Beginner’s
Guide to the Internet, Email and Computers
|
Lesson
1 & 2 |
Lesson
3 & 4 |
Lessons
5 & 6 |
Lessons
7&8 |
Lessons
9&10 |
Timetable:
2 x 2 hour sessions
30 minutes: Topic Discussion and Walkthrough
30 minutes: Topic based activity
30 minutes: Topic Extension/Revision
30 minutes: Freesurf / Technical Talk / Questions and
Answers
Teaching
Methodology:
Task Oriented Learning: Learning through doing/End
product is not the goal – experience for future development is the objective
Decide what you want to learn, how you want to learn
it (instruction or individual work), use the time to get what you need
Never a dull moment: If you want a break/have five
minutes to spare, teach yourself to type (KP typing) or hone your IT skills (20
ICT skills for teachers)
What is the
internet?
A source of:
Information, entertainment, applications,
communication, dissemination,
How does it
work?
A web of computers connected together with a shared
method of communication and standards
Servers, hosts and clients
IP addresses
What is
broadband?
Highest speed internet connect method
Phone lines, fibre optics, ISDN, ADSL, Broadband
Only as fast as the slowest part of your network
Often shared capacity so can be as slow as older
technologies
What is the
difference between the internet and a network
Network is an enclosed web of computers
Internet is an open, exposed web of computers
What do you
need to get on the internet?
A computer with the right hardware, the right
software(a browser), a connection, an IP address
What is a
browser?
A browser is a window onto the web
A tool/application that allows you to view pages on
the web(webpages)
It is only a viewer and does not allow you to change
material
You can input information and control what you see and
how you see it
How do you
use a browser?
All browsers (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera) have
common elements/buttons/icons like:
an address bar
where you enter a web address
forwards and backwards buttons
a home button to bring back to where you started
a favourites/bookmarks button for access to sites you
regularly use
(Powerpoint presentation available on how to use the
browser if necessary)
What’s the difference between a website and a webpage?
A website is comprised of one or more webpages
Interconnected webpages make up the website
All websites have a homepage with is the starting
point for accessing the webpages
Some webpages on a webpage may link to another website
You know you have moved to a new website if the first
part of the web address has changed (www.firstsite.ie
changes to www.newsite.com)
What are
links/hyperlinks?
Links are highlighted (coloured) words/phrases that allow
you access specific information/webpages from a general webpage.
They are normally coloured blue when unused and red
when used to remind you where you’ve been
Links can be also be in the form of pictures and
graphics
Using links is often referred to as navigating
How do I
search for a webpage/website or
information?
To find what you are looking for, if you haven’t got a
web address you use a search engine
There are many search engines available (google, yahoo
etc.) that do the same thing
All search engines have a space/area where you enter
details of what you are looking for and a button beside this that you click to
start the search
The search engine presents a list of links to where it
has found the most information regarding your enquiry
If these are not appropriate, refine your search
through being more specific in your request
Activity 1:
20 Technology
Skills Every Educator Should Have
Link sent by NCTE
http://thejournal.com/articles/17325_1
If you would rather browse and get familiar with the
internet, surf these sites of interest:
Other
Questions:
What are popups?
Why are some sites unaccessible to me in school?
Why is my connection slow when my class is using the
internet in the computer room?
What are plug-ins?
What browser is the best?
What are tabs?
Why am I asked to update to newer versions?
Finding
resources on the Internet: Downloading and Installing
What can I download from the internet?
Files
Templates
Applications
Games
Operating systems
Upgrades
Is it safe to download material?
It depends – there may be virus issues
Make sure you trust the source of the material
If not, trust your anti-virus software
What do I
need to know before downloading?
Is the material/application compatible with your
system?
Have I enough space on my hard drive for the
material/application?
Do I have to pay for the download? Do I have to
register? Will I receive emails about it?
How fast is my connection?
Where will I
save my downloaded material?
What format
do downloads take?
