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Hey guys!  Welcome to CyberCamp!

If you don't know too much about the Internet, read on.  Trust me, it's simple!
 

What is the Internet?

The Internet is HUGE!  There are over 100 000 000 (one hundred MILLION) people from all over the world connected to the Internet.  You are now one of them!

When you're on the World Wide Web using Netscape (like you are now), this computer is calling other computers from around the world ON THE PHONE.

The computers talk to one another in computer language (a whole bunch of beeping noises).  When you see something on your screen, your computer has taken all the words and pictures on the screen from another computer.  No one knows how much stuff is on the Internet, but we do know that it is way WAY way way way way way way way way way way way more than could ever fit on any one computer.

The most basic part of traveling around the World Wide Web is hyperlinks.  Whenever you see a word that looks like this, you can click on it with the mouse and it will take you somewhere else on the World Wide Web.  Hyperlinks are almost always blue, but they can be any colour.  If you've already clicked on a hyperlink, it will go purple.

Sometimes, pictures can be hyperlinks, too.  How can you tell which pictures are hyperlinks and which aren't?  Move the mouse over these two pictures.
 
 

Notice how on the picture of Ash, your mouse arrow turns into a little hand?  Whenever you see that hand, it means you're over a hyperlink.

If you see a small picture like this:

you can click on it to see a bigger version of the same picture.  (try it!)  This is called a thumbnail.

The Back Button

Another very important part of traveling around the World Wide Web is the Back button.  You can find it at the top left corner of the screen.  The Back button takes you back (duh!) to the last page where you were.  Click on the hyperlink below.  It will take you to a DEAD END.  The only way to get out is to click the back button!

 Click Here!

Okay, you're back!  You can also use the Forward button (right beside the Back button) to go back to the dead end.  You don't have to worry about the forward button much.

The Location Bar

Every Web Page on the Internet has a name, called a URL.  This page's URL is

https://gcap-kids.tripod.com/intro/intro.html

That's really long, but think of ALL the pages on the Internet.  Now think that NONE of them can have the same name!  Actually, our URL is shorter than a lot of others!

Anyway, if you know the URL of a site you want to go, you can type it in to the Location Bar near the top of the screen.  Click on the bar.  The text should go blue.  Now just type the URL of any site you want to go to and hit the ENTER key.  Try the URL below.  Remember, it has to be EXACTLY right!  You should get a picture of three pokemon characters.  If you don't, click the Back button and type in the URL in again.  When you're done, click the Back button and you'll come right back here!

https://gcap-kids.tripod.com/intro/pokemon.jpg
 

Are you back?  Good!  Here's a hint to make things easier:

You don't need to write http://   The computer knows this anyway.

Searching

So, we know that there are hundreds of millions (maybe even billions) of places to go on the Internet, but to go to any of them, you have to either find a hyperlink or know the URL.  Thankfully, we have Search Engines to help us out.  A search engine is a gigantic list of millions and millions of hyperlinks.
Most search engines only cover a small part of everything that's on the Internet, but they still have just about everything you could ever want!  When you get to the search engine, type in what you are looking for in the little box beside the Search button.  When you are done, click the Search button with the mouse.

Some examples:

If you want Pictures of Ash from Pokemon you could try typing in:

    Pokemon
        OR
    Ash Pokemon
        OR
    Pictures Pokemon
        OR
    Pictures Ash Pokemon

Notice how you don't use sentences-- just a few words.  The search engine will look at all the sites it knows and look for those words.  You will get a HUGE list of sites.  Try a few of the Hyperlinks that look the best and see what you find.  If the site you go to is not what you want, just click the good old Back button and you're back to the search engine.
 

There are many search engines, but the best one for kids by far is Yahooligans.  You can find it at:

www.yahooligans.com

 Go ahead, type it in on the Location Bar.