Getting Acquainted with Internet

Module NG20h v.11a

Contents
of this document

Objectives
World Wide Web using Netscape

Terms
Netscape Notes
What to Do on Netscape

Activating your email account
Sending email to your Instructor
About this Document

To return to the Table of Contents, you can clickon this colored bar wherever it appears on this Web page.

Objectives:

When you have completed this exercise, you will be able to:

Run a graphical World Wide Web browser
Navigate through point-and-click Web environment
Access and find information in Web-based course materials
Start and exit a graphical or menu-based electronic mail program

Overview

This exercise is designed to give you a very quick look at some of theon-line options that will be useful to you. There will normally be an opportunitycome back to each option in more detail later.

World Wide Web using Netscape

Web Terms:

World Wide Web: (WWW) is a system for finding and viewing information. It originated atthe European Partical Physics Lab (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland, and allowsusers to browse through many Internet-based computer sites with vast amountsof information. The Web's immense and growing popularity is primarily dueto two features: it allows graphics to be an integral part of the informationpresented, and it uses a hyper-link system - that is, you can point tocertain words or pictures, click on them, and have them link you to moreinformation.
Browser: A program for navigating the World Wide Web and displaying informationfrom its pages
Home Page: A file designed to be the entry-point for a group of related Web pages.Home pages usually have introductory information for Web visitors withlinks to other pages on the site.
HTML: HyperText Markup Language: a code for producingformatted text and graphics, used by files which are part of the WorldWide Web
Mosaic: was the first Web browser to fully integrate graphics.
Netscape: is a browser very similar to Mosaic, but with a number of enhancements.
URL: Universal Resource Locator: the full address of aWeb site, Web page, or other location on the Internet.
Web page: A file available through the World Wide Web, usually containing HTML codesand hypertext links to other pages or sites. This document is a Web page,though you may be seeing it in printed form.
Home page: A Web page that serves as the main entryway to a set of related pages.
Web site: a computer with a program which serves up files when requested by othercomputers on the World Wide Web. The files use HTML coding.

Netscape Notes:

Netscape is run by clicking (once is enough!) on the links- colored, underlined words and graphic icons with colored border. Mostlinks change from blue to purple once you "visit" them.
Using the Web requires patience, because the graphic images it uses takemuch longer to get to you than text - but it has a progress indicator onthe bottom line. After clicking something, wait until the "Document iscomplete" message (lower left of the screen) before clicking again!
You may get the message, "Connection Refused by Host: Server may be toobusy...". This is when Netscape tried to connect you to a very busy computer.Try connecting to that site again later.

What to Do on Netscape

We're assuming you are running Windows or a Macintosh, and that Netscapeis available.

Point to the Netscape Communicator icon and open it (Double-click or clickonce and press <Enter>)
When Netscape runs, center or maximize the screen. (To maximize in Windows,click on the button with a rectagle in the upper left corner of the window- see illustration.)
You may see the "home page" for your class; if so, continue with the nextstep. If not, select the File...Open Page menu item and typein the entire address (sorry about that!) of the class home page.Your instructor can tell you which home page to use if it is not on thislist. (Be sure to type every letter exactly as shown!)

Class	Address (URL)
CIS 100	www.wccnet.org/dept/cis/krieg/100_home.htm
CIS 101	www.wccnet.org/dept/cis/krieg/101_home.htm
CIS 160	www.wccnet.org/dept/cis/krieg/160_home.htm
INP 159	courses.wcccnet.org/~krieg/inp159/index.htm

When you are looking at the class home page: scroll down to see all thepage. Use the "scroll bar" in the right borderof the window. The scroll bar appears when there is too much of a documentto see in a window. It has a slider that moves up and down rather likean elevator, to tell you how far through the document you are, and to letyou move to other parts. To move down, you may either:

Click below the slider;
Drag the slider downward;
Hold down the down-pointing arrow at the bottom of the scroll bar.

Visit the class Welcome announcement. It is listed under "Announcements"toward the bottom of the page. All the colored, underlined words are "links":clicking on them takes you to another Web document, or another part ofthe same document. This is how the World Wide Web lets you access information.So when you find the link, "Welcome to CIS 101" (or whatever you classis), you can simply point to it with your mouse, and click (once is enough!).
Come back to the home page. To get back to wherever you came from, findthe "Back" button on the toolbar (it's at the far left) and click on it.

Visit the class syllabus, schedule, exercise guide (if any), and any otherlinks you find. Come back to the Home Page using the "Back" button. Makea note of the Web sites you visit.- you will be making a brief reportof your visits!
Exploremore of the World Wide Web using the Bookmarks menu (shown in the pictureabove). You can also get more information about Netscape by pressing thekeyboard button labelled F1. Make a note of at least four (4) Web sitesyou visit. You'll need your notes later. Warning! The World Wide Webcan be addictive!
Exit Netscape by using the File menu's Exit option.

Activating your Email Account

In order to send and receive electronic mail (email) you have to have anaccount on an email "server". This gives you a unique electronic address,which others can use to send you mail. An email server is a computer thatis ready at all times to send and receive mail for you. You can check theserver to see if any new mail has arrived for you.

Washtenaw Community College has set up a server so that all studentscan send and receive electronic mail. In order to use this server, youhave to activate your account - let the server know you wantto be able to send and receive email.

