Internet Training for Kids
Welcome to the World Wide Web!
Knowing these four browser basics will get you started on your "surfing" of the Internet.
- Web Addresses
- Hyperlinks
- Back & Forward Icons
- Searching the Internet
The Henrico County Public Library uses Internet Explorer as its web browser. A web browser is a software program that allows you to look at all the beautiful images, text, sounds and 3D worlds on the Internet.
1. Web Addresses
Think of the World Wide Web as a great big library of books -- and the books in the library are websites. Each Web site has its own address called a Universal Resource Locator or URL. A URL usually begins with http:// or http://www. The very first page of any website is called the homepage. It is similar to a Table of Contents in a book. To get to a website, click in the white space or "Address" box and type the URL entry as shown below. Be sure to type in a URL correctly or it will not work.
Then press ENTER key.
2. Hyperlinks
The fun of the web is that you can follow topics of interest by clicking on links to move from one site to another.
Hyperlinks are files that are connected or linked to the page you are viewing. They are often underlined or written in a different color from the rest of the page, or they may be a picture or button. When you use the mouse to drag the cursor across a hyperlink, the arrow turns into a pointing hand.
When you click on a link, you are telling the computer to bring that new file to your screen.
3. Back and Forward Icons
The back and forward icons will allow you to move backward and forward between sites you have already visited. If you continue to click the back icon it will take you to your first site. The back icon is the one with the left pointing arrow. The forward icon will move you in the opposite direction. These icons only go as far back and forward as you have gone.
4. Searching the Internet
Some people say that the Internet is like a huge public library with no card catalog. The major search tools are search engines and directories. Search engines are computer programs that find things on the Internet for you. Think of them as librarians who give you a list of possible books to find out what you want to know, and then help you find the book.
A search engine sorts websites by title, key words, and addresses (URL). Search engines have different rules for how to enter the words you want searched. You type in the most important word in your subject (keyword) and get to a website that may give you the information you want. These websites are called hits.
A directory is a list by category of subjects we can get. Yahooligans is a directory just for kids. You go to the Yahooligans homepage and a list of subjects will come up on the screen. If you click on one of the subjects, you'll go to another screen with subtopics of the subject you already chose. Let's start surfing the net.
Click on this www.yahooligans.com
5. Printing Information
You need to be really careful when printing information from the Internet. Please check with a librarian or staff member before printing, as they will be happy to assist you.
Kid's Search Tools
(For kids ages 7-12)
Ask
Jeeves for Kids (www.ajkids.com)
This is a unique site as kids can use natural language queries.
Kids
Search Tools (www.rcls.org/ksearch.htm)
An all-in-one meta search page. Connect to this page and access
many different search tools without having to connect to any
individually.
KidsClick (www.kidsclick.org)
Kids index created by librarians. Kids can do advanced searches
by grade level.
Yahooligans! (www.yahooligans.com)
A listing of websites for kids: educational, entertainment,
commercial and more.
