new to mac - not sure how to view network

Provided you're on the network already (ethernet or wifi), just open a Finder window and look under SHARED on the left pane. All computers on your subnet should show up there, provided they have sharing turned on on their computers.

 

if you still can't see anything under shared, go to system preferences--> security --> firewall, and allow all incoming connections.

i know firewalls are wonderful, but sometimes they keep you from viewing certain computers on a shared network. i'm not saying to permanently allow everything, just do it long enough to see if that's the problem, provided there is one.