Videos

Not A Series Of Tubes

Despite popular belief, the Internet is not a series of tubes or your web browser. We'll take you on the dime tour of the web, dispelling myths about tubes and Second Life-like virtual realities. We'll also show you that a website is just a collection of files connected to a domain name that link to each other.

Source: Don't Fear the Internet

Who invented the Internet, and why?

Nuclear war, cat gifs and reddit? Wait, what? Who was the genius who came up with all of that? The Internet is such a crucial tool in our daily lives today that we hardly remember that it hasn’t been here forever. But yeah, it is actually not that old. Let’s explore how the internet came into existence and why.

Source: Kurzgesagt

There and Back Again: How does the Internet work?

The video lets you ride shotgun with a packet of data—one of trillions involved in the trillions of Internet interactions that happen every second. Look deep beneath the surface of the most basic Internet transaction, and follow the packet as it flows from your fingertips, through circuits, wires, and cables, to a host server, and then back again, all in less than a second.

Source: World Science Festival

Readings

The Internet and the Web are not the same thing

The World Wide Web turned 25 years old in 2014. The Internet, however, is much older.

Wait, what? They are different? Indeed they are. Impress your next date by pointing out the difference between the Internet and the Web with this handy explainer.

Source: NBC News

Behind The Great Firewall

China makes headlines every other week for its censorship of the Internet, but few people outside the country know what it's like to live with those access controls, or how to get around them. This article describes what it is really like to log on from China.

Source: Network World

Key Facts About NZ's Cable Connectivity

This blog post covers some key facts about New Zealand’s International Cable Connectivity to the rest of the world. Capacity, redundancy and all the cables connecting NZ to the world are discussed.

Source: NZ TechBlog

Activities

A Strong Wind Blows

This activity is a hack of the game musical chairs. Thematic statements are introduced and learners for whom the statement is true, must find a new seat.

Source: Net Neutrality Teaching Kit

Who Controls Your Internet?

Trace the path of a web request, locating as many of the points as you can. Even if you live in NZ, changes to Net Neutrality laws overseas could affect you. Why? How?

Source: Net Neutrality Teaching Kit

Net Neutrality Poster

Unleash your no-fi, low-fi, and/or hi-fi creativity by making and sharing a poster to champion Net Neutrality.

Source: Net Neutrality Teaching Kit