Integrating Technology in the Second Language Classroom

URLs
URL, short for Uniform Resource Locator, is the address of a page on the World Wide Web.  Not only does each page have a unique URL, but so also do each image and frame on a page. You can access a page, an image, or an individual frame by supplying its URL.

To enter a URL
Type the URL directly into the location or address box.  Alternatively, you can choose Open Page (or Open) from the File menu and type the URL in the resulting dialog box. (On the Mac OS, select the pull-right menu item Open, then choose Location in Navigator or Location in Composer to enter a URL.)  By entering a page's URL, the Navigator (browser) can bring you the specified page just as if you had clicked a link.

Partial URLs and the browser's "memory"
If you omit certain parts of a URL in the location field, Navigator automatically
completes the entry. You can omit the following:
 

The prefix http://; Browsers automatically add the necessary prefix to complete the URL search.

The partial pathname http://www; the browser automatically tries to add the necessary pathname to complete the URL search.

In Windows, when you begin to type a URL in the location field, browsers attempt to automatically complete the URL. As you type, the browser checks for previously visited URLs that match the letters you have typed and, if a match is found, fills in the remainder of the letters. If more than one match occurs, you can press the down-arrow key to fill in the next matching URL.

Also, the location or address field offers a drop-down menu to the right of the field. The menu contains  URLs of pages whose locations you've most recently typed into the field and viewed. Choosing a URL item from this menu brings the page to your screen again. The URLs are retained in the menu for each of your Navigator sessions.

Opening a Page
To view a page by using the Open Page command under the File menu (just Open in Internet Explorer)

1.  Choose Open Page from the File menu.
2.  In the resulting dialog box, type a URL (or select a file using the Choose File button) to display a page in the content area.
3.  Select a radio button to specify whether you want the page opened in a Navigator window or Composer window.
4.  After you have specified a page location, click Open to display the page.

Using Links to Pages
A link is a connection from one page to another. You find a link by looking for one or more words highlighted with color, underlining, or both in the content area of a page. Images and icons with colored borders also serve as links. A link within a page that contains frames can be a connection that displays one or more new pages within frames, or an entirely new top-level page replacing all frames.

To use a link

1. Point the mouse cursor over a link. The URL location of the link usually appears in the status message area at the bottom-left of the window.
2. Click once on the highlighted text, image, or icon. This transfers page content from a server location to your location.
3. After you click a link, the logo (upper right corner) animates to show that the transfer of the page to your computer is in progress.
4. Examine the status message area and progress bar at the bottom of the window to receive feedback about the progress of a transfer if the new page does not appear.

To identify followed and unfollowed Links
An unfollowed link is a connection to a page that you have not yet viewed. By default, unfollowed links are blue.  A followed link is a connection to a page that you have viewed. By default, followed links are purple. You can change the colors used to denote unfollowed and followed links; from the Edit menu, choose Preferences, then select the Colors panel.

To stop a page transfer in progress
Click the Stop button.  Alternately, you can stop a link's action by choosing Stop Loading from the Go menu ("Stop" on the View menu in IE).

Toolbar buttons
Toolbar buttons activate the browser tasks you'll most commonly carry out, such as revisiting pages, printing pages, navigating to search engine sites, reloading pages, and stopping page transfers in progress.

Viewing the Toolbars
(On the Mac OS, the Bookmarks menu is available only from the menu bar, and the personal toolbar is not available.)
The navigation, location, and personal toolbars provide simplified access to links, commands, and page location information in Netscape. The toolbars are displayed at the top of each Navigator window, just below the menu bar. You can reposition the toolbars or hide them to increase the amount of screen area available for page content. In IE you can use the View menu to make changes in your toolbars.

The navigation toolbar contains a row of  buttons that substitute for widely used menu items. The location toolbar contains URL information that's useful for tracking a page's whereabouts or requesting a new page. This toolbar also offers the Bookmarks menu.

To hide and show the toolbars and the toolbar tabs
You can hide a toolbar so that the toolbar tab remains visible, or you can completely hide the toolbar and its tab. To hide a toolbar so that the toolbar tab remains visible, click the tab at the left of the toolbar. When the toolbar is hidden, the tab appears below any visible toolbars.  To show a toolbar with a visible tab, click the tab. In IE you can use the View menu to turn a toolbar on or off.

