Advanced Research Project Agency

A primitive Internet set up by the Advanced Research Project Agency

This ws the first electronic digital computer, built by John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry in 1939.

Modifier for elements.

A devise that connects multiple telephone lines in order to generate two-way audioconferencing.

The amount of space necessary to transmit information from one computer to another. A telephone line has a low bandwidth, therefore, audio and video take longer to download. 

A banner advertisement is a rectangular box located at the top of the screen when on a search engine that features a publicity stunt for a certain company. Shockwave, Java, and Enliven are some of the software products that can be used to create this advertisement. 

Lyricist for the Grateful Dead; he is also an activist for civil rights on the Internet.

Bulletin Board System. This is a place where users post thoughts and opinions for others to view and comment on.

A movement to support free speech on the Internet.

Scams characterized by high-pressure sales tactics, especially telemarketing, office locations that are temporary, deceptive salespeople and sales tactics, the money disappears and is never seen again. 

In traditional cultures, one’s identity is more or less determined externally by systems of kinship and religion. Concepts of gender identity were once based on fixed social roles and relationships. In Victorian times for example, women and men lived in separate "spheres", where the home belonged to women and the rest of the world to men. Gender identity was premised on these fixed boundaries for the self, based on the distinction between interior and exterior (i.e., self and other). In contrast, according to Robert G. Dunn, "theories of postmodernism projects an image of a fluid self characterized by fragmentation, discontinuity, and the dissolution boundaries between inner and outer worlds." Postmodern theorists like Donna Haraway, Rosanne Stone and Sherry Turkle believe that technologically mediated forms of culture tend to obliterate social boundaries, allowing for fluid and malleable identities.

With help from Larry Brilliant, he began the WELL in 1985 (see WELL).

A term used to describe a traditional retail store. 

With help from Stewart Brand, he began the WELL in 1985 (see WELL).

A well known entity in the physical world of commerce, with obvious parallels in the electronic world. The butler bundles up the inputs to the service requirements or the person being served and delivers them completed. 

An operation or series of operations energetically pursued to accomplish a purpose: an advertising campaign for a new product; a candidate's political campaign. 

Communications Decency Act. It was to place restrictions on what could be said or shown on the Internet.

With Joseph Licklider, he published On-Line Man Computer Communication in August 1962. In it, he discussed a concept that would allow people to access data from any site connected to a vast network. 

Information collected by e-commerce websites dealing with the way customers are using the site. Analysis of this information is a complex task that many companies elect to outsource. 

Committee formed under the Clinton administration to study the conflicts arising between digital media and Intellectual Property Laws. The goal is to determine the validity of current laws pertaining to digital media and suggest any adjustments. 

Passed in 1934, it was the first effort to regulate the telephone industry at a federal level. 

A theory advocating the elimination of private property. Also, a system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed. 

The way electronic classrooms are connected to the global world.

The "coming together" of the traditional media and the Internet. How the media is working together for one common goal: communicating ideas. 

Cookies are small textual documents containing specialized information that is automatically deposited into the user’s hard drive.

Protects "’original works of authorship’ that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. The fixation need not be directly perceptible so long as it may be communicated with the aid of a machine or device.

Programs of study offered primarily through the mail. Original distance education courses in England and the United States used this method of teaching.

A person who illegally breaks into computer systems for the sole purpose of creating mischief. 

Cascading Style Sheets are the style sheet format standard for HTML.

It is in this world of commerce that customers create their own goods or levels of service; traditional providers may not even have a role at the interface with customers. 

A computer network freak (phreak) who wears Mohawks, dresses in black clothing, and pierces their tongue, eyebrows and navels.

The on-line world of computer networks.

Registering Internet addresses containing someone else’s name, in the hopes of selling that address back at a profit. Legal definition - The registration, trafficking in, or use of a domain name that is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark of another that is distinctive at the time of the registration of the domain name, or dilutive of a famous trademark or service mark of another that is famous at the time of the registration of the domain name, without regard to the goods or services of the parties, with the bad-faith intent to profit from the goodwill of another’s mark.

A self-appointed person who takes the law into their own hands when they feel that law enforcement officials are not acting correctly. In the Internet, a cybervigilante tracks down and attempts to stop Internet crime and scams.

Donna Haraway defines the cyborg as "a creature of a postmodern world," one that is "resolutely committed to partiality, irony, intimacy, and perversity." The cyborg is "a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction; … oppositional, utopian, and completely without innocence." In futuristic terms, cyborgs are both animal and machine.

Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives. The common people, considered as the primary source of political power through majority rule. 

The separation between those students, parents, and teachers that have access to computers and those that do not.

The ability to understand, evaluate and integrate information in multiple formats as delivered by the computer. Being digitally literate is multidimensional and interactive.

