Introduction to Email

Welcome! My name is Rita, and I will be joining you today through this lesson on the Mail App! Sending letters through the traditional mail can be quite a long process, but fortunately the Mail app has made communicating much quicker and more convenient and I cannot wait to learn about it with you. Before you get started, read this quick introduction!

Many of our communication is now quickly done through various methods including telephone, text messaging and email. In this lesson, we are going to discuss what the Mail app on the iPad is.

Mail app is a pre-loaded app that comes with an iPad so it should already be available on the home screen when you first turn it on. For other tablets such as an android tablet, different e-mail apps are used but we won’t discuss that in this lesson. On the Mail app, iPad users can set up their email account so that they can send and receive emails right from there iPad as long as there is WiFi or Data access.

Throughout this lesson you will gain an understanding on what email is, along with how to setup an email account on an iPad, and how to send, reply, and delete emails.

We are just about ready to start the lesson! But first, let’s take a look at some key technology terms. These are terms that will be used throughout the lesson and when talking about the Mail app.

Key Technology Terms

• Email: short-form of electronic mail. It is a technology that mimics the formal style of written correspondence but it is done online through the internet. When writing an email, there are requirements such as identifying recipients, senders, and subject. Users must have their own email address and know the unique email address of the person they want to send and email to for the messages to be properly sent and received. Many online companies and Internet Service Providers (ISP such as Shaw, Rogers and Telus) provide email services.
• Mail App: the default email app used to manage your email accounts, compose new emails, and read received emails on Apple devices such as the iPad
• Folder: this is a virtual location in the Mail App where your emails and electronic information can be organized. You may see the term ‘folders’ in other areas of the iPad or your computer. Folders are typically used as an electronic container to store related pieces of information like files together.
• Inbox: similar a letter mailbox, it is an electronic mailbox where new emails are received and stored.
• Sent: this is another electronic mailbox or folder for emails that have been sent. Once the email has been sent, it will be moved into this folder and the recipient will see the same email in their inbox.