Currently, I am taking this class "Using the Internet in Education". I think it is a good idea to have a little background about the Internet. I am posting this essay that I wrote a while ago.

HISTORY OF THE INTERNET
The Internet was the result of some visionary thinking by people in the early 1960s that saw great potential value in allowing computers to share information on research and development in scientific and military fields. J.C.R. Licklider of MIT, first proposed a global network of computers in 1962, and moved over to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in late 1962 to head the work to develop it. Leonard Kleinrock of MIT and later UCLA developed the theory of packet switching, which was to form the basis of Internet connections. Lawrence Roberts of MIT connected a Massachusetts computer with a California computer in 1965 over dial-up telephone lines. It showed the feasibility of wide area networking, but also showed that the telephone line's circuit switching was inadequate. Kleinrock's packet switching theory was confirmed. Roberts moved over to DARPA in 1966 and developed his plan for ARPANET.
TCP and IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) or The Internet, as it is called today, was initially funded by the government. It was developed by a Department of Defense (DOD) research project to connect a number of different networks designed by different vendors into a network of networks. It was originally limited to research, education, and government uses. One of the important features of this system was the ability to automatically reroute packet transmissions from one location to another in the event that the most direct circuit path was damaged (this was part of the specifications from the Department of Defense in order to keep communication with the research labs in the event communications were damaged due to nuclear attack). Commercial uses were prohibited unless they directly served the goals of research and education. This policy continued until the early 90's, when independent commercial networks began to grow. It then became possible to route traffic across the country from one commercial site to another without passing through the government funded NSFNet Internet backbone.
Delphi was the first national commercial online service to offer Internet access to its subscribers. It opened up an email connection in July 1992 and full Internet service in November 1992. All pretenses of limitations on commercial use disappeared in May 1995 when the National Science Foundation ended its sponsorship of the Internet backbone, and all traffic relied on commercial networks. AOL, Prodigy, and CompuServe came online. Since commercial usage was so widespread by this time and educational institutions had been paying their own way for some time, the loss of NSF funding had no appreciable effect on costs.
Today, NSF funding has moved beyond supporting the backbone and higher educational institutions to building the K-12 and local public library accesses on the one hand, and the research on the massive high volume connections on the other.[1]
NETWORKS
Networks are groups of resources that are interconnected and communicated through a standard communication protocol (network operating system, or NOS). Networks link people, assets and ideas and distribute data, products and services without being limited by traditional organizational boundaries or physical locations. A network can be as small as two PC’s connected within a home, or, as is the case for global corporations, hundreds of thousands of devices connected throughout the world.
THE INTERNET
On October 24, 1995 the Federal Network Council (FNC) unanimously passed a resolution defining the term Internet. This definition was developed in consultation with members of the Internet and intellectual property rights communities. RESOLUTION: The Federal Networking Council (FNC) agrees that the following language reflects our definition of the term "Internet". "Internet" refers to the global information system that -- (i) is logically linked together by a globally unique address space based on the Internet Protocol (IP) or its subsequent extensions/follow-ons; (ii) is able to support communications using the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite or its subsequent extensions/follow-ons, and/or other IP-compatible protocols; and (iii) provides, uses or makes accessible, either publicly or privately, high level services layered on the communications and related infrastructure described herein.[2]
The Internet is an international network of networks that are both commercial and publicly owned. The Internet connects hundreds of thousand of different networks from more than two hundred countries around the word. Millions of people working in science, education, government, and business organizations use the Internet to exchange information or perform business transactions with other organizations around the globe.
The worldwide web is a graphical representation of the Internet which came about in the early 90’s. The powerful worldwide web has altered the environment of business. Today, information systems provide the communication and analytic power that firms need for conducting trade and managing business on a global scale. It provides communication with distributors and suppliers, operating 24 hours a day and seven days a week in different national environment, servicing local and international reporting needs. There are no boundaries as to graphical locations, time zones and cultures. In many cases the distance has been eliminated due to the modern communications technology in the worldwide web.
Globalization and information technology also brings new threats to domestic firms because of the competition from customers who can now shop in a worldwide market place, obtaining price and quality information twenty four hours a day and seven days a week.
Additionally, Email has been a significant factor in all areas of the Internet. It has opened new doors to a new way of communication eliminating in many cases the long wait of a letter to a loved one. One can communicate via email to any part of the world in just seconds.
Finally the Internet has revolutionized the computer and the way we communicate and do business today. It is a powerful tool by today’s standards and it has become a way of life for corporations, government agencies, schools, universities and millions of other users. The Internet has changed the way we do business today…rapid speed, redundant connectivity and network architectures, and access to massive amounts of disparate information. It will continue to change and evolve, and we evolve with it. Without the Internet we now feel isolated and out of touch.












[1] 2004 Walt Howe -Last updated 17 September 2004-www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml#Introduction

[2] Resolution defining the term internet. The Federal Network Council (FNC)
www.nitrd.gov/Fnc/internet_res.html