Someone who disagrees especially with an established religious or political system, organization, or belief. 

Instructional delivery that does not require a student and instructor to be physically present in the same location.

According to several recent surveys, distance education is as effective as traditional education if certain criteria are met.

A desired outcome of distance education. Any form of media for self-study can be used for distance learning.

A character string that serves as an Internet address, pointing your web browser to the "real" Internet Protocol (IP) address, a string of numbers that would be extremely difficult to use and remember. 

Companies that provide a market for companies and individuals to buy and sell domain names.

The system set up in the early years of the Internet by the Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency to assign numbers and names for Internet addresses. 

The style sheet standard for SGML.

Document Type Definition is a metalanguage tool used to define specific markup languages

One of the most successful online auction sites. eBay.com is a national classified listing where potential buyers bid against each other. 

Electronic classrooms where many technological tools are available to aid teachers in delivery. Typical equipment at the teacher station includes an overhead projector, a VCR, large TV sets, interactive broadcast-on-demand systems, electronic whiteboards, laser discs, documents and flatbed scanners are just some of the items.

The trade that actually takes place over the Internet, usually through a buyer visiting a seller’s website and make a transaction there; the idea and action of purchasing items and services over the Internet to save time and in some cases money.

Any Internet, Web, or online content and services provided to students and educators.

Electronic Frontier Foundation.

An aged data format used to transfer business information from computer-to-computer. EDI has been undergoing modification in recent years as it is being migrated to more modern Internet-based computers for use in intranets and extranets. 

A prescription that is given to a consumer so a specific drug may be filled at an online pharmacy site.

Structural unit of Standard Generalized Markup Language.

The resulting effects of a system that is so much bigger in scale compared to its constituent parts that unforeseen behaviors arise.

A string of characters that is used to create non-ASCII characters and long or repetitive segments of text.

New tags in HTML that expand the formatting control but are not immediately supported by all HTML-browsers.

A private network available to a small number of businesses or corporations. Extranets allow access to a larger number of people from different organizations than do intranets while sacrificing only a small degree of speed and security. 

Law of the Wheel Breathing Exercise. A religious sect founded in China in 1992 that uses meditation to aid spiritual and physical health. 

File Transfer Protocol.

Many people are going online into chat rooms and MUDs disguised as the opposite sex. Each person has his/her own reason for gender exploration. According to Sherry Turkle, such experimentation allows one to express her-/himself in ways that might be socially unacceptable in the real world. Gender-swapping has allowed people to expand and add to their existing identities and to understand what it is like to be of the opposite sex.

Descriptions of the structural organization of a document are stated in generalized, or descriptive, markup.

Generalized Markup Language is the name of the first markup language that was independently thought up by two persons.

China’s attempt to isolate itself from the influence of the West. This metaphorical wall is constructed of laws and regulations against certain Internet practices. 

A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary; a young person for whom computers and computer networks are an obsession, and who have carried their obsession beyond what computer professionals consider ethical and what lawmakers consider acceptable

In response to the demand of communication between scientists, Hypertext Markup Language was invented at a particle physics center in Switzerland.

The body of ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of an individual, a group, a class, or a culture. A set of doctrines or beliefs that form the basis of a political, economic, or other system. 

Interface Message Processor.

An online resource that organizes the Internet for educators by constantly reviewing new sites. Developed by educators in 1994. Provides an additional means of efficiently helping staff and students accomplish a variety of tasks. Creates an organized path for many educational and personal tasks.

Another term for information superhighway. A synthesis of high-performance computing and high-performance communication. Let's us link to other people's machines and to send across these channels not just data but video and voice. 

Any instance in which materials protected by Intellectual Property laws are used in a manner not permitted by the protection recipient as well as the law. Infringement usually results in financial compensation to the author as well as a court order to desist any attempts to distribute the unauthorized information. 

Pertain to the copy, trademark, trade secret, patent, publicity, and privacy protection rights extended to us by the American Government.

The electronic version of a butler. Whereas the butler is familiar with the phone and will use a computer as a necessary aid, the intelligent agent is a search-and-find tool for the Internet or other electronic shopping service.

How the media is working together for one common goal:

The act of submitting an electronic prescription for prescription drugs on the Internet in order for them to be sent in the mail to the consumer.

A company which provides other companies or individuals with access to, or presence on, the Internet. Mist ISPs are also Internet Access Providers. Extra services include help with design, creation, and administration of World Wide Web sites, training, and administration of intranets. 

A group of several large corporations and the White House gathered to educate people about the Internet and enhance law enforcement on it (in a self-regulatory manner).

A private network available to the employees of a single business or corporation. Intranets provide both high-speed and a great degree of security to their users. 

