The word "internet" is most commonly used to refer to the operation of electronic networks and computers in and through which vast amounts of information are relayed globally. Most recently its definition has been broadened to include the community of people who use the technology. The Internet can be a valuable source of environment information, yet finding the precise information you need on any given topic can be a difficult task.

Why deal with the Internet?

• Information is accessed when perceived as being valuable.
• It can be cost effective if you consider how much paper we use each day.
• From the perspective of good education, it offers constructivism and information skills.
• From the perspective of organisations, the Net is here to stay.
• Thinking globally, acting locally, it offers opportunities for networking and sharing in electronic Information.

What makes the Internet attractive is its quest for creating and storing information in such a way that any linked computer could present in a standardised format. Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the format that makes this possible.  

The Internet, in particular the Worldwide Web (WWW), may be used in mainly two ways: browsing and navigation.

Browsing is probably the most common approach and involves the search for information where the user has only a general idea of what he/she is looking for. Navigation, on the other hand is a pattern of use where the user knows exactly what he/she is looking for and where to find it. To assist novice users, the following guide is based on the browsing strategy.

• Browsing considerations:

  Browsing is often an activity associated with sifting through on-line catalogues that have been organized into various subject areas. A user would then follow links through databases that start off as general categories. These are known as subject trees and they allow users to move from general to more specific content via links (also known as ‘hot spots’) and search forms. Popular on-line subject trees include Yahoo, Infoseek and Alta Vista, but a large number of other similar subject trees are available. The key is to find the subject tree most suitable to one's needs.

  When browsing through subjects trees, users may enter phrases or keywords into search forms, which then match the query to files in their database. Not all search engines offer the same search options. There are several factors that determine the success of a search engine, chief among which are the size, content and currency of the database, the speed of searching, the availability of search features, the interface design and the ease of use.

  Each search engine varies significantly in respect of how the results are ranked and presented, and this can impact on the success of a search. The highest-ranked documents in the list are not necessarily those that will provide the desired information. Often the best link is further down the ranked list.

• Accessing information:

  You normally start with a home page. Click on highlighted (coloured and/or underlined) words on a page to bring another page of related information to your screen. Each browser consists of a toolbar which contains buttons to control incoming pages, for instance ‘Back’, which brings back pages previously visited, or ‘Home’, which loads a home page that was specified in the user's settings for that computer.

  A link is a connection from one page to another. You find a link by looking for one or more words highlighted with colour and/or underlined, in the content area of a page. Images and icons also serve as links. When the mouse cursor points over a link, the Universal Resource Locator (URL) of the link appears in the status field. A URL is a text used as an address for a page in a computer network, i.e. http://www.home/welcome.html