How to use the tutorial

Are you new to the Internet?
Format of the Science EdNet tutorial
How long will it take?
Navigating around the tutorial
Getting more information and help
Printing
Bookmarking sites
Glossary
Resources
Feedback
Take a break!

Are you new to the Internet?

If you are new to the Internet and would like to see some tips for beginners, use the mouse pointer and click once here.

Format of the Science EdNet tutorial

The Science EdNet tutorial:

• is designed to be flexible;
• is self-paced;
• is in a modular format that allows you to choose particular areas of interest or need;
• is further divided into sections you may work on as you need to;
• has tasks that will consolidate and extend what you know;
• indicates core sections and additional sections so that you can choose to do only the essentials if you are short of time;
• can be worked on in parallel with other people.

How long will it take?

The time the tutorial will take will depend on how much you know already and how fast you work. In broad terms, you might expect to take up to 20 hours to complete the whole tutorial. Completing only the core sections might take up to 10 hours.

Navigating around the tutorial

You can get to the different modules of the tutorial by clicking on the module title in the sidebar menu. If you rest the cursor on the module title in the menu, a list of the sections within the module will appear. If you move the mouse down this list, the titles will be highlighted and can then be clicked on to take you to the section. The hyperlinks in the Introduction to each module will also take you to the sections within the module.

The hyperlinks at the top of each page, under the heading, take you to sections or tasks within that page.

In this tutorial you will see or or buttons on your screen.

Previous and Next buttons work in a linear way, so you can click on them and go backwards or forwards within the tutorial page by page. (This is different from the Back and Forward buttons in your browser which take you backwards and forwards to the Internet pages you have visited in the order you visited them. Back and Forward buttons have more of a leapfrog effect.)

The Top buttons will return you to the top of the page you are currently on.

When you click on a link to an external website, or to a 'help' or 'print' page, the new page will appear in a new, smaller window. You can maximise the window to fill the screen. Close each new window as you finish with it to avoid having too many windows open at once.

When you click on a link to another part of the tutorial, the new page will appear in the window you are already using.

Read the beginners' tips if you need more information on maximising, minimising and closing windows or links.

This tutorial is designed to be viewed using a Netscape Navigator 4.0+ or an Internet Explorer 4.0+ browser. If you are using a different browser, the external links, help and print pages may not open in new windows.

The Sitemap link at the top of the page will take you to a page with links to the other pages in this website.

The Search link at the top of the page will allow you to search for keywords within this website.

Note: Some of the external linked websites may be in PDF (Portable Document Format) format, which requires additional Adobe Acrobat Reader software to view. If you do not have the reader already installed on your computer, there are instructions at Adobe (http://www.adobe.com) about how to download the software.

Getting more information and help

There are numerous help and suggestion pages available throughout the tutorial, relating to the content. They are marked by a help icon. When you click on the icon a new, smaller window will appear. Close each new window as you finish with it. Use the Help button in your browser for specific information on your browser.

Printing

At various times in the tutorial, you may find it useful to print out questions and forms to help you complete the tasks. Print versions are marked by a button. Clicking on this link will open a new window that you can print by using the Print button in the toolbar at the top of the window. (If you can't see this button, maximise the page.) For other pages in the tutorial you can use the Print button or select Print from the File menu.

Bookmarking sites

Bookmark or otherwise note the URL (web address) of websites you may wish to revisit. If you are using your own computer, add the address to the Bookmark or Favorite list in your browser so that you can easily revisit the site. If you are not using your own computer, you can export your bookmarks to disk or email them to yourself or cut and paste them into a word processing document.

Read the beginners' tips if you require more information on bookmarking.

If you forgot to bookmark a site, you can always use the History button to look for it.

Glossary

A new vocabulary has arisen around the Internet with new words appearing like 'emoticon' and some old words like 'bookmark' taking on new meaning. This website contains a glossary for some of the Internet-related terminology. It can be accessed at any time during the tutorial by clicking on Glossary in the sidebar.

Read the beginners' tips to find some links to more extensive glossaries.

Resources

The Science EdNet website includes a list of all the external websites referred to in the tutorial. They are listed in the Resources section in alphabetical order under the module heading in which they appear. For other resources, visit the Website Directory or Links. The Links button will take you to a page of links to various Australian education systems' websites.

Feedback

When you have attempted or completed the tutorial, we would like to know what you liked or didn't like about it. You can fill in the Feedback form online. Suggestions for improvement are particularly welcome.

Take a break!

It's easy to lose track of time while working on the Internet. Take regular breaks away from the computer - get up and have a stretch every 20 minutes or so. And while you're at the computer, remember to sit correctly in a good chair, with the keyboard and monitor set at an appropriate height for you.