Internet 101

Introduction

The information on this page has been prepared for my friends (most of them Senior Citizent) attending the 2009 Senior Health Summit at the Senior Wellness Center in Basking Ridge, NJ.  It is my first stab at teaching an Internet 101 class and I appreciate the enthusiasm and support of my friends at the Senior Wellness Center for making the sharing of this information a reality.

Prerequisites:

New Computer User? - online tutorial

Learn How to use the mouse - online tutorial

Mastering the computer mouse - Mouserobics

Test your mouse skills - Mouse Game (test)

Safety First

As with any activity you engage in you should make a conscious effort to address safety concerns and minimize risks.

Ergonomics

Ergonomics is essentially a fancy work for comfort.  More precisely it is using biological science to study the relation between workers and their environments.  There are specialized products, guidelines, and practices that can help insure that you maximize comfort and reduce personal injury while using a computer.  Let's google "ergonomics" to see what we find.  On a side note have you ever used the word google as verb in a sentence? 

Security: Protecting your personal information

Let us take a moment to compare driving a car to using a computer connected to the Internet.  There are many risks associated with driving a car yet many people do it everyday.  Thanks in large part to automobile safety features the benefits of using a car quickly outweigh the risks.  Just as it is important for you to be aware of the safety features in your automobile so to is it important to be familiar with the safety features available to you while sharing information on the Internet.

Browser Security

Anti-virus software

Fact checking

Pop-ups & false alarms

Windows and other software updates

"Bad neighborhoods"

"Using the brakes"

Web-based risks

Viruses, spy-ware, mal-ware, phishing attempts, and more.

Communicating on the World Wide Web

What is the World Wide Web

A connected network of clients and servers.

E-mail messaging

Web-based email clients.  Yahoo, Optimum, Hotmail, AOL, Gmail (google mail).

Instant messaging

AOL instant messenger, Windows Messenger, MSN Live Messenger, ICQ, Skype, Google Chat.

Discussion Forums

Forums for everything you can think of.

Blogs

Personal web space for publicly sharing thoughts, ideas, and information.

Yahoo Groups

A popular variation of a web forums with advanced features.

Fun Resources

Google Maps - link to our current location

Online Library Catalogs

News

Weather

Investment Tools

Online Cook Books