Today, the World Wide Web has become the place people turn to for news, entertainment, and finding goods and services. Yet many among us haven't had the opportunity to learn how to take advantage of the vast amount of information and services available online. In this new course designed for the Web novice, participants will learn about Web sites and technologies that allow them to do a variety of tasks, including sampling music, pictures and videos, buying and selling items, research, job hunting, finding a date, learning new skills, planning vacations, saving time and money, playing games, becoming a better writer, eating better, inventing, creating a will, taking a course, finding directions and obtaining weather forecasts. Participants will also learn how to use the Internet safely, what tools can be used to filter and block unwanted content, and how to protect against spam and spyware.

Instructor: Jeffrey D. Frey is Web services manager for enterprise applications in the information technology department at Rice University. He has more than 10 years of experience in developing and managing Web-based business and educational solutions and applications, including analysis, enterprise architecture design, software development and project management. Mr. Frey holds a BA in computer science from Kent State University, where he is currently completing an MS in computer science.

Participants will work in a computer lab at individual workstations using the Windows® operating system.

Additional keywords: information technology, computer training, Web sites, websites, Internet