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Web Based Email

A Module of the CYC Course – Internet Basics

8-26-10

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What’s email?

• Email is short for Electronic mail

• It’s an electronic message sent from one person to another via a computer. The message typically contains text, but can also contain files, images, or music

• Email is a fast, easy, and inexpensive way to communicate with family, friends, and colleagues.

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Email versus regular (or “snail”) mail:

Email Snail Mail

•You type a letter on your computer.•You click the “send” button.•Your letter is instantly delivered over the internet.

•You write or type your letter.•You stamp it and put it in the mail.•The post office delivers your letter in 2-3 days.

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Advantages of email:

• No postage costs.• Generally easy, quick, and reliable.

• Typically don’t have to wait long for a response from the recipient.

• If your mail is not delivered for some reason, you usually receive notification rather quickly. This gives you the opportunity to try to send the message again.

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Disadvantages of email

• Junk mail, also known as Spam.

• Email scams.

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Spam

• Unsolicited, unwanted, and inappropriate email

– Mortgage offers– Diet drugs/Viagra– Chain letters– Nigerian get rich schemes– European Lottery Winners

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What do I need to have an email account?• A computer• An Internet connection

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How can I open an email account?

• Many providers on the internet offer email accounts at no cost.

• Gmail from Google is one of the most popular.

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What do I get with an email account? • A user name and password that you choose– This allows you to access your account.

• An email address– You can give this address to others so they can send you email.

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Tips for creating a username and password

• Create something unique, but easily remembered

• Use a combination of letters and numbers in your username and password.

• Some e-mail providers require that your username and password be a certain length of characters.

• Be aware of your use of upper/lower case letters and numbers.

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Check Password Strength

• Check the strength of your password - http://www.passwordmeter.com/

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What will my email address be?

• All email addresses are made up of a username, an “@” sign, and a host.

• Since we’re using gmail, our host is gmail.com.

• If you chose BillSmith2010 as your username, your email address would be: BillSmith2010@gmail.com

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Let’s sign up!

• In your browser, go to www.gmail.com.

• Click the “Create an account” button on the lower left side.

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Let’s sign up!

• Fill out the form on the next page.

• Use the handout from the Indian Prairie Public Library to record your username, password, and security question.

• Click on the button at the bottom:

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You’ve arrived at your in-box!

• Your in-box is the folder where all your mail arrives.

• Check the handout titled “Email Basics Email Terminology” for most commonly used email terms.

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Now let’s write an email.

• Use your handout (“Your e-Mail Account Using Gmail”) to walk through composing an email.

• If you don’t know anyone’s email address, send one to the student next to you!

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Reading and replying

• Click on a mail in your inbox to read it.

• To reply, hit the “reply” button in the top right corner.

• Gmail automatically fills in the email address of the person you’re replying to.

• Type your message and hit send.

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Cleaning out your inbox

• Just like taking the snail mail out of your mailbox, you’ll need to clean out your inbox on a regular basis.

• With gmail, you can: – Delete a message (get rid of it forever)

– Archive a message (save it in an archive folder so you can look at it or search for it later)

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To archive a message:

• Select the checkbox on a message. Then click the "Archive" button next to "Report as Spam". This will archive your message, and prevent it from being deleted.

• Select "All Mail" to view your archived messages. This will show all messages. To undo an archive, drag the archived message into the trash.

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Email etiquette

• Think before you send. Like any digital material, emails can easily be forwarded.

• Avoid discussing emotional issues over email.

• Avoid using ALL CAPS. This is interpreted as yelling.

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Avoiding Spam• Gmail is one of the best email services for filtering out spam. Google makes educated guesses as to what might be spam and places those emails in your spam folder. Sometimes non-spam can end up in this folder.

• When you receive spam click on Report spam.

• Avoid Sweepstakes and Surveys.• Never buy from or reply to Spam.

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E-Mail Safety Tips

• Always log off your email account when using a public computer.

• Don’t click on links in e-mail unless you are certain of the url.

• Don’t open files with the extension.exe, .zip, or .scr

• Remember not everything is true – hoaxes sent via email are very common.

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E-Mail Safety Tips

• Don’t assume email from friends, family, or co-workers is safe.

• Use descriptive subjects• If you are suspicious for any reason do not open!

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Sources

• This curriculum was partially adapted from a hand out entitled “ Email Part 1: Read, Respond, Write & Print” created by the Akron Summit County Public Library (ASCPL).

• Hand outs are used with permission from the Indian Prairie Public Library.

• Additional content created by Connect Your Community, a project of OneCommunity, funded by the federal Broadband Technology Opportunities Program.

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Creative Commons License

• This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0