Computer Basics Albert L. Scott Library 100 9 th Street NW Alabaster, AL 35007 205-664-6822 1
Objectives: Types of computers Hardware vs. Software Keyboard Tutorial Mouse Tutorial Icons Folders, Files, and Programs 2
What can you do with a computer? The possibilities are endless! From typing a document to playing a video game, computers are here and they aren t going anywhere. Sometimes it can be overwhelming, especially if you don t have too much experience with computers, but this class is designed to start with the very basics and build from there! Types of Computers: Desktop Computer - A personal computer (PC) or professional workstation that's designed to fit on a desk. Laptop Computer (notebook)- portable computer that is smaller than a desktop computer. It weighs less and is easier to carry around, you can work on it on your lap. 3
Netbook Computer (mini computer) small portable computing device, smaller and comes with more limited features than a notebook Tablet - A slate-shaped mobile computer device, equipped with a touch-screen or stylus. (examples of tablets: ipad) Smartphones are mobile phones that are built like computers. They have more functions than feature phones, including Internet connectivity, and serve as mini computers. 4
Major Components of a Computer: Hardware (components that can be physically touched) o Central Processing Unit (CPU) within the case or tower o Monitor o Mouse o Keyboard o Printer o Cables 5
Common Terms and Definitions: Byte - A unit of computer memory equal to that needed to store a single character. CD-R - A write-once version of CD-ROM. CD-Rs can hold about 650 megabytes of data. They are very durable and can be read by normal CD-ROM drives, but once data has been written it cannot be altered. CD-ROM - An optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. CD-RW - A rewritable version of CD-ROM. A CD-RW drive can write about 650 megabytes of data to CD-RW media an unlimited number of times. CPU (Central Processing Unit) - a microchip on the motherboard that performs calculations and manages the flow of data through the computer system. Driver - Software used to control a hardware component or peripheral device of a computer such as a mouse or printer. Floppy Disk - A small, portable plastic disk used for storing computer data, readable by a computer with a floppy disk drive. A floppy disk can store up to 1.44 megabytes of data. Gigabyte - A unit of computer data or storage space equivalent to 1,024 megabytes. Hard Drive - A rigid disk inside a computer that is magnetized to hold a large quantity of computer data and programs. Current hard drives can typically hold from 20 to 120 gigabytes of data. Icon/Shortcut - A small picture on a computer desktop intended to represent a file or an application. When an icon is clicked on, some action is performed such as opening an application or file. Megabyte - A unit of computer memory or disk storage space equal to 1,048,576 bytes, or more generally, 1 million bytes. Motherboard - main circuit board inside your computer. It is a sheet of plastic onto which metallic circuits have been printed and to which the rest of the computer s components are either built onto the motherboard or connected via sockets or slots. Operating System/OS - The essential program in a computer that maintains disk files, runs applications, and handles devices such as the keyboard, mouse, monitor, and printer. Peripheral - A piece of equipment such as a printer or scanner that can be connected to a computer. 6
Port - An external socket on a computer s main unit (CPU) where a peripheral device such as a printer, keyboard, or mouse is plugged in. Program/Application Software on a PC used to perform a particular task. (Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer, etc.) RAM (Random Access Memory) - memory that can be both read and written to. It acts as the interface between the software and the CPU. The more RAM you have, the more programs you will be able to run at the same time and the faster your system will perform. USB Universal Serial Bus A simple, fast connection for peripheral devices connected to a computer. 7
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Keyboard Tutorial http://www.adamfrost.net/elearningmaterials/keyboardskills1/keyboardskills1.html Special Key Board Functions - ESC (escape) used to exit programs or menus - Function Keys uses vary by program, F1 is usually help. F7 is spell check. - Tab will insert an indention or allow you to jump from box to box when entering a form line. - Caps Locks caps lock will make all letters capital without holding down the shift key. To turn on the function, press once. To turn off the function, press the caps lock button again. The function does not work on the numbers key. - Shift - makes capital letters; highlights letters/words when used together with the arrow keys. - Ctrl used in combination with other keys to perform shortcuts/tasks. - Window Flag opens the start menu at the lower left of your screen. - Alt used in combination with other keys to perform shortcuts/tasks. - Menu launches a context menu (Like clicking the right-mouse button) - Enter do NOT after every line you type; Windows knows when to go to the next line as you reach the end of it. Do press enter if you want to start a new line. Pressing enter also answers questions like OK or YES when Windows or another program asks you a question. This says you from having to move the mouse around over the question box. - Backspace erases the character directly to the LEFT of your cursor. - Delete erases the characters directly to the RIGHT of your cursor. - Insert toggles between insert and overwrite modes. - Home is used to move your cursor quickly to the beginning of a line or the first cell of a spreadsheet. - End is used to move your cursor quickly to the end of a line. 9
