Websites

With the Internet as it is the communication that an MP could have with their voters is never ending. Many MPs now use email, blogs and social networking sites such as facebook and twitter to gain voters and convince people that they should be kept in power. The voters also have access to all the information they need on the party’s website such as the manifestos that they have set out for that particular district.

Many of the parties now have websites and use them to try and boast their popularity amongst voters right before elections, however there is one main problem with this. Anything that a party comments on, on their website is available for everyone across the globe to see and a lot of the time it can be twisted into something they they didn’t intend it to sound like.

Having website like this can also be a problem depending on what country you are in. for example if you are in a country such as China there are strict rule onto what the party is allowed to say and therefore it is used much less.

This has all benefited the growth of the internet because it has meant that everyone has access to all the information they need in one place so more people are going to use it. it also lead the way to more political chores being done over the internet. For example with direct.gov you are able to carry out multiple functions which the government required you to do such as renew your TV licensing and your car tax.

Political - Online petitions

When someone mentions the word petition, a lot of people immediately think of someone from the older generation walking round and getting people to sign bits of paper. In the past few years this has all transferred onto the internet and has revolutionised the use of petitions. A lot of the more pressing issues of the younger generation are addressed by setting up a online petition, this way the cause reaches a wider audience a lot quicker. For example if a problem arises in Scotland concerning a particular matter, someone living in London could sign the petition because it is a matter that they hold close. They are also used on social networking sites like Facebook, again a way of reaching a larger audience quicker.

These have helped in the political growth of the internet because it means that the vies of the people can reach who it matters as a direct route using email instead of having to be passed up multiple ranks. It also means that because a larger audience more people are likely to sign up to views it it and therefore it is more likely that something will be done.

Online learning websites

Online learning websites allow people to access all of the information they need in a virtual area. One of the more common ones is open university which run university courses through their website. These typically contain all of the information and resources you need to carry out a qualification in that subject area.

They have contributed to the academic growth of the internet because they have made learning without entering a classroom possible and they have also allowed for independent learning of the students.

Digital libraries

Digital libraries allow the customer to read their books online or on a wireless device. The only digital library in existence at the moment is the Amazon Kindle store, where you can buy or borrow books, which are then down loaded onto your personal device, but many more are constantly being developed around the world. By doing this it means that you don’t have to leave your home to get a new book and you don’t even have to carry a heavy paper or hard back book around wherever you go.

They have helped with the academic growth of the internet for a number of reasons. Firstly, they have allowed a wider range of books to become available to a wider audience all over the world, which in an academic world can only be a good thing. Secondly they have encourages the people who spend all of their time on electronically devices to read more as they still have the comfort of it being electric and having a screen on it.

VLE's

VLE’s are a common port of call in any school that is technologically knowledgeable.  One of the most common ones is Moodle which has many different features which allow teachers to upload any resources for their students, set deadlines and comment on what the student needs to do.  By setting up a VLE account you are able to carry out learning inside and outside of a classroom environment and get the parents involved too.

These specialist websites have helped in the academic growth of the Internet because they have means that teachers and pupils can have a more intimate online relationship. They have allowed students to carry out work similar to that  which they would be doing in lesson under the watchful eye of their teacher and allows them to constantly see what they need to do to improve.

Academic growth - Online encyclopedia’s/Academic search engines

Access to academic search engines and online encyclopedia’s has had a very large impact on the growth of the internet for a number of reasons. Academic search engines like Google scholar are freely accessible websites which “indexes the full text of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines”. The search engine allows users to search for digital or physical copies of articles, whether online or in libraries.  Online encyclopedias allow users to find background information on any topic they need whether they are just interested in something or just need it for background information on a research topic.

These academic tools have influenced greatly to the growth of the internet because they have allowed free access to a lot of information while also making it easier. Now instead of having to go to a physical library and searching through hundreds of books you just type in the few words or phrase in a search bar to be shown thousands of results.

Mobile devices

Mobile technology has advanced rapidly ever since the first mobile phone – or the brick was created. They now boast features such as camera’s and video recorders as well as internet access and loads of interactive games to choose from. These devices have changed the way that people use the internet massively. With these tools anyone can connect to the internet and other services anywhere, because people now regularly access a multitude of websites, the website designers have now had to start making mobile versions, which makes browsing easier. It has improved the internet’s capacity as they have had to create two different forms of the website.