Key Stage 2 computing · Networks and the internet

The internet and the World Wide Web in KS2: what’s the difference?

The internet is the network that connects computers around the world. The World Wide Web is just one of the services that runs on it, alongside email, video calls, messaging, online games and file sharing. In Key Stage 2, children learn the difference, and then put several services to work together to collect, analyse and present information for a purpose.

The internet and the World Wide Web, explained

A helpful comparison is roads and shops. The internet is the road system and the web is one kind of shop that uses the roads. The web is a huge collection of pages and sites stored on web servers. A person visits them using a browser, which asks a server for a page and then displays what comes back. Pages are linked to one another by hyperlinks, which is where the “web” comes from. Email, video calls and online games use the same internet roads but work in different ways.

Every website has an address. Children learn that it names the website (the domain name) and often points to a particular page within it. Typing the address into a browser, following a link or using a search engine all lead to the same place. They also learn that the web contains pages made by lots of different people for lots of different reasons, so a page being on the internet doesn’t make it true or safe. That connects to the safety and evaluation work elsewhere in the curriculum.

Beyond the web, children use other internet services in school: email to send messages and files, shared documents that several people can edit, online forms, video calls, and messaging within a school-managed system. Which services a class uses depends on what the school has chosen. The point for the curriculum is not the tools’ names but understanding what each kind of service is for, and when one suits a job better than another.

The second half of this topic is practical. Children select, use and combine a range of software and internet services to achieve a goal. A typical project might be a class survey: they collect answers with an online form or by hand, enter or import them into a spreadsheet, look at the results, make a chart, then present the findings in a slide show or a poster. They are asked to explain why they chose each tool and whether the information is reliable.

Words your child will hear

World Wide Web: A collection of web pages and sites that are linked together and stored on servers around the world.
Browser: Software that asks a web server for a page and shows it on your screen.
Hyperlink: A word, button or picture that takes you to another page when you click or tap it.
Domain name: The part of a web address that names the website, so people don’t need to remember the number computers use to find it.
Email: A way of sending messages and files across the internet to someone’s account.
Internet service: Anything that works over the internet, such as the web, email, video calls or messaging.
Data: Facts or measurements, such as the answers collected in a survey.

What the National Curriculum says

In Key Stage 2, pupils should be taught to:

Understand computer networks, including the internet; how they can provide multiple services, such as the World Wide Web, and the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration
Select, use and combine a variety of software (including internet services) on a range of digital devices to design and create a range of programs, systems and content that accomplish given goals, including collecting, analysing, evaluating and presenting data and information

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: choosing the right services for a class project

A Year 5 class wants to find out which pet is the class favourite, compare it with facts about pets across the UK, and share what they found. This is one possible project; schools choose their own. Which internet services would you use and why?

Break the job into parts: find background facts, collect the class data, analyse it, and present the results.
Find facts: use a search engine and a browser to look up which pets are most common in the UK, and read at least two web pages to check that the facts agree.
Collect data: use an online form where each pupil picks their favourite pet. With a form, the answers collect in one place instead of being copied by hand, although a paper tally works too.
Analyse: put the answers into a spreadsheet and count each pet, then make a bar chart. Look for the most and least common pet and check that the total matches the number of children who answered.
Present and share: put the chart and facts into a slide or a poster. If the class want an expert’s opinion, use school email, with a teacher’s help, to ask a local vet a question.

A good plan uses the web to research, an online form to collect, a spreadsheet to analyse, a presentation tool to show the results and email to ask an expert. Each does one job well.

Common mistakes and how to help

“The internet and the web are the same thing”

Most children use the internet through a browser or an app, so every service feels like “the web”.

What helps: Ask which of these need the internet: email, a video call, a messaging service, a web page. They all do. Only web pages are part of the World Wide Web.

“If it is on the internet, it must be true”

Pages and videos often look polished and confident, and search results arrive quickly. Anyone can publish on the web.

What helps: Ask who made a page and why, and whether another source agrees. This is the start of being discerning.

“A search engine is the internet”

For many children the search box is the starting point for everything.

What helps: Explain that a search engine is a web service that helps you find pages. Typing an address directly into a browser takes you to a page without searching.

Using one tool for every job

Children stick with the tool they know best, such as typing a table in a text document instead of using a spreadsheet.

What helps: Before they start, ask, “What is the job? Which tool is best at that?” Numbers and charts suit a spreadsheet, long writing suits a word processor and quick questions suit a message.

How to help at home

Sort the services. Make a list of things your family does online in a week: reading a page, sending a message, a video call, watching a programme, playing a game. Ask which are web pages and which are other services using the internet.
Run a family survey. Pick a question, such as favourite meal, and ask everyone in the family or among relatives. Record the answers in a table, count them and draw a bar chart on paper or a spreadsheet. Talk about what the data shows.
Read a web address together. Point to the address at the top of a page and ask what it tells you. It names the site, and sometimes the part of the site you are in. Notice what changes when you click a link.
Choose the tool. Before your child starts a project, ask which software and which internet services they would use, and why. Encourage them to pick the best fit instead of the most familiar one.