Internet/Computer Basic Lessons

Antivirus Software
A program that will detect and remove computer viruses

Application
A program that helps the user accomplish a specific task; for example, a word processing program.

Attachment
A document file attached to an e-mail message.

Back Up
To make copies of important files in case the originals are damaged. Data can be backed up on external hard drives, floppy discs, CD-ROMs, zip disk, etc.

Bookmark
This is a feature of Gopher and most Web browsers. Important links can be saved in a bookmark file so they can be found immediately without having to look up the URL and type it in.

Bytes/Megabytes
Units of measurement used to describe the amount of information a computer can store. A byte is one character (a number, letter or symbol) consisting of 8 bits (binary digits). A bit is the smallest unit of information a computer can process. One megabyte (MB, mb, Mbyte, M-byte) has 1,048,576 bytes or 1,024 kilobytes.

CALL (Computer Aided Language Learning)
The use of computers in learning a language.

Chat
Real time or intentionally designed “almost” real time conversation on the WWW between users. A user enters a “chat room”, usually after entering a user name and password or e-mail address, then reads as others type, and responds. Some ESL sites offer chat.

Dial-up Connection
The telephone connection between your modem and the company that provides you with Internet service.

Digital
A form of representation in which distinct objects, or digits, are used to represent something in the real world. In the case of digitized images, this means that the image can be transmitted from one computer to another and reassembled.

Digital Camera
A camera that takes pictures without film, and records the images in digital form. The camera stores the snapshots in its memory for transfer to a computer.

Download
To copy a file from another computer to your computer. For instance, you might download a file, image or program from the Internet.

DSL
Digital Subscriber Line or Digital Subscriber Loop. A technology that enables high-speed transmission of digital data over regular copper telephone lines.

Electronic Mail
A simple system designed to allow the sending and receiving of messages across a network.

E-Mail
Short for Electronic mail.

File
This is information that is stored in the form of bytes on a computer or external digital storage medium and given a name.

Floppy Disk
A removable, portable magnetic disk on which data and programs can be stored. Also called diskettes, floppies come in 2 sizes. The older 5-1/4 inch version is physically more flexible than the currently more commonly used 3-1/2 inch disk, which comes in a hard protective case. 3½-inch floppies can store from 400K to 1.44MB of data.

Hard Disk
The main device that a computer uses to store information. Hard disks are rigid aluminum or glass disks about 3.5" in diameter in a personal computer, and smaller in a laptop.

Hardware
Physical components such as hard disks, printers, modems, scanners, cards, keyboards, mice, and the Mac or PC itself.

Home Page
The introductory page of a website. It is the starting point of a website which usually offers a table of contents for the other parts of the web site. Hot Spot Another name for link.

HTML (Hypertext Mark-up Language)
HTML refers to a technique for creating links from one file to another. The links in this file are usually connected to text (in which case it's called "hypertext") or graphics, and can, when activated by the click of a mouse or stroke of a key, display another document or graphic.

Hyperlink
A link in a web page that leads to another World Wide Web site, or another place within the same document. Hyperlinks are usually underlined or shown in a different color from the surrounding text. Sometimes hyperlinks are pictures.

Internet Service Provider (ISP)
An organization or company that provides access to the Internet, usually for a monthly fee.

Internet
A global network connecting millions of computers with no central control. It connects many smaller networks together and allows all the computers to exchange information with each other.

ISP
Short for Internet Service Provider.

Key-pal (e-pal, e-friend)
A pen pal who communicates via e-mail.

Keyword
Words or phrases used to search for a website.

Laptop Computer
A portable personal computer that is small enough to fit in a person's lap.

Link
A word, picture, or other area of a Web page that users can click on to move to another spot in the document or to another document. Words and phrases that are links may be underlined and usually appear in a contrasting color text.

ListServ
A mailing list program used by people with a common interest who subscribe to “the list.” The List Address is where one sends messages for everyone who has subscribed to the list. A thread is a series of replies to an original message on a list. The discussion forums in Dave’s ESL Café site use threads by topic, some with many replies.

Log on
Log in, login: the act of signing on to a computer system or network or on to the Internet by using a username and password to gain access.

Mac
A nickname for Macintosh computer.

Modem
A device that enables a computer to transmit data via telephone lines.

Navigate/surf
The act of spending time on the Internet, often just “looking around,” or browsing, moving from one website to another.

Network
A group of connected computers. Some software can be used by a network while others cannot. Some computer labs are networked.

Online
Having access to the Internet or being connected to the Internet at that moment.

Password
A secret series of characters that permits a person to access a file, computer, or program; a password is often needed after a user name has been entered.

Plug-in
Usually software, that is often free, downloadable from a web site, that gives access to animation, sound, video, etc. A number of ESL sites use multimedia that include plug-ins. Plug-ins can also refer to a plug-in module for hardware.

Portable Document Format (PDF) file
Developed by Adobe Systems, a PDF file captures information from a variety of publishing applications and lets the documents appear on the recipient’s monitor or printer exactly as intended. These documents can be opened by anyone surfing the net and are protected from anyone making changes in layout, fonts, etc. An example is an admissions application included in a college’s web site.

Random Access Memory (RAM)
The temporarily working memory of the computer used for storing data while in use. Information in RAM will disappear if the power is switched off if it is not saved to disk. Your computer specifications tell you how much RAM your computer has. Since software programs have minimum requirements for RAM, you need a computer that has enough to run single or multiple programs.

Search Engine
A program provided by different servers that helps one locate information on the Internet. Search engines have access to Internet databases that link one to Web pages containing the keywords one types into the “Search Box.” After clicking on “Go,” a list of document links containing the keywords pops up and one clicks on a link to go to that web site.

Server
A computer that stores information for other computers to access.

Software
A file or files containing instructions that tell the computer what to do.

Surfing
Slang for using a browser to move through the World Wide Web.

T1
A leased-line connection for the Internet.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
A World Wide Web address used to locate a Web page on the Internet. It usually begins with http:// (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol).

Virus
A program that infects a computer by attaching itself to another program, often from the Internet or a floppy disk. Viruses can destroy files or wipe out a hard drive and bring a system to a halt. They can also bypass security systems and spread throughout a network.

Web Browser
A software application used to locate and show Web pages once a user has access to the Internet. The two most popular web browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.

Web Page/Web Site
A document on the World Wide Web. It can contain text, pictures, movies, sounds, or links to other Web pages

Work-station
A single stand-alone computer such as a personal computer.

World Wide Web (WWW)
An interconnected set of hypertext documents located throughout the Internet. The documents are kept on computers called servers, which can send the documents to your computer. Zip disk A 3.5" removable cartridge used with the Iomega

Zip drive.
Zip disks can store 100MB or 250 MB, and are used to back up data or transfer data from one computer to another.

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