Project 2

Effective and Efficient Use of Email

Grade reports for Project 1 will be sent after the deadline for sending late work has expired.
Go ahead and get started on Project 2!
Check your Parkland student email. You will receive a message that is to be used with the Lab Activity of this project.
The subject line of the email will be: Use with Email Project.
Do not reply to the email until you have completed the other activities in the project.

Chapter 5 & 6

• Read Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 in the text
  Complete the Review Questions in the text for both chapters
• Practice using concepts by working through the Exercises and Projects in text
• Answer the Self-Check questions given below
• Check your own answers to the Review Questions and the Self-Check questions
• Ask questions if you need more information
  
  To be graded:
• Complete the lab activity and submit your answers to the questions in the lab activity to the instructor.
• You will be using both of my email addresses in this project:
  • My faculty address is:
  • My alternate address is:

Each project will include self-check study questions and lab activities. You are encouraged to review the reading materials and answer the review questions in the book and the self-check study questions. You are responsible for checking your own answers to the self-check study questions. You do not need to send the answers to the self-check to me. Self-checks are provided to give you an opportunity to see that you have an understanding of the important concepts for the project. It will also give you something to use as a study guide for the midterm and final exams. If you do not understand the answers given in the self-checks, it is important to seek help! The content of this course is cumulative. Often you need to understand the content of each project before building on that knowledge for the next project. Ask for help early to allow plenty of extra study time if you need it.

Self-Check Questions on Concepts for Chapter 5 & 6

Give definitions for the following terms:

1. asynchronous communication
2. synchronous communication
3. cookie
4. emoticons or smileys
5. flame
6. spam
7. autoresponder
   
   
8. Is email an example of synchronous or asynchronous communication?
9. Is a discussion group an example of synchronous or asynchronous communication?
10. Is a chat room an example of synchronous or asynchronous communication?
11. List guidelines for effective Internet communication
12. List rules of etiquette for communicating on the Internet
13. List ethical and legal considerations when using the Internet

Read this article to answer questions 14-16.
http://www.jamesshuggins.com/h/web1/bcc_field.htm

14. Suppose you send a message to Harry Potter and use the CC: box to send the same message to Mary Poppins. When Harry Potter receives the message, will he be able to tell that a copy of the message was also sent to Mary Poppins?
    
15. Using the same message as in the previous question, will Mary Poppins be able to tell that a copy of the message was also sent to Harry Potter?
    
16. Suppose you send a message to Mickey Mouse and use the BCC: box to send the same message to Minnie Mouse. When Mickey receives the message, will he be able to tell that a copy of the message was also sent to Minnie?
17. Using the same message as in the previous question, will Minnie be able to tell that a message was also sent to Mickey?

Visit the website at: http://www.pcwebopaedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2002/GettingRidofSpam.asp

18. List TWO ways to reduce the amount of unwanted junk mail that appears in your inbox.
    

Read the topic on the class web page called: Yahoo email
After exploring the features for your Yahoo email account, answer the following questions:

19. How do you know when you are reaching your email storage quota in Yahoo?
20. What is the storage limit in a free Yahoo email account?
21. What happens if you reach your storage limit and someone tries to send you email?
22. How many filters can you set up to use in Yahoo free email accounts?
23. How many blocked addresses can you have?
24. How are filters different than blocked addresses?
25. How do you scan files attached to email you have received?
26. What link should you click on BEFORE printing a message from your Yahoo inbox?
27. When are dormant accounts removed?

Read the topic on the class web page called: Parkland email
After exploring the features for your Parkland email account, answer the following questions:

28. What is the maximum amount of total storage space you can use in your Parkland mailbox (FAQ gives your account quota)?
29. How do you create a Personal Group in your Address Book? (Use the Help icon to find this information in the topic for "Use the Address Book" / "Create a Personal Group")
30. Suppose you create a "group mailing list" for several friends in your "address book." When you create the list, you name it "friends." If you want to send a message to everyone in this group list, what do you type in the To: line of the email box?

Check your own answers

Using the link above you should check your own answers to the study questions for this project (including those in the book).
There is no need to send the answers to these questions or the Chapter Review Questions to me, however, let me know if you do not understand the answers that are given. The written questions for the midterm and final exams will often be taken directly from these study questions. Be sure you know the right answers!

Lab Activities-Using Email

Complete the following activities to be graded by the instructor.

