3.5 KiB
Week 4 Announcements
Monday: This Week in CSIS 1 — Internet, Email & The Web
Hey everyone -
Week 4. We're talking about the thing you use every day but probably haven't thought much about — the internet. How it works, how the web works, how email works, and what "the cloud" actually means.
This week you'll be able to:
- Explain how a web request travels from your browser to a server and back
- Identify common internet protocols (HTTP, HTTPS, SMTP, DNS)
- Evaluate a website's credibility using specific criteria
- Describe cloud computing and name common cloud services
- Spot the signs of a phishing email
What's due this week (all due Sunday 11:59 PM):
- Practice Quiz (unlimited attempts)
- Discussion: "How do you decide if a website is trustworthy? Walk us through your actual process."
- Real-World Task #1: Internet & web concepts quiz
- Real-World Task #2: Evaluate 3 websites for credibility
- Weekly Check-In Quiz (2 attempts)
Readings: OpenStax Ch. 1 Sec. 1.3 (Internet & Cloud), Ch. 8 (CMS & Social Media). Also watch the Code.org "How the Internet Works" videos — they're short (about 5 min each) and really well done. Links in Module 4.
Monday Demo tonight — I'll trace a web request from browser to server and back so you can see all the steps. Then we'll look at the actual source code of a web page. It's not as scary as it sounds. Zoom link in Module 4.
-peter h
Wednesday: Mid-Week Check-In
Hey everyone -
Tip: Check the URL before you trust a website. The domain name tells you who owns the site. bankofamerica.com is legit. bankofamerica.secure-login.xyz is not — look at what comes right before the .xyz. That's the real domain. Scammers rely on you not noticing.
Also: HTTPS (the lock icon) means your connection is encrypted. It does NOT mean the site is safe. A phishing site can have HTTPS too. The lock just means nobody can eavesdrop on the data between you and the site — it doesn't tell you whether the site itself is trustworthy.
On the website evaluation assignment: Don't just say "it looks professional." That's not a reason to trust a site. Look at who wrote it, when it was last updated, whether it cites sources, and whether you can verify the claims elsewhere. Three of these, due Sunday.
-peter
Friday: Week Wrap-Up
Hey everyone -
Week 4 wrap-up:
Due Sunday 11:59 PM: Website evaluation, internet quiz, discussion, and the weekly quiz.
Mistakes I'm seeing:
- On the quiz: people saying HTTP and HTTPS are the same thing. They're not. The S stands for Secure — it means your data is encrypted in transit. Always look for HTTPS, especially when entering passwords or payment info.
- On the website evaluation: "The site looks professional" isn't evidence of credibility. A scam site can look beautiful. Look for author credentials, date of publication, cited sources, and whether other reputable sites say the same thing.
- Confusing "the internet" and "the web." The internet is the network (the pipes). The web is one thing that runs on it (websites, accessed via browsers using HTTP). Email, streaming, and gaming also use the internet — they're not "the web."
Next week: Security, scams, and protecting yourself. This is the week that might actually save you money someday. We're covering phishing, malware, social engineering, AI-powered threats, password managers, 2FA — all of it. I'll show you real scam examples and we'll tear apart a phishing email live in the demo.
This is my favorite week to teach. See you Monday.
-peter h