back / forward buttons

 Toolbar buttons with arrows or text indicating back or forward. These buttons open the previous or next document in the browser's history folder. The back button allows you to return to the previous document viewed.

bookmark

A computer procedure that allows a user to save (file) the URL of a Web site in order to return to it easily.

bookmarking

A way of storing pointers to the URLs of favorite Web sites in your browser.

browser

A software program that allows a computer user to access, view and interact with the text and images of Web pages. Also known as a Web browser.

bulletin board

A public listing of electronic messages and their responses. On a bulletin board, messages are threaded: responses are listed under the message being responded to. Participants can read and respond, either to the original message, or to one of the responses. These responses are then listed and threaded, and can then be further responded to.

chat

A networked software program that enables multiple users to carry on real time "conversations" with each other by typing messages on their computers and sending them over a local network or the Internet. Chat participants can immediately read and respond to messages, like in a spoken discussion.

click

Using the mouse, to position the cursor over text or an image and to press and quickly release one of the mouse buttons. To click a hypertext link opens that document.

clipboard

A temporary storage area of the computer's memory, where text or images can be stored while being copied or moved. Caution: The clipboard can hold only one item at a time. Be sure to paste one item before copying a second item.

copy

To highlight a piece of text and place it on the computer's clipboard for use in another location.

cursor

 The on-screen place-marker and pointer. The place of the cursor can be manipulated by the mouse, arrows and by typing. Note: In a word-processing document, the cursor cannot be placed below the last line entered by the keyboard.

cut

To highlight and then remove a piece of data (text, graphic, table, etc.) from a document. Data can be cut either to move it (paste it into another location) or to get rid of it.

cyber-

Prefix for anything regarding computers or the Internet.

double-click

To click a mouse button twice rapidly (see click). Double clicking performs specific command tasks. For example, double clicking an application icon opens the application, or double clicking a word highlights the word.

e-mail

Electronic mail: Text messages sent from one computer user to another, by means of an Information/Internet Service Provider. The user sends the message over a network or over phone lines to his/her ISP's server (a special computer), which in turn sends it over the Internet to the recipient's mailbox on his/her ISP's server, from which the recipient can access the message.

highlight

Using a mouse to select certain text. Starting with the cursor at one end of a piece of text, the mouse button is held down as the mouse is moved across the piece of text. As the mouse moves, the text changes color. The highlighted text can then be copied, moved, etc.

history folder

A file saved by your browser that keeps track of recent URLs visited.

Homepage

HTML

 HyperText Markup Language, the language used to add tags to a text file to create links, and so that the file is able to be interpreted by a Web browser.

HTTP

HyperText Transfer Protocol; the protocol that is the set of rules governing the software that transports HTML documents along the Internet.

hypertext

 Electronic text in a format that provides instant access, by way of links, to other hypertext within a document or in another document on the Internet.

icon

 An on-screen button containing a unique symbol (a graphic) representing a file, application or command.

image

 An electronically stored picture.

Internet, the

 In its most general sense, an internet is a large computer network made up of a number of smaller networks. When capitalized, it refers to the physical network that makes up the World Wide Web and makes global e-mail and document transfer possible. The Internet is the network and its applications; the Web is its HTML formatted content.

link

 Short for hyperlink, a link refers to a hot spot in a Web document. A link can be an icon or text. A text-link is usually highlighted with a different color than the surrounding text. Links can be clicked to open an object in the same or a different document, or an HTML page on the Web.

menu

An on-screen list of available command choices

menu bar

A bar across the top of a screen which contains the names of pull-down menus.

mouse

A palm-sized input device that allows a computer user to control various computer functions. By moving the mouse and pressing buttons, a user can reposition the cursor or make many other command choices.

Net, the

When capitalized, this is an abbreviation for the Internet, or the World-wide Web.

netiquette

Net - etiquette, Web manners; an unwritten code of rules for preserving courtesy on, and efficient use of, the Internet.

page

A Web page: An individual frame of content on the World Wide Web, defined by a single HTML file and referenced by a single URL.

paste

 To cut or copy a piece of data (text, graphic, table, etc.) from one location and place it into another location.

post

To send a message to a bulletin board, forum, or online publication.

save

 To transfer data (a document, file, etc.) from a computer's random access memory (RAM), where it can be erased, to a more "permanent" storage medium, such as a disk or hard drive. Tip: To avoid lost data, save often while you work. For more protection, back up all important documents with a second copy on another medium. Save you work about every five minutes.

search engine

A software application or service used to locate Web files by using a database search by keywords, for example, Excite, Yahoo!, WebCrawler, Infoseek, and Lycos.

server

A special computer, or its software, that "serves" other computers on a network by administering files and network operations.

site

A collection of related Web pages, residing on the same server and interconnected by hotlinks.

surf

Slang for "to browse the Internet." Can refer to browsing aimlessly, for entertainment, personal interest or curiosity rather than seeking out specific content.

toolbar

 A bar across the top of the computer screen (window) containing buttons (icons)which each represent a distinctive, frequently used command.

URL

 Uniform Resource Locator, an Internet address; the address that specifies the electronic location of an Internet resource (file). To access a Web document, the URL must be typed in exactly; any variation will lead to an error message.

A URL usually consists of four parts: protocol, server (or domain), path, and file name-although sometimes there will not be a path or file name. Here's an example of a URL on the World Wide Web: http://www.gpc.edu:8900/public/esl012/index.html.

• http is the protocol
• www.gpc.edu is the server/domain
• 8900/public/esl012 is the path
• index.html is the file name.

Web, the

World Wide Web, WWW: The content of the Internet; A collection of multimedia content, connected by hyperlinks. The Internet is the network and its applications; the Web is its HTML formatted content.

Web browser

A software program that allows a computer user to access, view and interact with the text and images of Web pages. Also known as a browser.

Web page

 A Web page: An individual frame of content on the World Wide Web, defined by a single HTML file and referenced by a single URL.

WebCT

 A software suite developed by the University of British Columbia, Canada, that enables instructors to develop, deliver, and manage courses on the Web. WebCT offers a series of course tools to allow the course to be interactive.

welcome page

 _1. A Home Page; the main page of a Web site. Home pages generally contain links to both additional locations within the site, or external sites. _2. The first page of a Web-course site; accessible without a password, where other pages are password protected.

word processing

 Using a computer software application to create, edit, proofread, format and print documents.

word processor

 A computer software application which is used to create, edit, proofread, format and print documents.

World Wide Web

 The Web, WWW: The content of the Internet; A collection of multimedia content, connected by hyperlinks. The Internet is the network and its applications; the Web is its HTML formatted content.

WWW

World Wide Web, The Web: The content of the Internet; A collection of multimedia content, connected by hyperlinks. The Internet is the network and its applications; the Web is its HTML formatted content.