Glossary of ICT and Internet Terms

WORLD WIDE WEB (www)

The component of the Internet that combines audio, video, and graphics with text is also called the web or simply the www. It is a subset of the Internet and is a collection of documents and applications residing on the Internet servers around the world.

www was the brainchild of Tim Berners-Lee, who in 1989 invented the HTML coding language that ft the basis of the web. www became a public service in 1993. It opened the Internet to millions of people interested in finding information. It is a huge collection of resources of information, including learning materials, which is accessed by means of a computer program known as a browser, www is only a part of the Internet, but many people treat both the terms as synonyms.

www consists of documents called web pages that contain information on a particular topic. A web page might also contain one or more links that point to other web pages. A website is a location on the www.

Web Browsers

A web browser is a software that permits a user, with the click of a mouse, to locate, display, and download text, video, audio, and graphics stored in a host computer on the web.

A browser helps in opening up pages and in their navigation as well. It acts as an interface between the user and the inner working of the Internet, specifically the www. There are different browsers for different platforms and with multiple features. Some popular browsers are enlisted as below:

1. Internet Explorer
2. Mozilla Firefox 3.5
3. Opera
4. Safari 4.0

Cross-platform browsers: They can operate on more than one platform such as Windows, Mac, Linux etc. Sea Monkey, Flock, K-Melon are different examples of cross-platform browsers.

A browser can be (i) graphical or (ii) text based. The main examples of graphical browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Mosaic, and Opera. Lynx can be taken as an example of text-based browser.

Here, it is important to mention that web browsing or the Internet surfing is the process of visiting different websites on the Internet.

The web browser can also store a list of favourite sites, often called bookmarks, to permit the user to jump directly to the site they wish to see instead of having to enter its URL every time.

Domain Name

It is the unique name that identifies an Internet site or web site. Domain names always have two or more parts, separated by dots. The part on the left is the most specific, and the part on the right is the most general. A given machine may have more than one domain name but a given domain name points to only one machine.

Domain names are the alphabetical names used to refer to computers on the Internet. The suffix indicates what type of an organization is hosting the site. There are six main categories which are follows:

1. .corn: Commercial institutions or organization
2. .edu: Educational institutions
3. .gov: Government sites
4. .mil: Military sites
5. .net: Gateways and administrative hosts
6. .org: Private organizations

Domain Name Server

A special type of Internet computer which converts a website’s domain name into a unique numerical IP address that identifies the computer where the website is stored. When you try to connect to a website with a domain name such as hull.ac.uk (University of Hull), a request is first made to a name server to resolve this name into an IP address, which is then used to locate the computer where the website is stored and to establish a connection with it.

Internet Protocol Address (IP Address)

It is the unique numerical address of a computer on the Internet, expressed as four sets of numbers (maximum 3 digits each) separated by dots, for example, 150.237.176.24. Computers on the Internet are nearly always referred to by more memorable domain names, which are mapped onto their IP addresses by special Internet computers known as name servers.

Home Page

The main page of a website is its home page. Typically, the home page serves as an index or table of contents to other documents stored at the site (i.e., the address). A home page is similar to the title page and table of contents in a book. It identifies the site and contains links to other pages at the site called Microsoft Explorer.

Hyperlink

An element in a hypertext document that is highlighted by means of underlining or the use of a different colour. When highlighted element 15 clicked, the user is connected with another element in the same document or another document.

Firewall

A firewall is a software package that sits between the computer and the Internet connection keeping an eye on the traffic going to and fro. If anything suspicious appears, such as an unauthorized attempt from a remote computer to write information to the hard disc or to send information from one’s computer to a remote computer, it will block it and warn the user.

Firewalls have become essential these day. because of the frequent attempts being made by hackers to grab confidential information from computers all around the world, for example. one’s bank or credit card details, which may be stored in a file somewhere on one’s computer. Any computer is vulnerable when connected to the Internet

Voice over the Internet Protocol (VoIP)

It is another name for the Internet telephony.

Search Engine

It is a program that searches documents for specified keywords and returns a list of documents where the keywords were found.

The most popular search engines are Google and Yahoo. Baidu is a search engine developed by China. A meta search engine is a search tool that sends user requests to several other search engines and/or databases and aggregates the results into a single list or displays them according to their source.

The Internet search system which locates documents that contain the keywords specified by the user is termed as wide-area information server (WAIS).

