An Introduction for First Time Users

Hi! Welcome to our introductory page for Internet beginners.

We have designed this short introduction for those users in our school community who are inexperienced with the Internet and the use of a Browser. We understand that many of our students' parents are not familiar with the Internet and so have put together this page for them.

What is the Internet?

The Internet is a series of interconnected computers around the world. It is not an invention of the nineties! The Internet is the basis of the World Wide Web (WWW), the graphical environment that you are now looking at. In order to view the information on the Web, you use a program called a browser. The fact that you are reading this proves you can use a browser! Two popular graphical browsers in use are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.

The information on the World Wide Web is organised into web pages which contain text and graphics. While surfing the Web, you can move backwards and forwards through the pages you have already read by clicking on the backward and forward buttons on the tool bar of your browser. Every page on the WWW has its own unique address called a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

What am I looking at?

The document you are reading appears in a window. The window you are looking at is split into two sections called frames. To the left you will see a lightly shaded frame. This contains the index to our Site. It shows the main sections that our Site is split into. The frame on the right, with a white background (what you are reading now), is where you read the information about our school. Some sites use frames, others don't. Some people don't like using frames, we do!

How do I move around your Web Site and the World Wide Web?

A document (or page) that appears in our Web Site can be linked to another document in our Site or it can be linked to a Site on the Internet. These pages are joined together by links called hyperlinks. You can easily identify hyperlinks: they are mostly blue and are underlined. To move to another document you click on these hyperlinks with your mouse. You will then be taken to another document in our Site or to another Web Site on the Internet. Once you click on a hyperlink, it will change colour - this signifies that you have visited that link. Our Site Index on the left, contains hyperlinks - when you click them you will be taken to another part of our Web Site. It's that easy! But it is also easy to get lost!

Throughout our Site you will see many of these hyperlinks. Click on them and you will be able to move through our Site. Our Site also contains hyperlinks to other Web Sites on the Internet. You will find these ones in the Web Sites section of our Web Site.

I think I'll still get lost in cyberspace!

New to computers and afraid of getting lost in our Site? We have made it easy for you! Simply click on the School Crest that appears in the top left hand corner of every page. This will return you to our Home Page. If you scroll up, you will see the School Crest at the top of this page. At the bottom of every page in our Site you will also see links taking you back to previous sections.

How will I know what to do when I read a page in your Site?

We are mindful that not everyone out there is a computer expert! To help you, we have provided Help buttons throughout our Site. Confused? Just click one of these Help buttons and a short message will appear giving you a hint or instruction for what to do. Nothing could be simpler! You will find these Help buttons in the top right hand corner of our pages. Why not try this example?

Happy surfing and enjoy your stay!

The Cerdon College Web Site Development Team.
cerdon_web_team@hotmail.com