Email Basics

1. Email Basics

2. Introduction to Email • In this lesson, you will learn what email is, how it compares to traditional mail, and how email addresses are written. • We'll also discuss various types of email providers and the features and tools they include with an email account.

3. Getting to know email • You may know that email (electronic mail) is a way to send and receive messages across the Internet, • but do you know how individual emails are sent, or what they cost, • or how email compares to traditional "snail" mail? • To get a better idea of what email is all about, review the info. below and consider how you might benefit from its use:

4. Traditional Mail vs Email

5. Traditional Mail vs Email ADDRESS Email addresses are always written in a standard format, but they look quite different from traditional mail. An email address includes a username, the @ (at) symbol, and the email provider's domain. Usernames often include numbers and shortened versions of a name to create a unique email address, and will usually look something like this: emcasarosa82@gmail.com • Traditional mail is addressed with the recipient's name, street address, city, state or province, and zip code. • For example, it will usually look something like this: Elena M. Casarosa 202 Cedar Lane Raleigh, NC 27601

6. Traditional Mail vs Email DELIVERY Email is delivered electronically across the internet. It is received by the inbox of an email service provider like Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook. • Traditional mail in a sealed envelope or package is delivered to a home or post office box by a mail carrier.

7. Traditional Mail vs Email TIME Email is delivered instantly, or usually within a few minutes. • Traditional mail delivery could take anywhere between a couple of days, to a couple of weeks, depending on where it's being sent.

8. Traditional Mail vs Email CONTENTS Email may include attachments, such as digital documents, files, images, videos, and more. • Traditional mail allows you to send a variety of physical items, from small greeting cards, to large boxed items.

9. ADVANTAGES of EMAIL

10. Advantages of Email 1. Productivity tools: Email is usually packaged with a calendar, address book, instant messaging and more for convenience and productivity.

11. Advantages of Email 2. Access to web services: If you want to sign up for account like Facebook, or order products from services like Amazon, you will need an email address so you can be safely identified and contacted.

12. Advantages of Email 3. Easy mail management:  Email service providers have tools that allow you to file, label, prioritize, find, group, and filter your emails for easy management. You can even easily control spam, or junk email.

13. Advantages of Email 4. Private:  Your email is delivered to your own personal and private account with a password required to access and view emails.

14. Advantages of Email 5. Communicate with multiple people:  You can send an email to multiple people at once, giving you the option to include as few as or as many people as you want in a conversation.

15. Advantages of Email 6. Access anywhere at anytime:  You don’t have to be at home to get your mail. You can access it from any computer or mobile device that has an Internet connection.

16. UNDERSTANDING EMAIL ADDRESSES

17. Understanding email addresses • To receive emails, you will need an email account and an email address. • Also, if you want to send emails to other people, you will need to obtain their email addresses. • It's important to learn how to write email addresses correctly, because if you do not enter them exactly right your emails will not be delivered or might be delivered to the wrong person.

18. Understanding email addresses • Email addresses are always written in a standard format that includes a username, the @ (at) symbol, and the email provider's domain. • The username is the name you choose to identify yourself, and the email provider is the website that hosts your email account.

19. DOMAIN TYPESacmdp1@gmail.com • A domain name always ends with an extension of 2 or 3 characters. • These characters can signify the country the domain name is associated with or the typeof organization.  • Domain names operate under the Domain Name System (DNS), which is essentially the address book of the Internet.

20. Common Domain Types • For example: • gov - Government agencies • edu - Educational institutions • org - Organizations (nonprofit) • mil - Militarycom - commercial business • net - Network organizations • ca - Canadath - Thailand • za – South Africa • com - commercial

21. Common Domain Types • ".com" is the most common and most recognized domain suffix. It stands for "commercial" and is used by mostly commercial websites. However, anyone who wants to register a domain name can register a name ending in .com, whether their site is going to be used for commercial purposes or not. • While .com is the most common of all domain suffixes, .net and .org are also popular. ".net" stands for "network," while ".org" stands for "organization." Again, these domains can be registered by anyone regardless of their intended use. 