Electronic Mail

Commonly referred to as email or e-mail since approximately 1993, it is a paperless method of sending messages, notes, or letters from one person to another or even many people at the same time via the Internet. E-mail is very fast compared to the normal post. E-mail messages usually take only a few seconds to arrive at their destination. One can send messages anytime of the day or night and it gets delivered immediately. Modem e-mail operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Today’s e-mail systems are based on a store-and-forward model. E-mail servers accept, forward, deliver, and store messages. Neither the users nor their computers are required to be online simultaneously they need to connect only briefly, typically to an e-mail server, for as long as it takes to send or receive messages. When sender sends an e-mail, it leaves the computer and travels first to ISP; then it may travel through many host computers to reach its final destination.

Historically, the term electronic mail was used generically for any electronic document transmission. For example, several writers in the early 1970s used the term to describe fax document transmission. As a result, it is difficult to find the first citation for the use of the term with the more specific meaning that it has today.

The Internet e-mail message consists of three components such as

1. Message envelope
2. Message header
3. Message body

The message header contains control information, including, minimally, an originator’s e-mail address and one or more recipient addresses. Usually, descriptive information is also added, such as a subject header field and a message submission date or time stamp.

An e-mail predates the inception of the Internet and was in fact a crucial tool in creating it, but the history of modern, global Internet e-mail services reaches back to the early ARPANET. Standards for encoding e-mail messages were proposed as early as 1973. Conversion from ARPANET to the Internet in the early 1980s produced the core of the current services. An e-mail sent in the early 1970s looks quite similar to a basic text message sent on the Internet today.

Address book: Usually, it is supplied as part of your e-mail software. An address book in this sense is used to keep a record of all the e-mail addresses of people whom you may wish to contact by e-mail.

Adware: Adware is a software that may have been installed on your computer by a remote computer, that is, via the web.

AJAX (combination of asynchronous Java script and XML): Web programming tool (or rather a set of tools) which makes it possible to create interactive web applications AJAX is a programming tool that is used extensively in what are known as web 2.0 applications.

Apache: It is the most popular web server software on the www. Apache mainly runs on UNIX systems.

Applet: It is a small program written in the Java programming language and embedded in a web page. When you use your browser to access a web page, an applet may run inside the web page, as it were, to perform an interactive animation, make a calculation or carry out another simple task.

Archive: Used to describe documents or files that are not immediately needed but which should not be completely discarded. An archive may be stored on an external hard disc, CD-ROM, DVD, or other storage devices.

Attachment: It is a term used in connection with an e-mail. An attachment can be a file of almost any kind—a document file, an image file, a sound file, or a video clip—that you can add, that is, attach, to an e-mail.

Audio conferencing: It is a computer-based communication system that allows a group of computer users at different locations to conduct a virtual conference in which the participants can hear one another, as if they were in the same room participating in a real conference. Unlike video-conferencing, audio-conferencing systems do not allow the participants to see one another.

Authoring   package/authoring   program/ Authoring tool: These terms describe content-free software packages that allow the teacher to develop interactive learning and teaching materials without having to have a detailed knowledge of a computer programming language. These terms may also be applied to software packages used for creating web pages, for example, FrontPage or Dreamweaver.

Bandwidth: It is the amount of data that can be sent from one computer to another through a particular connection in a certain amount of time, for example, via a computer to the Internet and vice versa. The more the bandwidth, the faster is the access to information. Bandwidth is usually measured in Kbps or Mbps.

Baud: It is a unit of measurement at which data can be transferred (i.e., the baud rate), for example, over a telephone line via a modem or from a computer to an external device such as a printer. Baud is rarely used nowadays, as transfer rates are normally expressed in Kbps or Mbps.

Blog: A blog (short form for web log) is an online diary in which an individual records and publishes his/her thoughts on one or more subjects. A blog can* contain news items, short essays, annotated links, documents, graphics, and multimedia. These posts are usually in reverse chronological order and often take the form of a journal or diary. Blogger refers to someone who blogs, that is, who regularly writes blogs.

Conferencing: Computer conferencing is a development of e-mail designed to support many-to-many communication, whereby computer users in different locations can take part in a virtual conference. A conference usually consists of a group of participants who have a common interest in the conference subject matter. Computer conferencing software enables organizing, storing, structuring, and retrieving of messages.

