An Introduction to Computer Basics
Curriculum
Guide for this Workshop
Is this how you feel?
Don't panic! Everybody starts this way. Move the mouse until the
arrow points on the text that reads "menu"(the arrow
will turn into a hand), depress the button, and let go quickly.
Menu:
Are
you ready to begin? Click on (move the mouse until the arrow points
on the text, depress the button, and let go quickly) the topicsthat you
want to explore. Don't worry if you don't know what some of the terms
mean! That's why you're here!
Return
to Beta Home Page
Introduction
Using this document as a guide we'll learn
about computers. Some of the topics covered include:
-
Mouse Basics
-
Differences between hardware and software
-
The different kind of computers
-
Basic terminology
-
Folders
-
How to manage files on computers
-
Saving Documents
We'll also begin looking at how to get computers
to do work for you.
Why is this so hard?
Yes, computers are hard to understand.
I, as a computing professional, give you permission to be
-
Mystified
-
Annoyed
-
Frustrated
Learning to use computers is like learning
a language: it's a Way of Thinking...and you have to grasp it all at once
in order to understand how to use them...
Click here to return
to Menu
First
Things First: Basic Mouse Skills
(borrowed
from Mike Cole- Technology Infusion Institute Mentor)
Pointing
Sliding
the mouse on the mouse pad moves the pointer on the screen. Rest
your hand on the mouse, move it slowly around the mouse pad, and see what
happens to the arrow on the screen.
Clicking
Gently
pressing & releasing the left mouse button, while keeping your
hand on the mouse, is one way to give the computer a command.
Move the pointer over the computer icon (picture) at left, and notice that
the arrow changes to a pointing hand. This means the icon is a link to
another destination. Click the left mouse button
to follow the link.
A link can also be text,
usually underlined: click
here.
Click
to continue
Scrolling
Scrolling
means moving up and down within a web page or other computer window.
This is done by using the mouse to move the "elevator" up and down within
the scroll bar at the far right of this screen. You can do this in three
ways:
-
To move one
line at a time, click on the
arrow at the top of the scroll bar or the 
arrow at the bottom.
-
To move one
screen at a time, click on the empty space within the scroll bar,
above or below the elevator.
-
To move anywhere
within the document, point to the elevator itself. Press and hold
down the left mouse button. Now you can slide the elevator up or down by
sliding the mouse on the mouse pad. Release the button when you are in
the desired location.
Click
here when you are finished
Congratulations!
You are now mouse literate and ready for new computer adventures!
Click here to return
to Menu
Congratulations
-- you made it!
To continue with this
lesson,
click on the computer
icon again
Press
& Drag With the Mouse
-
Move the mouse so that the pointer is within
the picture part of an icon.
-
Clicking over the text underneath an icon
will send you to a link.
-
Press and continue to hold the mouse button.
-
While holding the mouse button down, roll
the mouse.
-
The selected icon will move in outline with
the pointer.
-
Release the mouse button.
-
The selected icon will move to where you released
the mouse button.
Click here to return
to Menu
Double-Clicking
With the Mouse
Mac/Win Diff: All clicks are
not the same!
Mice for Macintoshes have one button. Mice
for Windows computers have two buttons. (Yes, I know, some different manufacturers
have different designs. But I speak generally, here....)
On Windows mice the right button does something
different than the left button. In general, a "right-click" brings up a
menu of options.
To double-click, click the mouse button
twice, rapidly, while the pointer is over the picture part of the icon
Don't move the mouse between clicks
or the Mac "thinks" you're dragging that icon
If you click over the name part of the
icon the system will think you're trying to edit the name, not open the
icon
Double-Click in order to "open" that icon
Opening an Icon means:
-
If it's a volume or a folder you get a directory
Window that shows the contents of that volume or folder.
-
If it's a document you launch the application
that created the document and then open that document in a window
-
If it's an application you launch (or open)
that application
One Click or Two?
One Click
Use one Click in
-
Menus and Menu Items
-
Buttons and check boxes in dialog boxes
-
Selecting icon(s) for some action other than
opening them
Use Two Clicks
-
To Open
-
To launch or open files, folders, HD icons,
etc.
If you use two where one is right odd / scary
things might happen
Click here to return
to Menu
How
A Computer Works
It's very simple:
-
You give information in certain ways...
-
...The computer processes this input...
-
...And shows its results (output)
That's all they do!
And computers are very unforgiving:
They do exactly what you tell
them, not what you mean!
Click here to return
to Menu
Hardware
and Software
Hardware
-
Unchanging and expensive
-
The physical pieces of the computer which
collect and carry the input, process the input, and output the results
of that processing
Software
-
Changeable and cheap(er)
-
Files which you load onto a computer
-
Software allows the exploitation of the potential
in the hardware
Click here to return to
Menu
Overview
of Macintosh vs. Windows
One set of software files is the Operating
System (OS)
-
The underlying software of computers is called
an Operating System - this is what the user "sees."
