Essential Computer Skills for Web-Based Applications

http://techtraining.stanford.edu/webskills/

The following are some skills that will help you successfully complete transactions using a web browser. Stanford-specific examples of these transactions include ReportMart, and the financial and student records in Oracle and PeopleSoft-based administrative systems.

Using Computers Effectively

• Using the Mouse Correctly and Effectively (Point and Click; Single-click vs. Double click; Click, Slide, and Release; Right-click vs. Left-click)
  • EXERCISES: [A], [B], [C], [D], and [E]
    
    
• Web Pages and Web Browsers
  • What are web browsers, web pages and the cache?
    (What's a web page, a web site, a URL, a "hyperlink" or "link," the cache? What happens when you "visit" a web page? How do you clean the cache?)
    
    
  • Internet Explorer (the important buttons: Back, Forward, Stop, Refresh, Home, Search, Favorites, History, Print)
    • What are cookies, how do they work, and how do I remove them?
      
      
  • EXERCISE [F]
    
    
• Working With Browser Windows
  • Switching Between Windows
    • EXERCISE [G]
      
      
  • Opening a New Browser Window
    • EXERCISE [H]
      
      
• Resizing and Closing Windows
• Repositioning a Window
• Refreshing a Web Page (Internet Explorer)

Using Web Browsers Effectively

• Finding Information
  • Using Find (on This Page) / Find in Page
  • Search Tools
    • EXERCISE [I]
      

Filling Out Forms and Using Shopping Carts

• Warnings about "Lost" Data
  • If you refresh/reload before submitting, you will lose all of the information you have entered.
  • If you have more than one window open and you buy items in both windows, your shopping cart will not be accurate until you are at the checkout.
    
    
• Always use the web applications's exit, logout, or logoff buttons to exit the application. Don't just close the browser. Sometimes information may need to be submitted to the server computer to finalize the transaction.
  
  
• Selecting/Entering Information
  • Pull-down Menus
  • Single-line Text Boxes
  • Text-Area Boxes
  • Radio Buttons
  • Check Boxes
  • Submit Buttons (compared to other buttons, e.g., "calculate sales tax", "check spelling")
    
  • EXERCISE [J]
    

Setting and Importing Bookmarks/Favorites

• IE Favorites
  • Adding Favorites
  • Organizing Favorites
  • Importing Favorites
    
  • EXERCISE [K] and [L]
    
    

Printing/Copying/Saving the content

• Printing Web Pages
  • Setting the Page Setup
    
    
• Copy and Paste
  • EXERCISE [M]
    
    
• Save As [Web Page Complete (default), Web Page HTML files, Text, Web Archive]
  • EXERCISES [N], [O], [P], and [Q]
    
    
• Using Data With Other Programs, such as Excel
  • EXERCISES [R] and [S]
    
    

Course Evaluation