intro
gmail is a free email service provided by google. In many ways, Gmail is just like any other email service: you can send and receive emails, block spam, create an address book and perform other basic email tasks. but it also has some more unique features that help make it one of the most popular email services online.
In this lesson, we’ll talk about some of the features and advantages of gmail, and give an overview of the gmail window.
google accounts
It is necessary to create a google account to access gmail because it is only one of the many services that google offers to registered users. Signing up for a Google account is free and easy, and naming your new gmail address will be part of the signup process. This means that every time you sign in to Gmail, you will be automatically signed in to your Google account. you can easily access other google services such as google documents, calendar and youtube.
Of course, you don’t need to use any of these functions. you may just want to focus on email for now. however, if you’d like more information, you can review our google account tutorial, where we talk about some of the different services that google offers and show you how to change your privacy settings strong>. strong>.
gmail features
gmail offers several useful features to make your email experience as seamless as possible, including:
- spam filtering.spam is another name for junk mail. gmail uses advanced technologies to keep spam out of your inbox. most spam is automatically sent to a separate spam folder and, after 30 days, is deleted.
- conversation view. An email conversation occurs any time you email with another person (or a group of people), often about a specific topic or event. gmail groups these emails by default, which keeps your inbox more organized.
- integrated chat. Instead of sending an email, you can send someone an instant message or use the voice and video chatfeature if your computer has a microphone and/or webcam.
- call the phone. This feature is similar to voice chat, except it allows you to dial a real phone number to call any phone in the world. It’s free to make a call anywhere in the US or Canada, and you can make calls to other countries at relatively low rates.
get to know the gmail interface
When working with gmail, you will primarily be using the main gmail interface. this window contains your inbox and allows you to navigate to your contacts, mail settings and more. also, if you use other google services like youtube or calendar, you can access them from the top of the gmail window.
click the buttons in the interactive below to learn about the different parts of the gmail interface.
challenge!
Answer the following questions. you can write down your answers or just think about them.
- what are the advantages of having a gmail account?
- are there any features in gmail that you would use other than email electronic?
- optional: If you already have a google account, sign in and explore the gmail interface.
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