a company that provides a connection to the internet. Internet service provider.

Which describes a wiki?

a website whose pages many users can edit. Anyone allowed to can change the content.

In https://www.example.org/news/today.html, what is www.example.org?

the domain name. It identifies the website.

Why might information on a company's own website be biased?

The company wants to sell its products. It shows the company in the best light.

Which is a disadvantage of using a search engine?

It may return a huge number of results, many of them not relevant. The user has to judge which results are useful and reliable.

Using the internet effectively · Cambridge IGCSE Information & Communication Technology

In plain words

The internet holds more information than every library ever built, and nobody is in charge of whether any of it is true. Using it well means knowing how to find things, and how to judge what you find.

8 things to know

The internet is the worldwide network of connected networks. The World Wide Web (WWW) is the collection of web pages viewed over it. An intranet is a private network inside an organisation, and an extranet lets authorised outsiders into part of one.
A blog is a personal online journal, written by one person with the newest entry first. A wiki is a site whose pages can be edited by many users. A forum is an online discussion board, often with moderators. Social networking sites let people build profiles and share with friends.
An internet service provider (ISP) is the company that gives a user a connection to the internet. A web browser displays web pages. A uniform resource locator (URL) is the address of a web page, and a hyperlink is a link to another page or place.
A web address has three main parts: the protocol (such as https), the domain name and the path to the file.
Search engines find information quickly from a huge number of sites. But there may be far too many results, not all relevant, and nothing guarantees that a result is reliable.
Judge information by asking: Is it up to date? Is the source reliable, such as a government or university? Is it biased, trying to sell or persuade? Is it valid, and supported by other sources?
Protocols: HTTP transfers web pages. HTTPS does the same over an encrypted connection. File Transfer Protocol (FTP) transfers files between computers. Secure socket layer (SSL) provides the encryption.
Risks: inappropriate and criminal material. Access can be restricted by parental controls, by filters in schools, and by the ISP.

Worked example

A student researching a health topic finds an article on a website that sells vitamin tablets. How should she judge it?

Bias: the site wants to sell tablets, so it may exaggerate their benefits.
Reliability: who wrote the article, and are they qualified? A health service or university would be more reliable.
She should check the date, and see whether other trusted sources say the same.

Tips and tricks

Four tests for information found online: up to date, reliable, unbiased, valid.
A wiki can be edited by anyone, which makes it quick to update and also possible for errors to appear. Say both.

6 questions, about 2 minutes.

It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.

Using the internet effectively: 6 questions and answers

These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.

What is an ISP?
- a type of web page
- a company that provides a connection to the internet (the answer)
- a search engine
- a protocol
Internet service provider.
Which describes a wiki?
- a personal journal by one author
- a website whose pages many users can edit (the answer)
- a private network
- an email group
Anyone allowed to can change the content.
Which protocol is used to transfer files between computers?
- HTTP
- SSL
- FTP (the answer)
- URL
File Transfer Protocol.
In https://www.example.org/news/today.html, what is www.example.org?
- the protocol
- the domain name (the answer)
- the file name
- the hyperlink
It identifies the website.
Why might information on a company's own website be biased?
- It is always out of date.
- The company wants to sell its products. (the answer)
- It cannot contain images.
- It is written by teachers.
It shows the company in the best light.
Which is a disadvantage of using a search engine?
- It is slow.
- It may return a huge number of results, many of them not relevant. (the answer)
- It only finds images.
- It needs no internet connection.
The user has to judge which results are useful and reliable.

6 questions

Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.

Worksheet

2 questions, 6 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.

Using the internet effectively

Cambridge IGCSE Information & Communication Technology 0417 · 6 marks · papermunch.org

Name ______________________________ Date ______________

Describe the difference between a blog, a wiki and a forum.[3]
Show answerHide answer
A blog is an online journal written by one person, with the newest entry first. A wiki is a site whose content can be edited by many users. A forum is an online discussion board where users post questions and replies.
I got this one
Give three ways of checking whether information on a website is reliable.[3]
Show answerHide answer
Check when it was last updated. Check who wrote it and whether the organisation can be trusted. Compare it with information from other sources.
I got this one

Answers: Using the internet effectively

1. A blog is an online journal written by one person, with the newest entry first. A wiki is a site whose content can be edited by many users. A forum is an online discussion board where users post questions and replies.
2. Check when it was last updated. Check who wrote it and whether the organisation can be trusted. Compare it with information from other sources.