Email is one of the most common reasons people use the Internet! The activities for this assignment will give you an opportunity to become more effective when using email. This lab assignment has several parts to it. Read the summary to have an idea of what will be in the activities. After reading over the assignment, go to the directions given for each activity and complete the activities! When you finish the assignment you should be able to:

• create an email account
• forward a message
• use the reply feature
• use the cc: feature
• use the bcc: feature
• add a signature line using Options feature in Yahoo
• delete unnecessary lines when including lines from sender's message
• use folders to organize saved messages
• use a group list in the address book
• send an attachment

There are many links to Internet websites in these instructions. When you click on the link it opens in a new window to display the website. Use the close button (the x box) in the upper right corner of the new window to return to the Project Instructions. (If you get an error message when you click on a link given in these instructions, your browser may be set up so that it will not allow new windows to open. The URL for the website is always given. If a new window with the website won't "pop up" for you, type in the URL to view the page.)

Activity #1 -- Create a text file

Use NOTEPAD to create a document to send as an attachment:

To open Notepad, click on the Start button, scroll up to Programs, scroll over to Accessories, scroll over to Notepad and click on it.

• When Notepad opens, type one line of text saying: My name is (give your first and last name).
• Save the file naming it: text151.

You will be sending this file as an attachment! Remember where you saved it!! Keep reading!! Do not send the email until you have read the directions for the next activity!

Activity #2

Set up a Web-based email account with Yahoo
Create a Portal page
Send a "Reply" to my email message

We will be using Yahoo for several things this semester, and EVERYONE needs to sign up for a new email account with Yahoo (even if you already have an existing account there). You can do this by going to the home page for Yahoo:

http://www.yahoo.com

The directions that you follow at Yahoo may be slightly different from what is given here. Yahoo changes the look of their pages frequently! If you follow the on-screen directions, you should be able to figure things out. It will be similar to this:

When you arrive at the Yahoo! home page:

• Click on the icon at the top of the page  labeled, "Mail."
• When you get to the next page, click on the button that says, "Sign up" You will be taken to a page to register to have a web-based email account with Yahoo.  There are several options, but the FREE edition is all you need for this class! 
• Follow the directions given to create a FREE account (unless you want to use one of the "paying" accounts!) Your Yahoo ID should include your last name followed by the course number and section number. For example: name151940. If you have a common last name, you may also have to include some or all of your first and middle name to find a username that has not been used. You can use whatever you want for a password, but it must be at least 6 characters long. It is important to keep track of your Yahoo ID and password for the entire semester! Write it down!!
• When asked for your date of birth, be sure to give one that makes you at least 18 years old or Yahoo may require that you have your parent's permission and ask for age verification with a credit card! You must type 2 numbers for the month, two numbers for the day and four numbers for the year. So if your birthday is February 2, 1982, you would type: 02 02 1982 in the date boxes.
• In the box for your "alternate email address" use your Parkland student email address. Your Parkland address should be something like: [email protected]
  The xname part of your address is whatever you use to login when using Parkland student email. It is most likely your first initial and all or part of your last name. Some of you may have a number after your name. Be sure to include all of your login, the @ sign, and stu.parkland.edu. in your email address.
• When filling out the form for your account, be sure to uncheck the boxes that ask if you want to be sent special offers and information. Also, do not check any of the boxes pertaining to your interests unless you want LOTS of advertisements arriving daily in your Inbox!
• When you get the registration confirmation box, you will need to go to open a new browser window (Go to the start button and choose Internet Explorer.) In the new browser window, go to your Parkland student email to read the message sent to you from Yahoo. It requires you "validate" your information. Follow the directions in the email.

When you have finished the registration process, you can go to your new mailbox by clicking on the link "Yahoo!" or by using the button that says "Continue to Yahoo! Mail."

Create a Portal at Yahoo

Portals are a “gateway” to the Internet, keeping a variety of links ready for you to use. Yahoo allows you to set up your own portal pages at “My Yahoo.” You can use Yahoo to design a customized page full of links and information that is of interest to you. Each item on the portal page has an "edit" button and an x box that allows you to delete the item. Keep the Mail preview box to be able to access your email from this portal page.

To create your portal page:

• Sign in to your Yahoo mail account
• When your Inbox opens, click on the link near the top of the page for "My Yahoo."
• You will be taken to a page to select things that you would like to see on your page. Example: Basics, News, Sports, Money, Health, Entertainment.
• Click in the checkboxes to select what you want to see on your page and click on the "Create my Page" button or Save.
• After you make your page, you can add content by using the +Add Content link. You can edit the choices and delete boxes to customize your pages.
• There are also options to change the layout and the color scheme. Choose a different color scheme or theme so it is obvious that you changed it.

I will check your "portal page" before the Midterm Exam.