Using the Navigation Toolbar in Netscape
To use toolbar buttons for navigation and page control.  Click one of the following buttons. Buttons on the toolbar provide quick access to commonly used features. These buttons are the default for Netscape 4.x; if you are using a different browser, just explore your buttons.

Back:  Click this button to display the previous page in the history list. Hold down the button to display a pop-up menu containing the the pages you can go back to in the history list. A history list contains a hierarchy of pages you've already viewed. You can view a subset of the history list in the Go menu or view the entire list by choosing History from the Communicator menu.

Forward:  Click this button to display the next page in the history list. Hold down the button to display a pop-up menu containing the history list (the pages you can go forward to). If you've retrieved a page by using the Back button or a history menu item, using Forward displays the preceding page.  Forward is only available after you use Back or a history item.

Reload:  Click this button to redisplay the current Navigator page, reflecting any changes   made since the original loading. To reload, Navigator checks the network server to see if any change to the page has occurred. If there's no change, the original page is retrieved from a cache. If there's a change, the updated page is retrieved from the network server. If you press the Reload button while holding down the Shift key (Option key on the Mac OS), Navigator retrieves the page from the network server regardless of whether the page has been updated (the cache is not used).

Home:  Click this button to display the home page designated in the Navigator preferences panel. The default page is the Netscape home page.

Search:  Click this button to display a page  containing a directory of Internet search engine sites and services.

My Netscape:  Click this button to your personal Netscape page if you have one.  This is really an ad for Netscape.

Print:  Click this button to print the content area of the currently displayed page. A dialog   box lets you select printing characteristics.

Security:  Click this button to display the Security Info window. This page lets you view and interact with elements such as encryption status, personal and site certificates, security-related applications, and passwords.

Shop: Netscape Webcenter would like to to shop through them.

Stop: Click this button to halt any ongoing transfer of page information.

As browser software evolves, the interface will continue to change.  You can save time in the long run by exploring the commands at your disposal.

To open URLs you have previously typed in and visited  (Windows only)
Choose an item from the location field pop-up menu. To display this pop-up menu, click the pop-up menu arrow located to the right of the location field.

Bookmarks / Favorites
(On the Mac OS, the Bookmarks menu is available from the menu bar. The Bookmarks window is opened from the Communicator menu.)
If you find a cool site, you can add it to your Bookmark or Favorites list by using the pull-down menu;  this way, you can find your way back immediately and do not have to use bread crumbs--much faster!
You can add and delete bookmarks by using the pull-down bookmark and edit menus.  Your bookmarks are "portable" -- you can save them as a file and take them away w/you on a disk then use them on another machine. You can create bookmark folders and then file your bookmarks in those folders to make them easier to find.  You can also copy bookmarks from one browser to another, e.g. Netscape to IE.

Viewing Bookmarks and History
Bookmarks offer a convenient means to  retrieve pages whose locations (URLs) you've saved. You store your bookmarks in a list that's saved on your hard disk. Once you add a bookmark to your list, the item stays until you remove it or change lists. The permanence and accessibility of bookmarks make them invaluable for personalizing your Internet access. History offer a convenient means of redisplaying pages you've previously viewed. Unlike bookmark lists, which store page locations that you've designated, history items are saved automatically when you display a page.

Editing in the Bookmarks Window
(On the Mac OS, the Bookmarks window for editing is opened from the Communicator menu.)
The Bookmarks window offers the full set of bookmark capabilities. You can double-click bookmarks to access pages, drag and drop icons to arrange your bookmarks, and use the window's menu bar to create new bookmark items and manipulate bookmark lists.

General preferences
Under the Edit pull-down menu, you can set your own preferences for homepage, colors for page and links, fonts, and even your email address.  You can also identify helper applications to be launched w/Netscape Navigator (to play sound files, get images, etc.) In IE you can use the Tools / Internet Options menu for the similar features.

Saving graphics, audio files, and text
You can use pull-down menus to save text as files.  Use right mouse button to access pop-up menu for saving links, audio, and graphics files.  (On the Mac OS,  hold down mouse button for a second and pop-up menu will appear.)

Printing parts of a page
If you wish to print only part of a page, you can use the mouse to select what you wish to print and then use the File / Print menu to print only the selected parts of the page.