22. Understanding email addresses • Review the graphic for examples of how email addresses are written:

23. EMAIL PROVIDERS

24. About email providers: • In the past, people usually received an email account from the same companies that provided their Internet access. • For example, if AOL provided your Internet connection, you'd have an AOL email address. • While this is still true for some people, today it's increasingly common to use a free web-based email service, also known as webmail. • Anyone can use these services, no matter who provides their Internet access.

25. Webmail providers: • Today, the top three webmail providers are  • Yahoo!, • Microsoft's Outlook.com(previously Hotmail), • and Google's Gmail. • These providers are popular because they allow you to access your email account from anywhere with an Internet connection. • You can also access webmail on your mobile device.

26. Webmail providers: • Visit the links below to compare the features of the three top webmail providers: • Yahoo! Features • Outlook.com Features • Gmail Features

27. Other email providers • Many people also have an email address hostedby their company, school, or organization. • These email addresses are usually for professional purposes. • For example, the people who work for Schoolnet SA have email addresses that end with @schoolnet.orgIf you are part of an organization that hosts your email, they'll show you how to access it.

28. Other email providers • Many hosted web domains end with a suffix other than .com. • Depending on the organization, your provider's domain might end with a suffix like .gov(for government websites), .edu (for schools), .mil (for military branches), or .org (for nonprofit organizations).

29. EMAIL PRODUCTIVITY FEATURES

30. Email productivity features • In addition to email access, webmail providers also offer various tools and features. • These features are part of a productivity suite—a set of applications that help you work, communicate, and stay organized. • The tools offered will vary by provider, but all major webmail services offer the following features: • Instant messaging, or chat, which lets you have text-based conversations with other users.

31. View Email productivity features: • Chat example:

32. View Email productivity features: • An online address book, where you can store contact information for the people you contact frequently:

33. View Email productivity features: • An ONLINE CALENDAR to help organize your schedule and sharethat schedule with others:

34. View Email productivity features: • A PUBLIC PROFILEthat contains your name and basic contact information:

35. GETTING STARTED WITH EMAIL

36. Getting started with email: Setting up a Gmail account: • To create a Gmail address, you'll first need to create a Google account. • Gmail will redirect you to the Google account signup page. • You'll need to provide some basic information like your name, birthdate, gender, and location. • You will also need to choose a name for your new Gmail address. • Once you create an account, you'll be able to start adding contacts and adjusting your mail settings.

37. To create an account: To create an account: • Go to www.gmail.com. • Click Create an account.

38. To create an account: 3. Thesignup form will appear. Follow the directions and enter the required information, such as your name, birthdate, and gender.

39. To create an account: 4. Finally, review Google's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, click the check box, then click Next step.

40. To create an account: 5. TheCreate your profile page will appear. Click Add a photo if you want to add a photo to your Google+profile. If you don't want to set a profile photo at this time, click Next step.

41. To create an account: 6. Your account will be created, and the Google welcome page will appear.

42. Password Tips • Just like with any online service, it's important to choose a strongpassword—in other words, one that is difficult for someone else to guess. • For more information, check out a lesson on password tips: click to view

43. Signing in to your account: • When you first create your account, you will be automatically signed in. • Most of the time, however, you'll need to sign in to your account and sign out when you're done with it. • Signing out is especially important if you're using a shared computer (for example, at a library or office) because it prevents others from viewing your emails.

44. Signing in to your account: To sign in: • Go to www.gmail.com. • Type your user name (your email address) and password, then click Sign in.

45. To sign out: • In the top-right corner of the page, click your name and select Sign out.

46. Mail settings • Occasionally, you may want to make adjustments to Gmail'sappearance or behavior. • For example, you could create a signature or vacation reply, edit your labels, or change the theme. • These adjustments can be made from your Mail settings.

47. To access your mail settings: 1. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the page, and select Settings

48. To access your mail settings: 2. From here, you can select the category you want to edit.

49. Adding contacts

50. Adding contacts: • Like all major email providers, Gmail lets you keep an address book of contacts so you don't have to memorize everyone's email addresses. • You can also add other contact info, such as phone numbers, birthdays, and physical addresses.