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Introduction
Day One
What Is A Computer?
Computer Hardware
Using the Mouse
Using the Keyboard
Operating System
Day Two
Computer Programs
Web Browser
E-Mail
Word Processing
Burning a CD
Games
Day Three
Useful Skills
The Internet
Security
Computer Terms

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Internet Basics: How do I use the Internet/What's a Browser?

To access the Internet and the World Wide Web, you must use an application called a Web browser. A browser is a software program that allows users to see and navigate documents called web pages. For our purposes, we will be focusing on MS Internet Explorer.  To use these programs to access the Web, you need a connection to the Internet, through a network connection or an ISP. 

There are two types of browsers:

  • Graphical: Text, images, audio, and video are retrievable through a graphical software program such as Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer, FireFox, or AOL. These browsers are available for both Windows-based and Macintosh computers. Navigation is accomplished by pointing and clicking with a mouse on highlighted words and graphics.

    • Netscape - You can install a graphical browser such as Netscape Navigator in your Windows-based or Macintosh machine by downloading. Navigator is available for downloading on the Netscape Web site: http://browser.netscape.com/ns8/.

    • Internet Explorer - Microsoft's Internet Explorer is pre-installed in most Windows computers, or is available from the Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.mspx.

    • FireFox - Supposedly more secure than Internet Explorer, and with novel features like tabbed browsing, this browser has been quickly adopted by many computer users.  This is available  for free at http://www.mozilla.org/

    • AOL - American On-Line is still the worlds largest Internet Service Provider (ISP), largely because they have made the safer and easier for the inexperienced user.  They have there own proprietary browser that comes bundles with there Internet service package.  Probably still the easiest of the dial-up ISP's and they offer a special price for people who want to connect to AOL through their existing DSL or cable broadband connection.

  • Text-only: Lynx is a browser that provides access to the Web showing only text. To navigation a person must use the arrow up and down keys to indicated links, and press the forward arrow (or Enter) key to follow the link. Pictures are translated by using any alternative text the creator has supplied for it. Unfortunately many web page creators forget to include alternative or Alt Tags for pictures.) For more information, see the following web page, Albany Library's Guide to Using Lynx.

Class Exercise - Open Internet Explorer

Since Internet Explorer is a key Windows applications, many ways to open it are available.  Select on of the two methods below.  As you will discover when work in Windows, if there is a way to do a thing, there will be at least three ways to do it.

  • Or click on the Start Menu, and select and click on Internet Explorer from the top left hand section of the menu.

  • On the Desktop you will find the blue e icon.  A double click here will launch the program.

  • Or you can launch it from the Quick Launch Toolbar.

Go ahead and open Internet Explorer now.

Surfing, Browsing, and Finding Your Way On the Web

(Courtesy of Microsoft)

Internet Explorer 6 provides the tools and technology to effortlessly travel the Web from site to site. Whether you want to visit the same site again and again, or search for new, exciting places, these simple tools will show you how.

Knowing Where You Are: Internet Addresses

The Toolbar with the Address bar

Each page on the Web is designated by an Internet address, known as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). A URL identifies the location of any Web site, in the same way that your computer stores files within directories or folders. The image shows the toolbar and the Address bar, which contains the URL. 

The Back and Forward buttons

You can move from site to site by typing an address in the Address bar. You can also use the Back and Forward buttons on the toolbar to move backward and forward through the sites you have visited during your current browsing session.

The Stop, Refresh, and Home buttons

  • The Stop button allows you to stop movement from one page to another while the new page is loading.  you probably won't use this button too much

  • The Refresh button allows you to reload the current page.  This is helpful on pages where content changes frequently, such as news pages.  To save download time, browsers will cache or store an image of a page on your hard drive in a folder called Temporary Internet Files, and when you request the same page a second time, it will pull a copy from the cache first, without calling to the web browser on the Internet.  A refresh will call a fresh image from the web server, including any changes.

  • The Home button takes you to your home page.  Windows sets up MSN as the home page by default.  The home page is the web site that loads every time you start Internet Explorer.  You can change the home page easily enough by opening the Internet Options dialog box.

Customizing Your Browser with Internet Options

From the Tools menu, select Internet Options.  The dialog box on the right should open.

On the General tab, we can set our home page.  You can type an address into the address box, or select the button Use Current to make the page you are on the home page.  The Use Default button usually will set MSN or the computer manufacturer's web page as the home page.  Use Blank will set a blank page.

You can delete your Cookies and Temporary Internet Files, and set and clear your History settings in the lower section.

The next tabs adjust your security and privacy settings.  unless you have a specific reason to do so, leaving these at the Windows default is best.  Set too high, these settings can disable your ability to view some features of web sites.  Set too low, they open the door to potentially undesirable access from the outside world.