Cookie: A piece of information stored on a user’s computer by a web browser, when the user visits a website for the first time. Websites use cookies to recognize users who have previously visited them. The next time the user visits that site, the information in the cookie is sent back to the site so that the site can tailor what it presents to the user, for example, tastes in music or shopping habits.

Course Management System (CMS): It is a type of virtual learning environment (VLB), for example, Moodle.

Crawler: A crawler is a program that searches the web for new links, new content, and changes in order to keep the search engine results up to date. A crawler may also be called a bot (short form for robot) or spider. Crawlers, within the search engines, perform a useful indexing function, but there are also crawlers or bots that have more sinister motives, such as gathering addresses to be targeted by spammers.

Executable: This describes a program which has been converted (compiled) into binary machine code. If you double-click on an executable program name in Windows Explorer, it will immediately execute itself—that is, run. Executables usually have the Extension .exe or .corn.

Extension: In computer jargon, an extension is an optional addition, usually consisting of a dot plus three or four letters, to the name of a file. The extension to the filename helps the computer (and the user) recognize what type of file it is and what it may contain, for example, .doc is a Word document file, .exe is a computer program, .jpg or .jpeg is a picture file, and .htm or .html is a web page file.

Host: It refers to computer that provides services to other computers that are linked to it, via a local network or via the Internet.

Hypermedia: It is an extension of hypertext that integrates audio, video, and graphics with text (like multimedia).

Hypertext: It is the technology that links text in one part of a document with related text in other part of the document or in other documents. A user can quickly find the related text by clicking on the appropriate keyword, key phrase, icon, or button.

Interactive Whiteboard (IWB): A touch-sensitive projection screen that allows the teacher to control a computer directly by touching the screen, that is, the whiteboard, rather than using a keyboard or a mouse.

iPod: It is the name of a portable (mobile) media player designed and marketed by Apple.

Java: A programming language, invented by Sun Microsystems, that is specifically designed for writing programs which can be downloaded to one’s computer through the Internet and immediately executed. Java is a programming language designed for programs or applets used over the Internet.

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group): A format for storing complex graphics in compressed form.

Mashup: A mashup is a web page that brings together the data from two or more web services and combines the data into a new application with added functionality.

Microblogging: It is an approach to blogging in which very short texts are posted containing snippets of information about events, websites, and other sources.

Moodle:  Moodle is an open source software, which means one is free to download, use modify, and even distribute it.

Netbook: A netbook is a small, lightweight computer, smaller than a laptop computer, with a long battery life, and ideal for travelling. Netbook computers have built-in Wi-Fi and are optimized for browsing the web and e-mail.

Open Source : It is used to describe a software that is provided free of charge, along with the original source code used to create it, so that anyone can modify, improve and work in ways that reflect their own preferences. Moodle is the typical example of an open source software.

Optical Character Recognition:  Optical character recognition (OCR) software is used in conjunction with a scanner to convert the printed text into a digital format.

Personal Digital Assistant (PDA): It is a handheld device that combines computing, audio communication, browsing, and networking features and serves as an organizer for personal information.

Portable Network Graphics: Portable network group (PNG) is a graphics format specifically designed for use on the www. PNG enables compression of images without any loss of quality, including high-resolution images.

Pixel: A contraction of picture element.

Podcast: The term podcast takes its name from a combination of iPod and broadcasting. Podcasts can simply be downloaded to a computer and played using a standard media player program.

Pop-up: It is a small window that appears within a program or over the top of a web page to deliver additional information. Pop-ups on the web can be annoying as they are often used for unwanted advertising material.

Portal: It is a web page, website, or service that acts as a link or entrance to other websites on the Internet. Typically, a portal includes an annotated catalogue of websites and may also include a search engine, e-mail facilities, a forum, and other services.

Public Domain: It is a material that is either copyright free, or whose copyright has expired, or which cannot be copyrighted. Many people think that because something is on the web, it must be in the public domain. This is not so. A work is in the public domain only if it is explicitly stated to be so.

RSS: It is a development in the Internet technology that enables the users to subscribe to websites that change or add content regularly, for example, news sites (such as the BBC) and sites containing blogs, nings, podcasts, and Wikis. RSS makes use of software that presents new additions.

Smiley: In e-mail messages, a facial expression constructed sideways (for the lateral-minded) with standard characters is called a smiley. It is also referred to as an emoticon (emotions with icons).

Server: It is a computer which provides services to other computers, known” as clients.

