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Learning AOL - An In Depth Series of Lessons

© Cheryl Lewis

I was recently called on to help a family member who is just getting on the Internet for the very first time. Now, this person is a very important member of our family and I wanted to be sure that she not have any fears of asking for help. I think she is eager to learn but lacks the time in this busy season to really sit down and get some lessons. That's when it dawned on me that there might be more folks who would love to have some in-depth AOL lessons but where could they go for those?

I have used AOL 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0. There is a new verson of 7.0 but I have no plans to download that. In fact, for now, I'm sticking with the 5.0 that I currently have but should my ISP shut down I will go to a newer version. I've connected with both dial-up and a cable connection. I prefer my cable connection because it is so much faster. As I did a really quick and brief overview of AOL with her, I laughed because I have a feeling that she'll eventually want her own cable connection. She is a fascinating woman with an extremely quick mind so I have no doubt that she'll pick up on the AOL and love it. Her biggest excitement factor was that she would be able to connect with family and friends anytime she wanted without having to be concerned about the cost of a long distance phone call. Ah, the powers of the Internet. For the purpose of these lessons we will be discussing the dial-up version of AOL.

The first thing that you really have to know about AOL is how to connect. You need to be sure that the phone number your computer is dialing is a local number so you are not charged long distance fees. In order to check this simply pull up your AOL and try to log on. Watch to see what phone number the modem tries to dial. It will show you on the sign on screen.

If you are concerned that it's not a local number, you'll need to go to Access Numbers on your sign-on screen. With the 5.0 version it's the blue box in the middle left position at the bottom of the white screen. It will open a new box and ask for your area code. Just enter that number and click the blue arrow that says Next on the bottom right. This will bring up a box of numbers in all the different areas with your same area code. Be sure to pick numbers that are local for you and then click next. It will then give you a Confirm Your Selection box. Here you have the opportunity to dial a number to get an outside line or dial *70 to turn off call waiting. Click Next. Now you get a box that shows what numbers will be dialed and in what order. Click Finish. Now your phone numbers are set up and you're ready to Sign On.

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