Day 1
:: Day1 :: Day2 :: Day3 :: Day4 :: Day5 :: Day6 :: Day7 :: Day8:: Day9:: Day10 ::
Lesson 1
Today is your day. You’re about to open door number three with all of the surprises within. I would imagine that someone suggested that you visit this website. Thank them! They will be so happy for you.
The internet is viewed through a piece of software called a browser. A browser is like a window. A window has a frame around it with a viewing area in the center. A browser works much the same way, except that it has buttons that change which picture you see in the window.
We are going to learn about three key components of your browser today. They are the address bar, the back and forward buttons, and bookmarking websites.
The address bar is a field that you can type website addresses in. If you look above, you will see http://www.thefirstplacetogo.com/2009/08/08/day-1/ in the address bar. You can always type www.thefirstplacetogo.com into the address bar of your browser to return to the first page of this website.
Note 2.0
The letters http stand for HyperText Transfer Protocol. It is a set of communication rules that your browser uses to transmit information.
(Anything marked with Note 2.0 is an advanced topic that you don’t need to know, but you might find interesting.)
Another important part of navigating your browser are the back and forward buttons. If you look along the top of your browswer window, you will see buttons with pictures of arrows pointing left and right. The button that points left is your back button. The button that points to the right is your forward button. The back button (left arrow) takes you back one page, kind of like turning the page of a book back to the previous page. The forward button (right arrow) takes you forward one page, again like turning the page of a book forward. One thing to keep in mind is that you can only go forward to pages you have already visited. Because of this, it is much more common to use the back button than the forward button.
Try it out! Let’s test the buttons. Click the back button (left arrow) and then immediately click the forward button (right arrow). You should end up right back here.
Another thing you can do with your browser is to tell it to bookmark or remember one of your favorite websites. That can be done by clicking your Favorites menu above and choosing “Add to Favorites”. Another method of bookmarking a website is holding down the button on your keyboard that is labelled “ctrl” and then pressing “D”. Remember, HOLD the “ctrl” button and then press the letter “D”. This will open a small window that will ask you if you really want to remember this favorite website.
To return to a website that you have bookmarked, click on favorites above, and then click on the name of the website you want to return to.
Note 2.0
You just learned a shortcut. A shortcut is a combination of keys like Ctrl-D that perform special functions. We will be learning several as we progress. Tell your friends about the shortcuts you learn. Who knows, you might teach them something.
(Anything marked with Note 2.0 is an advanced topic that you don’t need to know, but you might find interesting.)
Homework
Oh the dreaded word! I think you will enjoy today’s homework. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find a website you like and bookmark it. The second part of your homework is to come back here and leave a comment below and tell everyone which website you bookmarked.
Write down these two website addresses:
www.google.com
www.thefirstplacetogo.com
You will be going to the Google website. It is called a search engine. It is simple to use and will help you find another website. Underneath the brightly colored word Google is a small box you can type a word or two in. Type in a word or two about your favorite hobby or TV show. After you type in what you want to search for, click the button that says “Google Search”. Once the new page loads, you can click on the blue links to review the websites that Google found for you.
Once you find a website you like, come back to www.thefirstplacetogo.com and enter the website address in the comments box below and press the post button.
Wrap Up
Thank you for visiting today. I hope to see you again tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your day!
