May I also recommend a good book?  It's titled "Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera" by Bryan Peterson...

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/0817463003/ref=nosim/tirebouchon-20

A very good read indeed.  One thing nice about digital cameras...the film is really-really cheap!  Don't be intimidated by all the buttons and dials on a dSLR.  It's fun to experiment, and by doing that, you learn.  This forum is overloaded with people willing to help!

Kind Regards...