Utilising the Internet as a Business and Educational Tool

by

Prof. Tal’at Al-Ahmary (Paul) Redd, GTTI

Contents

• What is the Internet or WWW?

• Part 1 - Utilising the Web as an Educational Tool

• Part 2 - Utilising the Web as a Business Tool

• Conclusion

What is the Internet or WWW?

• The WWW/Web can be viewed as:• A World-Wide collection of distributed

hypertext

• An integrator of Internet information

• A means of interfacing to remote programs

WWW - A World-Wide collection of distributed

hypertext• The most common view: "A collection

of objects, each identified by a unique Uniform Resource Locator (URL), linked to form a global hypertext"

• For example, go to Leeds University <http://www.leeds.ac.uk>

WWW - An integrator of Internet information

• HTTP• Wais• Gopher• FTP• E-Mail• News• Telnet

• Hypertext Transfer Protocol• Wade area information service• Tunnelling for desired objects • File Transfer Protocol• Delivered to your E-mailbox• Delivered and even sorted for you• Allowing remote users to login

Internet protocols can be utilised seamlessly:

Part I - Utilising the WWW as an Educational Tool

• What is WWW-Based Learning?

• What Can The WWW Provide?

• Development Issues/The Future

• Summary

• Where To Get More Information

What is WWW-Based Learning?

• "The provision of a LEARNING ENVIRONMENT to the learner” for:– Qualifications / Competencies– Learning by Doing / Attainment of

Instructional Objectives

• implying the provision of Material & Structure requiring the Enabling of Activity through Communication

Implication: The Provision of Material & Structure

• Curriculum and Course Structure

• Structured Learning Material

• Instructional Strategy and Tactics

• Learning Strategy and Tactics

• Modes of Support

• External Sources

• Tools

Implication: Requiring The Enabling of Activity

• Management of learning

• Courseware Delivery

• Guidance

• Active learning

• Collaborative Learning

• Independent Learning

• Self Assessment

What Can The WWW Provide?

• Let’s look at 8 major categories where the web can make a difference

What Can The WWW Provide?

• Delivery of Curriculum and Course Management • Delivery of learning material that can be viewed in

a number of ways • Delivery of learning material of varied content • Delivery of learning material that is easy to

maintain and develop, and to which many can contribute

What Can The WWW Provide?

• The potential for active learning

• Collaborative Learning and Support

• Guided and Free Access to External Sources to enable Independent Learning

• Self Assessment

World Lecture Hall

Potential Projects

• In “COMPUTERS AS TUTORS: SOLVING THE CRISIS IN EDUCATION” <http://www.concentric.net/~Faben1/>

by Frederick Bennett, Ph.D., the author discusses in detail:

• TUTORING INDIVIDUALS• EDUCATING THE DISADVANTAGED• EDUCATING BRIGHTER STUDENTS• as well as

Potential Projects, Cont’d

• FULFILLING THE NEED TO SUCCEED• USING EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH• DIRECTING MULTIMEDIA• ELIMINATING PREJUDICE• ELIMINATING SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS

Authoring tools at www.maricopa.edu

Summary

• We’ve looked at• The Internet or WWW

• Web-Based Learning

• What The Web Can Provide

• Potential Projects

For More Details and Examples

Visit <http://www.staffs.ac.uk/cital/DL0.html>

Where To Get More Information

• The Educator's Guide to Internet Resources

– http://users.cwnet.com/jedman/index.html• Links to help teachers find resources that will help them integrate technology in their

curriculum. The links are sorted into the following categories ...

– Alphabetical listing of all links in the above site

• http://users.cwnet.com/jedman/page27.html

• Learners Online, Inc.

– http://www.learnersonline.com/• Since 1996, helping teachers, students, and families capitalise on the wealth of Internet

learning opportunities and resources. Bring along your browser and a curious mind to experience the best educational sites on the World Wide Web.

• Exploring the Internet in Education

– http://edsitewa.iinet.net.au/start.htm• This hypertext tutorial will take you on a tour of some of the educational features of the

Internet.