Using Yahoo Mail

Return to your Inbox at Yahoo.
When you are in your mailbox, Yahoo email features are reached using links in your Inbox window.
Look around the Inbox screen and click on the links for:

"Mail" (to see a list of messages),
"Compose" (to send messages),
"Folders" [Add - Edit ] (to create and maintain folders to organize saved messages),
"Addresses" (to set up an address book to save email addresses),and
"Mail Options" (other things like setting up your signature line).

• To create your signature lines at Yahoo, click on the "Options" link in the upper right area of the your Inbox window, and then click on Signature. This will give you a box to type your signature. When finished, click on the save button. Return to your Inbox by clicking on "Mail" in the Yahoo Mail logo. Your signature can be attached to messages you send by clicking to place a checkmark in the box below the compose window that says: Use my signature. (You won't see the signature when you type the message, but you can send yourself a message to test this feature.  When you receive your message, the lines you created for your signature should appear at the end of the message.)
   
• Explore the "Address Book" feature at Yahoo.  Add at least two addresses into your Address Book as a "New contact." You only need to fill in boxes for first name and last name and the email address. You can leave all the other boxes blank!
  I will be checking this before the Midterm  Exam
  
• In your Address Book, Add a List.  In the List include at least two of the addresses in your address book. Name the list: class. Follow the directions given in Yahoo to complete the list. Now you can send a message to all of the email addresses in the list you created by just typing "class" in the To: box of the compose window. It will automatically search your address book and find the addresses for the list. (I won't be able to "see" that you did this online, but I will be checking this before the Midterm Exam.)

I sent you an email message specifically designed for you to use for this assignment. It was sent to your student email address at Parkland. The subject line should say: Use with Email Project.

(If you do NOT receive this message or Parkland's email is out of service at the moment....use your alternate email to send me a message so that I can have an address to send your email for this assignment!)

To read a message in your Parkland mailbox, log in and go to your Inbox. My message will be listed with the date it was sent, my address and the subject of the message.

• Click on the subject to open the message. In the message screen, above the message, there are links to use.
• Click on the FORWARD link to send my message to yourself at your new Yahoo mailbox.
• In the TO: box, type in your Yahoo address which should be something like: [email protected]
• Click Send
• After you have forwarded the message to your new Yahoo account:
  • logout of your Parkland student account
  • go to Yahoo and check for your email.
    (You may have to wait a few minutes for the email to show up!)
    You can reach your Yahoo mailbox by going to the Yahoo homepage at http://www.yahoo.com, clicking on the link to "Mail" and signing in.
    
• To open your email in Yahoo, click on the subject of the email that you forwarded to yourself from your "student" account.
• When the message opens, use the REPLY button to open a compose window with the quoted contents of my message in it.
• Because you forwarded this from your other account, your address will appear in the To: box. LEAVE IT THERE!
• Delete the contents in the Subject: box
• For the subject line type: Email project-Summer 2006
• Use the Add CC: link to type in my "alternate" email address. This method will produce the email for your mailbox and a "carbon copy" will be sent to my alternate address.
• Use the Add BCC: box to type in my Parkland email address. This will send a "Blind" carbon copy to my Parkland email address. This means that I will receive the message but my address does not display anywhere for others who also received the message to see.

The "Reply" should include:

• A subject line that reads: Email project-Summer 2006
  
  
• Important lines that you are answering from my message.
  
  NOTE: When you use the "Reply" method in Yahoo, the contents of my message will automatically be included in the "compose" window of your message. Each line will have an "include" symbol (>) in front of it to indicate it is quoted from my message. Or, if it is in graphic view, you will see a vertical blue line beside your quoted text. Keep the lines that are in ALL CAPS in the message, leaving a blank line between MY lines and YOUR answer. I should be able to tell they are quoted lines with the > sign before each line or a blue vertical line beside the quoted lines. Delete any address/header information at the top and unnecessary parts of my message by dragging across it with the mouse to select it and then pressing the delete key on the keyboard. If you leave these unnecessary quoted lines in your message, you will lose points!  Be sure to delete the ending lines about Yahoo too so that they don't appear twice at the bottom of your message to me. If you don't use the "quoting" method, but just type in the questions and the answers, you will lose points. Demonstrate that you know how to reply to a message deleting unnecessary lines and leaving quoted lines from the original message.
  
  
• Use the "official" signature that you have set up to be attached to your Yahoo emails. You won't see the signature display with the message you are sending. If you want to test this feature to be sure it is working, send yourself an email being sure to click in the checkbox under the message area choose: Use a signature!
   
• Attach the Notepad file that you created for this project in Activity #1.

Reminder: Send answers to both of these email addresses:

[email protected]
[email protected]