Big downloads will be compressed to speed up
downloading and need to be “unzipped” and then installed or viewed
Smaller downloads may download ready to use e.g. mp3
files, or as installation files which need to be run as per any installation of
software
Activity 2:
Find KP Typing by entering the name in a search engine
and selecting the most appropriate result returned
Download the installation file to your desktop
Install the software
Start typing!
Other
Questions:
Why is there a trial period?
Why are some features not working?
Do I need to give all my details?
What kind of
teaching do I want to do?
Presentation to class
Group work
Individual
Different scenarios offer different options
What do I
need?
Internet connection to a computer room
Internet connection to a classroom
Wireless connections to laptops or desktop pcs
Overhead projector/data projector
Whiteboard/screen/blank wall
What are my
options?
Content-rich material (www.starfall.com)
Content-free material (www.imaginationcubed.com/LaunchPage)
Tools(online calculator)
Applications (www.zoho.com)
Where can I
get Irish material/resources relevant to the Irish curriculum?
Many sources and sites available
Two in particular are recommended:
Also check out: www.iamanartist.ie
and www.scispy.ie
Activity 3:
Go to www.teachnet.ie
and pick one resource from each subject area
Bookmark it
Review the material, pick out the pros and cons, give
it a mark out of ten
Extending use
of the Internet to teach
What else can
the internet offer in terms of teaching?
Access to the most up-to-date information (CIA – the
world factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html )
Access to the world’s library (children’s library
on-line http://www.icdlbooks.org/ )
Free e-books, magazines, newsletters
Intercultural communication (e-twinning)
On-line experiments (www.scispy.ie)
Limitless image/clipart library to enhance work
(google images)
Build an on-line timeline at:
http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/materials/bigtimeline/
Activity 4:
Download and install Google Earth found at http://earth.google.com/
Check out the Grand Canyon, Bondi Beach and the
Vatican City
Why would I
use applications on-line that I have on
my computer anyway?
Most up-to-date
Not dependent on one computer
No need for memory sticks, laptops
Material can be shared/worked on by other people
Material is safe from crashes, smashes and flashes
Applications are free
You are not tied to Microsoft or any other propriety
system, no licensing
Is my work
secure when saved on-line
It is as safe as your work on your computer if not
safer because it needs to convince users to use it!
What do I
need to do to access these applications?
Most often, you need to register – give your name,
email address and supply a username and password
You may need to give a password checking question e.g.
mother’s maiden name!
Where can I
find these applications?
At the aforementioned www.zoho.com
Google has its own on-line suite which is highly
recommended – email, word processor, spreadsheets etc.
What about
allowing children access to these applications?
The same issues pertain here as to allowing them
access computers generally
Most likely they are already using them as material
stored on-line and can be accessed anywhere
Activity 5:
Sign up for
Gmail at www.gmail.com
and access the word processing, spreadsheet etc. services available
(alternatively register at www.writely.com – same thing different access
point!)
Create a word
document, write something, save it online then download it and save it as a
Word document on the desktop
Create a
spread sheet, enter some figures and formulas (e.g. monthly income and
outgoings), save and download onto the desktop
Activity
Extension:
Create a word
document containing the first line of a nursery line, save it, make it shared
to others in the class and watch it grow
Go to the
shared documents of your colleagues and add to the nursery rhymes they have
started and contributed to
Topic
Extension:
How do I use
the photo gallery
Take pictures and load them onto your computer
Access the photo gallery application on the internet
Direct the application to where the photos are stored
Allow the photos to be uploaded
Allow access to those you wish to view the photos
Are my photographs safe?
Photographs will only be accessible to those to whom
you have given permission
If in doubt don’t upload anything sensitive
Activity 6
Download a series of images/photographs using the
Google Image search facility and save them in a folder on the desktop – pick a
particular subject such as dogs, cars, horses
Upload the photos to the photo gallery and allow
access to your colleagues
Activity
extension
Check out the photos uploaded by your classmates and
add one photo more on the same theme that you have downloaded and uploaded again.
