INTRODUCTION TO THE INTERNET

 

THE BASICS

 

WHAT IS THE INTERNET?

 

It is a network of computers around the world that can share information with each other.

 

The World Wide Web or ‘Web’ is the name for the universe of information accessible via computers that are hooked to the Internet. The World Wide Web consists of millions of Web pages. Many people use the terms ‘Internet’ and ‘World Wide Web’ interchangeably.

 

WEB SITES

These are a collection of Web pages that contain information on various subjects. Each Web site is identified by a unique address, called a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), which directs you to a specific Web page. A Web site may consist of one or more pages. The Home Page is the first page that appears in the Web browser (programs that help you access sites on the Web) when you visit a Web site.

 

LINKS

All web pages in a web site are usually linked to the Home page and may be linked to each other or to web pages on other web sites by what are known as hyperlinks or links for short. A link may be a picture, a word or a phrase.

 

 

BROWSER BUTTONS

 

These are buttons that you move across the web pages on a web site easily.

• Back           Moves your browser back to the web page you have  just visited

• Forward      Moves your browser forward to a page you left when you clicked on ‘Back’

 

• Stop             Halts the loading of a Web page.

 

 

• Reload       Re-requests the current web page and displays it on the Screen

 

• Home                    Moves your browser to the home page.

      

This is how to find web sites and desired information on the Internet using a search directory or search engines. Two commonly used search engines are Yahoo and Google search engines. You type a word/topic or a phrase into the search box and click search. This will generate a list of web sites or pointers to the location of relevant information.

 

 

ELECTRONIC MAIL [E-MAIL]

 

Electronic mail or e-mail is the exchange of text messages and files over a network or the Internet between computers. To use e-mail, you need an e-mail account and a mail program.

 

One of the most popular free email web sites is the Yahoo! Mail. You can get a free e-mail account from this site.

 

 

LAYOUT OF YAHOO! MAIL

Some features commonly found when you access the Yahoo! Mail include some of the following buttons and folders:

 

v                 Check Mail     You click here to see if you have new email messages in your Inbox folder

v                 Compose       You click here to write a new email message

v                 Inbox            The folder in which new mail appears

v                 Draft             This is the folder where messages you have not finished are stored.

v                 Sent              This is the folder where copies of messages you have sent are stored.

v                 Bulk              This is the folder where messages Yahoo! Thinks are spam (unsolicited mass mailings of email) are directed.

v                 Trash            This is where messages you have deleted from your inbox go.

 

 

OPENING EMAIL MESSAGES

 

To open and read your mail messages in your Inbox, you click on the “Inbox” link. When you enter your Inbox Yahoo! Tells you the following about the message it contains:

·        Who sent the message (“Sender”)

·        What the message is about (“Subject”)

·        When the message was sent (“Date”)

·        How large the message is (“Size”)

 

To read the message, you click on the blue link under “Subject” for that message.

 

 

EMAIL ADDRESSES

An email address is made up of two parts:

 

·        The username or account name is chosen by the person who created the email account

·        The Internet Service Provider (ISP) is the name of the company, organization, or Internet service that hosts an email address (provides it with storage space for messages).

The two parts are connected by an ‘@’ e.g.pastordiran@thegrowingyouth.com

 

SENDING AN EMAIL MESSAGE

·        Click on the compose button

·        Type the email address(es) of the person or people who will receive your message in the box next to “To:”

·        These Email addresses you can get from your address book if you have created one. Click on the “Insert Addresses” link above the “To” box to bring up your list of addresses.

·        Click on “Add CC” (Carbon Copy) link on the right of “Insert Addresses” link to send someone an exact copy of a message. You can also click on