Glossary

10Base-T: the specification for running Ethernet on UTP. This stands for 10 Mbps, baseband signaling (the signaling method used by Ethernet networks), over twisted pair cable.

Associate Status: any school can self-register on the MassNetworks Web page as a NetDay Associate by describing what they intend to accomplish over the 1996/97 school year--which can be as much or as little as they have resources and desire to do. Associates can take advantage of some special NetDay discounts and training offered through MassNetworks. Some schools are planning to be an Associate for the Oct. 26, 1996 NetDay and then apply for Partner status for the April 5, 1997 NetDay.

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM): a type of switching technology in which the switches are small, fixed-length cells containing data.

Backbone: the high-capacity ("fat pipe") connections that run between areas of a building or between buildings or between regions; often constructed with fiber-optic cable.

Bps: bits per second, a measure of the transfer rate of information between two connected computers. 28.8 or 14.4 kbps (the current standards for modem speeds) are considered to be the minimum needed for graphical WWW and Internet access, while NIC's can reach speeds of up to 56kbps and above.

Browser: the software used to connect to a Web server, request that it send the designated Web page of material, and then displaying or otherwise outputting (e.g. in voice or video) the received material including any hypertext links to additional Web pages.

Cable modem: the equipment that allows digital computer signals to run over the coaxial cables used by analog cable TV systems.

Category 5 wiring (Cat-5): a standard that describes wiring installed so as to reduce the potential for electrical interference to a prescribed level.

Classroom terminations: the wiring that runs from a wiring closet, which is attached to the backbone network, out to a classroom and ends in a faceplate into which one or more personal computers can be plugged.

Client/server: refers to the situation in which the requester of an action or service (to process data or provide information) is on one system and the supplier (with calculation programs or databases) is on another. Usually there are many clients to one server, and their respective roles do not change.

Curriculum Integration: the use of technology as a tool for research, discovery, instruction, reporting and other regular teaching and learning activities.

Dial-up connection: temporarily connecting a computer to a network or server, usually using a modem sending data over ordinary phone lines.

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL): an emerging method of sending large amounts of data over the copper wires already installed to most locations.

Distance Learning: possibility offered by the implementation of the connection of schools to the Internet, in which students can be taught, via tele-conferencing and the passage of information over networks, while in a different geographic location from other students, as well as from their teacher.

Education Reform: a continuing process, spurred on in Massachusetts by the passage of the 19__ Education Reform Act, of re-examining the way schools operate and learning occurs in order to raise standards and increase student success.

Education Technology Bond Bill (ET Bond): an $87 million dollar state bond earmarked for education technology, $30 million of which is available on a 3-to-1 matching basis for local public schools.

Email: sending text messages over a network from one person to another or from one to many.

Ethernet: the most popular LAN technology in use today.

Ethernet card: see Network Interface Card (NIC).

Faceplate: the wall covering that keeps the classroom termination wiring attached to the opening into which personal computers can be plugged for network connection.

Fiber-optic cable: a connecting medium between computers which utilizes beams of light transmitted through glass to achieve extremely high transfer rates

File Server: see server.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol): one of the Internet protocols that allow computers to move files from one machine to another.

Homepage: the first Web page that people see when accessing a Web server, usually welcomes visitors and provides a directory/menu for accessing additional material.

Hub: a piece of hardware which acts as a wiring concentrator and connector for pieces of communications equipment, and can be monitored and managed by network operators.

Hypertext: text or other items on a Web page that are linked to other materials located on other Web pages or even on other computers in other locations. Clicking or activating a hypertext connection brings you directly to the referenced material no matter where in the world it is.

Internet: a connected series of networks around the world that have all agreed to use a standard set of protocols, or agreements, that allow material to be accurately transferred between them.

Internet Service Provider (ISP): a firm that provides access to the major Internet backbone networks.

Intranet: a self-contained network, often restricted to a particular organization, that uses Internet protocols to facilitate internal connections.

ISDN (Integrated Service Digital Network): a method of sending digital signals all the way between computers over the telephone network, instead of having to use a modem to turn the computer's digital signals into the analog signals usually required by a residential or office telephone line and then through another modem that feed the computer at the other end; requires special equipment but allows higher speed transmission than regular POTS connections.

kbps: one thousand bits per second (See bps).

kHz: stands for kilohertz, or 1,000 hertz, which means 1,000 cycles per second.

LAN: see Local Area Network.

Links: see Hypertext.

Local Area Network (LAN): a LAN is a high speed communications system designed to link computers and other data processing devices together within a small geographic area such as a workgroup, department, or a single floor of a multi-story building.

Local Education Technology Plan: a district-level strategic plan for the funding, installation, and classroom and administrative use of education technology; required by the ET Bond Bill as a condition for receiving matching money.

Mass Ed. On-Line (MEOL): an inter-agency effort of Massachusetts state government to promote the use of education technology as a tool for the implementation of education reform; major projects included promotion of Local Technology Plans, drafting of ET Bond bill, and creation of the LearnNet -- a state-wide dial-up network for administrators and teachers.

Mass Networks Education Partnership Inc.: a nonprofit, 501(C)(3), corporation established to support the work of MassNetworks; honorary co-chairs are Governor William F. Weld and Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

MassNetworks: a state-wide, volunteer organization established to sponsor NetDays on October 26, 1996 and April 5, 1997 and to provide support for schools that intend to progress towards networking their classrooms during NetYear.

Modem: a piece of computer hardware designed to allow for the transfer of information between computers and other data processing equipment via a series of tones over ordinary phone lines.