What is the
difference between a network and the internet again?
The Internet is a public network, made up of countless
networks
These networks are run by service providers such as
eircom, bt etc.
A network is most often private with one
computer/router acting as the access point to the internet
These networks are in schools and offices and are run
by those organisations
Networks and the internet are held together by many
different methods of communication from massive fibre optic cables to wireless
signals
Networks and the internet allow for the sharing of
information, resources etc. in the form of files
Everything is defined as a file
By its very nature, because networks involve
communication across distances, there are security issues
What is meant
by file management?
File management involves storing material created,
downloaded or shared in appropriate locations on a computer such as in folders
(my documents, Franks Stuff)
It also involves having a knowledge of the file
structure of a computer so that information/files/applications can be
retrieved/copied/altered as required e.g. knowing where the media player is
installed
(Presentation on how to save/where to save etc. is
available on request!)
Why is it
important?
If you want to keep track of material such as notes
and documents you need to store them somewhere you can retrieve them quickly or
keep them private
Too many files in the My Documents folder makes it
hard to find what you are looking for particularly in the school scenario
If you are downloading material you will be asked
where it should be stored – you should allocate this so that you know where
items are when you want to install them
Files are mostly but not always downloaded onto the desktop
and this can become very cluttered very quickly making it difficult to find
items
When applications are being installed they will ask
where do you want the material to be installed and you should be able to direct
the installation to suit you best e.g. you may wish to install to a secondary
hard drive if the primary hard drive is nearly full
If you want to transfer files/folders to a memory
stick or similar data storage device it will make moving and finding material
again easier
Many applications on-line and off-line use folder
structures e.g. email, so it is good to familiarise yourself with these
What are the
important elements in a computer’s file system
My Computer shows you all the storage facilities
available – hard drive, CD/DVD drive, floppy drive
Here too you will see temporary storage devices such
as usb memory sticks and digital cameras etc. that can be used as storage
devices
Some systems also have folders within folders for
Music, Photos etc. but often these are too general and further organisation is
needed e.g. Florida ’99, Mary’s First Communion
The My Computer folder also has a folder called Shared
Documents which contains material/data that can be viewed/copied/adjusted by
other computer users that are on the same network
To view the Shared Documents of other computers on a
network, you select the My Network Places option from the My Computer window or
from the Start Menu
If you do not see the network folders you are looking
for you can select “view workgroup computers” to see all the other computers on
the network
Activity 7
Create a file using an online word processor
preferably containing the first line of a limerick about anything, download it
to a folder you have created on the desktop (right-click on desktop, select
new, then folder, enter its title and press enter/return) and place a copy of
it into your shared documents
Go to the Shared Documents of your colleagues and open
their documents, add a new line to their limerick and save it.
Topic
Extension
How do I
limit access to my folders and files?
You can create password protected folders, read-only
files and sharer privileges to limit how your files are viewed and accessed
Windows XP and later allow you to set up user accounts
that allows for password protection but beware there are ways around these
When on the internet, your computer is open to every
other computer on the internet so it is vital to have software to protect your
computer from malicious attack or from theft e.g. firewalls, anti-virus
software
What about
network protection in school?
If connected to the Internet via the NCTE then there
is a firewall already in place that blocks access from outside and within
It is advisable to have local protection also in the
form of anti-virus software that updates daily e.g. avast, avg which are free
to use for non-profit organisations
Internally, password protection, user accounts, read
only options should be used with sensitive or very important material that you
don’t want to lose
How can I
monitor and/or restrict what my class are doing on the internet, on the
computers, on the network?
If your network is run on a server/client basis then
you can restrict access and control using the servers software
If your network is a series computers connected
together without a server it is possible to get monitoring software such as AB
Tutor Control which allows for monitoring, control and restriction of computers
on the network – one computer is designated the master and the rest slaves
Activity 8
Find out what anti-virus software is running on your
computer and get it to scan you computer for viruses and faults. Use the update
facility to fetch the latest protection
Check this out: http://www.howstuffworks.com/virus.htm
The written word: email, instant messaging and blogging
What is email?