-
This system software allows your computer
to do anything.
The most common Operating System (OS) for
small computers is Microsoft Windows. Microsoft derived (read: stole)
the Windows interface from Apple Macintosh. What you learn on a Macintosh
will mostly work on a computer using Windows 95 or Windows 98
Click here to return
to Menu
Some
Basic Terminology
Here are a few terms you'll run into:
-
CPU
-
This term has two meanings (just to confound
beginners, you understand)
-
1) Central Processor Unit--the main chip on
the computer that makes everything go.
-
2) The box that holds the guts of the computer.
-
A faster CPU is always better than a slower
one. You can never have too fast of a CPU.
-
RAM
-
This stands for Random Access Memory. You
can think of this as the "space" where your computer does its processing.
The more space you have the more processes you can run at the same time.
-
More RAM is always better than less. You can
never have much RAM.
-
Disk Space
-
This is the place where your files live. The
greater the disk space the more files you can keep. (See also Megabytes)
-
More disk space is always better than less.
You can never have much disk space.
-
Megabytes
-
A Megabyte is a common unit of measure
(often abbreviated Mb). "Mega" = million so a MB is 1,000,000 bytes. (A
byte is the smallest piece of computer information you care about. It's
enough information for the computer to store one character (e.g.: "h").
In theory, if you had a 1 mb text file there'd be 1,000,000 keystrokes
in that file.
-
Just to confound the masses, although RAM
and Disk Space do something completely different we measure both in megabytes.
This leads to confusion.
-
K (Kilo)
-
This is a unit of measure, a thousand.
So 1,000 bytes is a KiloByte. This means that 1,000 k = 1 mb = 1,000,000
-
And you thought you wanted to know this stuff,
didn't you?!
The Desktop
The "desktop" in Windows or Mac is built to
be used like the top of your desk
-
File Cabinet = Hard Drive icon
-
Folders = Folders
-
Documents = Documents
-
Trash = Trash
Click here to return to
Menu
Icons
Icons are pictures that represent something.
There are four main kinds: volume, folder, application,
and document icons.
Where files live: These can be hard disk(s),
CDs, floppy disks, folders / directories you gain access to over the network,
etc.
We use folders (also known as Directories
or Sub Directories) to sort and order files.
Applications (also known as programs) allow
us to create and edit documents.
The stuff we care about! These document
icons represent the information we create and edit within application programs:
letters, lesson plans, and so on.
Click here to return
to Menu
Files
All software is a file to a computer.
Computers keep three basic kinds of files:
Application or Program file
When you "open", "run" or "launch" an application
program kind of file you create an environment where you can create and
edit the kind of document which that application makes.
Document files
These are the files we care about: copies
of letters, lesson plans, units of curriculum, pictures we create,
and so on.
System files
These are all the files that allow our computers
to work at all. When these work right we don't care about them....
Click here to return
to Menu
Windows
Windows are views into whatever!
Note: Microsoft chose to name
their Operating System Windows (with a capital "W") but most all OSes have
windows (small "w").
There are different kinds of windows. Some
windows display the contents of documents; others show the contents of
volumes (ie: hard drives, floppy disks, etc.). Folder or sub-directories
windows show what's in folders.
All windows have common elements (title
bars, resize boxes, close boxes, etc.) On the Mac you can invoke Balloon
Help to learn what these parts of a window are and how you may use them.
Click here to return
to Menu
The Menu Bar
-
The area across the top of the screen
A Mac OS v8.6 menu
-
This menu has the Edit menu pulled down and
the Select All menu item highlighted.
-
Menu names change as you change programs
To use a menu
-
Click on the menu item; a list or menu is
displayed.
-
Continue to depress the mouse button while
you "pull" the arrow down the menu list.
-
As you scroll down the list, each item is
highlighted.
-
Stop at the item you want and let go of the
mouse button.
You've told the computer what to do!
Click here to return
to Menu
Difference
in Macintosh & Windows Menus
Menus are a convention adopted by Windows.
There are two major differences you should know about.
Where do menus live?
In the Macintosh OS, menus are always, only
across the top of the screen. The menus change as you switch between open
program applications. In Windows, you can change the dimensions of the
window that contains the application and the menus *for that application*
are always at the top of that window. So it's possible to see several different
sets of menus on one screen within different windows.
In Windows 95 each of these windows is an application and has menus.
That Pull down Click
In all versions of Windows a single click
will pull down a menu and keep it down until a) you click on an item in
that menu (executing that command), b) you click somewhere off that menu
to cancel that pull down or c) the menu pull down "times out" on its own
and it goes away.
