In this course you learn very easy essentials to work with websites.
This includes to know some basic terms you will encounter when using websites as well as using Google to help yourself.The course also covers the usage of accounts and gives a first introduction what e-learning means and how e-learning websites can be used to learn new skills.All in all, it should take less than one hour to complete the course.
2 Basic term definitions
2.1 What is a “browser”?
The browser is the application program which allows us to search and interact with the world wide web.
2.2 What is a “website”?
A website (or Internet site) is a space on the web produced by a company, a government agency, a private institution, an individual or whoever wants to present content, promote a cause, sell products or simply share thoughts.It is a virtual place consisting of a series of interconnected pages (through links) and reachable through a unique URL (Uniform Resource Locator) connected to a domain (e.g., www.nameofyourwebsite.eu) or colloquially ‘web address’. A website can also be searched through a search engine, such as Google.A search engine is a software system designed to search for information on the World Wide Web.
2.3 What is a “web search”?
An Internet search is the use of search engines – such as Google or DuckDuckGo – to look for information based on keywords. The words that are typed into the search box are called ‘keywords’, and should relate directly to the topic you are searching for. Once you start a search, the search engine looks for matches with those keywords stored in its databases and provides related results.
2.4 What kind of elements are used in a “website”?
Websites are built up using several different elements.
Let us see which elements are used on an example website and how these elements are called:
2.5 Quick tips when using websites
Do not be afraid. You cannot destroy something.
Try out! If you are not sure what you can do or how you can do something, just try to click on buttons/links which seem to be helpful. If after the click you see that the content displayed is not helpful, you can always go back and use a different link. It is also always possible to see if maybe Google can help you (more on that later).
You will learn fast. After a little bit of trying and clicking through different websites, you will learn more and more how some elements usually work or where to find relevant information.
Exchange with others. Speak with other people about interesting websites and also how to find information fast to learn more and also new aspects. Nobody can know all websites:)
2.6 What is an Email?
An Email is like a letter you send through an electronic device instead of mail. Compared to a handwritten letter an Email may include more interactive parts. Besides text it is possible to send images and videos as well as links to different websites and add emojis to make it easier for the reader to understand what you mean.Most of the websites with login demand an Email address which gives you a unique identification and allows to reset your password if you forgot it.There are many different email accounts, such as Microsoft Outlook, Gmail (Google), GMX, T-Online where you can sign up for accounts that are free of charge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSHQ-oi3pDc
3 How to use Google as tool to find solutions
3.1 Introduction
Doing a Google search is now an everyday action for most of us: it is a way to get any information from the immense pool that is the Internet.Google is a search engine that analyses data and provides results after typing one or more ‘keywords’ (or search keys).Performing a Google search is extremely simple, so let’s see how to perform a Google search using a browser: Google Chrome, for example, but it is absolutely the same with browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge or Safari.
3.2 Let us find out if today is coming some rain!
Google can be used for a lot of different use cases. As first example, we will try out to get a weather forecast.First open www.google.com in your browser. Click in the search field (below the Google logo) and enter there the word “Weather” and the name of your city. For example, “Weather Vienna” or “Weather London”. After that, press the enter-key or click on the “Google Search” button.An example result would be like this:As you see, it is quite simple to see if today the sun will shine or maybe rain is approaching.
3.3 How to find helpful guides on using websites or programs?
We all face the challenge of using new websites or programs in our work lives for some reasons. Often it might be helpful to have some kind of manual or guideline. Here also Google can help.Let us for example search for a manual on how to use “Microsoft Word”, a quite common text editor. Keep in mind that Google only needs some keywords for doing a search. What keywords and search phrase would you use to find this kind of information? Think about that and try your ideas in the Google website embedded below.Did you manage to find some helpful information? We describe one possible, but keep in mind that there are many different possible ways to get the information. As long as you find the information you are looking for, there is no “wrong” way.We decided to use “Microsoft word manual for beginners” as search phrase.In my case (it might be different for your search result) the first results displayed are videos. After that a list of links (the blue headings) are displayed. Now it is your choice if you prefer some kind of video or try one of the links to get written information. It is also possible that you want to click on several items to see which of the results matches best with the question you have in mind.
4 Accounts and credentials
4.1 General Information
Many websites require that users create an account to use them. By creating an account you create a personal profile. This is used to display personalized content and to store information connected with your person. Therefore, each account is usually connected with your mail address and identified either by your mail address or a username.To ensure that only you have access to your account, accounts are password protected. Therefore, while creating an account you have to choose a password. This password will be needed to log into the website and get access to your data. Such a password should be a secret not shared with anyone. A good password should be at least 12 characters long. Another good idea is to use for each website a totally different password.
4.2 Account creation and Login
Now we will explore how to create accounts on a website. Usually each website has a “Register” or “Sign up” button. The examples here will be based on “Moodle”, an e-learning website, which will again be used in the e-learning chapters of the CINAMON courses. However, the process is quite similar for almost all websites. Just the design of the pages and some texts will be different.In Moodle the button is called “Create new account” and can be found on the login page of the CINAMON-course: https://cinamon-elearning.cinamon.info/loginUsually, after creating an account, you have to verify the mail address you used. Therefore, within several minutes you should receive an email from the website with a link you have to click on. With this click your mail address is verified. Sometimes you can only log into your new account after you performed this step.After creating your new account, you use email/user name and password to log into the website and use the features that are available. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycHyQygmzNY
4.3 I forgot my password. What now?
That is absolutely no problem. While having accounts for different websites, it is quite common that we do not always remember the password we used for a website. But do not worry, every website with login allows users to reset their password and define a new one.Let us see how to recover a password on an e-learningsystem like Moodle. We will assume you are on the login page of the CINAMON e-learning and do not remember the password you chose while creating an account.Like in many cases, next to the blue “Log in” button another link is placed which is called “Lost password?” This link will help us to recover the password. Therefore, just click on that link.Now, on the next page, we can choose if we remember the username or the email address used while creating the account. Whatever you remember, just enter this piece of information in the according text field and click on the search button next to it.After that, check your emails. You will receive an email with further information how to reset the password (within some minutes). Usually, some kind of link is contained in that mail. Please click it and set a new password for the account. After that, you can login with the new password.
