A system of thousands of special interest groups to which readers can send or "post" messages; these messages are then distributed to other computers on the network. Usenet registers newsgroups, which are available through Internet Service Providers. VIRUS: A piece of programming code inserted into other programming to cause some unexpected and usually undesirable event, such as lost or damaged files. Viruses can be transmitted by downloading programming from other sites or be present on a diskette. The source of the file you're downloading or of a diskette you've received is often unaware of the virus. The virus lies dormant until circumstances cause its code to be executed by the computer. WEB BROWSER: A software program that lets you find, see, and hear material on the World Wide Web, including text, graphics, sound, and video. Popular browsers are Netscape, and AltaVista. Most online services have their own browsers. WORLD WIDE WEB (Web or WWW): A hypertext-based system that allows you to browse through a variety of linked Internet resources organized by colorful, graphics-oriented home pages. Back to the Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsThe Parents Guide to the Internet was made possible with the contributions of many people. We would like to acknowledge and pay special thanks to Paulette Lee of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement and to Aspen Systems for writing this Guide. Our thanks, also, to all of those inside and outside the Department of Education who contributed their time, effort, and expertise to help produce this booklet. We are especially grateful to the following organizations for their invaluable review of this publication: The Partnership for Family Involvement in Education, the Children's Partnership, the American Library Association, National Parent Information Network, the National PTA, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Coalition of Chapter I/Title I Parents National Parent Center, the ASPIRA Association, Project OPEN, and the National Urban League. A special thanks to Laurie Lipper for approval to include in the Guide portions of the glossary from the Children's Partnership's Parents' Guide to the Information Superhighway; to Tony Sorrentino of the Franklin Institute for sharing their outstanding online checklists; to David Eisner and Randy Legersky of America OnLine for providing the Parental Control screen graphic representation and to AltaVista for approval to use a representational drawing of its search engine. Particular acknowledgments go to Cynthia Dorfman, Linda Roberts, Terry Peterson, Barbara Vespucci, Kathy Perkinson, Kirk Winters, Adriana De Kanter, Lidice Rivas, and Julie Kaminkow of the U.S. Department of Education; Tom Kalil of the National Economic Council; and Jim Zawada of the Consumer Information Center for their valuable insights, critiques, and constant support throughout the development of this publication. Also, thanks to Kim Silverman for the cover design and layout, John Lee for the photographs, Roberta Toth for the illustrations, and Chris Sheedy for editing the Guide. Our appreciation to the those who allowed us to use their photographs in the cover design: Celest Washington, Ameia Moore-Stone, Kimanique Moore, Hieu Vu, and Brian Vu. We are indebted to the staffs of: the Office of Educational Research and Improvement's Media and Information Services; the Office of Technology; Planning and Evaluation Service; the National Library of Education; Office of Public Affairs; Office of the General Counsel; Office of Vocational and Adult Education; Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Office of Reform Assistance and Dissemination; and the Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs for the important roles they played in helping to bring this book to print. Back to the Table of ContentsReviewers
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Library Association
ASPIRA
The Children's Partnership
The National PTA
The National Coalition of Title I/Chapter 1 Parents
The National Parent Information Network
The National Urban League
The Partnership for Family Involvement in Education
Project OPEN Credits
MIS 97-6609
November 1997
U. S. Department of Education
U.S. Department of Education
Marshall S. Smith
Office of Educational Technology
Office of Educational Research and Improvement
Media and Information Services This publication was prepared under contract RK970742. Listing of materials and resources in this book should not be construed or interpreted as an endorsement by the Department of any private organization or business listed herein. The full text of this publication is available at the Department's home page at http://www.ed.gov/ and in alternate formats upon request. For more information, please contact us at:
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