New to the Internet

Definitions | Surfing Safely | Trouble Surfing |Search Engines

Internet Resources
You're a Newbie!

Welcome! You've come to the newbie page. Don't worry about it. Everyone's new to the Internet at some point.

This portion of Castle's web site has been designed for the new Internet user as well as one who's been working online for a while. The links on this page were created to help all Internet users understand the world wide web a little bit better.

The "Definitions" section is where common Internet terminology and their definitions are listed.

The "Surfing Safely" section describes how the Internet is used in classrooms, some of the dangers the Internet can present, and responsibilities parents should accept when allowing their children to surf the web.

In the "Trouble Surfing?" section, general troubleshooting suggestions are given. This may prove to be especially helpful to the new Internet user.

Clicking on the "Search Engines" button takes you to a page with a variety of links to search engines.

We hope you enjoy perusing these pages!

Listed below are a number of definitions which may help users who are new to the Internet understand a little more about the basic concepts involved in how the Internet works.

address
A bunch of letters and/or numbers that tell the world who you are, followed by more letters and/or numbers that tell the world where you are. An address may look like this: www.fredflinstone.bedrock/wilma/ (see also url).

bounce
When you send email and it comes back to you marked as undeliverable.

chat
The electronic equivalent of CB radio. Person-to-person real-time conferencing.

cyberspace
The digital world of computers and the information that passes between them.

domain name
The part of an Internet address that comes after @.

download
To move data from another computer to your computer.

e-mail
Electronic mail. Messages are sent via a modern over a network.

FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions. Reading an Internet site's FAQ's saves you a great deal of time. These are found in public areas of many commercial online services and other sites.

gif
Graphics Interchange Format. A universal picture file that computers can read by using a gif viewer program.

homepage
The first page you see when you launch you web browser.

HTML
HyperText Markup Language. The language used to create a page for the web.

http
Hypertext Transfer Protocol. This is the way web pages are transferred over the Internet Most web addresses begin with http://.

hypertext
Text found of web pages that you can click to go to another location, page, or document or to be linked to sounds, graphics, or movies.

Internet
Also known as the Net. A bunch of computers hooked together by high-speed telephone lines and networks.

java
A programming language that gives your browser added functions, like animated icons and text, and that can also be translated to your computer's hard drive in the form of little programs that make web pages interactive.

jpeg
A compressed file format for pictures.

modem
A piece of electronics that translates what you type and create on your computer into a signal that can be sent through a phone line and recreated by another modem on the other end.

network
Basically, a bunch of computers strung together by wire. They could be wired together at one site or be connected via telephone or satellite.

newbie
Someone who's new to the Internet If you discover something new every time you log on, you're a newbie.

service provider
A company that supplies you with the connection needed to access the Internet

shareware
Software that you download and try out. If you keep the software, you are honor bound to send the author small fee.

shockwave
A Netscape Navigator "plug-in" (add-on tool) that enables you to view animation or movies made with Macromedia Director.

spam
Posting commercial messages to lots of unsuspecting users. A huge no-no on the Internet

upload
To move data from your computer to a host computer. See download.

url
Uniform Resource Locator. Basically, the address of any site which looks like this: http://www.flintstones.com

www
World Wide Web. The name that Internet gurus have given to a network of interconnected computers that can be accessed through software.

No matter what it's called--"cyberspace," "the digital highway," or "the web"--the Internet is a tool used by millions of people worldwide.

As an increasing number of school children are going "on line," parents need to understand what the Internet is, how it is used, and how they can insure their children will be safe when exploring website's. Hopefully, this page will answer some of your questions and give you tips on how to provide safety for your children while they surf the Internet.

THIS MESSAGE IS ESPECIALLY FOR PARENTS

Being online and learning new communication skills are essential for today's children. Working together, we can make your children's online environment a safe and rewarding experience for them. This page provides you with three easy steps to get started.

Take advantage of filtering tools
Filtering software like Cyber Patrol, Net Nanny, and Surf Control can help keep children from inappropriate web sites. Like the rest of the world, the Internet may contain some material that is inappropriate for young audiences. There are a number of ways you can control what your child can see and do online.

If you are using Internet Explorer, please do the following steps to enable the Content Advisor.

To set up and turn on the Content Advisor:

Click Tools on the IE menu bar.

Click Internet Options.

Click the Content tab

In the Content Advisor section, click Enable.

Think of a password you will easily remember and type it in the Password box, retype it in the Confirm Password box, and then click OK.

On the Rating tab, click Language, and then use the Rating slide bar to choose the type of content you want to restrict. Repeat for the other 3 categories, then click OK. once you've set your initial ratings, you can change them at any time by simply clicking the Settings button on the Content tab of Internet Options. You can turn off Content Advisor at any time by following steps 1-3 above, then clicking the Disable button. You will need to type in your Supervisor Password then click OK to complete the process.

Teach your children about online safety
It's important to teach your children about staying safe while using the internet.

They should know to never provide anyone online with any information about you or your family that would allow offline contact. This information includes last names, phone numbers, addresses, what school they attend, etc. Let them know to never, ever agree to meet someone in person without talking to you first and try to know their online friends.

A lot of times chat rooms become quite volatile. Tell your children never respond to bad or threatening language. They should instead report it to you or their teacher immediately so it can be reported it to the online service or Web site. Be sure to let them know that if someone in a chat room is saying things that make them uncomfortable, leave immediately.

Strange files, e-mails or Web addresses may contain hidden programs or a virus that could damage your computer or get access to your online account. If you receive anything like this you should simply delete them. Purchasing an anti-virus utility such as McAffee or Norton Anti-Virus often screen web content for malicious files.

