I recently took a workshop on how to use the Internet. I thought that writing an
essay on “how to use the Internet” would help me to remember what I learned
and already knew previous to the workshop. When you go on the Internet, you may
have a specific destination in mind or you may wish to browse through the Web,
the way you would browse through a library or a book, looking for topics or
things that interest you. This browsing is often called “Surfing the Net”.
There are several ways to get around on the Web. (1) Using Web addresses; To get
to a special destination, such as the search engine “Yahoo” you'll type in
its Internet address (e.g.. www.yahoo.com) in the space provided on the Web
browser. This space looks like a long narrow box at the top of your computer
screen. Web addresses, sometimes referred to as uniform resource locators (URL),
begin with http://, which stands for hypertext transfer protocol. After you type
in the Web address, it may take awhile for the site's home page to appear on the
screen, especially if it includes numerous pictures. Once it does, you'll
probably see several choices you can click your mouse on to take you further
into the site. If you type in an address incorrectly, or too many people are
trying to use a site at once, you'll get an error message on your computer
screen (e.g. just try again). (2) How to follow links you may find on various
web pages; Many sites include hypertext links to other sites with related
content. When you click on one of these highlighted areas, your computer will
connect to another Web site without your having to know or type its address. (3)
How to use different types of search engines; Search engines are programs that
you can select from your Web browser to let you to search the Internet by
keywords or topics. Lets say you want to know more about Vice President Al Gore,
for example, you can click on a search engine, enter his name, then pull up
several Web sites for further research. (4) How to use the Internet to do a
Research Paper; The assignment is to write a two to three page essay on the life
of Vice President Al Gore. You should include facts about his life, his greatest
accomplishments, and why you believe he may deserve to be the next President of
the United States. (5) To find this information you sign onto the Internet; Once
connected, click the mouse on the search key. From the menu, select a search
engine based on your topic. I suggest using Yahoo. At the subject box, type in
Vice President Al Gore and click on the search key. Now review the search
results: "Found 1 category and 19 site matches for Vice President Al
Gore”. Select one or all site matches with the click of your mouse (all sites
are underlined). Each site has additional sites for more information. Just like
you would do research from a book, take the appropriate information you want and
write your essay from it. After practicing for a while, I have found the
Internet to be easy to use. It can provide helpful and interesting information
for just about anything you could imagine it to.