Internet Relay Chat.

Internet Service Provider. This is a company that provides access (by telephone or digital lines on a network) to the Internet. 

Began the Electronic Frontier Foundation (see EFF).

Software licensing model that many industry watchers predict will overtake outright licensing as the dominant-licensing scheme. Under the Leased Software model, a program is purchased for a limited period of time for a lower cost rather than purchasing rights to the program indefinitely.

With Wesley Clark, he published On-Line Man Computer Communication in August 1962. In it, he discussed a concept that would allow people to access data from any site connected to a vast network. 

Sherry Turkle often uses this Lacanian term to describe the atmosphere of postmodern society as "time when things are betwixt and between, when old structures have broken down and new ones have not yet been created." 

A hacker who enjoys attacking computer web sites solely for the challenge. They are mostly bored, nerdy teens who are in it for the thrills and the publicity. 

A company that provides comprehensive services to client companies. Because MAPs specialize in the services they offer, they are able to provide the services to companies at a lower cost than if the client were to manage the same application inhouse. Managed Application Providers are also known as Application Service Providers (ASPs).

The physical world of commerce; a place where the customer seeks high personal interaction, ritual, and sense of community.

the plan or route, which market analysts take in order to successfully create a lucrative business based on the success of the publicity of the product.

The electronic world of commerce; a place where things that can be digitized are a logical choice of item for sale.

A sequence of characters that a writer, intentionally or unintentionally, inserts in a text to arrange the appearance of the output or organize the document’s logical structure.

A tool that is used to create a markup language.

The new type classroom in 21st century schools where the use of technology is maximized as a resource and tool for all students and educators.

In 1964, he predicted that computing power would double every eighteen months (see Moore’s Law).

Computing power will double every eighteen months.

Acronym for "multi-user dungeon."

This association was created to assist state licensing boards in developing, implementing, and enforcing uniform standards to protect the public health.

The prefix, nano- means one-billionth. Nanotechnology then is technology reduced to the size of atoms and molecules. Medical experiments using nanobots entering the bloodstream in order to supplement our natural immune systems are currently being done on lab animals with optimistic results. The possibilities in medicine alone are numerous. For more information on this topic read Ray Kurzwell’s The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence.

He conceptualized Xanadu (see Xanadu).

An average person with strong computer skills who have the desire to test their skills illegally.

Based on, influenced by, affiliated with, or supporting the interests or policies of no single political party: a nonpartisan commission; nonpartisan opinions.

Not seeking or producing a profit or profits: a nonprofit organization.

Information broken down to its smallest constituent so that it can be accessed through other avenues.

Devoted to or biased in support of a party, group, or cause: partisan politics.

A right granted to an inventor by the federal government to exclude others from making, using, selling, or importing an invention. Originally, it was only applicable to physical objects such as machines, plants and ornamental designs. It is designed to allow inventors exclusive rights to the distribution, reproduction, and use of their creations for twenty years and entitles them to royalties if violations occur. 

A persistent cookie is a cookie with an expiration date. 

A scam similar to the pyramid, but where early investors are paid-off by the later investors, which makes the potential appear to be more "legitimate." Named after Charles Ponzi, thought to be the originator of the scam.

Postmodernism is a difficult term to describe because it is comprised of many complicated ideas. Postmodernist theory has only emerged in academia since the mid 1980s. It is a concept that appears in a wide variety of disciplines including art, architecture, film, music, sociology, literature, communications, fashion, and technology. Postmodernism emerged from "modernism," a twentieth century movement that incorporated the following characteristics: 1) an emphasis on impressionism and subjectivity, 2) a blurring of distinctions between literary genres, 3) an emphasis on fragmentation and discontinuity. Modernism emerged as a revolt against Enlightenment thinking which pervaded Victorianism with its belief in definite boundaries and essential truths. Postmodern thought favors ambiguity, simultaneity, and an emphasis on the destructured, decentered, dehumanized subject, and the blurring of boundaries between the self and other. For Jean Francois Lyotard, postmodernist thought is based primarily on skepticism toward metanaratives; that is, a disbelief in such major concepts as origination, progress and emancipation, a rejection of the "truth". The major difference between modernism and postmodernism is that modernism presents the fragmented view of human subjectivity and history as something lamentable and tragic, whereas postmodernism celebrates that fragmentation. According to Jean Baudrillard, postmodern society has no access to originals, only copies or, to use his word, "simulacra." One version of Baudrillard’s "simulacrum" is the concept of virtual reality, a reality created by simulation, for which there is no original. It is important to understand this concept in order to understand the concept of fluid identity and the disappearance of boundaries, especially as it relates to gender.

A Preference Cookie is a cookie that saves preferences entered on a previous visit to a web site that allows for a smoother transition from page to page. 

