About The Foundation Layer
A lot of people mistakenly assume that the Internet and the World Wide Web are one in the same; this is not correct. Think of the Internet as all of the cables, wires, wireless signals, routers and switches that transport the billions of bits of information, like email, Web pages, music downloads, streaming video, and tweets, all over the world every day. There are numerous services, based on Internet standardized protocols, that operate over the Internet's data communication infrastructure, examples include: email, which uses the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP); blogs, which use the Real Simple Syndication (RSS) protocol; and the World Wide Web (WWW - pronounced dub dub dub) which uses the HyperText
Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
The goals of the Foundation layer are the
following:
-
Increase scholarly awareness of the technical
differences which differentiate the Internet from the services which
operate over the infrastructure it provides; i.e. email, the World Wide Web,
and emerging cloud services.
-
Increase scholarly understanding of what an Internet
protocol is and make scholars aware of commonly used protocols on the Internet
-
Provide scholars tutoring and practice using basic IP-based tools for troubleshooting and
diagnostics
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To promote the importance of information literacy
and make scholars aware of the far reaching implications of
information literacy to the future of their professional careers.
Course Information
In order to complete the requirements for the Foundation layer you must enroll in and complete one of the following courses:
What You'll Be Learning
There is a lot you will learn in the Introduction to the Internet course about the Internet and how it works. Some of the important concepts you will learn, which are foundational to Web development, are the technologies used by the Internet which include, but are not limited to:
Technologies
At the Foundation layer you will learn about many of the protocols and technologies which are at the foundation of the Internet.
- HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
- File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
- Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
- Uniform Resource Locators (URLs)
Skills
You will learn many skills while completing the Internet Authoring program. At the Foundation layer you will learn the following skills:
- How to post to discussion board forums
- How to maintain an electronic journal
- How to use advanced Internet search techniques
- How to use an ASCII text editor to create an HTML page
Organizations
At the Foundation layer you will learn about two prominent organizations that are responsible for creating and maintaining the standards which make the Internet and the WWW function correctly. Those organizations are:
Industry Certifications
One of the primary goals of the Internet Authoring program is to help scholars gain the knowledge and know-how to get a good paying job in the field of Information Technology. Earning an industry certification will improve your chances of being viewed as a serious candidate for an IT position in a company whose looking for knowledgeable and motivated individuals to join their team. Along with the
Presentation layer knowledge and know-how, the knowledge and know-how you gain from the
Foundation layer will help you to pass several of the exams that will earn you one of Microsoft's MTA certifications, including exam 98-361 Software Development Fundamentals and exam 98-363 Web Development Fundamentals.
Click on the links below to learn more about IT certifications available from Microsoft.