- Page Up/Page Down move your cursor up or down one screen length. - Arrow Keys move the cursor in a specific direction. - Num Lock numeric keypad on the right side of the keyboard; when turned on (light glows) you will be able to use the numeric keys on the keypad to the far right of the keyboard. - Print Screen copies a picture of what is on your screen usually used to paste into a document. 10
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Using the Mouse: As we learned before, the mouse controls the movement of the cursor. The mouse acts as a virtual finger and allows you to select items on the computer screen. Click pressing and releasing a button. Single-click: clicking the left button. o Selects an object or activates a command. Double-click: clicking the left button two times in quick succession. o Used primarily on icons on the desktop to open applications or folders. o Double clicking the right button does nothing. Right-click: clicking the right button. o Opens a menu of options. Drag pressing and holding a button, then moving the mouse without releasing. - You can drag using either the right or left mouse button. o Using the left button performs the most often used tasks. o Using the right button gives you a menu of options for which task you want to perform. Scroll Wheel can be used to scroll an Internet or application page up or down. - In some applications the scroll wheel can serve as a third mouse button. - You can also scroll using your mouse and the scroll bar at the right edge of the screen. 12
Cursors: If you see this hourglass symbol, it means that your computer is busy or working Mousing Practice: www.pbclibrary.org/mousing Storage Devices: (External Hardware) 13
Abbreviation Term Rough Size Actual Size Byte Byte 1 Byte (1 Character) 1 Byte KB Kilobyte 1,000 Bytes 1,024 Bytes MB Megabyt e 1,000,000 Bytes or 1,000 KB 1,048, 576 Bytes GB Gigabyt e 1,000,000,000 Bytes or 1,000,000 KB or 1,073,741,824 Bytes 1,000 MB TB Terabyte 1,000,000,000,000 Bytes or 1,000,000,000 KB or 1,000,000 MB 1,000 GB 1,099,511,627,776 Bytes PB Petabyte 1,000,000,000,000,000 Bytes or 1,125,899,906,824,624 Bytes 1,000,000,000,000 KB or 1,000,000,000 MB or 1,000,000 GB or 1,000 TB Floppy Disk: 1.44 MB CD: 650 870 MB ( 451 604 floppy disks) DVD: 1.46 17.08 GB (1000 17,000 floppy disks) Blu-Ray: 25 50 GB (25,000 50,000 floppy disks) USB Drive: 1 256 GB ( 1,000-256,000 floppy disks) Portable External Hard Drive: 160 GN 1.5 TB (160,000 1,500,000 floppy disks) 14
Software vs. Hardware Hardware - machines, wiring, and other physical components of a computer (any part of the computer you can touch) Software - computer programs, applications, scripts, and instruction sets (unseen, untouchable parts of a computer) Applications/Computer Programs (Software): sequence of instructions that a computer can interpret and execute with a user interface. Examples of different Computer Programs and Applications Desktop: Early, we mentioned that a Desktop Computer is a personal computer that is designed to fit on top of a desk. On every computer, whether it is a Desktop Computer or a Laptop, there is a Desktop Screen. A Desktop Screen simply refers to the main design page on your computer. It can house icons, folders, programs/applications, and anything else you decide to on there. Every Desktop looks different. 15
Typical Desktop Screen Toolbar: The bottom portion of the screen is called the Toolbar. 16
In the bottom left corner is the Start Button. The Start Button allows you to find different programs and files within your computer. If a program has a small black arrow next to it, when you you move your cursor over that program a list of files or additional programs will appear. 17
If the program doesn t have a small black arrow, then you can simple left click on the program and it will start to open. The more times you click on the program, the more times it will open! When you press the Start Button a list of programs will appear (usually 13 or so). These are the programs/applications that you have used recently on your computers. If you are looking for a particular program, but don t see it you can either click on All Programs or you can do a search for the program or file name. 18
The Start Button is also where you access the Control Panel. In Windows, the Control Panel is where you can personalize and manipulate the programs and applications on your computer. Control Panel is also where you can uninstall programs. 19
Next to the Start Button you might see small icons or retecangular boxes. This indicates that these programs are currently running, but have been minimized from the main screen. In the bottom right corner of the Toolbar is where the time is located, along with the volume control, internet connection status, and other various commands. On your desktop, you can customize it however you want! By placing Icons on the desktop, you are creating shortcuts to different programs or files. By simply left clicking on an icon, the program will automatically start up. Remember, only click on the icon once. 20