If you have already activated your WCC email account, or if you have anemail account somewhere else, you can skip to the nextsection.

We access our account by means of the World Wide Web browser - that includesactivating, sending, and receiving email. To do that, you have to pointyour browser to the right address:http://email.wccnet.orgIf you are reading this document using a browser, you can point the pointerusing the mouse, click, and you should find yourself looking at the WCCmail Web site. You can also type the address (URL) into your browser'sLocation window anytime, anywhere, with any browser. You should see a Webpage like this:

To activate your account, you will need to point with your mouse tothe words:

on the WCC Email Services page. You should soon see an electronic formon your screen, where you can type in your name (as it appears on yourstudent ID card or on a class list) and your student ID number.

Clicking the Send button on the screen with your mouse will get youto the next step, which is to read about your rights and responsibilitieswith electronic mail. Please read this carefully: you will need to agreeto this document by clicking a button. This is the legal equivalent ofsigning the document.

When you have agreed, your name and student ID will be checked by thecomputer to make sure you are a registered student.

If there is a problem:

If there is still a problem,

If you succeed:

accountnumber

password

Tip: use Copy and Paste to get the password from the screen thefirst time!
Here's how:

Use your mouse to highlight the password - wipe from one side of the passwordto the other, holding down the mouse button. It should turn to some contrastingcolor, such as white on blue.
From the browser's Edit menu, select Copy. You won't see any changes, butthe computer will temporarily "remember" the password.
When you are ready to enter the password next time you log on, click inthe password box and use the browser's Edit menu again, this time selectingPaste. This should pop the password in, but you'll only see a row of asterisks*****.

You now have an email address at WCC! It's your user code followedby @email.wccnet.org. For example:

ssw123

ssw123@email.wccnet.org

Sending Email to your Instructor

Once your account is active, you'll want to try it out!

Return to the WCC Email Servicespage and click on the words:

You should see a screen with a username and password prompt:

Use your mouse to click on the Username box. Type your personal ID.
Press the <Tab> key to move to the Password box. Type in your password.You will only see asterisks ***** as you type, so type very carefully.Use CAPITAL and lowercase letters exactly as they were shown on the screen.

Tip: using Copy and Paste to get the password into the Passwordbox
If you used Edit...Copy to copy the password, here's how you getit back again:

When you are ready to enter the password next time you log on, click inthe password box
Use the browser's Edit menu again, this time selecting Paste. This shouldpop the password in, but you'll only see a row of asterisks *****.

When your user ID and password are in, click the button to .
Find the option list at the left side of the screen.Click on the option to send a message:
In the TO box, type your instructor's address
In the SUBJECT box, type your name, class, section, and Exercise NW1
In the large box ("Body"), write a note to your instructor. Tell somethingabout yourself that's different from most people, so your instructor willknow what's unique about you. List the four Web sitesyou visited. Be sure to include your name at the end of your note!
Read over your note to be sure everything is OK. Make corrections if necessary,using the mouse to point to errors and the Backspace or Delete key to getrid of unwanted letters or symbols. Here is an example (don't copy it- just use it for inspiration!):

To: krieg@wccnet.edu
Subj: Sarah Strong, INP 159 sec. A1, Ex. NA20c

Hi, Dr. Krieg!

My name is Sarah Strong, and I'm taking this class because it'srequired for my Fire Protection degree. Even so, I'm beginning to enjoyit.

I'd like you to know that I'm a single mother, twenty-somethingyears old ;-) with six children. I keep real busy, but I love coming toschool. It's great to have some time away from the kids once in a while!

It was really cool using the Netscape bookmarks! First I went tothe Education tab, cause I want to know what would be useful for my kids.I found Discovery channel and went there, and found lots of neat stuff.I checked out a news thing about delays in the space station, and thenI read about two companies both wanting to send submersibles to see theTitanic. (Tourists would pay $32,000 each - can you believe it? And theyactually have people lining up already!) The Titanic reminded me of themovies, so I headed back to the bookmarks and went for Entertainment, butI saw the Dilbert Zone and decided to look at that. Dilbert is OK sometimes,but he's not my favorite. (Maybe you like him because you're both geeks?Ha ha! No offense!) Back at the bookmarks again, I spotted Disney and headedright over. With six kids, that's gotta be the coolest!

Well, I ran out of time. See you in class! - Sarah =)

When you're ready, Click the Send button.

When you use a Web browser (Netscape or Internet Explorer) to read youremail, always be sure to exit completely from the browser when you leave!If you don't, it's possible that someone might be able to get into youremail account, read your mail, and send mail using your identity. We takesteps to prevent this at WCC, but you need to do your part, too.

Check your mail regularly!

To get much good out of email, you have to get in the habit of checkingit regularly. It's easy to do - just return to the WCCVisualMail page, enter your ID and password, and click on

.You'll get a response to the note you send your instructor, and of courseif you have any friends with email you can write to them.

One of the nice things about email is that your return address is alwaysincluded, so by writing to someone, you're giving them an easy way to writeto you!

About Module NG20h version 11a: Getting Acquainted with Internet

Author: LaurenceJ. Krieg Departmentof Computer Information Systems, WashtenawCommunity College
Original (C11h): 6 April 1995; this version posted 5 May 2000.