Objectives
Tips
The Internet
The World Wide Web
and e-mail are both parts of the Internet,
an international network of computers connected by wires such as telephone
lines. If you have a computer at home, you can obtain access to the Internet
by buying a modem, installing software such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft
Explorer on your computer, and subscribing to an Internet
provider such as America Online or Carolina Online. Universities, high
schools, businesses, and many homes have access to the Internet, which
they use to communicate with each other through e-mail, the World Wide
Web, and other means. For example, many companies advertise their products
by posting pictures and descriptions on World
Wide Web sites. In other words, they store this information on a computer
called a server, where people all
over the world can obtain access to it simply by typing in the Web address,
also called a URL. The standard format
for a URL looks like this: www.uncp.edu, in which the first component (www)
stands for World Wide Web, the second item (uncp) is the institution that
controls the server, and the third (edu) indicates the type of institution.
The most common abbreviations at the end of URLs are "edu" for education,
"com" for commercial, "org" for organization, and "gov" for government.
E-mail
Through e-mail, short
for electronic mail, people all over the world can send messages to one
another. Each of these people has an e-mail address, which usually looks
something like this: canada@nconline.com. The first part of the address
(canada) specifies the individual user, and the rest of the address refers
to the server (nconline.com), which is a computer that can store a lot
of information. Many universities, such as the University of North Carolina
at Pembroke, have servers, as do large corporations and Internet providers
such as Carolina Online. When you send a message to someone on e-mail,
your message goes through that person's server and then to the person.
To use e-mail on campus, follow these steps:
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Bring the yellow sheet you received from Computer Services,
along with an IBM-formatted diskette, to a computer lab. Place a label
on the disk and write "Eudora e-mail," along with your name and telephone
number, on the label. Insert the diskette in the narrow slot on the computer.
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Click on the word "Start" in the bottom-left corner of the
screen and, holding down the left mouse button, slide up to "Programs."
When the pop-up menu appears to the right, slide up to "Eudora" and click
on it. Eudora is an e-mail program you can use to send and read
e-mail messages.
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A dialog box will appear on the screen. Click inside the
white box under "POP Account" and type in your user name, which appears
on the yellow sheet--followed by @papa.uncp.edu--and press the "Tab"
key. Example: shakespeare@papa.uncp.edu
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In the next box, type your full name. Example: William Shakespeare
-
Click on "OK." The computer will store this information on
your diskette. In the future, bring this same diskette with you to the
lab and insert it in the computer whenever you want to use e-mail.
-
To address a message, look in the upper-left part of the
screen and find the icon that looks like a pencil and paper. Click on it.
In the box that appears, type the e-mail address of your intended recipient
next to the word "To." Example: canada@sassette.uncp.edu
-
Press the "Tab" key until the blinking line, or cursor,
appears in the large white space below. Type a message. Example: I love
this class, Dr. Canada. Let's meet every day!
-
When you have finished typing your message, click on the
word "Send" near the top of the screen.
-
To read messages sent to you, click on the word "Mailbox"
at the top of the screen, slide down, and click on "In." A dialog box will
appear, showing a list of messages sent to you. To read the entire message,
click on it.
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In the next day or two, set aside about 30 minutes to explore
the rest of Eudora. Try to create a signature, save a message,
and print a message. Make sure that you can send and read messages
by the time our next class meets.
Listserv
To help us share our ideas outside the classroom, I have
created a listserv for this course.
When you send a message to a list serve address, your message goes to everyone
on the list serve--in this case everyone in the class. To use the list
serve for this class, follow these steps:
-
While you are in your e-mail program, address a message to
listserv@papa.uncp.edu;
tab down to the body of the message and type SUBSCRIBE eng203 (or
whatever the name of this class is); click on "Send." You now will receive
every message sent to the list serve.
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To address a message to the list serve, type eng203@papa.uncp.edu
next to the word "To" and tab down to the body of the message. Type your
message and click on "Send." Everyone in the class, including me, will
receive your message. If you plan to send a long message, such as a journal
assignment, type the message in Word and save it to a diskette. Before
exiting Word, select all of the text and copy it. Then launch your e-mail
program and paste it into the message field. Now follow the directions
above for sending the message the the listserv.
Finding Material on the World Wide Web
-
Using the instructions under "General" above, click on Netscape
Communicator. When another pop-up menu appears, slide down and click on
Netscape
Navigator. Netscape Navigator is a software program called a browser,
which allows you to view information on the Web.
