This content is located in CAPS under Internet Technologies: Communication for Grade 11.

Engaging students with the typical features of web browsers can transform their understanding of a daily tool into a powerful skill. A browser isn’t just a gateway to the internet; it’s a platform filled with features that enhance user productivity, safety, and accessibility. Let’s explore how to teach this effectively while incorporating a practical touch.

To start, introduce students to the most common features of web browsers:

1. Bookmarks and Favourites: Demonstrate how students can save websites they frequently visit. Engage them by asking each to create a “Research Toolbox” bookmark folder for their favourite educational websites.
2. History: Explain how the browsing history can be helpful to revisit past research. As an exercise, have students explore their history to note down pages they found useful and discuss why.
3. Home Page Settings: Show them how to set their home page to a preferred website. Encourage setting their school or a learning portal as the default.
4. Caching: Explain how caching stores website data temporarily to improve loading speeds. For a hands-on activity, ask students to clear their cache and notice any difference in browser performance.
5. Add-ons and Extensions: Highlight useful browser extensions like Grammarly for writing or Momentum for organising tasks. Encourage students to install a productivity-related extension and report back on its utility.
6. Adblockers and Pop-up Blockers: Discuss the importance of these tools for blocking intrusive ads and maintaining a safe browsing experience. A quick activity can involve comparing browsing with and without an ad blocker.
7. Private Browsing (Incognito, InPrivate): Discuss scenarios where anonymous browsing might be useful, such as looking up sensitive topics. Emphasise that private browsing hides history locally but doesn’t make browsing invisible to websites or networks. A class discussion can revolve around ethical usage.

Making it Interactive and Relatable

• Roleplay as Researchers: Assign each student a topic and allow them to use browser features like bookmarks and history to curate research resources.
• Browser Comparisons: Let students compare features of popular browsers (e.g., Chrome, Firefox, Edge). Have them present the pros and cons of each.
• Customisation Competition: Challenge students to customise a browser using extensions, themes, and settings to make it uniquely theirs while explaining their choices.

Accessibility and Under-Resourced Settings

In classrooms with limited internet or devices, use pre-installed browsers and locally hosted websites for demonstrations. If internet access is sporadic, a teacher-led demonstration using a projector or saved screenshots can still make the concepts tangible.

Discussion on Responsible Browsing

Link the session to online safety, covering the limitations of private browsing. Explain that it doesn’t make one anonymous to websites or prevent ISP tracking. This can tie into a broader conversation about digital footprints and safe internet practices.

Engaging students with practical exercises and real-life applications ensures the session isn’t just theoretical but equips them with skills they’ll use regularly.