How does it work?
What’s the difference between an on-line account and a
pc based account?
Where are my emails stored?
Inbox, outbox, drafts, self created folders
Are emails gone forever when I send them to the trash
folder?
What is spam/junk mail and how can I deal with it?
What is the difference between gmail type accounts and
eircom.net type accounts?
How can I use email in school?
How do I set up groups to send lots of emails at once
e.g. to parents?
Activity 9
Sign up to gmail.com, get the email addresses of your
colleagues and send some emails to them.
Send a group email to all of the class
Add your colleagues addresses to your address books
Set up a group with all your colleagues email address
and send out a circular!
Check out your junk mail folder and see what has been
received
Topic Extension
What is instant messaging?
Instant messaging is a facility that
allows you to “chat” to friends or otherwise when online
When in an instant messaging application
you can see whether your friends are online and if so, can initiate a
conversation with them
Applications that offer this
facility include msn messenger, gmail (when logged in) and skype
This facility has been available for
networks for years and as the internet is similar to networks, is also
available over the internet
Are there security issues for
children? No more or less than there are for all internet/network/computer
activities
Activity 10:
Use the instant messaging facility
in gmail to chat to class members you have emailed previously
What are blogs/is blogging?
Blogging, or web logging to give it
its proper name, is the practice of writing material for viewing on the
internet
It can be used by all to express
opinions, thoughts, recipes, ramblings, musing and much more without the need
to set up a web page
You access blogging by setting up a
blogging account with an on-line provider such as at http://www.blogger.com/
You agree a blogging template, an
address, a user name and off you go!
To see your own blog your enter the
agreed address e.g. http://annesfood.blogspot.com/
Activity 11:
Register on http://www.blogger.com/, create a blog detailing how you
are going to spend the rest of the summer and email the web address of the blog
to your class mates
Check out the blogs of your
classmates when you receive their blog address in you email inbox
Extra activity
Sending texts for free via the
internet! Vodafone and other mobile phone account suppliers offer free texting
from the internet. You need to log on using your phone number and a password,
navigate to the free webtext facility, enter the text and the number of the
recipient and select send. The message leaves the internet and arrives at their
mobile phone! Vodafone offer 300 free webtexts per month!! Check it out and
send some texts!
Using Voice over IP (Skype) for
phone calls and video calls
Downloading and listening to
Podcasts
What is Voice over IP?
VOIP is a technology that allows you
to converse in real time using the high speed capabilities of broadband so that
your computer can be used just like a phone
Why is it worth getting excited
about?
Calls placed using VoIP are free as
you are connected to the internet anyway when making the call but you must be
calling another computer that has a broadband connection
Calls placed from your computer to
traditional phones and mobiles are considerably cheaper as you are entering the
phone network locally from the internet and thus only pay for local calls
How do you get VoIP calls?
You must download an application
that facilitates the calls such as Skype
Once you have downloaded and
installed the software for Skype you must open an account with them just as you
did with gmail or zoho
Opening an account is free and
calling other computers is free but if you wish to break out of the internet
and call traditional phones you must buy some phone credit as there is a cost
incurred in these calls
How do I know who to call and
whether they are available?
If you know someone else is
registered on Skype you can use the search facility to locate them and
establish a connection which involves requesting that they accept your calls
Once you are accepted by a fellow
Skype user you will know when they are online or on the internet because their
names will be highlighted in green
How good is the quality of the
calls?
It depends on several things such as
the distance involved, the time of day, the amount of users of skype and the
amount of users on the internet
Also running many applications at
the same time as calling can cause unacceptable delays
Its good but still not as perfect as
traditional methods but as it’s free most find it worthwhile
What else can Skype do?
