Ashfield Boys’ High School Information Technology (VET)
ICPMM63BA
Access the Internet
Unit purpose
Successful completion of the Access the Internet unit will enable the student to understand the
functions of the Internet and the various tools used to access, send and retrieve information
and files.
Elements of competency for the unit are as follows:
1. Identify and use local resources
Students should be able to:
Identify and correctly start Internet software applications either on or off line
Scan downloaded files for viruses prior to opening
Use decompression software to extract files for viewing
Identify Internet protocols and connections
Avoid security risks
2. Identify and use remote resources
Students should be able to:
Access files and documents using Internet search engines
Browse the Internet to find related sites via links
Retrieve files from a FTP repository
Send, download, read and respond to e-mails
Retrieve attached files from incoming e-mails and send files with outgoing e-
mails as attachments
Access newsgroups relevant to the IT industry
Yr 12 IT 1 www.teachers.ash.org.au/ozmused/itclass.htm
Ashfield Boys’ High School Information Technology (VET)
Glossary of terms
Anonymous Sites that offer files that are open to the
FTP site general public for downloading.
Archie A search engine for anonymous FTP sites.
Attachments Files that are sent separately from, but
attached to, an e-mail message.
BCC Blind Carbon Copy
Bookmarks Listings that you create to list sites you
visit often or would like to quickly return
to.
Browser A software program that translates and
allows you to view HTML files.
Cache The location where browsers keep a copy
of recently visited pages.
CC Carbon Copy
Checksum A mathematical calculation that verifies
whether the data being transferred in a
packet has been corrupted.
File Refers to files that have been reduced in
Compression size using file compression software.
Cookies Text files that visited Web sites store on
you computers hard disk.
Domain The name of a particular Internet site.
Download The act of copying information from a
distant computer to your local computer.
Yr 12 IT 2 www.teachers.ash.org.au/ozmused/itclass.htm
Ashfield Boys’ High School Information Technology (VET)
E-mail Electronic mail – messages that are sent
and received electronically.
FTP File Transfer Protocol - Protocol used to
transfer files between two computers.
Flame A rude or inflammatory e-mail message.
FAQ Frequently Asked Questions – List of
questions and answers to the most
commonly asked question about a topic.
Gopher Text-based Internet protocol that allows
people to view documents in a menu-
driven environment.
Hacker A person who illegally gains access to
computer systems.
Hits The number of matches a search engine
returns based on the search topic.
Home page The main or introductory Web page for a
site.
Inbox The location where new e-mail messages
arrive.
Mailing list An automated software program that
distributes your message to a large group
of people via e-mail. Also known as a
listserver or listprocessor.
Netiquette The etiquette rules of the Internet.
Newsgroup Discussion group or forum.
Newsreader A software program designed to read
newsgroup articles.
Packet The process where packets are transferred
switching over the Internet via different paths.
Plug-ins Software applications that expand a
browser‟s basic capabilities by becoming
extensions of the browser itself.
Yr 12 IT 3 www.teachers.ash.org.au/ozmused/itclass.htm
Ashfield Boys’ High School Information Technology (VET)
Protocol A set of standards, rules or procedures.
Search engine A tool to help locate information.
Shareware Software you can use free of charge for a
trial period, usually 30 days, after which
time the user is expected to pay for the
program.
TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet
Protocol - the fundamental suite of
programs that determine how information
is sent over the Internet.
URL Uniform Resource Locator – an address on
the Internet.
USENET An Internet service made up of discussion
groups called newsgroups to which you can
subscribe or join.
WWW World Wide Web – the documents that
reside on computers on the Internet.
Other resources
Web Sites
1. www.tamtafe.nsw.edu.au - Information Technology, Old Courses, Certificate III
Information Technology – 3601, Introduction to the Internet – 3617D. This site has
notes and exercises which are very relevant to this unit.
2. www.whatis.techtarget.com - This site has glossaries and definitions relating to all
Information Technology topics.
3. www.netguide.com.au - A monthly magazine which contains up-to-date information
about the Internet.
4. http://library.albany.edu/internet/ - This site has various tutorials on connecting to
the Internet, using the Internet for research, and understanding the World Wide Web
etc.
Texts
Select Lab Series, Projects for the Internet – Ericksen and Kim
Australian NetGuide magazine
Yr 12 IT 4 www.teachers.ash.org.au/ozmused/itclass.htm
Ashfield Boys’ High School Information Technology (VET)
Activity 1
Research activity. Answer the following questions in the space provided.
1. What is the Internet?
2. What is the WWW?
3. Briefly outline how a modem works.
4. What is a packet and what does it contain?
5. Name two types of browser software.
Yr 12 IT 5 www.teachers.ash.org.au/ozmused/itclass.htm
Ashfield Boys’ High School Information Technology (VET)
6. Identify the following parts of the URL http://www.tafensw.edu.au/courses.htm
a. protocol
b. host name
c. filename
7. List three advantages of the Internet.
8. Define the term „firewall‟.
9. Why are most downloadable files on the Internet compressed?
10. List three disadvantages of the Internet.
11. What is a search engine?
Yr 12 IT 6 www.teachers.ash.org.au/ozmused/itclass.htm
Ashfield Boys’ High School Information Technology (VET)
12. What is the difference between a newsgroup and a mailing list?
13. Why would you sometimes use a Search Engine and other times use an FTP or Archie
server?
14. What is a plug-in?
15. What is a browser and what does it do?
16. What is a cookie?
Yr 12 IT 7 www.teachers.ash.org.au/ozmused/itclass.htm
Ashfield Boys’ High School Information Technology (VET)
17. Name five examples of search engines.
18. What needs to be placed around text to instruct a search engine to treat the text as a
phrase?
19. What can you use to create a list of frequently visited web sites?
20. What is included in the header of an e-mail?
Yr 12 IT 8 www.teachers.ash.org.au/ozmused/itclass.htm
Ashfield Boys’ High School Information Technology (VET)
Activity 2
Answer the following questions in relation to the movie “Warriors Of the Internet” –
the movie will either be shown to the whole class as set up by the teacher or can be found in
the Resources folder on r: drive
1. What process does a packet of data go through before being sent out on to the
Internet?
2. What do they mean by “accidents can happen” in data transfer?
3. What does the ROUTER do?
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Ashfield Boys’ High School Information Technology (VET)
4. Explain the purpose of data travelling through a proxy (ie; proxy server).
5. Are packets the same size? Why?
6. a) Who determines if a URL is “acceptable” WHEN READ BY THE proxy
server?
B) Give an example of what may be unacceptable & explain why?
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Ashfield Boys’ High School Information Technology (VET)
7. What 2 purposes does a FIREWALL serve?
8. Describe BANDWIDTH.
9. Explain briefly the relationship between switches & routers on the Internet.
10. Name 4 links (“paths”) packets of data take to travel from one computer to another.
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Ashfield Boys’ High School Information Technology (VET)
11. Describe in the processes packets go through on arriving to their “destination”.
Yr 12 IT 12 www.teachers.ash.org.au/ozmused/itclass.htm