Path 5 · Internet
Internet and Communication
Use browsers, search and research well, handle email, and work with cloud storage and shared documents.
By the end you will be able to
- Use a browser confidently and understand what it stores.
- Search effectively and judge whether a source is trustworthy.
- Write and manage professional email.
- Use cloud storage and shared documents safely.
Before you start
- Recommended first: Operating System Mastery
Module 18: Web browsers
How a browser works, how it stores and shares information about you, and how to spot a risky website before it causes harm.
- How a web browser works for you
Learn the parts of a browser window, the difference between the address bar and a search engine, how tabs, bookmarks and downloads work, and what happens between typing an address and seeing a page.
25 min · beginner · Ubuntu/Linux · Windows
- History, cookies, cache, private browsing and permissions
Understand what your browser stores about you, what private browsing does and does not hide, how to control site permissions, and how to choose extensions carefully.
30 min · elementary · Ubuntu/Linux · Windows
- HTTPS and spotting suspicious websites
Learn what the padlock really tells you and what it does not, how to read a web address from right to left, how to recognise look-alike addresses, fake download buttons and browser warning pages, and what to do when you are unsure.
30 min · elementary
Module 19: Effective online research
Search well, judge whether a source can be trusted, and use other people's work honestly with the right credit.
- Searching well: queries and operators
Turn a question into good keywords, use quotation marks, minus, site: and filetype: to narrow results, and tell adverts from ordinary results.
25 min · beginner
- Evaluating sources and spotting misinformation
Judge a web page by its author, date, evidence and purpose, check it by reading sideways, and find the original or official source.
25 min · elementary
- Copyright, plagiarism and citing sources
Understand what copyright means for everyday use, tell quoting from plagiarism, read Creative Commons licences and write a simple citation.
25 min · elementary
Module 20: Email
Understand how email works, write clear and polite messages with safe attachments, and protect yourself and your account from spam and phishing.
- Email basics: addresses, inbox, To, CC and BCC
Read an email address, find your way around an inbox and choose correctly between To, CC and BCC, with a clear picture of how a message travels.
25 min · beginner
- Writing professional emails, attachments and etiquette
Write a clear, polite email with a good structure, attach files safely and handle Reply, Reply All and Forward with good manners.
30 min · beginner
- Spam, phishing, password recovery and email account security
Recognise spam and phishing messages from their clues, handle them safely, set up account recovery and protect your email account, which guards all your other accounts.
30 min · elementary
Module 21: Cloud services and collaboration
Use cloud storage and synchronisation wisely, and work with other people through shared documents, online meetings and calendars.
- Cloud storage, synchronisation and local vs cloud copies
Understand what the cloud really is, how synchronisation keeps copies matching, why sync is not a backup, and how to keep your cloud account safe.
30 min · elementary · Ubuntu/Linux · Windows
- Shared documents, online meetings and calendars
Share a document with the right permissions, work on it with others using comments, join an online meeting politely after checking your equipment, and keep a calendar that reminds you.
30 min · elementary