Smartphone: A smartphone is an advanced mobile phone that offers a wide range of applications. In addition to functioning as a mobile phone, smartphones can be used as a media player, a camera, a GPS navigation device, and a web browser—and in many other ways. Apple’s iPhone is a typical example of a smartphone, using a touchscreen for typing and to run applications.

Social Media: It is a term used to describe a variety of web 2.0 applications that enable people to share images, audio recordings, and video recordings via the web and also initiate discussions about them.

Social Networking: It is a term applied to a type of website where people can seek other people who share their interests, find out what’s going on in their areas of interest, and share information with one another.

Spam: These are unsolicited e-mail advertisements, the Internet equivalent of junk mail.

Splog: The splog site creator (i.e., a splogger) begins by finding a subject that attracts lot of visitors. Then, the splogger sets up a blog that plagiarizes content from other sites dealing with this subject. Splogs may consist of hundreds of blogs with plagiarized content, containing multiple links to selected websites.

Simultaneous Peripheral Operations Online (SPOOL): Using this technique, the output is not directly sent to the printer. It is first transferred to an intermediary storage medium such as a disk file. Output can be stored in separate files and printed at a later stage depending upon the availability of time and storage.

Spyware: It is a term that may be used synonymously with adware but implies more sinister motives on the part of the person who has dumped it onto your computer, for example, with a view to steal private information such as bank account numbers, credit card numbers, passwords, and so on.

Tablet Computer: A tablet computer is a compact portable computer that makes use of a touchscreen instead of a keyboard for typing and running applications. Apple’s iPad is a typical example of a tablet computer.

Tag: Tagging has become more common in recent years as a result of widespread use of social media for sharing images, audio recordings. video recordings, website references, and so on. Tags are labels that briefly describe what the media or references are all about and help other people find them quickly. Tags are also used in HTML, to define how the onscreen text is rendered by the browser.

Tandem Learning (Buddy Learning): A form of learning in which two language learners pair up in order to learn each other’s language. This may take place face-to-face or via the Internet, including using virtual worlds such as second life.

Text File or Textfile: A data file consisting entirely of printable ASCII characters, that is, plain unformatted text. Text files often have a .txt extension after the filename (e.g., readme .txt) and their contents can be viewed using programs such as Windows Notepad. The term text file is also used to describe files, that is, texts, created by authoring packages such as Fun with Texts, which then manipulates the texts into a set of activities for completion by the learner.

Video Conferencing: A computer-based communication system that allows a group of computer users at different locations to conduct a virtual conference in which the participants can see and hear one another as if they were in the same room participating in a real conference.

Vodcast: It is the short form of video podcast. This podcast incorporates video as well as audio features.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP): It is audio communication using the Internet instead of telephones. Skype and Ventrilo are examples of VoIP.

Wireless Application Protocol (WAP): A system that enables users to browse online services such as information about the weather, traffic conditions, shopping, and so on via a special type of mobile phone. WAP is the mobile phone equivalent of www. Newer mobile phones include WAP browser software to allow users access to WAP sites.

Website: An area on the www where an organization or individual stores a collection of pages of material—web pages. The pages are usually interlinked with one another and with other web-sites. Every website has a unique web address or URL.

Wi-Fi: Wireless fidelity, also known as high

frequency wireless local area network. Wi-Fi systems use high-frequency radio signals to transmit and receive data over distances of several hundred feet. Many hotels, educational institutions, railways, and airports offer Wi-Fi access to people using laptops.

Wiki: A website or a similar online resource which allows anyone to set up a resource in which the content can be created collectively. It allows anyone who views the wiki to add or to edit the existing content. Wiki also refers to the software used to create such website.

Wikipedia: It is the best known example of a wiki. It is a collaboratively written encyclopaedia.

Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C): An international non-profit organization which acts as a resource centre for the www, and is active in setting technical standards.

Zip Drive: A type of disc drive that accepts portable zip discs. Zip drives themselves are also portable and can be connected to almost any computer.

Zip: Used as a verb to describe the process of compacting files or programs in order to cut down the amount of storage space they require by compressing them into one tightly-packed file and thus to make it easier for them to be transported on floppy discs or transmitted electronically to other locations, for example, via the Internet. Proprietary programs, such as WinZip or WinRar, can be used to zip data and files. Zipped files are recognized by the Extension .zip or .rar (for files created with WinRar) and have to be unzipped before they can be used, again using proprietary programs.