Introduction to Email - Lakewood Public Library

Lakewood Public Library

Introduction to Email Workshop

The Mouse Intro:

To master the Internet you must know how to "Point and Click" with a mouse.

Here in the Technology Center Learning Lab, our mice all operate using the TOP LEFT button to click.

Keeping the mouse level, sliding it AWAY from you moves it up the screen, sliding it TOWARDS you brings it down.

There are various ways to practice Mouse skills, including the 30 click Mousercise!

For those who've already used a mouse, try using an online coloring book, or color a Peanuts cartoon at Snoopy.com.

Browser Intro:

Use Browsers to your best advantage. Browsers are the programs that translate programming code into pages that contain text and pictures in the specific places the code wants. Because each one is different in certain ways, web surfers should know some differences between the two major browsers, Netscape and Internet Explorer. In this workshop, however, we will only focus on using the Internet Explorer browser.

There are 4 important rows of information on a browser

The blue bar at the top of your screen is the title bar - Used in identifying the page you are on in history and the print outs
The row of words the starts with "File"on the left is called the menu bar; clicking each word brings a "menu" of different options / Sometimes it is split with the address bar, the white area that contains the URL, or page address
The third row is called the tool bar (discussed below)
The 4th row is at the bottom of your window, and is called the status bar. This displays messages like "Document done", "opening page..." and has something show when you pass your mouse over a link

Internet Explorer most often used commands (buttons on the Tool bar on the above image):

Back - Takes you back one screen.
Forward - If you did move back, this takes you up one screen to the page where you moved backward from.
Refresh - Asks the host computer to re-send the page; useful if corrupted in transmission or pages with constantly updated information like sports scores, stock quotes or breaking news stories.
Home - Brings you back to a pre-designated page; a "Launch Pad".
Stop - Will stop the computer from trying to link to a page you've clicked on, but is not coming up.

Also handy is the "History Arrow", the down pointing black triangle on the right side of the Back button.

This link is a great tutorial on Internet explorer as well as on surfing the web! - http://www.actden.com/ie5/

There are 3 very critical operations to know about in browsers. How to go to a new web site, how to know where you've gone, and how to mark a site so you can quickly come back to it.

1. To go to a new web page address (URL-Uniform Resource Location), you have 3 ways to type it in.
Depending on how well you handle a mouse, use one of the methods below. People new to the mouse should try "A" first, it's much easier!
A. Control Key (marked Ctrl on each side of the bottom row of the keyboard) and the letter O for Open!
B. On the Menu Bar: Point and click on "File" – then drag the pointer down to "Open Page"
C. Click into Address Bar

2. To know where you’ve gone in this browser session:
On the Tool Bar: Point and click on the down pointing arrow between Back and Forward

3. To mark a web site for future use:

Point and click on "Favorites" on the menu bar, drag the mouse down to "Add to favorites"

Email: As defined by Webopedia, short for electronic mail, the transmission of messages over communications networks.

The most popular activity on the internet. Reasons?

Revolutionary Long Distance Communication;
Efficient – fast and free;
Time saver – Read at your own pace; can easily organize communication.

Posting to Newsgroups / job hunting / special subscriptions – All great Internet capabilities you need email addresses for!

Basic differences between Email and Postal Mail
Postal Mail	Email
Mail is sent and received to and from post offices provided by your government.	Mail is sent and received to and from servers provided by your ISP or Network.
Mail is transported using trucks, trains and planes.	Mail is transported using servers.
Postal Carrier delivers mail to your home or office.	Incoming server delivers mail to your computer. This server uses the POP or IMAP protocol.
You go to your mailbox.	Your computer is your mailbox.
Check for mail.	Check for mail.
Mail is delivered to your mailbox. However you can sort your mail after you receive it.	Mail is delivered to your Inbox. However you can have mail sorted automatically to other mailboxes you set up.
Look up a street address in your address book.	Look up an email address in your address book.
Look up a person's information using the white pages of a phone book	Look up a person's information using Directory Services.
To compose mail, you type on your computer's keyboard, or typewriter and print it on paper. Or you write using a pen and paper.	To compose mail, you type on your computer's keyboard.
You place the paper in an envelope and write the person's name, address and your return address.	You enter header information, which includes your recipients email address and your return address.
You stamp and send your mail to a post office, where it will be processed and sent.	You send mail to your outgoing server, where it will be sent. This server uses the SMTP protocol. This server creates an "electronic envelope" for your email.
Your recipient receives your mail within days, depending on your location.	Your recipient usually receives your mail within a few minutes.
The above from the Eudora User Manual

Differences in addresses:

Email = user @ domain.name
ex: lpl@lkwdpl.org

Web = www.domain.name
ex: www.lkwdpl.org

Access to Email services at the Library
-Using our help page at http://www.lkwdpl.org/freemail/

This page covers a variety of frequently asked questions, such as:

What if I only want to send one e-mail and do not want to have an e-mail account or go through the registration process?

I have an e-mail account somewhere else. Can I access it?

I am an AOL subscriber. Can I check my e-mail?

How do I get a free e-mail account? - See Next Section!