Where To Get More Information - Searching Search Engines

•www.mamma.com searches all the search engines

•Also try www.about.com and www.4anything.com

Part II - Utilising the WWW as a Business Tool

• What is Web-Based Business?

• What Can The WWW Provide?

• Building Your Electronic Store

• Summary and Closing Thoughts

• Where To Get More Information

What is WWW-Based Business?

• The provision of a BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT for:

• suppliers

• distributors

• retailers

• customers

What Can The WWW Provide?

• Creation of a Client Base

• Product Analysis

• Market Analysis

• Expert Advice and Help

• Recruitment of New Employees

• as well as ...

What Can The WWW Provide?

• Rapid Information Access

• Wide Scale Information Dissemination

• Rapid Communications

• Cost-effective Document Transfer

• Peer Communications

• New Business Opportunities

Creation of a Global Client Base

• The Internet is:• Several million people

• From all walks of life

• In the consumer’s marketplace

Product Analysis

• Analysis <http://www.idg.com/research/>

• Comparison

• Reports on findings

• First hand reports from other users

• Product Ratings <http://www.zdnet.co.uk>

Market Analysis

• Surveys for– new products

– new services• Example: The PC Magazine 1999 Service and

Reliability survey

<http://www.zdnet.co.uk/pcmag/sandr/1999/>

• Tracking user satisfaction

Expert Advice and Help

• Easy access to highly paid expert contributors to:

• large organizations

• magazines

• other periodicals• <http://www.microsoft.com/Windows2000/guide/

platform/reviews/gigaplanning.asp> for Windows 2000 migration.

Recruitment of New Employees

• Job lists <http://www.monster.com/>

• Career Management

• Usenet groups

• Categorised for easy searching

Recruitment, Career Management

http://my.monster.com/

Rapid Information Access

• Faster than fax and postal service

• Provides soft copy and hard copy

• Transparently international

Voicemail, Faxes and E-mail

http://www.excite.com/Info/inbox/welcome.dcg

Wide Scale Information Dissemination

• Using hypertext documents

• world-wide audiences have access

• to information

• if they are aware that it is there

Rapid Communications

• E-mail - an effective solution to telephone tag

• Speed of a telephone conversation

• Semi-permanence of postal mail

Cost-effective Document Transfer

• Charges are not based on the quantity of information in a document.

• Very short transfer time

• Easy distribution to groups of recipients

Effective Document Transfer

http://www.novell.com/download/

Peer Communications

• Co-researchers and other workers

• Shared knowledge

• Collaborative solutions• <http://www.idg.com> - “Your source for

today’s IT news”

New Business Opportunities

• A place to find new and innovative ideas for viable commercial ventures.

• Ideas With Wings- Idea Management Consultants - Welcome to Ideas With Wings with Sumit Roy and Nanette Kelley, idea management consultants. Want to find work that is perfect for you? Looking to start your own business and need some guidance? http://www.ideaswithwings.com/

Building Your Electronic Store

• Outsourcing of the complete Web store

• Outsourcing of payment authorisation and processing

• http://www.hostindex.com/ - “With thousands of companies offering web hosting, it's tough to tell which one has the right package for you.” (2,662 companies)

Summary

• We’ve looked at• Web-Based Business

• What The Web Can Provide

• Building Your Electronic Store

Closing Thoughts

• The customer first meets you through your home page - give them

• a user area

• a business area

• a services area

• visit <www.yahoo.com> and <www.hyperia.com> for examples

User / Business / Service Areas

http://www.7am.com/ticker/firewall.htm

Where To Get More Information

• E-Business• http://www.hp.com/Ebusiness/main1.html

• http://www.eRetail.net/

• http://www.yahoo.com/business_and_economy/electronic_commerce/

• E-commerce software• http://www.yahoo.com/business_and_economy/

companies/retail_management_supplies_and_services/electronic_commerce/software/

Conclusion

• The WWW can be beneficial in business and education.

• To be successful, its use must be planned.

• It can be a competitive edge.