How to Create an Desktop Shortcut or Icon: If you have a particular file or program that you would like to have on your desktop as a shortcut, it is quite easy! There are two ways to create a shortcut. Drag If you find a program that you would like to create a shortcut to on the desktop, one of the quickest ways is to simply drag the program to the desktop. Once you have found the program you want, left click over the program and hold down. Then, while still holding down, move your mouse to the desktop screen. The program will move with the mouse. Once you have moved the mouse back to the desktop, simple lift your finger from the mouse. The program has now created a shortcut on the desktop! Right Click Once you have found the file you want to create a shortcut for, simply right click over the file. From the box that appears, select Create Shortcut. 21
The shortcut icon will appear immediately. 22
Removing an Icon/Shortcut: Sometimes your desktop can get a little crowded. If this happens it is very easy to remove icons from the desktop. Drag Left click and hold over the icon you want to remove. Then drag the icon to the Recycle Bin on the desktop (all desktop have this). Place the icon over the recycle bin and unclick. 23
Right Click Right click on the icon and select Delete. A warning box will appear to verify that you want to delete this item. Moving an icon to the recycle bin DOES NOT remove the program from the computer just the shortcut! To remove a program completely from the computer, you must use the control panel! 24
Empty Recycle Bin Just like a physical recycle bin, it is a good rule of thumb to regularly empty the recycle bin. This permanently deletes the items in the recycle bin from the computer. Right click on the recycle bin and select Empty Recycle Bin. A warning box will appear to verify that you want to delete the items inside the recycle bin. Sometimes you will hear the recycle bin referred to as trashcan or garbage. Just note these terms are simply referring to the recycle bin. 25
Folders Just like a file cabinet, your computer has folders that help keep everything organized. Sometimes these folders can have many folders inside of them or they can simply have one document. It is up to you how you want to organize things! How to Create a Folder Desktop If you want to create a folder on the desktop screen, simply right click then move your cursor over new. A new set of options fill appear, including folder. Once you have selected folder, the new folder will automatically appear on the desktop! 26
If you notice in the picture above, New Folder is highlighted. This is letting you know that you can name the folder now. Simple type in what you want to name the file. It is a good rule of thumb to be very specific in naming files, folders, and documents so they can be found and differentiated easily. To open a folder, simply double click on it. We will name this folder Pictures. This is typically what you will see when you open a new folder. 27
Once you have opened your folder, you can create additional folders within that original folder if you prefer. Simply right click within the folder and follow the previous steps to creating a new folder. 28
The new folder will automatically appear Now you can name this folder. We will name this folder Christmas Pictures 29
You can get as detailed as you want with the folders. In the image below, you can see that inside the Christmas folder there are individual folders that are used for different years. If you plan to have a lot of folders and files within your computer, organizing them is very important. 30
At the top of the image in the red box is a history of how you found that folder. Consolidating or Relocating a Folder Now that you have learned how to create a folder, you are going to learn how to move folders. To move a folder, left click and hold down over the folder then drag the folder to the new location. 31
In these images, we moved the Christmas Pictures folder out of the Pictures folder and onto the desktop. To move a folder within another folder, left click and hold down then drag that folder into the new location. 32
Moving Multiple Folders Instead of moving every single folder individually into the Christmas Pictures folder, we are going to highlight the folders and drag them into the Christmas Pictures folder at one time. To highlight all the folders, start in any corner, left click and hold down and move the mouse over the rest of the folders. Once you have highlighted all the folders you want, you can let go of the left side of the mouse. Then left click and hold again on the folders and drag them over the folder and left go. 33
Renaming a Folder/File If you want to rename a file, for whatever reason, all you need to do is place your cursor over the current name of the file and left click once. The title of the file should become highlighted. Once the folder name is highlighted, you can simply start typing the new name in. Once you have finished, click the mouse anywhere out the text box and the text box will close. You can also right click over the folder and select Rename. Minimize: The Minimize button will remove a program from display, but will still keep the program open within the desktop toolbar. 34
Maximize: The Maximize button does the exact opposite of the Minimize button and will make a program fill up the entire monitor view. If a program is already already at maxed capacity, by clicking the Maximize button, the program will become smaller and only take up a portion of the screen. To adjust the size of a maximized program, place the cursor on the edge of the program, then hold down the left side of the mouse and drag to get the shape you want. Close or Quit: The small red X in the top right corner is how you exit out of your program. Sometimes your computer will ask you to verify that you want to exit out of this program, especially if you have made changes to a file without saving those changes. 35
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