Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................... 2
1. Keyboard Skills ............................................................................................ 2
2. Tips for Using Your Mouse .......................................................................... 4
3. Mouse Skills Tutorial .................................................................................... 6
4. Practising Your Mouse Skills. ...................................................................... 8
5. Why Use a Computer? ................................................................................. 8
6. Types of Computers..................................................................................... 9
7. PCs at Kingston Library ............................................................................. 10
8. Computer Books ........................................................................................ 16
9. Computer School.......................................................................................16
____________________________________
City of Kingston Information and Library Service, 96 Parkers Road, Parkdale,
Victoria, Australia 3195 Telephone 1300 135 668 printed 20th Jan 2011
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Introduction
This class will familiarize you with the computer mouse and show you how to
use it to interact with the computer. The class will cover the basics of mouse
movements and manipulations using hands-on training on the computer.
This course is designed for people with no prior experience with a computer
or a mouse.
1. Keyboard Skills
Another important part of finding your way around the Internet is being able to
use a keyboard. The layout of the keyboard is similar to a typewriter but there
are some extra keys.
Delete
Backspace
Caps lock
Shift
Space Bar
Enter
Arrow Keys
SOME IMPORTANT KEYBOARD KEYS
Caps Lock
Makes all letters "Capitals”. The Caps Lock key should be used with caution.
Typing text entirely in capitals is usually a no-no as many people have
difficulty reading it. Also, typing emails entirely in capitals can be
misconstrued as “shouting”.
Shift
Holding this key down, allows you to make Capital letters or access the top
symbols (e.g. @ $ ?) on the keys that have 2 characters on the text key part
of the keyboard.
Space Bar
This inserts a space between words. Pressing the Space Bar while viewing a
web page in Internet Explorer will scroll the page to the very bottom. Shift +
Space Bar will scroll the page to the very top.
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Enter
Creates a new line. The cursor will move down to the new line.
Backspace
While working with text, use this key to delete characters to the left of the
cursor
Delete
While working with text, use this key to delete characters to the right of the
cursor. This key can also be used to delete selected files.
Arrow Keys
Enable you to move your cursor around the page. You can also position your
cursor using the mouse by clicking once on the page where you want the
cursor. Note that the down arrow key is different from the enter key in that it
does not create a new line. You can also use the up and down arrows to scroll
up and down a webpage.
Keyboard Tutorials
There are many online tutorials, such as those listed below, which can assist
you in gaining confidence in using a keyboard. These can also be accessed
from the Computer Help page under the heading “Online tutorials”
http://www.typeonline.co.uk
http://www.learn2type.com/
http://www.sense-lang.org/typing/
http://www.rapidtyping.com/
http://www.typing-lessons.org/
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2. Tips for using your mouse
The mouse acts as an electronic finger to move around and select specific
parts of the screen.
Rest your hand on the mouse, using your thumb and two right most fingers to
move the mouse about on the mouse pad. Your other two fingers are used to
control the two mouse buttons.
The left mouse button generally appears as a pointer on the screen. This
pointer will move about the screen when you move the mouse about the
mouse pad.
The mouse cursor may vary its appearance depending on where it appears
on the screen. When using the mouse cursor within Internet Explorer it most
commonly appears as:
An arrow shape will generally appear on the screen for a button,
graphic image or text box.
A hand pointer appears when the text on the screen within the
internet browser is a link (hyperlink) to another page or web site.
An I beam appears when the writing on the screen is not a link to
another page or web site.
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Clicking of the mouse is used to access information, graphics or drop
down menus in Windows:
A single click selects an item on the
screen. This can be used to change
the text information in the text in the
desktop icons or to rename folders.
Single Click
Double Click often opens a document
or starts a program.
To double click give the left mouse
button two quick clicks.
Right Click is used to display a list of
commands on the screen
Right Click
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Dragging is used to move information
around the desktop. Hold down the
left mouse button and pull the
information to its new location on the
screen.
Dragging
Scroll Wheel
Scroll Wheel in between the left and
right buttons is used to move up and
down a page. Just use your finger to
roll the wheel.
Highlighting text to cut and paste: when the pointer is placed over text it will
appear in the “I”, hold down the left mouse button and drag the mouse over
the text you wish to highlight or when “I” becomes an arrow in the left hand
margin, click and drag down text. The text will be light on a dark background.
3. Mouse Skills Tutorial
The Mouse Skills Tutorial will give you the opportunity to become familiar with
using the mouse. It can be accessed from the Kingston Library website
http://library.kingston.vic.gov.au
Under the heading “Helping You”
Click on “Computer Help”
Then click “Online Tutorials”
And click on “Mousercise-Mousing Around” for the mouse skills.
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Click Here
3.2 Accessing the tutorial via Google:
www.google.com.au
Type the phrase “Mousercise- Mousing Around” into the Google search box
and press enter on the keyboard.
This will provide you with a page of search results. The first item on the list
should be titled “Mousercise -Mousing Around”. When you place your mouse
over the blue title, it will become a hand and you will be able to left click to go
into the “Mousercise-Mousing Around” tutorial.
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Google search box
3.3 Mousercise Web Address
Go directly to the mouse skills tutorial by typing this web address:
www.pbclibrary.org/mousing/mousercise.htm
in the address field.
4. Practising your mouse skills
Below are some fun sites for extra mouse skills practice. There are
hundreds of internet sites that have games and puzzles you can play. But
read carefully; they are not all free! Some say they are but to access certain
areas of the site will require payment. Some will require you to download
software to make them work – this is usually free but bear in mind if you
download too much software then your computer may not run as fast as you
would like. Others will require you to register to use the site – remember to
read the “fine print” before you give email or personal details if they are
requested. Happy puzzling.
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Tic Tac Toe
http://www.boulter.com/ttt/
JigZone – online jigsaw puzzles
http://www.jigzone.com/
Free Online Crossword Puzzles Daily
http://www.bestcrosswords.com/
5. Why use a computer?
Computers are very useful. You can use a computer to help you write letters,
send emails, and find all sorts of information on the world-wide web. You can
use a computer to manage your household budget and to play music.
You can store photographs and, if you get some experience with a computer,
you may even learn how to edit your photographs and build a photograph
album that you could send to someone by email anywhere in Australia or
even the world.
You can use a computer not only to communicate by email with friends and
family anywhere in the world, but also as a substitute for the telephone. There
are several free options that make it possible for you to talk to people through
a computer and some of them even allow you to use video so you can see
others as you talk to them.
The possibilities are endless.
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7. PCs at Kingston Library
Kingston library's computers are PCs.
System unit/CPU
Monitor
Start button
On button
Keyboard
Mouse
If you talk to people about computers, they will often refer to hardware and
software. Here is a brief description to help you follow what they are talking
about.
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Hardware:
Hardware refers to the parts of computer that you can actually touch, such as
the display monitor/screen, the keyboard, the system unit (CPU), the
mouse, the printer and speakers.
System unit (CPU): stands for “Central Processing Unit” This is the most
central part of the computer or the “brain” of the computer. It is where all the
instructions and processes are carried out.
Hard Drive: This is where all the information is stored. For example, if you
own a computer, you might store your digital photographs on the hard drive.
Monitor or display: allows you to view the result of what you do with a
computer.
Keyboard: a set of keys that you press to type words or numbers. It also has
special keys that you will learn about if you take more advanced courses.
Mouse: A hand held device that sends signals to the computer when it is
moved.
Printer: can provide you with a printout of texts or pictures (including photos).
Speakers: Computers can have speakers attached to or built in. You can
play CDs and DVDs as well as listen to live broadcasts of programs through
your computer.
The keyboard and mouse are input devices whereas the display, printer and
speakers are output devices.
Software
Software is a set of instructions called a program or an application. These
instructions are stored inside the computer. They control the computer's
behaviour as you type a letter, keep track of your finances, store and organize
your photo collection, send and receive emails, play computer games or
purchase an item online.
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The Desktop appears on the monitor when you start the computer as shown
in the figure above. You will also see a small arrow head on the screen. It is
the mouse cursor. If you move the mouse, you will see it move.
You can move the mouse cursor to hover over the start button at the left
bottom corner. If you press the left mouse key while hovering over the start
button, a menu will appear above. Move the mouse cursor to hover over
Programs and another menu will appear that lists all the programs on the
computer. Move the mouse cursor to hover over the name of a program you
want to open. Press the left mouse button and the program will open.
The task bar is an area usually located along the bottom edge of the screen
and lists programs that are currently running. It also shows the start button,
the system clock and other open windows.
Internet Explorer or Firefox
If you want to look at web pages (surf the web), you will need to use a
program called a browser. There are several common browsers. The most
common is Internet Explorer and Firefox. The figure on the previous page
shows an icon for Internet Explorer on the desk top. To open Internet
Explorer, move the mouse cursor over the icon and double-left click.
Kingston Library's computers open Internet Explorer to the Kingston City
Council Public Internet Usage Policy page as shown in the figure below. From
here you can go to a different page by typing a web address you know into
the web address bar, by typing key words that might find a web page you
want into the search box (towards the upper right), or by left clicking on any
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words or phrases on the open page that make the mouse cursor change
shape from an arrow to a hand when you hover the cursor over them
As you can see from the display above, a typical window display includes:
Title bar: bar on the top that describes the title of the content of the current
window.
Menu bar: located below the title bar where a list of program options is
grouped together under a single heading: File, Edit, View, etc. For example,
the Edit menu contains options to copy, cut and paste.
Address field: displays the location (URL) of the current web page.
Content area: the rectangular area on the display screen which provides a
workspace for individual computer programs.
Scroll bar: appears when the contents of a window are too large to be
displayed entirely within the window. For example, if a web page is too long to
fit within a window, a scroll bar will show up on the right-hand side of the
window, allowing you to scroll up and down the page. If the page is too wide
for the window, another scroll bar will appear at the bottom of the window,
allowing you to scroll to the left and right. If the window's contents fit within the
current window size, the scroll bars will not appear.
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Controlling the window display (minimizing, maximizing and closing a
window):
You can use the buttons on the top right-hand corner of the windows to
control how the window/windows are displayed on the screen.
Minimize Maximize Close
Minimize: The underscore "_" is the minimize button. Use this feature to
reduce the current window to a small button at the bottom of the screen (on
the taskbar). This prevents the desktop from becoming too crowded. Click
the button on the Taskbar to restore the window to its former state.
Maximize: The "Square" maximizes/enlarges a window to fill the entire
screen. If the screen is already maximized, you can reduce its size by clicking
on the same button so it fills only a portion of the screen.
Close: “X” closes/shuts down the program or window you currently have on
the screen.
Active windows vs. inactive windows
Inactive window
Active window
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Open programs
An active window has a blue coloured bar at the top of the window. When
the window is inactive this bar will be grey. You can activate a window by
moving your mouse out of the active window and clicking the left hand button
of your mouse once anywhere within the window you want to activate. You
can also use the window control buttons mentioned previously to change the
status of the windows.
9. Computer Books
We hold a number of books at our library branches which will help you with
getting started on the computer. A few suggested titles are:
Absolute beginner’s guide to computer basics – Michael Miller 004.16 MILL
Computing for seniors in easy steps – Sue Price 004 PRIC
Computers for Seniors for Dummies – Nancy C.Muir 004 MUIR
Easy computer basics – Michael Miller 004.16 MILL
Laptops for seniors – Nick Vandome
004.16 VAND
MAC computing for seniors for the over 50s in easy steps – Nick Vandome
005.4468 VAND
PCs for dummies – Dan Gookin
004.16 GOOK
PCs made easy : a practical guide – Readers Digest (Australia) 004.16 PCS
Teach yourself visually computers – Paul McFredies 004.16 MCFE
You can ask staff at any Kingston library to find the item on the shelf or have it
transferred from another branch.
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10. Computer School
If you need more help with computers try some of the online computer training
tutorials available through our Computer School. These self-paced tutorials
can be accessed from the Online Resources page under the heading
Computers.
Topics covered include the keyboard and mouse, computer basics, the
internet, Microsoft Word and email.
You will need to enter your library membership barcode number as your
password and click on the ‘submit’ button.
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