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Basics Intro

In our first session we will review the syllabus, review the assignments and start completing our Basics Tasks. By the end of the week you will better understand how internet works and will be able to post data to a web server on the internet. These summer school sessions are more like the fall or spring recitation sessions than the fall or spring lecture sessions. If you want to go deeper, then you are encouraged to check out the lectures that are posted here that will be run in fall 2022. You will not be graded on the lecture data, but you may find it helpful to round out your overall INLS 161 experience.

The exception will be that we will cover 7 brief networking modules over the next seven days. These can be found in the extra links in the left navigation sidebar at the bottom. Each one is a short video. We will watch the first one (three minutes and 44 seconds) in this session: What is the internet?

Browser​

I will normally not use Mac Safari or Microsoft Edge in class demos. These are fine for regular use. The recommended browsers for web development are Firefox and [Google Chrome](https://www.google.com/chrome. You will need a web browser for testing your website; either of these will work just fine. Avoid using Mac specific (Safari) or Windows specific (Edge or Explorer) browsers as a primary testing tool for web development.

Value Added Grades​

Forum Posts​

VALUE ADDED ITEM

tip

Including your name and forum post number in the title is not necessary and it obfuscates what the reader most needs—the title.

Part of your Value Added grade is to make four low-stakes posts on the class blog this summer session (your introduction post is a separate grade item). These posts will introduce you to the workings of the WordPress Content management system available for use to all students and faculty. The posts can be on any topic that you wish. Some of these might be about something you read in one of your newsletters. Write two to three paragraphs on why you find something interesting and how it relates to your interests, or passions, or concerns. This is not a formal report. You do not have to summarize the article. Some of the articles can be rather long.

Comment on Peer's posts​

VALUE ADDED ITEM

You should make at least one comment on a peer's post sometime this semester. I will find your comments and grade them in the process of reading the forums.

Starter​

VALUE ADDED ITEM

During the session each of you will be given the opportunity to present one of your forum posts at the start of class. A starter is not a separate forum post. It can be any of your forum posts. Note: It is worth three points and must be done in one of the sessions on or before the final class. If the thought of doing a starter seems overwhelming, I will be glad to help you plan a short effective starter. Hint: make one of your forum posts something that you love and find easy to talk about.

Seven Benefits of Public Speaking​

  1. Career Advancement
  2. Builds Confidence
  3. Enhances Critical Thinking
  4. Builds Social Connections
  5. Expands Professional Network
  6. Allows you to move into Leadership positions
  7. Helps you to drive change for a better world

Professionalism​

VALUE ADDED ITEM

Characteristics of Professionalism

Everything in this class is about empowering you to meet the complex demands of these very challenging times. This grade is not to cause you to worry or be anxious. Think of it as a gift. It is roughly 5 points that you don't have to earn. Be nice, kind, and communicative. Professionalism does not equal perfectionism.

The difference between being nice and being kind

To err is human, to forgive is divine.

Task 01.01​

Create your first forum posting​

Your initial posting on the class WordPress blog should be a repeat of what you will do in the first lab/recitation session. Include it it at least the following:

  1. your name and the name you prefer to be called
  2. your hometown (in whatever manner you chose to define the word "hometown")
  3. your class (first year, second, third, fourth, graduate student)
  4. your major
  5. what you hope to get out of this class
  6. and, the operating system on your personal laptop

Of course, you may add anything else that you wish.

Task 01.02​

Sign up for at least two newsletters​

Sign up for at least two newsletters and tell us which ones you subscribed to in your task 01.01 first forum posting.

Required subscriptions​

Sign up for these two newsletters​

image of alertbox page

  1. Alertbox: Current Issues in Web Usability. Jakob Nielsen's biweekly column on how to design more usable websites image of technology review newsletters signup page

  2. Technology Review: a journal of links to articles about technology developments (in their technical, social, and policy aspects). Subscribe at least to The Download.

Your choice​

You may, depending on your interests, wish to sign up for one or more of these newsletters, but this is purely optional.​

image of Search Engine Watch newsletters signup page

Search Engine Watch : tips about internet search engines & search engine submission

image of First Monday signup page

FirstMonday : a peer-reviewed scholarly journal from the University of Illinois, Chicago

image of Internet Scout Report signup page

Scout Report: a publication of the Internet Scout Research Group, published every Friday both on the Web and by email subscription, it provides a way to stay informed of valuable STEM and humanities resources on the Internet.

Task 01.03​

VPN Setup Slideshow​

Link to Task 01.03 VPN Setup Slideshow

We need to set up our laptops to be able to fully engage in client-server relationships on the UNC network​

Off-campus access to the UNC networks requires the use of a Virtual Private Network (VPN).​

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) provides an encrypted connection (secure tunnel) from off campus to the UNC-Chapel Hill internal network. VPN allows you to access campus applications and work securely, just as if you were physically on campus. Access to some campus applications from off campus require the use of VPN (i.e., Virtual Computing Lab, Virtual Lab, and ConnectCarolina).

Go to ITS's VPN installation page, determine your client's operating system, and then download and install the Cisco AnyConnect VPN Client that is appropriate for your laptop, tablet, and/or phone.

VPN login

When you have successfully installed it on your device, put a screenshot of the installation in the Teams assignment, if you wish, but we will practice putting all of our screen shots on OPAL for practice, so either option will be fine.

We may as well begin here to use a consistent file naming convention.​

The structure takes advantage of how operating systems want to index things.

The structure takes advantage of how operating systems want to index things.

LastName.FirstName(s).YYYYMMDD.TaskNN.descriptor.file extension

An example might be

johnson.pat.20210119.task01.03.vpn-screenshot.png

Using this model, the files will sort first by last name, then by first name, then by date.

Things to remember about naming your files and directories​

To do

  • A good format for dates in YYYYMMDD. This format ensures that your files automatically sort in chronological order.
  • Try to make filenames as short as possible, while remaining meaningful.
  • Use capital letters to delimit words, as in UseCapitalLettersToDelimitWords.
  • Always use leading zeroes in a sequence of numbers, so the sequence will read 01, 02, 03, 11 and not 1, 11, 2, 3.

NOT to do

  • Even if your operating system allows you, do not save files containing these characters ~ ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) ` ; > < ? , [ ] { } ' " | . You may encounter difficulties searching for or opening them
  • Do not leave spaces in filenames; some software will not recognize file names with spaces.