The Mac treats clicking within menus the
same way beginning with Mac OS version 8.0. If you happen to be using a
Mac with system version 7.6 or earlier, you need to press and hold and
continue to hold the mouse button down in order to pull down a menu.
Specialized menus in the Macintosh
The Apple menu
The Apple menu has stuff that's readily available
in any program. You can get to it
from the upper left--the sign of the Apple Macintosh OS.
The Application menu
The Application menu is at the far right of
menu bar. You use this menu to see what application programs you have open
and to switch between these open applications. It looks like this:
The application menu.
Specialized Menus in Windows
95 & 98
Windows has a Start button in the lower left
of the screen. This is similar to the Apple menu on a Macintosh: certain
common features that are always available.
From the lower left--the sign of Windows 95 or 98 OS.
Click here to return
to Menu
Keyboard
Shortcuts
"Modifier keys" are keys that change the meaning
of what you type. You're used to the shift key, it changes lower chase
letters into UPPERCASE ones. But computers introduce additional modifier
keys. And these keys differ between Windows and Macintosh computers.
Macintosh Modifier Keys
The modern Macintosh keyboard has a ctrl,
option
and Command key. To Command key does not say "Command" on
it. It has a little propeller-y or four-leaf clover looking item on it.
In general, the Command key is the one
you use to issue commands to the Mac. (Example: Command-A will usually
Select All.) The option key allows you alternative command (it will often
copy something you drag with the pointer, for example). Depending on the
version of the Mac OS you're using, if you hold down the control key while
clicking the mouse you may generate a menu of commonly used commands.
Windows Modifier Keys
Windows computers have three or four modifier
keys depending on the vintage of the keyboard. They will at least have
keys labeled ALT (for ALTernative) and CTRL (for ConTRoL).
Later keyboards may have keys with things that look like a menu and / or
the icon for Windows.
In general, the CTRL key allows you to
execute commands from the keyboard while the ALT key allows you to exercise
options like different characters (eg: ü--a U with an umlaut). (Example:
CTRL-A will usually Select All.)
Click here to return
to Menu
Folders
Folders allow you to store files and more
folders
You could keep everything in one place
but...that would be a bad thing.... You can
-
Move files between folders
-
Store folders inside of other folders
To Create a Folder
On Macintoshes, the first item under
the File menu in the finder is New Folder (or Cmd-N). If you execute this
command an Untitled Folder will show up in the active Finder window or
on the desktop. You may then give it a name and move it where you like.
On Windows computers, the easiest
way to get a new folder on the desktop is to do a right-click and go to
New Folder. This will create a folder. You name it as you will and there
you go!
Click here to return
to Menu
Dialog Boxes
A Dialog Box is a thing that takes over your
screen and allows you to "dialog" with the computer.
There are different kinds of dialog boxes.
Some just tell you something (usually called an "alert" dialog box). An
alert dialog box might say: "Your print job is done now." and offer you
one option: OK.
Other dialog boxes give you more options
to choose from, like a Print dialog box. Such a dialog box might ask you
how many copies you want printed, etc.
The thing to remember about dialog boxes
If you get a dialog box that you don't like
or don't understand, remember that Cancel and OK are your friends. And
in that order....
Click here to return
to Menu
Saving a Document
To "Save" a document means that you tell the
computer to put the information you've put into the document (usually typing)
onto a disk for later use.
You want to save and save often. Even if
you intend the document you create as only a temporary document, computers
sometimes don't work right. When that happens (sometimes called a "crash"
or "freeze") you will *loose* all the work you've done since the last
time you saved, whether that was one minute or four hours ago.
Save vs. Save As...
The Save As... command (under the File menu)
allows you to do at least two things:
-
Give the file a name and
-
Store the file in a certain place
-
Some Save As... dialog boxes also give you
the option of changing file formats or other options. This varies depending
on the particular programs you use.
If you have given a document a name and a
place to live and you're happy with that you don't need to call up the
Save As... dialog in order to save a document. If you execute the Save
command (also under the File menu) the system will save the changes to
the document while leaving where the file lives and its name alone.
Click here to return
to Menu
Getting More
Help
To get help on a Mac:
On modern Macs there's either a question mark
icon in the menu bar at the right (system version 7) or a menu named Help
(system version 8). Call down either and go to Show Balloons. As
you move the pointer around the screen you'll get balloons what explain
stuff. Many (but not all) applications make use of balloon help; that help
is available throughout the desktop (also known as the Finder). Try this
first.
As a second level of help, call down that
help menu again and look further down the menu. Depending on the version
of the system you have, there'll be something like Mac OS Help. Invoke
that and poke around.
To get help on a Windows
computer:
In Windows there's a Help menu at the end
of every windows application menu. Pull this down for online (ie: in the
computer) help.
Click here to return
to Menu
Last updated: 990602
Prepared by Bill
Geraci for the Web Institute for Teachers
708-988-1936, billg@mcs.net