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SPIRIT in ICT
Departmental Expectations
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Year 11 |
A
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| Accessibility |
This describes how well the site
caters for people with sight, hearing or other difficulties.
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| Active Hyperlink |
The active link is the one that is
currently being looked at. Usually a link changes in colour
when it is being viewed.
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| Active Server Page - ASP |
These are web pages that
contain scripts (computer programmes) that are run on a web server computer rather than being run on your
PC at home. They enable pages to interact with the user and
are often used on sites which let visitiors search databases,
e.g. Amazon's vast book catalogue.The page will look just like
a normal web page on your computer.
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| Active X |
A computer programming
language that is used to create fun and interactive web pages.
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| Address |
An email address e.g. jackie@WebGenies.co.uk
or the address of a web site e.g. http://www.webgenies.co.uk.
See also domain name.
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| Anchor |
When you click on a picture or some
text which is linked to an anchor you will go straight to the
correct part of a web page. E.g. clicking on the N in the alphabet
above takes you straight down to the N section of this page.
The start of the N section has been made into an anchor.
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| Antialias |
An effect often used on text, in which the edges of the letters
are blended to make them look smooth e.g. compare Antialiased
and Not Antialiased here:
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| Animated GIF |
A file made up of a series of pictures
that are shown quickly one after the other to give the appearance
of a moving picture e.g.  |
| Animation |
A film made up of lots
of pictures being shown quickly one after the other to create
movement. |
| AOL |
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| Applet |
A small computer programme often
written in the computer language Java. |
| AVI |
Audio Video Interleaved. AVI files play sounds and videos
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B |
| Background |
The basic overall colour or background
design of your web page. The background of this page is orangey/yellow.
A background sound is one that is played when your page is displayed.
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| Banner |
Part of a web page,
usually near the top, which has moving text and/or images. Banners
are often used to advertise things.
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| Bevel |
An effect which gives
pictures or text a 3D look e.g.
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| Bitmap |
This is the standard file format
for pictures on a Windows computer. However bitmaps (BMPs) aren't
used much on the web because of their large file sizes - use
GIFs or JPEGs instead.
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| Body |
An HTML tag referring to the main part of a web page -
<body>
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| Bookmark |
Browsers let you keep a list of the addresses of
your favourite web sites. When you click on any of these bookmarks
they take you straight to the site. Microsoft Explorer calls
it's bookmarks favourites.
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| |
The programme on your computer
that lets you see web pages. The most popular are Microsoft
Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.
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| Browser safe palette |
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C
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| Cascading style
sheets (CSS) |
Style sheets are like templates in that
they let you set the font (text) properties - size, type, colour,
etc. - for the whole site. This means that If you wanted to change
the colour of the font say from red to green you could do this
just once in the style sheet rather than having to change every
page in your site individually. This saves web designers a lot
of time but unfortunately not all browsers display CSS correctly.
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| Cell |
One box in a table. This table has 4 cells.
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| Cell padding |
The space between the contents of a cell and the
border of the cell. This table has padding set to 3. (spacing
=0)
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| Cell spacing |
The
thickness of a cells walls or borders. This table has spacing
set to 3. (padding =0)
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| CGI |
Common Gateway Interface.
This describes the way a computer and a CGI script (a type of
computer code) communicate (talk) with each other. A common
use of CGI is in dealing with forms. When you fill in a form
online, with your name, age and hobbies say, the browser sends this information to a CGI script on
the server. This script adds your data to a database, along with the information from everyone
else who has completed the form.
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| Client side programme |
A fancy name for a computer programme that runs
on your computer and not on the server. An example of a client programme is the
browser Netscape Navigator.
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| Compression |
This is the process used to save an image with
as small a file size as possible. When images are compressed
they are reduced in file size - which also reduces their download time.
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D |
Database
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A file containing records of information such as visitors
names and email addresses which can be sorted and searched. Imagine
your address book organised on a computer - that's a database!
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DHTML
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Dynamic Hypertext Markup
Language. This uses javascript to create interesting effects on a
web page such as animations. These effects can be set to happen
when a page loads or when a visitor clicks on a link, amongst
other things. |
Dial up
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Connecting to another computer using a
modem.