The real value in VoIP is that it
can be extended to include live video so that you can see the person you are
talking to using an application such as Skype
This has revolutionised
international communication and made Skype a killer application as telephones
do not offer this at acceptable costs – Skype video is free also from computer
to computer
Skype can also be used for instant
messaging as mentioned above where you can type a conversation to anyone on
line at the same time as you
Skype can also allow for multiple
conversations called conference calls
How useful is this to me in school?
If you get involved in etwinning,
you can use it to converse with other schools, pupils, staff
You can use it as a free intercom
system allowing for teacher communication without leaving the classroom – very
useful on those wet days!!
Activity 12
Download Skype, install it on your
computer, sign up an account, search for your colleagues once you know they
have registered and give them a call, do a conference call, start a text chat!
Note: as with gmail, once you have
an account with Skype set up it is yours on any computer anywhere
What are Podcasts?
Podcasts are recorded radio
programmes, speeches, promotional material etc. that are stored on the internet
and which can be downloaded to a computer to be played when the user wants, on
the computer or to be transferred to a mobile music player such as an MP3
player
Why is it called a Podcast?
It is called a Podcast because it
can be played on players such as an iPod from Apple and because it is a
broadcast - thus Podcast, get it?!
Why would I want it?
You may miss your favourite
programme on the radio so this allows you to hear it when you like where you
like, again and again e.g. Gift Grub on Today FM
Many Podcasts are lectures that may
be educational to you or to your class
You may wish to create your own
Podcast of something that your pupils could down load and listen to
How do I get a Podcast?
You must download a piece of
software called a Podcatcher e.g. Juice which can search and download podcasts
you specify or sign up to receive
Activity 13
Download the Juice podcatcher
software, install it and download some podcasts from favourite radio stations
or your favourite politicians – Micheál Martin had one for the last election!!
Why do schools need websites?
As a source of information for
parents, pupils and the public
As a source of learning for teachers
and pupils
To have a “web presence”
Why would I need a class website?
Information for parents and pupils
A display arena for pupils work
Source of news, rules, upcoming
events, to-do lists, reminders etc.
Remember, a website does not have to
be on the Internet, it can be shown locally on your Intranet
What do I need to set up a website
Some webpage design, creation
software (e.g. Microsoft Word, Microsoft Frontpage, Macromedia Dreamweaver)
A web host (i.e. a company which
will keep your pages on their computer so that it is accessible 24/7)
(Note: you could be your own webhost
but most choose not to)
A web address which you may choose
if available
A method to transfer the pages you
create to the webhost such as FTP (file transfer protofol)
Note: some applications such as
Dreamweaver come with their own inbuilt transfer software
What are the first steps?
Create a homepage which will give
general details and also the option to link to other pages
Create the other pages and link them
to the homepage
Upload the pages and check whether
they are accessible on the internet
And then?
You can update your pages regularly,
make them more interactive, put up educational content, create restricted areas
for teachers and pupils
Where can I get design ideas?
Other schools websites e.g. golden
spider awards
Templates that come with your web
design software
Is it expensive?
Depending on what you want to do you
can take the cheap or the expensive options
You could employ a web design
company, you can use Word, you can employ an international web company to host your
site for about €500 per annum or you can use free web space form online groups
that may add advertisements to your site
Activity 14
Create a webpage using either
Dreamweaver or Word, both of which are on your computer
Use the web browser (Internet
Explorer) to view the file locally
Create more webpages and link them
to your “homepage”
Add graphics and pictures and make
them hyperlinks
Make some hyperlinks to external
websites, e.g. link to www.starfall.com
Activity 15:
Sign up for free web space at www.freewebspace.com and upload your page
Send your new address to your
colleagues and check out their websites when you get their site addresses
Why is there
all this talk about Internet Safety?
While being an invaluable
constructive tool, the internet has also attracted its fair share of users
intent on abusing what it offers.
