Module 3: Surfing the Web

 

Once you have an ISP set up for use, you will be able to access the internet. Often your ISP will have a web browser program that installs along with their software. A browser is a program that allows you to view HTML documents. HTML, or Hyper Text Markup Language, is the language used for most internet documents and websites.

Most of the browsers commonly used are quite user-friendly. The two most common browsers are Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Two other popular browsers are Opera and Mozilla. AOL has their own browser that is available only to their subscribers. Browsers are almost always freeware, which means you can download and use the browser for free. So if you have a browser you don't like, it is easy to download and try a different one.

Here is a screenshot of Microsoft's Internet Explorer toolbar:

Title Bar: The very top blue bar is called the Title bar. This tells you the title of the page you are currently looking at, as well as the name of the browser being used.

Menu Options: The second bar down is where you find your menu options. Most programs have menus full of actions to choose from, and a browser is no exception. When you left click on one of these options, you will see a drop down menu expand. Below is an example of the drop down menu under "file". You can try looking at the various drop down menus in your own browser window now, to see what kind of actions are possible.

  • The drop down menus are not used very often while you are browsing the Internet. However, here are a few options that are very useful;
  • Open the file menu and choose; "new" and "window". This will open a second window and allow you to browse two separate pages at the same time. You might like to try this now.
  • You can choose to print a webpage by accessing the "print" option under the file menu. Don't try this now unless you do want to print this page.
  • Under the view menu, you can choose "text size" and change the text size on the page to make it easier to read. You can play with the text size option now.
            
  • If you really like a particular webpage that you are viewing and want to access it again later, open the favorites menu, and choose "add to favorites" and save the web page address.
  • Under the tools menu, you can select "internet options" to change basic browser options. This is where you can change the browser's homepage (the first page that shows up when you start your browser). You can also change the security and privacy levels of the browser, and manage the content allowed on the browser (For example, you may want to prevent children from viewing certain types of pages.)
  • The help menu is there for you if you get stuck. It's very useful, and available in most programs. Don't hesitate to use it.

Browser Tool Bar: This tool bar contains the commands used most often while you are navigating the world wide web. You might try playing with some of these to get a taste for what they can do.

  • The "back" and "forward" buttons allow you to page back and forward through the history of links you have followed while navigating the web.
  • The "stop" key will stop the browser's current action. This is very useful if you clicked a link and then change your mind about going to the new page. 
  • The "refresh" button will refresh the page you are currently visiting. This may be handy if you are looking at a web page with information that changes frequently, such as a news headline page.
  • The "home" button will take you back to the starting point or "home page" that you have your browser set to.
  • Most people don't like to use the "search" button on their browser, and prefer to go to a search engine site when they are conducting web searches.
  • The "favorites" button the browser tool bar will open a separate section on the browser, where you can select which favorite web page you would like to view. You can also add favorite web pages under this option, as well as under the drop down favorites menu option mentioned earlier.
  • The "history" button will show you the addresses of all the web pages you have been viewing. You can return to one of these pages by clicking on the address. 
  • The "e-mail" button will open whatever default e-mail program you have set up on your computer. If you are using the computer at Tempe Public Library, this "e-mail" button will not work.

Address Bar: The address bar is where you can type in the actual address of a webpage you would like to see. You can often hear these addresses mentioned on television and radio these days, or a friend might tell you about a web address for a site they like. You can just left click inside the window on this bar, and the current address will turn blue (which means it is highlighted). Then delete the address by pressing the delete button on your keyboard. If you can't highlight the current address, use the backspace and delete keys on the keyboard, to erase the current address. Once the address bar is empty, you can type in the address of the page you want to visit.

Here is a screenshot of Netscape's toolbar so you can compare the different look and functions;

Module 4: Finding Information

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