ED526 INTERNET LITERACY FOR EDUCATORS

PROJECT 1: RESEARCH PROJECT

Bonnie Whisler

History of the internet

What is it?

How has it grown?

Where is it headed?

Part 1: What is the internet?

According to the Internet Society

“The Internet is at once a world-wide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for information dissemination, and a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without regard for geographic location.”

How has it grown?

According to information from the How Stuff Works website, the internet has been around since 1969. It further states that the internet began with just four host computer systems but has grown to tens of millions. It is a hierarchy of networks in that every computer that is connected to the internet is part of a network.

Where is it headed?

The Learn the Net website says, “The incubator for many of the emerging technologies shaping the future is known as Internet2.” This is a not a single network, but a consortium of hundreds of high-speed networks linked by fiber optic backbones that span the United States and links to other countries.

“The network transmits data at speeds up to 2.4 gigabits per second--45,000 times faster than a 56 Kbps modem-- allowing scientists to test their laboratory discoveries in the real world.” “Internet2's high-speed network, previously reserved for research institutions, is expanding to include additional colleges and K-12 schools. That could mean a national education network connecting thousands of schools around the country. The backbone network, called Abilene, supports high-quality audio and video.”

Potential applications include a digital video archive of best practices for teacher training, videoconferencing that would enable schoolchildren to take a virtual tour of the Smithsonian, and allow for musical collaborations between musicians in different

geographic locations.

Sources:What is the internet?

http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml

How has it grown?

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet-infrastructure.htm

http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2001/03/42112

Where is it headed?

http://www.learnthenet.com/english/html/03future.htm

http://www.gcis.ca/english/cdne-096-oct-09-2001.html

Part 2: Phishing

What is it?

Examples of how it is it being used today.

How would I use it in my curriculum?

What is it?

According to Wikipedia when computing “phising is a criminal activity using social engineering techniques. Phisers attempt to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.” The term is a variant of fishing and alludes to the use of sophisticated lures to “fish” for a user’s password and financial information.

Examples of how it is used today:

In this Pay Pal example spelling mistakes in the email and the presence of an IP address in the link are both clues of a phishing attempt. Another clue is the lack of a personal greeting.

Damages caused by phishing range from loss of access to email to financial loss to identity theft. Approximately 1.2 million computer users in the United States between May 2004 and May 2005 lost about $929 million due to phishing.

How would I use it in my curriculum?I would not use phising in my curriculum other than to make my students aware of what it is and to use extreme caution when emails ask for personal information.

What is phising? All examples.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phising

Sources:

Picturehttp://people.howstuffworks.com/enlargeimage.htm?terms=phishing&gallery=1&page=1

Part 3: Social Networking

What is it?

What is its impact on society?

What is its impact on education?

What is it?Whatis.com defines social networking as the practice of expanding the number of one’s business and/or social contacts by making connections through individuals. Social networking has gone on almost as long as societies themselves existed. The potential of the Internet to promote such connections is only now being fully recognized and exploited through Web-based groups established for that purpose.

Examples:MySpace.com is an example of social networking.

Another example is Google Docs

What is its impact on society?

There is a lot of information on social networking and its impact on society. One I found interesting was taken from New Scientist Print Edition. It states that for some people things move from “I have a feeling, I want to call a friend” to “I want to feel something, I need to make a call”. In either case, what is not being cultivated is the ability to be alone and to manage and contain one’s emotions.

What is its impact on education?Social networking impacts education in different ways. The following is only one way.According to eSchool Newsonline, social networking might be a way for schools to increase student access to, and participation in, course activities. Campus-based sites offer a safe space for students to build ties with community members. The university of Pennsylvania offers incoming freshmen membership in “Pennster,” a social-networking site, so they can get to know their classmates before they arrive on campus.

Whatis.com

MySpace.com

Google Docs

New Scientist Print Edition; http://blog.xleo.com.ar/2006/09/21/the-impact-of-social-networking-on-society/

eSchoolnews.com

Sources: