BASIC COMPUTER CLASS
DAY 1
1. What is a computer/PC?
PC stands for personal computer. Most computers are considered PC’s.
Think of a PC as a large calculator with a better display and
more buttons.
PC’s let you work with
words, numbers, or graphics. PCs can
work by themselves, in a group (known as networks), or across the world on the
internet.
PCs are classified as
desktops, towers, notebooks or laptops. (We are using towers for this class.)
They all do the same functions, they are just packaged differently.
2. Components of a PC
Software - The brains of the
PC. Software tells the PC what to do and
controls what it can do. Without
software the PC will do nothing. (We interact with software by clicking icons
and choosing menu options.)
Hardware - The parts of a PC that
you can see and/or touch.
3. Software
Windows, the operating
system, controls the flow of information from the hardware, software and you
and displays the results on the monitor and/or the printer.
You click the icons on the
desktop, or choose it from the program menu, to start the software packages.
4. Hardware
Console - Box that contains the guts and brains of the
PC. This includes storage devices, the
CPU (Central Processing Unit), and connections for the input and output
devices.
a.
Hard Drive – usually C: Where
your software is installed.
b.
Diskette Drive – usually A: Used
to hold our files. Diskettes hold
approximately 1.44 megabytes
Diskette Tips:
Keep diskettes away from
magnets, including telephone handsets, radio and TV speakers, paper-clip
holders, desk fans and photocopiers
Avoid extreme hot or cold temperatures
Do not touch the disk
surface, only it’s protective cover
Diskette are extremely
unreliable, in fact, the more you use a diskette the higher the chance that
you will lose information stored on them.
Have a backup or two of your diskette.
c.
Zip Drive – Used to read Zip Disks. Zip Disks can hold 100 megabytes or up to 750
megabytes
d.
Data can be saved onto a
hard drive or diskette as bytes.
1 byte equals 1 character
1 kilobyte equals 1,000
bytes or about 1 page of typewritten text
1 megabyte equals 1,000,000
bytes (million)
1 gigabyte equals 1,000,000,000
bytes (billion)
1 terabyte equals 1 trillion
bytes
Monitor - The screen that displays the information from
the PC.
a.
Desktop – the entire screen
b.
Icons – small pictures on the desktop that when clicked with a mouse
will start a program such as Word, Internet Explorer, etc.
Keyboard - This is what you type on. Almost like a typewriter.
Mouse - This moves the courser on the screen and also can
be used to tell the computer ok.
Printer - Used to get the computer’s output or hard copy
of what is on the screen.
5. Using the Mouse 
Moving the mouse around on your desktop moves a mouse
pointer around on the desktop. Use the
Mouse Tutorial, on the library’s PC’s to learn and practice mouse skills.
BASIC COMPUTER CLASS
DAY TWO
THE KEYBOARD
There are four main areas on
your keyboard.
Function Keys – Positioned
on the top row of the keyboard.
Typewriter Keys – These keys
are the same type of keys you would find on an old typewriter: Letters, numbers, and punctuation symbols.
Cursor-control keys – Often
called arrow keys, these four keys move
the text cursor in the direction of their arrows. Above them are other cursor control keys.
The
cursor-control keys are used to move the text cursor around, which typically
looks like a blinking toothpick when you type or edit text in Windows.
Numeric Keypad - Popular
with accountants, the numeric keypad contain calculator-like keys or if the NumLock key is
off then these keys perform like the cursor-control keys.
Use the number 1 for 1 not l
(small letter L), because it will not calculate in a spreadsheet or Microsoft
Word table.
Use the number 0 for 0 not O
(capital letter o), because it will not calculate in a spreadsheet or Microsoft
Word table.
Sometimes, you may see the
message “press any key to continue”.
That really means any key, like Enter
or Spacebar.
Enter Key – Pressing the Enter Key is the same as clicking OK, or in Microsoft
Word you press Enter at the end of a paragraph.
Tab Key – Usually means indent in Microsoft Word.
Shift Key – Hold down the Shift key to make capital letters.
Caps Lock – This key works like holding down the Shift key, but it produces only capital letters. Press Caps Lock again and the letters return to lowercase.
Num Lock – Pressing this key makes the numeric keypad on the right side of
the keyboard produce
numbers.
Ctrl
and Alt – You press it in
combination with another key to perform a function.
MICROSOFT WORD SOFTWARE
To enter Word Software - Double-click
on the Word icon on the desktop.
You will see a new blank
page. This is just like placing a sheet
of paper into a typewriter.
To open a document (file)
click on File on the Menu Bar then
click on Open.
Use the drop down arrow at
the top of the Open window to find the folder that you need.
Usually either A:, for a floppy,
or My Documents, for the hard drive.
You should see a list of
your documents in that folder, then double-click on
the document you wish to open.
MOVING AROUND IN YOUR DOCUMENT
1.
Find the cursor - it is the blinking line
2.
Move down the document by pressing the down arrow key
3.
Move the cursor up the document by pressing the up arrow key
4.
Move the cursor to the right by pressing the right arrow key
5.
Move the cursor left by pressing the left arrow key
6.
Move the mouse anywhere there is text and click the left mouse button
7.
Move the cursor to the end of the line by pressing the End key
8.
Move the cursor to the beginning of the line by pressing the
Home
key
The Page Up key will
take you almost a full page up towards the beginning of the document
The Page Down key
will take you almost a full page down towards the end of the document
The scroll bar on the right side of the document will take you
quickly to the top or the bottom of the document
EDITIING A
DOCUMENT
The cursor is always focused
on the character to the right of the cursor.
To delete that character - press
the delete key.
To delete the character to
the left of the cursor - press the backspace key.
To insert words in a line - just move your cursor to where you want to insert and start typing.
To type over words in a line
- just move your cursor to where you want to type over, press the insert key
and start typing. Remember to press the
insert again after you are finished typing to turn insert off.
To delete a block of text -
highlight the text with your mouse - by clicking the mouse at the beginning of
the text, holding down the mouse key and dragging your mouse to the end of the
text you wish to delete and press the delete key.
MOVING
TEXT
To move words, lines or paragraphs in a
document:
1.
Go to the beginning of the words that you wish to move
2.
Click and hold down on the left mouse button
3.
Move the mouse to the end of the words that you wish to move, release
the button
4.
The words should be highlighted
5.
Right-Click the highlighted words
6.
Click on Cut
7.
Words should disappear from screen
8.
Move your cursor to where you wish to move the words
9.
Right-Click the curser
10.
Click on Paste
11.
Your words should appear
SAVING YOUR DOCUMENT
To save your document and
give it a new name:
1.
Click on File on Menu Bar
2.
Click on Save As..
3.
Choose the folder you want to save to from the drop down list, top of
the folder
4.
At the bottom of the window you will see File Name: with a name highlighted (This is the name that Word
thinks you may want)
5.
Hit the delete key
6.
Type in your file name
7.
Press the Enter key
EXITING WORD SOFTWARE
Click on File on the Menu Bar
Click on Close
CREATE A DOCUMENT FROM SCRATCH
Open Word a blank document automatically
appears. Start typing the document, when you’re finished: Highlight
text to change it –
|
Apply italic formatting |
|
|
1.
Select the text
you want to change. 2.
On the Formatting
toolbar,
click Italic |
|
|
Apply bold formatting |
|
|
1.
Select the text
you want to change. 2.
On the Formatting
toolbar,
click Bold |
|
|
Change the size of text |
|
|
1.
Select the text
you want to change. 2.
On the Formatting
toolbar,
type or click a point size in the Font Size box |
|
|
Apply a different font
to text |
|
|
1.
Select the text
you want to change. 2.
On the Formatting
toolbar,
click a font name in the Font box |
|
|
Change the color of text
|
|
|
1.
Select the text
you want to change. 2.
Do one of the
following: ·
To apply the
color most recently used for text, click Font Color ·
To apply a
different color, click the arrow next to Font Color |
|
|
Align text left or right
|
|
|
1.
Select the text
you want to align. 2.
On the Formatting
toolbar,
click Align Left |
|
|
Center text |
|
|
1.
Select the text
you want to center. 2.
On the Formatting,
click Center |
|
Hide All
. 
. 
. For example, type 10.5.
. 
on the Formatting
or Align 
. 
. CREATING A LETTER USING A WIZARD
Open MS Word
Click Tools
Click Letters
and Mailings
Click Letter
Wizard
Click Format – Choose DateLine and Letter
Style
Click Recipient Info – Type Name
and Address, choose Salutation
Click Sender Info – Type Name and
Address, choose Closing
Click OK
Add space between the letter
parts.
Write the body of the letter.
Save the
letter, and/or Print it.
CREATE A DOCUMENT FROM A TEMPLATE
A template
is a sample document that has page formatting applied to it. It also has sample
data included. You simply replace the sample data with your own information.
Open
Word
Click
File
Click
New (A New Document window opens on
the right side of the page)
Click
On My Computer, under Templates (A new Template windows
opens)
Click
on the tabs at the top to see the templates available on your computer
Click
on the file name, the format will be displayed on the right window pane
Double
click the file name to open the template
Highlight
the text to change it
When
you are finished Print or Save the document (change the file
name!)
BASIC COMPUTER CLASS
DAY THREE
USING EMAIL
To open an account:
Click on the Internet Explorer icon. (on the
Desktop)
Type Netscape.net in the address bar.
Click on Mail icon.
Type your Screen Name. __________________
Type your Password.
_____________________
Type your Display Name. (Your real name.)
Pick your Birth date from the drop down list.
Click your Gender.
Pick your Country from the drop down list.
Type your Zip Code.
Scroll down to the Security Check box, type the text you
see.
Click Submit button.
To check your mail:
Click on the Internet Explorer icon.
Type Netscape.net in the address bar.
Click on Mail icon.
Type your Screen Name. (without the
@netscape.net)
Type your Password.
Click Sign on button.
Click Inbox icon to get a list of your messages.
Click on the message to read
it.
To reply to an email:
Click on Reply button.
Type your message.
Click Send button.
To forward an email: (send
it to someone else)
Click on Forward button.
Type the email Address you want to send it to.
Type a Subject of the message.
Type a message if you want
to.
Click Send button.
BASIC COMPUTER CLASS
DAY FOUR
SURFING THE INTERNET
The
Internet is not a single computer. The
Internet consists of all of the computers that are currently connected.
No one person owns the Internet.
You can get information from the Internet by using a piece
of software called a web browser.
INTERNET EXPLORER WINDOW
Button Bar -
Back
- Takes you back to the web page you were just on
Forward
- Takes you forward, after you have pressed back
Stop
- Stops the loading of a web page
Refresh
- Pressing refresh tells the internet to update web page
Home
- Takes you to the home page (the page that internets starts on)
Search
- Lets you search for a subject or name on the web
Print
- Prints the web page/pages you are on currently
Address Box - This box holds
the address of the page you visit, and it’s also an
input box
where you can type web page addresses.
Web Page -
A page of information on the web. Web pages can be wider and often
longer than what you see displayed in your
browser’s window.
TYPING A WEB ADDRESS
Use the mouse (click once) to select any text already on
the address bar and press the backspace key to delete that text. Type your address and press Enter.
CLICKING ON A WEB PAGE
LINK
The automatic way to visit a web page is to click a web
page link. It appears as underline text
on a web page, or an icon. But the clear
sign that you have found a link is that when you point at it, the mouse pointer
changes to appointing hand. To use the
link, click it once with the mouse.
To return to the web page you were just viewing, use you
browser’s Back button. You can continue
clicking the Back button to revisit each web page you have viewed.
If you need to return to where you were after going back,
use the Forward button.
FINDING THINGS
You find something on the Web by using a search
engine. It’s a web page that features a
huge catalog of other web pages. You can
search through the catalog for whatever you want. Results are displayed, and you can click
links to eventually get to the web page you want