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Discussion Group
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These groups let visitors to a web site email in
messages, questions and comments. Other people using the site
may respond to any comments a visitor makes hence creating a discussion.
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Dithering
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The human eye can see about 16 million different
colours but some old computer screens can only display 256 colours.
These screens have to try to approximate the colours they can't
display using a process called dithering. Dithering involves mixing
pixels of the colours they can display together -
a bit like you making an orange colour by mixing up alternate
dots of red and yellow. As you can imagine dithering creates a
rather speckley appearance see
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Domain
Name
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Every internet site has a domain name e.g. in the
address horbury.wakefield.sch.uk, horbury.wakefield is the domain
name.People creating web sites usually have to buy the name they
want to use.
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Download
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To transfer a file from the internet to your computer's
own hard drive.
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Download
time
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The time it takes for a web page, picture etc. to
become fully visible on your computer screen.
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| DPI |
Dots per square inch.
This refers to the resolution of a computer screen. Most screens
have 72 dots per square inch
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E |
| Email |
To send messages and/or files electronically
over the internet. |
| External link |
A link to someone else's web site. |
F |
| FAQ |
Frequently Asked Questions. A list of the answers
to commonly asked questions about a topic.
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| File |
Information stored on a computer is stored in a
file.
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| Firewall |
A way of protecting the files in your computer from
hackers, who may try to change or delete the
information. Most businesses have a firewall. This lets the folks
who work there browse the internet but stops anyone outside the
company being able to look at the company's computer files.
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| Flash |
A computer programme from Macromedia which allows
people to make movies to show on their web pages.
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| Frame rate |
In videos or animations the frame rate is the number of frames
(pictures) that are shown in one second.
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| FTP |
File Transfer Protocol. A method of sending
files over the internet. You will probably upload
your web pages to the internet using ftp. |
G
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| Gateway |
A computer system which links two networks together
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| GIF |
Graphical Interchange Format.
An image (picture) file. GIFs are mainly used for simple pictures
like logos. They can contain up to 256 different colours.
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| Greyscale Image |
Greyscale images contain no colours, just shades
of black, grey and white.
e.g. |
H
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| Hacker |
A slang term for someone who breaks into
other people's computer systems
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| Hit |
Every time a visitor views a web page
it is recorded as a hit. You can use a hit counter to keep
a note of how many people are visiting your web site.
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| Home page |
The first page that displays when you
connect to a web site. It usually contains a brief guide to what
the site is about and links to other pages on the site. The page
name usually ends in default.htm or index.htm.
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| Hotspot |
An area in a graphic or picture that
contains a hyperlink. A graphic with these hotspots is called
an image map.
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| Host |
The computer you connect to when logging
on to the internet.
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| HTML |
HyperText Markup
Language. The text based language that is used to create
web pages. HTML uses tags tell web browsers how to display things like text and graphics.
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| HTTP |
HyperText Transfer
Protocol. The language the web itself uses to get web pages
from their servers and send them to your PC's browser.
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| Hue |
The shade or tint of a colour.
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| Hyperlink/ Hypertext |
Any text (or picture) that lets visitors
jump to other information, either in the same site or on another
site altogether.
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I
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| Icon |
A small image on a web page, often acting as a link
to another page.
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| Image |
A picture.
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| Image map |
A single picture that contains more than one hot spot. An example might be a map of Britain where
the main towns on the map are the hot spots.
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| Interactivity |
Interactive web sites are sites where visitors can
change what is on the screen and make different things happen
according to what they click on e.g. playing games or getting
an animation to display.
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| Interlacing |
A way of displaying pictures which lets the viewer
see a blurry copy of an image which gets clearer and clearer as
it downloads.
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| Internet |
The worldwide connection of millions of
computers all linked up together. |
| Internet Explorer |
A browser developed by Microsoft
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| Internet Service Provider (ISP) |
A business that allows you to connect to the internet
from your own PC. See also Access provider. |
| Intranet |
A web site set up especially for the
people within an organisation and viewable by people in that organisation
rather than across the worldwide internet.
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| IP address |
A numeric form of an internet address e.g. http://195.89.987.98.
Every site has it's own unique number.
