This includes email through AOL, or local companies such a

1
Emailing Your Grandchildren

• Pleasures and Pitfalls

2
Obstacles to Overcome

• Getting set up for email
• Learning your email interface
• Handling the unusual attachments, viruses

3
The Payoff

• An inexpensive and quick way to communicate
• Fun things pictures, stories, greeting cards,
  smiley faces
• Grandma and Grandpa are pretty cool!

4
Getting set up for email

• Two kinds of email
• Email that comes with your Internet access
  account
• Free email that you access on the Internet from
  any computer

5
Email that comes with your Internet access account

• This includes email through AOL, or local
  companies such as Westelcom, Localnet, Road
  Runner or Charter Cable.
• This kind of email offers you more abilities,
  since you are a paying customer.

6
Free email that you access on the Internet

• This includes email accounts from Yahoo and
  Hotmail. You can get one or more of these
  accounts even if you have email already.
• You dont need to own a computer or pay for
  Internet access to have this kind of email.
• This kind of email is accessible from any
  Internet computer at most libraries, for
  example.
• There are some space limitations, and you have to
  put up with advertising.

7
How do I get an email account?

• If you have a computer at home, and you are able
  to access the Internet, you already have an email
  account. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can
  help you set your computer up to receive email.
• If you dont have a computer, you can use library
  computers or a friends computer to sign up for a
  free email account.

8
Signing up for a free email account

• To sign up, you will need to use a computer that
  is connected to the Internet.
• Use the program Microsoft Internet Explorer to go
  to the website (either www.yahoo.com, or
  www.hotmail.com )
• Follow instructions and fill in on-line forms to
  receive your free email account.
• Most libraries can help you with this.

9
Learning your Email Interface

• By interface, I mean either the computer
  program (such as Outlook Express) or the web page
  that you use to manage your email (such as
  Yahoo.)
• Lets look at Yahoo as an example.

10
Yahoos Email Interface

• After signing up, you can send and receive email
  by visiting www.yahoo.com.
• Click on Email, and a password screen appears
• Type in your user name (the first part of your
  email address, such as applebranch) and password
  mnhmht
• Now you will see the email interface.

11
The Most Important Functions

• Zero in on the most important functions of email
  Compose, and Check Mail.
• Because it is free, the Yahoo Email Interface is
  cluttered with advertising. Try to ignore the
  colorful, flashing ads!
• You may need to close pop-up windows by clicking
  in the x in the upper right hand corner. There
  may even be pop-up ads UNDER your browser after
  you finish!

12
Sending Your First Message

• Send your first message to yourself as a test.
• Click on compose.
• Type in your own email address in the to blank.
  You will need the entire address, such as
  applebranch_at_yahoo.com
• Make up a subject such as Testing.
• Type something short in the message box.
• Click the send button.

13
Checking Your Inbox

• After you send your message, you will receive
  confirmation.
• Click on the Back to Inbox link to check for
  new mail
• Soon, your message to yourself should arrive. You
  can click on Check Mail to tell the computer to
  see if you have new messages.

14
Common Problems Address Problems

• You may have a problem sending or receiving mail
  if you or your grandchild has the email address
  wrong computers are very picky.
• You should receive a message back if your email
  does not reach its destination. It may include
  the word undeliverable.
• Dont give up!

15
Solving Address Problems

• You may need to talk to your grandchild or your
  child to confirm that you are using the correct
  spelling for their email address.
• One way to check this is to ask them to send you
  a message then you will have their email
  address and can simply click Reply. You can
  also add them to your address book on Yahoo.
• Make sure you tell them YOUR correct address!

16
Common Problems Losing Messages While Typing

• If you spend a long time composing your message,
  you may lose all of your work if the telephone
  connection is lost or some other computer problem
  occurs.
• Short messages are usually best make it quick
  and breezy!
• If you need to send a lengthy message, click on
  the save as draft button every so often as you
  work.

17
Experiment and Play

• The best way to learn any computer process is to
  experiment with it. Click on the buttons and see
  what they do. Send different emails to yourself
  and see how they look.
• More advanced features to explore are the address
  book, the spam filters and the folder system.
• Fun things to try include adding colors and
  smiley faces to your messages, sending greeting
  cards, and including photographs as attachments.

18
Email Other Than Yahoo

• If you use AOL, Outlook Express, or some other
  mail interface, the features will be similar.
• Every mail interface has the basics composing
  mail, sending mail, and checking mail.
• Outlook Express is different from Yahoo it
  stores email on your computer. You must have
  up-to-date virus protection for this type of
  email.

19
Handling the Unusual Viruses

• Yahoo and Hotmail offer some built-in virus
  protection.
• Your email is stored on their computer, which
  also protects you.
• Most viruses are spread by attachments.
• It is safest to delete messages with attachments
  without opening them, unless you were expecting
  them and know the sender.

20
Safety Steps

• Delete unexpected messages with attachments
• Install an antivirus program on your computer
  Norton Antivirus or McAfee.
• Keep your antivirus subscription up-to-date.
• Use Yahoo, Hotmail or AOL instead of a program
  like Outlook Express that stores email on your
  computer.

21
The Good Side of Attachments

• Attachments can be wonderful.
• Photographs, pictures and documents that arent
  just plain text are sent by using attachments.
• With the growing popularity of digital cameras,
  sending attachments by email will probably become
  more and more common.

22
Common Problems With Attachments

• Your computer may need an extra computer program
  to read the attachment.
• The attachment may be a picture that is too large
  to view or print.
• The attachment may be so large that it takes
  forever to download, especially if you have a
  dial-up connection to the Internet.

23
Solving Attachment Problems

• Ask the sender if they used a special computer
  program to create the attachment. Perhaps they
  can help you find out what program you need to
  view it.
• Ask the sender to try to make the picture smaller
  so that it will fit on the screen or page, and so
  that it wont take too long to download.
• You and your sender may need to experiment!

24
Problems with Junk Mail, or Spam

• If you use email, you know that your Inbox can
  become overloaded with advertising mail.
• This happens over time, as your email address
  becomes known to advertisers.
• Be careful who you give your address to! They may
  sell it.
• Yahoo offers some good tools to deal with spam.
• If all else fails, you can also abandon a free
  account and sign up for a new one.

25
Now, the Payoff

• Email is a great relationship supplement.
• You can send fun, free greeting cards on the spur
  of the moment.
• If you enjoy storytelling, you could try sending
  a story in short installments.
• Older grandchildren away at college or in the
  military love getting email (although they may
  love regular mail more, especially care
  packages!)
• You can use email to guide your grandchildren to
  fun and safe websites, and help them with
  homework.
• Have Fun!