The Effects of Internet Instruction, Prior Computer Experience, and Learning Style on Teachers' Internet Attitudes and Knowledge

Abstract

What is now called the Internet started out as a small number of federally funded Department of Defense (Advanced Research Project Agency, or ARPA) supercomputers networked together to share information. In order to guarantee data transmission between these nodes, this network (ARPANET) shared a common set of protocols that was designed to allow for high speed and reliable transfer. This protocol suite is TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). Most microcomputers now have a TCP/IP implementation available (e.g., MacTCP) and can, therefore, join the millions of computers that have access to the plethora of resources on the Internet. The Internet is not a static set of nodes, not a limited number of library holdings, not a one-directional paradigm of data transmission. Rather, it is a vibrant and absorbing setting that can foster new learning environments, or enrage educators with its diverse commands, lack of direction, and tenuous consistency.