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| ISDN |
Integrated Service Digital
Network. A fast way of connecting to the internet using
a special type of phone line |
J
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| Java |
A programming language sued to create small programmes
called applets. Applets can run within a web page and can
do lots of fun things like let users play games, create special
effects animations and lots more. The word search on the fun page is creating
using Java.
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| Javascript |
Another programming language that adds interactivity to web pages. Examples include
flashing text, rollover buttons and pop-up windows. Javascript
is easier to learn than Java but not as powerful.
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| JPEG |
Pronounced JAY PEG. A file format used for images.
It is best used for photographs and pictures with lots of different
colours. JPEGs can display 16 million colours. |
M
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| Marquee |
A text effect where words move across the page
in a line, e.g.
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| Modem |
Modulator-demodulator. A little box
outside your computer or a card inside, which connects your PC
to the phone lines. (Modems convert the digital signal from a
PC to an analog signal which is the type of signal phones understand).
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| Midi |
Musical Instrument Digital
Interface. A file format used for music files. |
N
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| Net |
Short for Internet.
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| Netiquette |
Name for the good manners you should use when e-mailing
other people. For example it is considered bad manners to email
using all CAPITAL LETTERS!
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| Netscape Navigator |
The browser developed by Netscape.
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| Network |
System for linking computers together with cables
and a network card so that they can share information between
them. |
O
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| Off-line |
When you are not connected to the internet.
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| Online |
When you are connected to the internet.
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P
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| Pixel |
The name for the smallest square or dot that makes
up the display on a computer screen. Depending on your screen's
resolution it normally has 800*600 = 480 000
pixels.
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| Plug-in |
A small programme which users can download which
lets them see or do extra things on a web site, e.g. the Quicktime
plug-in lets visitors watch movies and the Shockwave plug-in lets
them play games.
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| PNG |
Portable Network Graphics.
Pronounced PING. Another file format for pictures. Unfortunately
is is not supported by all browsers as yet.
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| Progressive JPEG |
Allows viewers to see a JPEG image gradually by
displaying a blurry image that becomes clearer as it downloads.
See also interlacing.
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R
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| Resolution |
Describes how many pixels are displayed on your screen. The most popular
resolution currently is 800x600. The higher the resolution the
smaller text and images will appear on your screen. |
| Rollover |
The change that happens when a person places their
mouse pointer over some text or an image on a web page. Examples
of rollovers include text that may change colour or start glowing,
and pictures which change into new pictures as the mouse passes
over them. The button links on the home page are rollovers.
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| Router |
A special computer which moves internet data from
one place to another. |
S
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| Script |
Computer programming code.
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| Server |
A server is a computer that shares data with other
computers on a network. Web Servers store
and share web pages.
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| Service Provider |
A business that provides you with access to the
internet. See also Internet Service Provider.
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| Shareware |
Software that is free for you to try for a limited
period, usually around one month.
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| Shockwave |
Video for the web produced by a company called Macromedia.
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| Spamming |
Sending the same e-mail to a large number of people.
Advertisers may do this to get a lot of people to hear about their
products. Spam is the name given to these sort of e-mails.
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| Streaming |
Streaming video or sound files begin to play as
soon as the start downloading on to your computer. (i.e. they
don't have to download completely before they start to play).
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T |
| Tag |
Tags are the HTML instructions
put into angled brackets < >,which tell your computer's
browser how to display a web page e.g. <B> means display
the text in bold. |
U |
| Upload |
Moving a file, e.g. a web page, from your computer
to a server on the Internet. This is what you will need to do
to get your site online.
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| URL |
Uniform Resource Locator.
An internet address e.g. http://www.horbury.wakefield.sch.uk |
W
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| W3C |
World Wide Web Consortium. Lots of organisations
which work together to help set up standards for how the web works
and develops.
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| Web browser |
The programme your computer uses for viewing web
pages. The most popular are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape
Navigator.
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| Web Palette |
The set of 215 colours that will not dither (speckle) when viewed on old 8-bit monitors.
Also called the Safety Palette.
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| World Wide Web (WWW) |
The total set of interlinked web pages which use
highlighted text, images and sometimes sounds, videos, games etc,
and which are stored on web servers around the world. |
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Index
Introduction
Start Designing
Create your first
page
Using a Table
Images and Animation
Creating a Link
Managing and Uploading
Glossary
Top Tips
Careers
Useful Links
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