World Wide Web

WORLD WIDE WEB

World Wide Web Logo: 

The Web's historic logo designed by Robert  Cailliau
Inventor	Sir Tim Berners Lee
Launch year	1990
Company	CERN
Available	Worldwide

Definition

Collection of internet resources (such as FTP, telnet, Usenet), hyperlinked text, audio, and video files, and remote sites that can be accessed and searched by browsers based on standards such as HTTP and TCPIIP. Also called the web, it was created in 1989 by the UK physicist Tim Berners-Lee while working at the European Particie Physics Laboratory (called CERN after its Frenchinitials Conseil Europeen de Reserches Nucleaires) in Switzerland, as an easier way to access information scattered across the internet.

The terms Internet and World Wide Web are often used in every-day speech without much distinction. However, the Internet and the World Wide Web are not one and the same. The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks. In contrast, the Web is one of the services that run on the Internet. It is a collection of interconnected documents and other resources, linked by hyperlinks and URLs. In short, the Web is an application running on the Internet.

What the information Superhighway can do and can't do

What the Information Superhighway Can Do for Children

It can help children learn skills using information resources and technology, such as problem-solving, fact-gathering, analysis, and writing on computers - skills that employers will seek from future workers (today's young people). They can also help young people learn computer programming and other marketable skills.

It can open up new worlds of rich learning experiences to children through schools, libraries, and home. For example, children can work on a school project with other children in countries thousands of miles away, or gather information from renowned scientists, authors, or business leaders. And "electronic pen pals", either relatives or new online friends from opposite ends of the planet, can e-mail each other almost instantly. Children in poor or rural school districts can use online services to visit museums, cities, and wildlife preserves they would not otherwise get to see. Children with disabilities can participate more fully in learning, in art programs, and in socializing.

What the Information Superhighway Can't Do

Computers and online time alone cannot make the child a brilliant student. Children learn best when they receive individualized attention and encouragement from teachers and parents. Every kind of technology, from the blackboard to slide presentations, to CD-ROMs - is simply a tool whose effectiveness depends on whether it is used well.

Computers alone won't make the child a well-rounded, successful adult. Children still need the balance that comes from outdoor activities, friends and family, solid academic skills and healthy relationships with strong adult role models.