-
The computers in the labs are set up so that they automatically
take you to the Web site of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
To go to another Web site, click on the URL in the white box near the top
of the screen; it should turn blue. Now type the URL of the site you want
to visit. Example: www.uncp.edu/home/canada
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Once you have reached a site, you can visit other sites or
parts of the same site by clicking on links,
which often are underlined and appear in a color different from the rest
of the text. You usually when know when you are pointing your cursor at
a link because the arrow on the screen will turn into a pointing hand.
Example: Click on "Mark's Portfolio" and then on the name of this course.
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You can scroll down the information on the site by clicking
on the down arrow in the bottom-right part of the screen. Example: Scroll
down to the bottom of the syllabus.
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To return to the previous site, click on the word "Back"
in the upper-left corner of the screen. No matter how far you get from
the original site, you always can return to it by clicking on the "Back"
button as many times as necessary. Example: Click on "Back" and return
to the syllabus.
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To print the information on this site, click somewhere in
the site and then click on the word "Print" near the top of the screen.
If you want to print the entire site, click "OK." Example: Print the syllabus.
-
If you want to print only a limited number of pages, fill
in the boxes labeled "To" and "From" and then click "OK." If you don't
know which pages to print, click on "File" in the upper-left corner and
click on "Print Preview." Move through the pages, make a note of the pages
you want to print, and follow the previous directions to print them.
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You also can search for information on the Web. Click
on the word "Search" near the top of the screen. You will arrive at a search
engine, a computer program that looks through the information on the
Web and gives you a list of sites relevant to your interests. Some examples
of search engines are Yahoo, Excite, Infoseek, and Lycos. Click in the
white box, type a word or phrase, and click on "Seek" or "Go Get It." Example:
Search for "Twain."
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The next screen will tell you how many sites contain information
on your topic and list several of them. To visit one, click on one of the
links. On a sheet of paper, write down the URL, which appears in the white
box near the top of the screen. Make sure that you have written down the
URL letter for letter, with no mistakes or extra spaces. To return to the
list, click on "Back." Whenever you return to the computer lab, you can
use this list to find these Web sites. Use the instructions above for locating
a specific Web site.
Building a Web Page
The following instructions will help you build a Web page
-
While you are still in Netscape Navigator, click on "Communicator"
and then on "Composer." You now are using Netscape Navigator's text
editor, a program that allows you to design your own Web site. Text
editors are very similar to word-processing programs, such as WordPerfect
and Microsoft Word, in that they allow you to type information and then
adjust the appearance of this information by pointing, dragging, and clicking.
-
Type some words--such as your name--at the top of the page
and highlight them. Using the icons in the toolbar at the top of
the screen, experiment with changing the size, style, color, and placement
of these words.
-
Before you go any further, you should save your page. Insert
a diskette into the narrow slot on the computer, click on "File," and click
on "Save As." When the dialog box appears, make sure that the computer
is set for the "a" drive and type a name with no more than eight letters.
Click "OK." In the dialogue box that appears, type the full name of your
Web page. If your Web page is on an author, for example, you would type
this author's first and last name in this box. Click "OK." As you go through
the following steps, remember to click every few minutes on the "Save"
icon in the toolbar at the top of the screen.
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To create a link to another site, toggle to Netscape Navigator
by clicking on the icon that looks like a ship's wheel at the bottom of
the screen. Using a search engine or a portal, locate a relevant, credible
Web site on your topic. While you are looking at this site, click on the
URL, or Web address, in the white box at the top. The URL should turn blue.
Hold down the "Control" key and press the "c" key on the keyboard. Now
toggle back to Netscape Composer by clicking on the icon that looks like
a pen and blue triangle at the bottom of the screen. On your Web page,
type the title of the site to which you are going to create a link. Highlight
this title and click on "Link" at the top of the screen. In the dialogue
box that appears, you will see your cursor blinking in a white box. Hold
down the "Control" key and press the "v" key on your keyboard. You should
see the URL you cut from Netscape Navigator appear in the white box. Click
"OK."
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To create a link to your e-mail address, type the address
on your page and highlight it. Click on "Link" in the toolbar at
the top of the screen. In the box that appears, type "mailto:" followed
by your e-mail address--for example, I would type "mailto:mark.canada@uncp.edu"--and
click "OK."