Mosaic: the first graphical Web browser with a "point-and-click" user interface.

Multi-media: a form of communication , generally produced with and presented on a computer, which incorporates written text, a graphical interface, animation, and audio and full motion video components.

NetDay: in Massachusetts, there will be two NetDays during NetYear-- Oct. 26, 1996 and April 5, 1997. These will be the focal points for activities that will go on over the full school year and for many years afterwards.

Netscape: the first commercially available graphical Web browser; the company that produces the Netscape browser and other software.

Network: The equipment, transmission systems, and software that allows material to be sent between computers.

Network Architecture: the overall design of a network; common architectures use Star or Token-ring typologies.

Network Interface Card (NIC): the circuit board put into a computer that handles communication between the computer and the network.

NetYear: the 1996/97 school year; installing networks and fully integrating them into the curriculum in the context of education reform is, in fact, a never-ending process that will take much more than one year -- much less two NetDays -- to accomplish.

Node: any individual station (such as a PC or printer) connected to a network, which is always differentiated from other nodes on the same network by a unique node number.

On-line: connected to a network.

Outside connection: connection from a building to a transmission system such as the telephone company's local loop.

Packet: a standard-size series of signals that are sent over a network; also called a data packet. The Internet is designed to handle material that has been divided into a series of packets, each of which is separately moved from origin to destination across the intervening networks.

Partner: MassNetworks' goal is to make networked computers as commonplace a curriculum tool as pencils and blackboards. To accomplish this requires created an electronic infrastructure including Local Area Networks (LANs) connecting all the classrooms in every school, Wide Area Networks (WANs) connecting all the major buildings in a town, and hooking it all to the global Internet. Partner schools are those who have made the commitment of staff, funds, and other resources to build LANs by Oct. 26, 1996 or by April 5, 1997. In response to this commitment to work over the summer and implement most of the job by mid-October, MassNetworks will work with private firms to provide heavily discounted or free equipment and services as well as technical assistance and training for the Partner schools.

Patch Panel: a board in the wiring closet that is used to connect the backbone wiring with the classroom termination wiring in an organized and maintainable manner.

PC: personal computer, a piece of hardware consisting of input (e.g. keyboard, mouse), output (i.e. monitor, printer), and storage (e.g. RAM or disk drive media) devices, as a well as a central processing unit. These will be the primary means through which children connect to the Internet once schools in Massachusetts become "wired".

Planning Council: the open-to-all meetings of MassNetworks at which volunteers come together to keep each other informed about Task Group activities and discuss issues.

Port: a female plug on a patch panel. It accepts the same size plug as an RJ45 jack. A kind of jumper cable called a patch cord is used in ports to cross connect computers wired to a patch panel.

POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service): the regular phone line into most homes and offices.

Professional Development: Training provided to educators on both the technical knowledge needed to make the equipment run as well as how to use the network as a integral tool in the learning process.

Protocol: an agreed-upon method of doing something; in particular a way of transmitting data between computers and networks.

RJ45 wall plug: jack located in wall designed to allow a connection between an individual piece of hardware and a network. The jack itself consists of color-coded slots, into which wires are "punched down" to make an electrical connection. The plug itself looks like a standard phone jack, but has eight pins instead of four.

Server: a computer used to manage file storage and traffic in a network.

Task Groups: the small working groups, made up of MassNetworks volunteers, that do much of the work of supporting school-based and district-based local NetDay Committees; the Task Groups include Local Site Preparation and Internal Wiring, External Connections and Internet Access, Equipment and Service Donations, NetDay Volunteer Mobilization and Training, Web Site, Educator Professional Development, Public Outreach, Support for Local NetDay Committees, Associate Program Support, and Fundraising. See our Web page for more details.

TCP/IP: stands for Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol, and refers to the Internet suite of protocols, or set of rules that govern interactions with a network and determine how information is distributed. Originally developed for the US. Department of Defense

Technical Training: giving people the skills to make the equipment, software, and systems work.

Telnet: term for accessing information via the Internet on a computer other than your own, whether that computer be

Token-ring: a major LAN technology in use today. Token Ring rules are defined in the IIEE 802.5 specification. Like Ethernet, the Token Ring protocol provides services at the Physical and Data Link Layers of the OSI model. Token Ring networks can be run at two different data rates, 4 Mbps or 16 Mbps.

Universal Resource Locator (URL): the electronic address of an on-line resource accessible through the World Wide Web.

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP): UTP cable is similar to telephone cable, but has somewhat more stringent specifications regarding its susceptibility to outside electro-magnetic interference than common telephone wire. UTP is much more common the STP (shielded twisted pair) wire.

WAN: see Wide Area Network.

Web: see World Wide Web.

Web browser: see browser.

Web page: an individual page published on the World Wide Web.

Web site: a collection of linked pages published on the World Wide Web.

Wide Area Network (WAN): links between two or more computers that allow people and machines to exchange information. A WAN is usually a collection of one or more LAN's, and will often span large geographical distances. The Internet is one example of such a wide-area network.

Wiring Closet: the room that contains the patch panel and other equipment needed to connect various parts of the network.

Wiring Plan: a diagram showing where the network equipment and wires will go as well as displaying any special instructions for installing it all.

Workstation: originally referred to a high-powered PC, usually scientific or engineering-oriented; now coming to mean any individual full-capability PC.

World Wide Web (WWW or the Web): a method, or protocol, of displaying information that can be accessed over the Internet; Web pages are "interactive billboards" that can contain text, pictures, graphics, voice, video, and animation; Web pages contain hypertext links to other material.