Starting an email account through a “free” service
-Review the signup primer located at http://www.lkwdpl.org/freemail/#primer

Signing up will be easier if you are prepared for these items:

An e-mail name for yourself. An e-mail address looks like this: username@freemail.com. The name you choose is the name people will see in front of the @ symbol. It should be short to be courteous to whoever is sending you mail; it must also be unique within the service where you have your account. You could have bruiser@freemail.com if you are just sending mail to friends, but this wouldn't be the wisest choice to send to a prospective employer. Likewise, douglastimothysmith@freemail.com is a little lengthy and subject to misspelling. dtsmith@freemail.com would be better -- short and unique. If the name you select is already taken you can keep trying variations to make it unique. There are no spaces allowed; the name will generally be shown in lower case.
A password. Try to have something selected in advance. Usually, a word 5-8 alpha-numeric characters long. Make certain it is something you will remember. You cannot use any special characters or punctuation -- no spaces, hyphens or periods. Mr. Spock will not be accepted.
A question only you would know the answer to. Some services will give you access to your account even if you forget you password IF you can answer a previously submitted question. When you sign up, your question for yourself might be "favorite snack?" Then, of course, you provide the answer, "chocolate."
All the services will ask for your name. Your real name will be displayed next to your e-mail handle on your messages. For example, someone will see a message coming from: dtsmith@freemail.com "Doug Smith." You should list your name in a proper format; upper and lower case conventions apply. Many people are concerned with privacy and are concerned about putting personal information out on the Internet. If this concerns you, you will have to weigh it against having access to a great, free, communications tool. If you use a fake name, you will do a disservice to your e-mail correspondents. Your friends and that prospective employer may only be confused.
Some services will ask some personal questions. Some may be optional, but you may have to answer some questions to establish your demographic identity, such as gender, age, education level. You will never be required to give out your home address or telephone number. The information about you is used to provide advertisers with an accurate picture of the services' user base. It may also be used for targeted marketing -- the ad banners you see will attempt to match your interests.
Miscellaneous issues:

Some services may ask if you wish to sign up for e-mail subscriptions to specific content magazines. Usually these are free. You may or may not want to sign up for these depending on your interest and how much time you have to read e-mail.
Many services will also ask if you want to be listed in online e-mail directories. If you think it would be helpful to have a listing that might be found by a distant friend or relative, go ahead. It is also possible that a listing will generate some solicitations or junk e-mail -- it's hard to say (or prove). If you like your privacy and control, simply do not list yourself.

Group exercise: signing up for email / Practice going in and out of student accounts

Common email characteristics
These are shared among almost all the email services listed below:

Operations
Get/Check mail	Get mail / retrieve from the server or reload from the current server
Compose/Send -single or groups	Compose - Used to write a new letter. Send - Used when you’re done writing and ready to send In the address area you can indicate one person, several, or use a nickname from your address book.
Reply	Once you’ve read a letter from someone else, you can reply to it. Some companies use automatic robots to reply to you!
Attach	You can specify that another file, such as a picture or document, be sent along with your message.
Forward	Once you have read a letter, you can send it to someone else, adding your comments if you wish.
Features
Inbox	Where mail people send you is originally stored
Signature	A custom message you can append to each letter you send, e.g., Dewey Decimal, Supervisor, Lakewood Public Library Saves time and key strokes
Address books -single or groups	Where you can put a nickname of someone you send email to often, and their full email address is then automatically used. Can have an single entry for one person, or many people, e.g. “family” will send to all family members
Folders	Areas where you can customize to hold email once you’ve read it, or where a filter can automatically place it instead of having it go into your inbox. Common ones: Sent, Drafts
Trashcan	A special folder that will hold mail only for a short period of time, then it is purged. When you delete an email it goes to the trashcan folder and will hold there, where you can recover it if you’ve done it by accident.
Special Functions
Filters	Programs within the email program that reads the addresses of incoming mail and deletes it or sends it to a special folder. Not always useful in trying to cut down on “Spam”.
Save Copy	Most email services gives you this as an option in composing mail. Will automatically save it in your Sent folder. Sent folders do NOT have each email you send, only when you indicate it through this feature.
:CC	Carbon copy; send a copy of this letter to someone else. The original person will see you’ve copied the other person
:BCC	Blind Carbon Copy; Send a copy of this letter to someone else, but the original person will not know you’ve sent it. Sneaky!
Drafts	Letters you’re composing that you have not sent yet, or want to use as a template, adjusting as you send similar letters to people (such as prospective employers)

Listservs / Mail lists

Defined: A group of people who exchange e-mail about a subject that interests them.
People subscribe to these lists, which may or may not be moderated or semi-private.
Two types:

Announcement Lists: One way communication from the publisher/editor to the list "audience".
Discussion Lists: Two way communication between all the members of the list.

Operational tips:
There are always 2 addresses for a mailing list; the administrative one, where you subscribe/unsubscribe, and the list address, where you send your comments and questions to the group.

Observe "Netiquette"; analyze the group before posting something to them.

Mailing Lists 'Net resource:

Yahoo Groups - http://groups.yahoo.com/ - A directory for mailing lists. Uses the same hierarchical branch structure Yahoo uses to organize web sites.

Subscribe to the Library's e-mail announcement service by sending a blank message to: lpl-news-on@mail-list.com

Tutorials

Internet Explorer 5.0 in the classroom - http://www.actden.com/ie5/
A good review of the main browser used in the LPL Technology Center, and of how to surf around the Internet!

Netscape Tutorial - http://www.lkwdpl.org/tcc/tute1.htm
Good for a quick review of the Netscape browser, and to practice "pointing and clicking".

Web Teacher - http://www.webteacher.org
Web Teacher is a self-paced Internet tutorial that puts both basic and in-depth information about the World Wide Web at a teacher's fingertips - just a mouse click away!

A Beginner's Guide to Effective Email - http://www.webfoot.com/advice/email.top.html
A 20 year veteran's email tips. Excellent examples of proper email technique!

Try the Email Quiz

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Last Revised 07/21/04