Introduction to the Internet

Lesson One What is the Internet?
Lesson Two How does the Internet Work?
Lesson Three How do I find stuff on the Internet?
Lesson Four Practice what you've learned!
Lesson Five Internet Explorer Quick Tips
Lesson Six Internet Training Websites

Lesson One

What is the Internet?
The Internet is computers linked together to communicate with each other. The Internet was created in the 1960s by the Department of Defense. The World Wide Web and electronic mail (e-mail) are both part of the Internet.

What can I use the Internet for?
You can use the Internet to access information you are interested in. Some examples of things you can do on the Internet include viewing artwork, making travel reservations, finding maps and driving directions, finding telephone numbers, getting tax forms, shopping, and e-mailing your friends and relatives.

How do I get on the Internet?
You need the following items to get on the Internet:

Internet I

• A computer
  Any newer computer will do, but the more powerful computer you have, the better the graphics will be.
• A modem
  A modem is the device that dials a telephone number and allows your computer to communicate on the telephone line. New computers have a modem inside - all you need to do is connect it to the phone jack. Get the fastest modem you can.
• A telephone line
  A regular telephone line works for most subscribers, but you cannot make or receive telephone calls while the modem is using the telephone line. High speed Cable (Roadrunner in this area) and DSL (digital subscriber line) are other options. Cable and DSL are faster connections, but are more expensive.
• An Internet Service Provider (ISP)
  An Internet Service Provider is a company that provides access to the Internet for a fee. To locate Internet Service Providers in your area go to www.theispguide.com or look in the phone book yellow pages.
• An Internet browser
  A browser is the software that lets your computer view the Internet pages. The browser we are using is Microsoft Internet Explorer. Other browsers include Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Each browser has its own symbol called an icon. Double-click with your left mouse button on the icon to start the browser. The modem uses the telephone or cable line to connect to the the ISP.

  To change Internet Explorer's Text Size

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  Lesson Two
  

  How does the Internet work?
  The World Wide Web refers to the part of the Internet that works through hyperlinks. When linked items are clicked on, you will go to another place on the same web page, another page, or another website altogether. Links can be text or graphics, and can occur anywhere on a page.

  How do I know when something is a link?
  Linked words are usually in another color and underlined. When the pointer changes to a little hand you know you are on a link. Both words and graphics can be links.

  Which one of these graphics is a link?

  How do I get back to where I started?
  Clicking the BACK button at the top of the Internet Explorer toolbar will take you back one page. Another way to get back to a previous page is to click on the downward facing arrow between the BACK and FORWARD buttons and click on the page you wish to return to. This drop down list shows you the webpages you have visited on your current session on the Internet. Another way to return to previously visited webpages is to check the History of sites visited.
  To check Internet Explorer's History

  What is the difference between a Webpage and a Website?
  A webpage is a document on the Web. Webpages can include text, images, sound, and video. A website is a collection of webpages maintained by a company, university, individual, or government agency.

  What is a Homepage?"
  The homepage is the page that is set to be displayed each time you first use the browser or any time you click on the browser's HOME icon. Internet Service Providers initially set the browser to display their own homepage, but both Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator allow users to change to another homepage. Homepage is also the first page of a website.
  To change Internet Explorer's Homepage

  When is a webpage finished loading?
  Webpages are loaded into your computer when you click on the links. They are finished loading when you see the word "Done" in the bottom left corner of the screen. Sometimes pages do not load. When this happens you can click the STOP button on the Internet Explorer toolbar to stop the current transaction. You can then click the BACK button to get back to your previous page. You may wish to try the page again later or go to another website.

  How do I print what I see on the Internet?
  There are several ways to print information from the Internet:

• Before you print anything go to FILE on the menu bar, and select PRINT PREVIEW. You can then determine how many pages are in the document, and what pages to print (IE version 6.0). Type in the number of pages you want, and press PRINT or OK.
• Some web pages are divided into multiple sections called frames. You can only print one frame at a time. to print a particular frame, select it by clicking it. Then click the Print button or select Print Frame from the File menu.
• Some webpages have a "print version" option on the web page.
• If you want to print a portion of your e-mail message, select the text you wish to print and copy and paste it to a word processing document.

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  Lesson Three
  

  How do I find stuff on the Internet?
  There are basically three ways to find stuff on the Internet:

  1. Knowing the URL of the website
  2. Browsing a web directory
  3. Searching a search engine

  What is a URL?
  Each document on the Internet has an address called the URL. URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. The URL is typed into the Address box located in the upper left corner of the Internet Explorer screen. Just type in the URL and hit the enter key to go to the website. A typical URL looks like this:

  http://www.smfpl.org/calendar
  

  What are the parts of a URL?
  The URL contains the computer name, directory name, and the name of the webpage.

  1. http://
     The first part of the URL (http stands for hypertext transfer protocol) tells the computer which language to use to send and receive data.
  2. www.smfpl.org/
     The second part of the URL is the name of the computer on which the data is stored.
  3. calendar
     The last part of the URL is the directory or webpage you are viewing.

     Important: Type in the URL exactly as given!

  Practice what you've learned
  Delete the current address in the address box and type in the following new address exactly and press ENTER.

  http://www.smfpl.org/calendar
• 
  If it didn't work, check to make sure you have all the punctuation and spelling correct!

  What is a Web Directory?
  A web directory is a collection of selected human-reviewed websites, organized by subject or topic. There are many web directories. Librarian's Index to the Internet at www.lii.org, and Yahoo's Directory at http://dir.yahoo.com are two examples of web directories. Use the web directory to browse for the website or sites you are interested in.

  What is a Search Engine?
  A search engine is an automated program that uses "spiders" to search one or more documents for specified keywords and returns a list of web sites in which those keywords are found. To use a search engine you enter a key word or words in a search box and the spider searches for websites that contain those words. Google at www.google.com, AllTheWeb at www.alltheweb.com, and AltaVista at www.altavista.com are good examples of major search engines.

  To learn more about how search engines work click here.

  Important: Once you've found a website you will want to return to often, save it in your Favorite Places!

  To add a website to Internet Explorer's Favorite Places

  To go to a Favorite Place

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  Lesson Four
  

  Practice what you've learned
  

• Enter the address of the Akron Beacon Journal (www.ohio.com) in the Address box and press ENTER.
• Check the weather report.
• Go BACK to the home page.

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  Lesson Five
  Internet Explorer Quick Tips
  
  

  To change Internet Explorer's Text Size (Back)
  Click on VIEW on the Internet Explorer Menu Bar --> click on TEXT SIZE --> select the text size.

  To check Internet Explorer's History (Back)
  Click on FAVORITES CENTER (the gold star) on the Internet Explorer Toolbar --> select how you want to view the History list (by Date, Site, Most Visited, or Order Visited).

  To change Internet Explorer's Homepage (Back)
  Click on TOOLS on the Internet Explorer Menu Bar --> click on INTERNET OPTIONS --> click on GENERAL--> click on HOME PAGE. Enter the URL of the page you wish to have as your Homepage.

  To add a website to Internet Explorer's Favorite Places (Back)
  Click on FAVORITES in the Internet Explorer Menu Bar --> Add to Favorites (you must do this while you are on the web site you wish to save).

  To go to a Favorite Place (Back)
  Click on FAVORITES in the Internet Explorer Menu Bar --> click on the link to the web site you wish to visit.

  Lesson Six
  
  Learn more about the Internet using the following websites:
  

  www.learnthenet.com
  www.seniornet.com
  www.webteacher.org

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