Internet Services

What are internet services?

Internet services are a range of services made possible by the internet. The internet is about connecting computers together: it’s the infrastructure of computers and their connections – the hardware. It can be used for lots of different things. There’s a range of services made possible by the internet: the World Wide Web, search engines, email and instant messaging, audio and video calls, media streaming, wikis and blogs. These fall into two groups: “client–server”, where the client computer accesses services or content on a server computer; and “peer-to-peer”, where two computers communicate directly as equals, passing data back and forth.

Diagrams illustrating client–server and peer-to-peer internet services.

Diagrams illustrating client–server and peer-to-peer internet services. (From "QuickStart Computing: a CPD toolkit for Primary teachers".)

The World Wide Web was born when British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee decided to combine the capabilities of the internet with the functions of hypertext (documents that include hyperlinks that allow connections to be made between different files) to manage information systems at CERN, where he was working. The World Wide Web comprises information in the form of interlinked web pages available on the internet. When you click on a web link, another web page is displayed, typically from a different web server somewhere else on the planet.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee

Sir Tim Berners-Lee

A diagram of arrows showing the interconnecting links of web pages.

The World Wide Web is about the connection (the links) between documents.

A wiki is a website or database that’s been developed collaboratively by a group of individuals. The most well-known is the internet encyclopaedia Wikipedia. Some wikis are open to anyone to edit, whilst access to others is limited to specified groups, such as in the case of a school’s blog.

Email is a good example of a client–server system. Although it appears we communicate directly with one another when we use email, all our messages in fact go via mail servers, and the organisations running them can access the content if they wish. The journey of an email can be something like this:

Alice opens up her email account on her PC and types an email to Jon, includes his email address ([email protected]) in the “To” field and clicks “Send”.
The email transmits to Alice’s outbound mail server. If the email is intended for another domain (“barefootcas.org.uk” here) rather than Alice’s own (“lookingglass.org”) then the server forwards it as data packets – which may take different routes through the internet – to the inbound mail server for the domain “barefootcas.org.uk”.
The inbound mail server at “barefootcas.org.uk” re-assembles the data packets into the original message and stores it ready for Jon to collect.

Later, on his PC, Jon logs into his email account, which connects to the inbound mail server and requests any messages for him. The one from Alice gets transmitted to his PC and Jon can read it in his email account.

Diagramatic representation of how an email is sent across the internet as packets of data.

Peer-to-peer communication is a model used for Skype and other video-conferencing or VoIP systems (VoIP stands for “Voice over Internet Protocol”). Skype uses a server to maintain a list of logged-in users and the IP addresses of their respective computers but, when a call is connected, the data packets get routed directly between the two parties.

Instant messaging is offered by smartphone apps such as iMessage and Whatsapp and is a feature of many websites for social networking and online collaboration. It makes possible chatting in real time with other users logged into the system. If the people with whom you wish to communicate are online at the same time as yourself, it’s quicker than email. Streaming is where multimedia content is simultaneously being downloaded to a user’s computer whilst they’re accessing it – e.g. whilst watching BBC iPlayer or YouTube.

Why are internet services important?

Most of us depend on internet services to go about our daily lives, accessing them from PCs, laptops, tablets, mobile phones and internet-enabled TVs. They’re crucial to the operation of businesses across the world. In a typical day, we may access a vast variety of websites, for news, social networking, travel information, online shopping and blogs. Search engines provide a means of locating the information we require amongst the billions of existing web pages. On top of this, the vast majority of people use email. It’s the primary form of communication at work. VoIP services have brought people closer together, enabling friends and relations around the globe to feel more connected. Businesses can use VoIP services to video-conference, negotiate and collaborate.

What do internet services look like in the Primary curriculum?

Up to age 7, the focus is for children to become confident users of internet services, developing their skills in IT and digital literacy. Between the ages of 7 and 11, children build on this with some understanding of the computer science underpinning internet services.

The following discussion refers to pupils’ digital literacy and information-technology skills as well as their understanding of the computer science behind how internet services work.

3 - 5 years

Pupils gain experience in viewing web pages using a browser. They learn to navigate between pages by clicking on links and seeing a new page load each time. They may access streamed media and potentially experience buffering if the school’s internet connection is slow! Using walkie-talkies and other sound-recording devices, pupils may become familiar with the concept of communication technology. Phones and computers can be placed in roleplay areas. As teachers, we can model this technology, pretending to send messages across the world to people we know. This offers the opportunity to talk about how devices are connected as well as how to stay safe online.

5 - 7 years

Pupils use a range of computer systems to access websites. We can model how to use search engines effectively, discussing what words (terms) to use to find information relevant to our topics. We can also demonstrate how to recognise, and select between, different categories of search result, such as web page, image or video. Pupils may contribute to class emails, developing an understanding that emails travel across the internet and may be sent and received from a web-based interface. A school might subscribe to e-learning resource websites, some of which enable pupils to use an instant-messaging window to chat with others. Their families may use Skype or other VoIP services through various devices. Since pupils may be using the internet to communicate with others from an early age, it’s important that they learn how to stay safe; as teachers, we can model how to safely communicate and browse online. Schools should be delivering a comprehensive e-safety curriculum throughout the Primary years and beyond, ensuring that pupils understand how to use the technology respectfully and responsibly and how to report concerns about content or contact.

7 - 11 years

Pupils continue to build upon their experience of using internet services, increasing their digital literacy and further deepening their understanding of information technology. They and their friends might use instant messaging within online games or apps. They might
collaborate with pupils from around the world as part of a twinning project. They might take part in audio or video calls or use an email account set up within their school’s system. Pupils contributing to blogs or wikis can learn to use the more-advanced features of the software, such as adding images within posts and embedding streaming media. Blogging services typically offer users the opportunity to work in HTML, the language in which the World Wide Web is written, although it’s not a statutory requirement at this age.

In addition to continuing to develop their skills in the effective and efficient use of internet services, pupils aged 7–11 also take part in activities which explore the computer science behind how some services are enabled by computer networks. There are activities to illustrate how the content of web pages is stored in web servers, broken down and transmitted across the internet as data packets, carrying ordering information so that they can be assembled within a browser as the viewable page. As teachers, we can model the advanced features of search engines.

Find out more about internet services / Downloads

BBC Bitesize on the World Wide Web (opens in a new window)

Video explaining the difference between the internet and the World Wide Web (opens in a new window)

Wikipedia page explaining the World Wide Web (opens in a new window)

Planning from Phil Bagge to support teaching the concepts of the internet and World Wide Web (opens in a new window)

Video of pupils at Winchester House School explaining how the World Wide Web works (opens in a new window)

Networks and the internet, by Miles Berry (on Prezi) (opens in a new window)

Network of networks, by Phil Bagge (on Prezi) (opens in a new window)

Digital-literacy resources, from the South West Grid for Learning (opens in a new window)

Activities that are great to get you started:

These activities develop pupils' understanding of internet services.

Introduction to HTML

Age:9-11 years
Concepts / Approaches: Internet Services, Tinkering, HTML, Decomposition, Debugging
Curriculum Links: English

Pupils learn that web pages are written using HTML and become familiar with basic HTML tags by remixing web pages.

The Introduction to HTML has been rated 5 stars

Modelling the Internet

Age:9-11 years
Concepts / Approaches: Internet Services, Abstraction, Computer Systems, Computer Networks
Curriculum Links: Geography

Pupils learn that the internet is a vast network of computers and other devices connected across the world, as they explore the difference between the internet and the World Wide Web (WWW).