All varieties of criminals use the
internets openness for corruption at all levels – financial, political and
personal
Of particular concern to teachers is
the possible abuse on the internet of children, both under their care and
outside the school
Thus the same difficulties with
problems such as bullying and abuse, personal and sexual, pertain to the
Internet as they do to the school yard, the classroom and on the school bus and
the overriding desire among teachers is that child know how to stay safe
With the emergence of technologies
such as instant messaging and websites such as www.bebo.com danger on the internet has become
highlighted and in many cases been overblown by media influence and coverage
This coverage has brought the very
positive response in the field of education that, as with bullying in school
being highlighted in recent years, we must educate and equip our children with
the skills to know when they are in danger and what to do if they feel unsafe
or threatened
Thus similar phrases such as “say
no, keep saying no, get away, tell someone” that were incorporated into the
(now incorporated into SPHE programme) Stay Safe programme are being reused to
help protect users of all ages on the internet and on computers
You don’t have to be on the internet
to be exposed to dangerous or intimidating material. Abusive screensavers,
pornographic backgrounds and inappropriate graphics all contribute to lessen
the benefit of the computing experience
It is quite possible, if not
probable, that in the near future issues pertaining to internet safety will be
dealt with in the same programme/scheme as issues dealing with safety generally
The danger at the moment, with much
of the media hype, is that the internet and computers will become demonised
through fear and ignorance, just as the purveyors of doom predicted about
television in the past, and about books and education in our not too distance
past also
What is a
firewall and how will it help with Internet safety?
A firewall is a piece of software
that stops web sites and content that are classified as unsuitable to be
allowed into a computer or onto a network of computers
The NCTE operate the firewall for
all the schools that have signed up for free broadband
It is recommended that all schools
implement a firewall locally also
Other protective software such as
advertising busting software can minimise negative elements of the internet
What support
can I get in regard to Internet Safety?
There are many websites offering
advice and help in regard to internet safety such as www.webwise.ie
and www.watchyourspace.ie
There is also a lot of literature
sent to schools regarding this with posters and similar materials being
available also (DVD)
What is an
Acceptable Use Policy?
As computers in schools are a
relatively new thing and instances of abuse on and of the internet have raised
fears among parents regarding their children using computers in schools, the
education system has responded to reassure parents that to the best of their
ability schools will try and protect children from danger and to this end they
have produce a document call an Acceptable Use Policy which sets down the
appropriate manner in which the new technology is to be used. This document is
to be signed by parents, teachers and pupils of a school and violation of the
policy should instigate a sanctioning/educating process as appropriate
All schools that signed up for free
broadband with NCTE had to declare that they had an active AUP
As with internet safety generally,
it is to be expected that the AUP will form part of the overall safety
procedure put in place in schools in the near future
Activity 16
Go to www.bebo.com
Select a number of profiles (5)
Assess on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1
being completely unacceptable and 10 being perfectly acceptable the profile you
have viewed
Do you see any educational benefit
in this site? Would you show it to your class in a controlled environment? What
are your personal feelings towards the site
Go to www.myspace.com and carry out the same process as
above
If you like, sign up for bebo.com and
create a real or imaginary profile, share this profile with your colleagues
Activity 17
Go to www.yourtube.com
In the search bar enter the phrase,
introducing the book
When the search results are
returned, select the first option, put on your headphones (even though its not
in English!) and enjoy
Surf through the website and carry
out the same assessment procedure as in Activity 16
What kind of free stuff is available
on the internet?
A little bit of searching can reveal
a veritable treasure chest of software and educational websites
The software may be educational, as
the touch typing course, content free as in Tux Paint, and technical, as in
avast anti-virus software
The list of free stuff is endless –
think of what you would like and get surfing!!!
Activity 18
Go to www.google.ie
Enter the phrase tux paint in the
search bar and press enter
When the search results appear pick
the most appropriate link to download the installation software for the
application Tux Paint
Download the software to your
desktop
Double-click on the downloaded file
and follow the installation process when prompted
Run the program to get familiar with
it
Activity 19
Return to the download site for Tux
Paint and download and install the Stamp software for the program
Run the program and enjoy the added
feature
Thanks for listening!