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To make sure your link works, click on "Preview" at the top
of the screen. Now place your arrow over the link so that the arrow turns
into a pointing hand. Click. You now should see the site to which you created
this link. To return to the Composer function so that you can work on you
site some more, click on the Netscape Composer icon at the bottom of the
screen.
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To place a photograph you have taken with an ordinary camera
on your Web page, you first need to scan the photo. Here are directions
for scanning a photograph in the UNCP Writing Center, courtesy of Writing
Center Director Dean Hinnen:
-
Place photo in upper right-hand corner of scanner (next to
green arrow), face-down.
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Double-click on the PaintShop Pro icon.
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Click on File.
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Move arrow to Import, then to TWAIN, then to Acquire.
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Click on Acquire. DeskScan program will activate and scanner
will "preview" the image.
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Click on Final. Scanner will make its "final" scan.
-
Click on the X in the upper right-hand corner of the DeskScan
box to close DeskScan.
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Edit image in Paint Shop Pro (optional).
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Click on File.
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Click on Save or Save As.
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Change the file type to JPEG (.jpg extension).
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Rename the file (optional, the default name is Image1.jpg).
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Click on Save to save file.
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Close PaintShop Pro.
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To place your photo on you page, open the page in Netscape
Composer, place your cursor where you want the image to appear, and click
on "Image" in the toolbar at the top of the screen. In the dialog
box that appears, click on "Choose File..." and then find the photo you
want. Click "OK." The image will appear on your page.
To adjust the size, place your cursor on the bottom-right-hand corner,
click, and drag.
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To alter other features of your page, such as the title and
background color, click on "Format" at the top of the screen and then on
"Page Colors and Properties."
Creating a Web Page for All American
If you are taking a composition, literature, or linguistics
course with me, one of your assignments is to write an article on American
literature, history, or culture and submit it for possible publication
on a Web site called All American. For the sake of consistency, you
must use a particular format. The instructions below will help you
conform to this format:
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If you are creating a page on an American author for one
of my literature classes, visit the sample
page on Fanny Fern (http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/17841865/lit/fern.htm)
and study its appearance. Whenever you are unsure how your page should
look, use this sample page as a model.
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If you are creating a page on a historical or a linguistic
topic for one of my composition or linguistics classes, visit the sample
page on journalism (http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/17841865/lit/fern.htm)
and study its appearance. Whenever you are unsure how your page should
look, use this sample page as a model.
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To create a red box at the top, click on "Table" in the toolbar
at the top of the screen. In the dialogue box that appears, change the
number of columns to 1, the border line width to 0, the cell spacing to
2, and the cell spacing to 4. Click on the gray box next to the word "Color";
in the pop-up menu that appears, click on the bright red box in the second
column, third row. Click on "OK."
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To create the white area and narrow blue box, place your
cursor below the red box and press "Enter." Now click on "Table." This
time, leave the number of columns at 2, but still change the border line
width to 0, the cell spacing to 2, and the cell spacing to 4. Choose "Left"
under "Horizontal Alignment" and "Top" under "Vertical Alignment." Click
"OK." You should see two boxes; each of these boxes is a cell. Click in
the cell on the right so that the cursor is blinking there. Place your
arrow over this cell and click with the right mouse button. In the pop-up
menu that appears, click on "Table Properties." In the dialogue box that
appears, make sure that the tab labeled "Cell" is highlighted. Change the
cell width to 25 percent. Click on the gray box next to "Color" and choose
the lightest shade of blue, which appears in the first row, second-to-last
column. Click "OK." Now you should see a wide white box on the left and
a narrow blue box on the right.
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To fill in these boxes with text, simply click inside them
and type. In the red box, type the name of the time period you are covering
in your Web page: "Colonial America, 1607-1783" or "Antebellum and Civil
War America, 1784-1865" or "Postbellum America, 1866-1913" or "Modern America,
1914-present." To change the color of this text to white, highlight it
and click on the arrow on the right of the small black box in the toolbar
next to the bold "A." In the pop-up menu that appears, click on the white
box. While the text is still highlighted, click on the icon at the far
right of the lowest toolbar at the top of the screen. In the pop-up menu
that appears, click on the icon in the center. To fill the white box with
text, click inside this box and type the information below, pressing "Enter"
after each item. (You may want to type the words in brackets for now and
then later, after you have done some of your research, highlight each line
and type the appropriate information.) After you have typed the words,
highlight the first line and click on the arrow to the right of the word
"Normal" at the far left of the lowest toolbar at the top of the screen;
click on "Heading 1." Referring to the labels in red below, change the
size of each line of text. If the label is in italics, change the text
to italics by highlighting it and clicking on the italic "A" in the toolbar.