The Content Tab allows to set up restrictions to block undesirable web sites, and has a place to set up Auto Complete capability.  Auto Complete will fill in web forms for you automatically based on the answers you fill out through the Auto Complete process.

The Connections tab helps you to set up your Internet connection.  We will be looking at this in more detail on day three.

The Programs and Advanced tabs allow you to make advanced settings for your browser experience.  There is nothing here for you to change at this point in time.

Clicking Hyperlinks

You can move from one Web page to another by clicking hyperlinks (usually just called a link) which are built into text or an image on a page. The hyperlink brings you to a different address which indicates a different location on the Web. It could be a completely different site or it could be a different spot on the same page.

When your mouse pointer moves over a link, Internet Explorer detects it and changes the pointer to a pointing finger. Hyperlinks are usually made obvious through the use of underlining or a different color for text that is "hot" or clickable. Often clickable links will also change in appearance when the pointer moves over them.

Tip: If you want, you can open a Web page in a new window. Press and hold down the SHIFT key while you click a link. The page will open in a new Internet Explorer window.

Knowing Where to Go

Moving around the Web randomly may be easy, but finding your way to specific information is somewhat trickier. When you read a book, one page leads directly to the following one. But on the Internet you must actively decide where to go next, because cyberspace has no direction to it. That's why people often speak of "browsing" the Web, as if they were in a bookstore browsing the shelves haphazardly. That's also why a software program that carries you around the network, such as Internet Explorer, is called a browser.

The Search, Favorites, and History buttons 

Fortunately, Internet Explorer also helps you move through cyberspace in a purposeful way with the Search, Favorites, and History buttons on the toolbar.

  • Clicking Search displays a selection of Internet search services, which help you search effectively either by using keywords or phrases, or by looking in successively refined subcategories.

  • The Favorites list helps you quickly return to favorite sites you have specified. Windows XP has a feature that automatically tracks updates to your favorite Web sites and downloads them for you to view at your leisure. 

  • The History button provides an organized list of sites you've visited days or weeks ago. You can use this list to easily return to these sites.

Portal sites (pages with links to a variety of information) are useful tools for getting around the Internet. Portal sites serve as guides to what's where. For starters, try the Microsoft Network at http://www.msn.com/.  Other portals include Yahoo, Google, AOL.  Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) has a portal page as well

If you find a site that you particularly like, you may want to make it your home page. That way, each time you open Internet Explorer, the page you have selected as your home page will open, providing a convenient daily starting point for your travels on the Web.

Class Exercise - Searching the Internet with Google

Google is the world's leading search engine.  A search engine is a web based service that is hosted on a large collection of servers called a server farm.  A server is simply a computer that is dedicated to performing a specific task, and is usually a much more powerful computer than the ones you and I are working on today.

Search engines provide a catalog of web sites, in a way.  A company like Google sends little programs called bots or web crawlers into the internet, and these programs collect information about all web sites that are connected to the Internet, things like subjects, key words, names, and so forth.  When you request a search, the search engine provides links to web sites matching your criteria.  Let's see how a search engine works.

  • Open a new browser window.

  • Type http://www.google.com in the Address Bar and click GO. The Google home page will open.

  • In the Search Box, type your phone number and hit enter.  What happened?

  • Type your name and hit enter.  Did you find yourself?

  • Type your name inside quotation marks, then the word AND in capital letters, then your city and state inside quotation marks.  What happened?

  • Type the words "end of the Internet."  There are a lot of web designers with a sense of humor our there, aren't there?

  • Click on the Advanced Search link.  In order to narrow down the selection and get specific results, you can use this form.  Try a search of your own and see what comes back.

I use Google and other search engines every day.  I use it to looks for reviews of computer equipment or software I am thinking of buying.  I use it to get information of computer viruses and spyware that I may be cleaning off a computer.  You will find this an invaluable Internet resource, too.

Class Exercise - Getting Maps and Driving Directions

Mapquest is another great Internet resource.  Going somewhere and need directions?  Mapquest is your solution.

  • Go to http://www.mapquest.com/   

  • Enter your street address into the search box and click on Get Map.

  • Use the zoom bars to zoom in and out on the map.

  • Now click on the Directions To link.  Your address appears in the Ending Address box on the right already.

  • Put this address in the Starting Address box, 1520 Mahtomedi Avenue, Mahtomedi, MN 55115, and click on get directions.  Now you have directions to your home from here.

This is only a couple of things you can use your browser for.  Other applications include getting news, on-line banking or shopping, and all sorts of general research.
 

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