Communicating Online
(Email, News Groups and Instant Messaging)

First Draft: 5/1/01
File: email_module.htm
Authors: Eric Kallgren, Paul Tiger

Overall Course Objective:

Explain the different kinds of online communication services and the associated software (clients) needed to use them.
Describe how each service can be used (one to one, one to many).
Provide hands-on experience with each service.

Prerequisites:

Go through the classes or demonstrate capabilities in: Windows, Basic and Intermediate surfing.

Methodology:

The course consists of modules. Each module covers a specific topic.
The instructor will describe the module contents.
Each description will be followed by interactive sessions where the students will present their opinions and ideas.
The modules will be followed by in class exercises.
After the exercises, students will be given “cool things to check-out” after class.

Modules:

Module	Objective	ECT	Terminology	Explanation	Summary	Exercises	Test
One	Introduction: The different ways to communicate online	15 minutes (mainly student discussion)	Email, news groups, instant messaging, client, server	There are many ways to contact other people using the net. Can you name any of them? What do they do? What do they have in common? How are they different?	1. Email, news groups and instant messaging allow us to communicate with other people online. 2. We install programs on our computer to communicate using these services.	NA	NA
Two	Email: What it is, how to use it	30 minutes	Email software, ISP, email address, login ID, password, email messages, virus, spam	Email offers personal (one to one) communication with other people. First we need to set up an email account and get our software running. Then we can send and receive email messages using our email account. Be careful with messages from people you don't know and look out for viruses.	1. Once we have an ISP account, email address and email software, we can exchange personal messages with anyone on the net. 2. Almost all email messages are delivered to the recipient within 5 minutes!	Open the email program, check settings, write a message	Send each other an email message, use an email responder
Three	Instant Messaging: What it is, how to use it	15 minutes	IM software, handle, service providers	How can we reach someone else on the net instantly? IM is similar to email in some ways, but it's faster and simpler.	1. With instant messaging we can instantly reach other users who are online at the same time. 2. Instant messaging is more like a conversation than email.	Open the IM software, review controls	Exchange instant messages with each other
Four	News Groups: What they are, how and why to use them	15 minutes	News group reader, email address, news group classes, subscribing and unsubscribing	News groups are meeting places and open forums for discussion of all kinds of topics. There are over 15,000 news groups on the net, in "N" general categories. When you send a message to a news group you may be communicating with thousands of people.	1. News groups are 'one to many' communication on all kinds of topics. 2. News groups are public forums that anyone can use. 3. While news groups are a powerful tool, be skeptical of claims made by people you don't know, including their identity.	Open the news group reader, review options and controls, discuss categories.	Access a selected news group (news.Boulder?) and find a particular message.
Five	Wrap-up and Next Steps	15 minutes (mainly student discussion)		Review the different ways to communicate online and what each one is designed to do best. Discuss how students can use these tools and make plans to use them.	1. Why communicate using the net? 2. Who do you want to get in touch with? 3. How do you plan to use these services?	Make a list of things to do.