If the label is in bold, change the text to italics by highlighting it
and clicking on the bold "A" in the toolbar.
[Author's Name], [year born]-[year died] or [Subject]
Heading
1
By [Your Name] Normal
Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke Normal
[Essay] Normal
Bibliography Heading 3
[Citation] Normal
[Annotation] Normal
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To indent the annotation, click someplace on this line and
click on the icon that appears second from the right on the lowest toolbar
at the top of the screen. Your annotation now should appear indented about
a half-inch from the left margin. Never attempt to create extra space by
pressing the space bar or "Tab" key.
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To fill in the blue box with text, press the "Tab" so that
your cursor jumps over to the blue box. Type the information below, again
referring the labels in red for details on format. If you are creating
a page on an author, use the first item in each line. Otherwise, use the
second item. To create a bulleted list, highlight the items you want to
be bulleted and click on the eighth icon from the left in the lowest toolbar
at the top of the screen. Again, see one of the sample pages for help.
Major Works / People Heading
4
[list of major works or people] Normal
in bulleted list
Careers / [nothing] Heading 4
[list of careers or nothing] Normal
in bulleted list
Family / [nothing] Heading 4
[list of family members or nothing] Normal
in bulleted list
Homes / Places Heading 4
[list of homes or places] Normal
in bulleted list
Religion / [nothing] Heading 4
[list of family members or nothing] Normal
in bulleted list
Chronology / Chronology Heading
4
-
[list of years and events] Year in
bold, rest in normal
Posting a Web Site on Geocities
The following instructions will guide you through posting
Web pages on Geocities, an Internet site that publishes personal Web pages
for free in exchange for the right to publish advertising on the pages.
-
Visit www.geocities.com.
-
If you already have a Yahoo! account, sign in and skip the
next seven steps.
-
Click on "Build Your Web Site!"
-
Click on "Sign me up!"
-
In the space labeled "Yahoo ID," type your initials, the
number 1, and "uncp." Example: mac1uncp
-
Type a password in the spaces provided. Complete the
rest of the form and click on "Submit this form."
-
If you receive a message saying that the Yahoo ID is taken,
change the number and try again.
-
Complete the next form that appears. Click on "Submit."
-
Record the information about your user ID and URL.
-
Open your Web page--for example, your online resume or literature
portfolio--in Netscape Composer. When you are ready to post it on
the Web, click on "Publish" in the toolbar at the top of the screen.
-
Fill in the blanks with the requested information and click
OK. In the following example, I have used my user name (mac1uncp);
you should plug in your user name instead:
-
Page title: Mark Canada's literature portfolio (or resume)
-
HTML Filename: lit.html (or resume.html)
-
HTML or FTP location to publish to: ftp://ftp.geocities.com/mac1uncp/
-
User name: mac1uncp
-
Password
-
You may receive a message that begins: "Could not post the
file /C|/windows . . ." Click "OK."
-
Return to Netscape Navigator and click on "Reload."
Type in the URL for your Web page and press return. You should see
the personal page you created. Once you have posted your resume or
literature portfolio, you should be able to click on the link you created
and go directly to it. If the link fails, check the address.
You may have made a mistake when typing the URL for the link.
Online Forum
An online forum is
a Web site where visitors can post messages and thus carry on conversations.
To organize the messages, participants post them on separate threads
according to topic. Because you cannot save a message you write on an online
forum, it is best to write the message in a word-processing
program such as Microsoft Word or WordPerfect and then paste it in the
message box in the online forum. Here is how to do it:
-
Launch a word-processing program and type the message that
you want to post on the forum.
-
Save this document on a diskette.
-
Cut the message.
-
Launch Netscape Navigator, go to the online forum where you
want to post your message, and click on the appropriate thread.
-
Type your name and e-mail address in the appropriate boxes.
-
Paste your message in the message
box.
-
Click on "Submit."
The advantage of this process is that you will have a copy
of your message on a diskette. If something goes wrong and your message
does not appear on the online forum, you do not have to type it again;
instead, you can open it on your diskette, cut and paste it, and try submitting
it again. |
Terms
Resources
TechEncyclopedia:
This online resource provides definitions of more than 14,000 computer
terms, including "search engine" and "portal." |