ACQ: W E B W O R D S - 1 / Caroline Bowen

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GETTING TO KNOW THE INTERNET
an introduction for Speech-Language Pathologists
The ACQ Internet Column February 1999
Caroline Bowen

Getting to know the Internet
Love it or loathe it, the Internet (all the words in bright blue are defined below), that massive world-wide network of interconnecting computers has entered all our lives, including our clinics. Clients and family members proffer sheaves of worthwhile information about a communication disorder affecting them that would have taken you hours to find in a well-stocked library without the aid of the Internet. Small children bring pictures to therapy casually announcing that they downloaded them from the Web. Patients mention in passing that they discovered a helpful link, to a web site or read an interesting post about dysphagia (or a myriad of other topics) in a listserv, and ask if you would like them to forward it to you by email. Waiting room discussion touches on which browser or search engine is preferable. Students ask how they should cite references to documents they have found on the Web. Colleagues mention that they have been uploading articles to their homepage. And of course, Speech Pathology Australia has had a home in cyberspace since March 1997. No, it's not possible to ignore the Internet.

If you don't know what a newbie, a listserv, a link, a web browser, a search engine, or a URL are, and you are only dimly aware of the advantages of corresponding by email, and you want to find out, then this column is probably for you! WEBWORDS will shepherd you through the maze of jargon and overly detailed instructions contained in many Internet guides that deter so many people from venturing into cyberspace.

First things first. No-one is a complete Internet expert! Experienced Netizens, even those who have been using the Internet since it began to evolve in the early 1990's, only know what they have to know in order to use the Net to their advantage. And that is quite a good principle to bear in mind. Judith Maginnis Kuster advises: "Don't be put off by the terminology - its only jargon. Nobody knows all about the Internet. Learn what you need to know when you need it, a little at a time" (Kuster, 1995).

Based at the Department of Communication Disorders, at Minnesota State University, Mankato (formerly Mankato State University), Professor Kuster is an Internet authority. As well as writing INTERNET, a regular feature of Asha magazine, Judith has a mind-blowing web site that must be among the first stops for all Speech Pathologist newbies. There you will find information about, and links to, every facet of communication disorders and sciences.

Like Speech Pathology Australia, sister organizations in the United States (ASHA), Canada (CASLPA), New Zealand (NZSTA) and the United Kingdom (RCSLT) have well-maintained, easily navigated, and highly informative Web sites.

Then there is the seemingly limitless range of special interest sites like the Apraxia-Kids Homepage and associated listserv. Here are details of how to subscribe to the listserv.

Or you might want to read an entire journal article such as "Autism, Asperger's syndrome and semantic-pragmatic disorder: Where are the boundaries?" by Dorothy Bishop that appeared in the British Journal of Disorders of Communication 24, 107-121 (1989) © The College of Speech Therapists, London.

The jargon so far

ACQ The Speech Pathology Australia clinical and professional magazine published three times each year in February, June and October.

Browser Abbreviation of Web Browser. A web browser is a software program used to access the World Wide Web (WWW) as well as other tasks. Once you are equipped with a computer (with a printer, so that you can keep some of your 'finds'), a modem, and an Internet service provider, you can buy or download a Browser. The two most popular browsers are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

Download Strictly speaking the term download refers to transferring a file from a server to a client using FTP - which will be explained in the next edition of WEBWORDS. The popular (but not quite correct) use of the term is by Internet users who talk about downloading when they are simply retrieving a file from the Internet, by whatever method.

email (also e-mail): Stands for electronic mail. An Internet service that allows you to send (post) and receive messages to and from other Internet users.

Internet The largest computer network in the world.

Link Short for hyperlink. A hyperlink is a bit of text or a web graphic (a picture or design) that a user can mouse-click to retrieve, or jump to, another web page.

Listserv A small software program that automatically redistributes email to subscribers to a mailing list or discussion group.

Netizen A person with Internet access.

Newbie A newcomer to the Internet.

Post An email message to an individual, mailing list or discussion group.

Search engine A program that allows you to search for specific data on the Internet.

Subscribe As in 'subscribing to a listserv', simply means that you have agreed to receive posts or newsletters from a listserv or mailing list. In this instance 'subscribe' does not imply that you pay a fee. You can 'unsubscribe' at any time.

Upload to transfer one or more files from your own computer to a remote computer, for example, transferring additions to your own Web page from your computer to a Web server (more of this next time!).

URL Stands for Uniform Resource Locator. A method of specifying the address of any resource available on the Internet.

Web Short for World Wide Web, or WWW. Not the same thing as the Internet. It is just one of the ways that information can be exchanged on the Internet. People tend to use the terms Internet, Net, Web and WWW interchangeably.

Web site Related and interlinked Web pages that are usually created by one person, or a team of people.

Making a start
The first time you surf, take someone experienced with you! If you don't have an Internet account yet, treat them to lunch at an Internet cafe! Or if you are already connected to the Internet, but have not taken the plunge, try this:

Get your experienced-someone to open a browser for you, and load this document, then follow the links, remembering to click the 'back button' (ask your helper) each time you finish browsing a new site, to return you to this page. Let me know how you get on!

Reference
Kuster, J. M. (1995, February). Newbies on Internet Asha, 20

Webwords Index

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