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History of the Internet

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  • Course Length: 3 weeks
  • Course Type: Short Course
  • Category:
    • Life Skills
    • Technology and Computer Science
    • High School

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The internet: the land of quickly-changing design principles (thank goodness) and even quicker meme fads (we repeat, thank goodness). But it wasn't always that way. There was a time before the internet had pictures, color, or even cats.

We'll let that sink in for a few seconds.

You probably use the internet every single day. But using the internet and knowing the internet are two very different things. You want to be more than just Facebook friends with the internet. You want to know what it is and who made it that way.

Do you sit awake at night wondering how you can access pages from millions of miles away without FedEx or smoke signals? Does the idea of an internet meltdown scare you more than whether you'll have a pop quiz on the history of tortoise racing tomorrow? Does learning about servers and domains make you more excited than an ice salesperson in the Sahara?

We're here for you. With everything from DARPA to HTML, we'll cover all the important topics about how the internet came to be—and the biggest issues it faces today.

And maybe we'll throw in a cat meme every now and then.

Unit Breakdown

1 History of the Internet - History of the Internet

We'll cover all things internet: from its humble U.S. military beginnings to CERN's revolutionary web model to internet hacktivism. By looking at the internet from a historical perspective, you'll have the context to understand current social and political issues. Like whether that dress was actually white and gold or blue and black. Let's get started.


Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 1.05: The Internet, Intranets, and Extranets

Fish stuck in a fence after the tide has receded.
The biggest net has a slightly different meaning for fish. (Source)

It's two a.m., you were supposed to go to bed four hours ago. That is, four cat videos (some things never get old), two viral videos (which you replayed five times each), 152 webcomics, and three Facebook check-ins ago. It's like you've been caught in a net of mindless browsing.

You've been caught in the biggest net of them all: the internet.

We aren't going to pretend that we aren't hurt that you didn't check Shmoop in all that time. Not that you would know, but we added a learning guide about the classic suspense thriller Dead But Not Really. It was great. One reviewer was moved to tears by our flawless analysis of the dramatic moment when the man discovered his wife wasn't really dead.

Anyway.

You're caught surfing the internet wondering, How did I get here? That's one of life's greatest mysteries, so we don't have time to explain it. What we can explain is what smaller, more localized types of nets you didn't get caught in.

Maybe next time you'll check in on us between your sixth cat video and eleventh Facebook check-in. Who knows? We might even review the latest in the Not Dead series: This Time She's Really Dead…Or Is She?

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 1.1.05a: Intra-esting

Some things fit together. Peanut butter and jelly. A Brontë novel and houses in blatant disrepair. 

The intranet and the extranet are the same way: one can't exist without the other. Intranets are mini-internets that companies use to share information internally. An extranet is the way to share selected information with someone remotely. It's all sharing information—like the internet—but this time they can choose who gets to see what—like a paranoid government afraid of Twitter.

If we're going to dive into intranet particulars, this BBC article is a great place to start. It's going to tell you everything about intranet and extranet basics. Be sure to take notes, because we're going to be using this information soon.

And by soon, we mean in the next activity.

If you're wondering what the difference between the internet and an intranet is, look no further than this reading from Internet.com.

In short, the difference between the internet and an intranet is that there is none. Back in the day, companies might have had their own system, but now the internet is so much better than anything else, they just borrow it. Companies "wall-off" a site or collection of sites for in-house use so that they can easily share information without the world at large knowing all their secrets.

…Just like a paranoid government afraid of Twitter.

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 1.1.05b: Managing Content Management

Because companies now share so much information so easily, they have to keep from rewriting the same content over and over and over again. There used to be too much to be able to keep track of easily, so employees got lost in the file systems without ever finding the document that had been rewritten forty-two times.

Forty-three. We missed one.

Enter the content management system (its friends call it CMS). CMSs gave companies a way to structure and design their intranets so that employees didn't have to go reinventing everything all the time.

The CMS makes sure information can be accessed, whether it's by organizing files, or by making sure employees can read files—whether they're PDFs or RARs.

CMSs are really helpful to the internet in general. Case in point: if you've ever been on WordPress, Moodle, or Blackboard, you've used a CMS to sort and share your business. Whatever you use it for, a CMS is great at organizing your digital life.

Check out this list of CMSs and see if you recognize any of them.

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.05a: Intrastellar

We just learned all about intranets, extranets, and—the mother of all networks—the internet. Now that you have all that new knowledge, explain in 200–300 words why an intranet or extranet is useful for a school, business, or nonprofit organization.

For instance, if Shmoop were talking about why we love suspense thrillers, we'd say:

Suspense thriller is a great genre because it keeps the reader interested and engaged for the entire length of the novel. From start to finish, these books leave you suspended mid-action and begging for more. Other people might prefer historical romances or comedic superheroes, but for me, the height of reader engagement comes from suspense thrillers.

Please include

  • how an intranet is set up.
  • three key benefits of intranets or extranets.
  • one limitation of intranets or extranets.
  • how a CMS helps sustain intranets or extranets.

When you're done, submit your work below.

Representing Information Rubric - 25 Points

OutstandingProficientDevelopingNeeds Improvement
Content Understanding

All content is accurate and presentation reflects sophisticated understanding.

(10)

All content is accurate.

(9)

May contain minor errors.

(8)

Major errors.

(7)
Organization

Has a logical organizational scheme. Each piece of information flows logically and smoothly to the next.

(10)

Has a clear organizational plan. Information is presented logically with some sense of connection.

(9)

General sense of organizational plan. Information makes sense within it, but transitions are lacking.

(8)

Information appears disconnected or illogical.

(7)
Style

Language is clear and interesting. Enhances presentation of information. No errors.

(5)

Language is clear and appropriate to topic. Minor spelling or grammatical errors.

(4)

Language is occasionally unclear, but meaning is generally understandable. Frequent spelling/grammar errors that do not impede comprehension.

(4)

Language use makes writing very difficult to understand. Frequent spelling or grammar errors that impede comprehension.

(3)

Sample Lesson - Activity

  1. What is one major advantage of an intranet?

  2. What is an intranet?

  3. What is an extranet?

  4. What does the term W3C mean?

  5. What was the key historical event that spurred the creation of ARPA, and a decade later, ARPANET?

  6. True or False: The World Wide Web (WWW) protocol developed by Tim Berners-Lee was released by CERN in 1990.

  7. True or False: ARPA invented the internet.