A meeting of the registered voters of a political party for the purpose of nominating candidates and for choosing delegates to their party convention. A preliminary election in which the registered voters of a political party nominate candidates for office. 

When one hears the word "prosthetics," one might be inclined to think of artificial arms and legs. He or she would be correct. Other forms of prosthetics include hearing aids, pacemakers, false teeth, contact lenses and glasses, breast implants or voice generators. These are some of the most common types of prosthetics today. A prosthetic device is anything that serves to extend one’s will across the boundaries of flesh with the help of a manufactured device. Prosthetic devices are becoming more and more technological and digital. Take for instance the use of nanotechnology in medicine and virtual reality devices like the "tactile mouse" and the very real possibility of neural implants. These advances in technology will have great impact on the way human beings view sexuality and relationships.

Terminology indicating the advances in technology. Vendors push their current technology while users continually want bigger and better technology.

A scam characterized by the victim having to pay money into a "business" and then recruit others. Based on how many more victims can be recruited, the original investor is supposed to make large amounts of money. Also called "multilevel marketing" it is one of the most common scams on the Internet.

Using the Internet to promote the brand name of the radio station.

In order to view information posted on the Internet, a computer temporarily stores the information into its RAM directory.

People who maintain web sites that sell consumers prescription drugs without a prescription. Many are located outside of the U.S.

A deceptive or fraudulent act or operation. On the Internet it is usually a way for a criminal to make money from unsuspecting, trusting victims.

This was the first form of electronic mail.

Session cookies are cookies without expiration dates. They are taken off your computer as soon as you close your browser. 

Standard Generalized Markup Language was created by an American National Standards Institute committee.

A shopping basket cookie is a cookie that saves information on purchases made and stores it for the easy facilitation of shopping. 

a hacker who breaks software security, such as word processing or graphics, for their own use. They do this because the software is usually expensive, so why pay when they can get it free of charge.

Unsolicited electronic mail (email), usually of a commercial nature, sent to thousands of addresses at one time. Also called bulk email or junk email.

Satellite Telecommunications Educational Programming network. Federal and private funding to create and provide equal learning opportunities for all students in five states in the Pacific Northwest. Part of the STAR program. 

Instead of downloading large video and audio files to the PC, a computer can establish a connection with the server and view the audio and video in real time.

A declaration of how each structural object is to be formatted.

Is the word that describes featured entities such as television, radio, newspaper, and the Internet to work together collaboratively to produce a final solution. 

Helped by Joseph Licklider, he published The Computer as a Communications Devise. It was an explanation of technology and computers of 1968.

An individual who advocates the use of technology in social and educational settings. 

Opened local and long-distance telephone markets to complete competition. Passed into law by President Clinton in 1996, it was later deemed unconstitutional and rescinded in 1997. It included the Communications Decency Act (see CDA).

We call it the "Information Age," the "Post-industrial Society," and the "Computer Revolution." Frederick Jameson outlined three stages of capitalism. The first is market capitalism, which occurred in the late eighteenth through the late nineteenth centuries in Western Europe, England and the United States. It is associated with the steam-driven motor, and a kind of aesthetic movement called realism. The second phase occurred from the late nineteenth century until the mid-twentieth century (around the time of WWII) and is associated with electric and internal combustion motors, and with modernism. The third phase is where we are now (the liminal moment). It is a time of multinational/consumer capitalism where emphasis is placed on marketing, selling, and consuming commodities. Further, this third stage is associated with nuclear and electronic technologies, and postmodernism. This stage is still in the making.

The identifier that tells the purpose of the organization in a domain name. For example, in www.amazon.com, com is the top-level domain, designating amazon as a commercial business.

Linear organization of information.

Students and instructor are normally physically present in the same location at the same time. The majority of students are still taught this way.

A program that, unknown to the user, contains instructions that exploit a known vulnerability in some software.

A program that checks to make sure a document’s markup conforms to its DTD.

A program designed to give a pharmaceutical web site an approval by the NABP so that the consumer knows the site is reputable.

Computer-mediated instruction that allows us to engage in networked resources in ways that are profitable for students. Includes a broad range of activities and can supplement traditional teaching and allows for an integration of knowledge in many fields - geography, language, arts skills, biology.

a computer program that replicates and modifies its own code, attaches itself to computer files and causes considerable damage, such as corrupting important files. 

Wide area network.

Using the Internet to broadcast audio or video files verses using airwaves or cable lines. Webcasting is not limited by location. A Webcast can be received anywhere with an Internet connection.

Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link

He had first commercial telephone line run from his house to his electrical shop 3 miles away. 

A central hypertext database encompassing all written information, available for a fee per document. 

A World Wide Web Consortium committee invented Extensible Markup Language.