Get to know your children's online world
Spend time with your children when they go online. The more involved you are with your children's online activities, the easier it will be to set limits that are appropriate. Filtering tools are a great way to tailor your child's online experience, but there is no substitute for parental involvement online.

As parents, you should get to know your children's online friends and their favorite online areas, just as you know their neighborhood friends and what they watch on television. In the end, there's no better safeguard than parental supervision.

What is the Internet?

The Internet is a network of computers that links millions of people around the world. By using the Internet, people can converse through email, provide information to others, or use information others have posted on the Internet

How is the Internet used in classrooms?

Students use the Internet in a variety of different ways. Examples of the ways students utilize this technological tool include:
conducting research using Internet information, encyclopedias, and books.
Visiting online museums and zoos, viewing photographs from current NASA expeditions, exploring education Internet website's,and taking virtual field trips.
Communicating with other people from around the world using email, which allows students to learn about different cultures.
Communicating with experts, such as astronauts, geologists, mathematicians, etc.
Collaborating with others on online educational projects.
Creating and publishing their own writing and research on Internet web pages which are available to audiences worldwide.
Becoming actively involved in learning which assists in promoting a lifelong love of learning.

Can the Internet be dangerous for my child?

We've all heard of cases where young people have accessed inappropriate material on the Internet We've also heard about young people being harassed through the Internet Keep in mind that these cases are few and far between, but the way they are widely publicized by the media makes us wonder if the Internet is safe for our children.

Although there are risks, we must put this issue into perspective. These cases are very infrequent, especially when compared to the beneficial, educational Internet use. Just as the public library may contain materials which are inappropriate for children, the Internet is no different. However, we can minimize the risks by:
giving students guidelines for using the Internet wisely; and,
monitoring how our children use the Internet

What are my responsibilities as a parent?

Many students have Internet access at home. Parents can follow these guidelines for safe Internet usage.

Always directly supervise your child's online sessions. Anytime your child is online, be in the same room.
Encourage your child to use the Internet responsibly.
Discuss safety rules as well as guidelines about accessing objectionable material.
Put the computer in a central place, rather than in the child's room.
Consider using software to block access to much of the Internet's objectionable material. Check with your Internet Provider to see if they automatically provide parental controls to their subscribers. If not, there are many software programs available for purchase.
If you don't know how to log on to the Internet, ask your child to show you. Spend this time to explain your own "Acceptable Use Policy."
Get to know the services your child is using--ask for a demonstration of what he or she is doing on the Internet
Make a habit of going over to the computer to learn about your child's Internet activities.

When Things Go Wrong
Sometimes there's absolutely nothing wrong with your computer or its software. It's the network. This situation may be the most frustrating kind of problem, because you're pretty helpless to do anything about it. Network errors have a habit of occurring right in the middle of a major project or presentation.

Listed below are some common network errors and what you can do about them.

Is the connection busy, or is the connection dead?

Web browsers, like Netscape Navigator, often display messages like this:
A network error occurred: unable to connect to server.
Error 404: Server not available or server may be down.
Does not have a DNS entry.

This can mean one of four things:
The server is too busy. Your connection's fine, but a couple thousand other people are ahead of you, and they're clicking their hearts out to get to the site. (Yes, they're as frustrated as you.)
The server is temporarily or permanently "sick" because of technical problems.
The pipeline is clogged...the network's just too busy.
You mistyped the URL (address). This is the one you can do something about.

Why do my graphics come up as "broken pictures"?

Sooner or later you will run into an icon that looks like a "broken picture". A "broken picture" means the images are unreadable because of bad or missing data, or because your connection is flaky.

You can:
click the "broken picture" icon, and the picture will reload.
click the reload button at the top of your browser's screen, and it will reload the entire page with fixed graphics.

My computer locks up when I'm using the Internet What can I do?

Sometimes when you're surfing, your computer will "freeze". This problem usually indicates some kind of memory conflict. The solution is different according to different computer models. Caution: You may choose to contact support personnel at your computer manufacturer's company instead of trying any of the solutions.

Upon restarting your computer, you can:
check to make sure only your Internet browser is open when you are surfing.
Check the application memory to make sure minimum memory requirements are being met.
Adjust memory within the application.

Why can't my e-mail be delivered?

Several things can cause your mail to be returned. Look for the reason in the "bounce" message that you receive from the host computer. Here are the most common reasons that mail doesn't get through and some ways to correct the problems.
Host Unknown: The Internet doesn't recognize the domain name that you entered. Check to make sure that you entered the correct address. Check spelling, spacing, and punctuation.
User Unknown: The mail made it to the host computer, but not to the person's address in the memory banks. Again, check to make sure you haven't made a spelling error and resend the mail.
Can't Send: The host is down. The best way to fight this problem is to wait about an hour and resend the email.
Service Unavailable: The mail is addressed correctly, but the electronic postmaster is out to lunch. Sometimes, this message means that the postmaster is just too busy to pay attention to your email at the present time. Again, wait about an hour, and resend the email.

One of the biggest challenges on the Internet is finding something that meets your specific needs. There's a lot of information--so much that looking for something takes some heavy research requiring more time than you can spare in your day. Spending a long time surfing with no useful results can leave you feeling very frustrated!

We have tried to make searching the Internet easier for you by placing links to several search engines on this page. New and experienced users often prefer to use a search engine comprised of several search engines.

Metacrawler utilizes the following seven search engines:

There are many other search engines on the Internet You might choose a specific one which best meets your particular needs. Other search engines you might want to try include: