When the above notice appears ahead of a section of these classes, I invite you to ‘listen’ to the section while you follow the printed words. The notice suggests you ‘Press’ (select or touch) the universal symbol for ‘PLAY’ in the control section to the right of or just below the notice. Once you have done so, the control keys on your keyboard can be used to control the audio: play/pause, Mute, increase or decrease the volume.
If you are not familiar with the audio control keys on your computer, please select the ‘Tips & Shortcuts’ button in the left column, then read or print and read the PDF file ‘Controlling Your Computer’s Audio’.
Class 1
Introduction to Personal Computers
This series of classes is useful with hundreds, if not thousands, of different personal computers. It is, however, directed at users of the Microsoft brand of operating systems, and similar windows-like operating systems such as Linux and Apple OS/X. All of these operating systems are based on the ‘window’, which works the same way in ALL the various personal computer operating systems.
Windows 10 gives us the opportunity to use the traditional desktop for most of our work, and, in addition, use some new style applications (Microsoft's universal apps) that are intended for touch-screen use, as found in tablets, smartphones and newer laptops and desktops.
We believe EVERYONE can learn something new if they are interested enough in the subject, and keep an open mind about what they think they already know. In short; Expect to learn something new, and you will!
A recomendation:
To get the most use out of a computer, you must learn to 'think like a child' ... be curious about things you see ... experiment with buttons, knobs and other controls ... see what they do! You won't break it! And you can always reboot if you can't figure out where you are.
The Class Synopsis follows this paragraph. You should notice that individual sections of this class are colored and underlined, indicating that they are LINKS to the appropriate sections. You may click or touch individual sections to jump to them, or simply scroll down (turn the mouse wheel, if it has one) to the section you wish to continue with.
Class 1 Synopsis:
- What is a personal computer?
- Some computer related definitions
- What is a user interface?
- Computer world switches
- Turn the computer ON
- Turn the computer OFF (or not quite)!
- Keyboard navigation
1) What is a Personal Computer?
Before we can even consider talking about personal computers, we need to define a personal computer and a few related terms.
The addition of the term personal was originally intended to separate the idea of a personal computer when compared with industrial computers and super computers. That, however, does not tell WHAT a personal computer is. Consider a personal computer to be the 21st century version of the 'Swiss Army Knife'. It is nothing more than a tool, but an extremely versatile tool. A personal computer can be so many different things to so many people that they have become, well, personal! In fact, the computer is so personalizable, you can (and should) change nearly every facet of its use so it beomes your tool, not a copy of one belonging to anyone else. More on that as we continue.
Your first experience with a computer will be like your first experience with an automobile.
- - Proponents for the device (car, computer, tablet, smartphone) expound at length on all the wonderful things you will be able to do with it.
- - When you actually get one, you sit staring at it wondering what you have just gotten yourself into.
- - Then you find out how much study and practice you must apply to actually USE the device.
- - Your first (6th?, 7th?) attempt at using the device is extremely stressful. For example: your death grip on the steering wheel (or the computer mouse!), fear of breaking it, etc.
- - When you finally relax enough to begin to enjoy the experience, you gain comfort in the simple things you have learned that allow you the use of basic functions. You can now drive to the store and back, (or have learned to start an application on a computer).
- - You then learn that to achieve one of the wonderful things you can do with the device, you actually have to DO something different! Something that was NOT included when you obtained the device. In the case of a car, you have to DRIVE somewhere you have not been before! Think of the stress of driving on SNOW of all things, just to go skiing at that beautiful lodge on the mountain!
Once you have obtained a computer, AND learned the basics of how to use it, you are ready to actually obtain an application that will do one of the wonderful things you got the computer for!
Most computers come with an operating system that has several basic applications included to get you started. While the operating system includes applications to browse the Internet and do Internet related things, like eMail, the applications many people intend to use on a computer are NOT part of the operating system, and must be obtained separately.
BillsComputerKindergarten.com is currently designed to teach you the Kindergarten level of knowledge for computer users. It is the 'stuff' that kids seem to absorb out of the air, but most of the rest of us simply missed while we were busy with 'life'. The classes should give you the confidence to get and try non-operating system applications, in other words: try those wonderful things a computer is good for!
Please watch the following video at least once before moving on to "Some computer related definitions".
Introduction video
2)Some computer related definitions
>> Operating System
When I sat down to write the Kindergarten version of an Operating System description I went back to my childhood for examples. So, to all you less than 50 year old readers and listeners, I am well aware of today’s changing of family dynamics. However, this IS a Kindergarten class for 50 plus years, so bear with me on this.
The Operating System of our house was…Mom! Mom saw to it that we were fed, clean and put to bed on time. Dad brought home ‘money’ he earned at a job (whatever that was), and gave it to Mom. Mom gave us all an ‘allowance’ and used whatever was left over to pay Bills, but I don’t think she meant my uncles. Mom got up early enough to make a lunch for Pa, then wake him in time to get a ride to ‘work’. She would make our lunches, get us up in time to head off to school. As we grew, she saw to it that we got to other functions on time, or picked us up at school if we got sick. When we got home from school, she may have spent part of her day baking bread and making other cool sweets for us. She saw to it that we did our chores, like taking out the garbage, or watering the lawn. Mom saw to it that we each did our own homework and didn’t sneak out before it was done.
Mom also taught us the proper interactions with other kids and grownups. THAT was really different, because we couldn’t behave the same way for both.
In short, Mom did everything she could to keep us healthy, happy and able to get along with most anyone else that came around while she stayed in the background. She didn’t take credit for any of it because we were family. She was our one woman Operating System.
It is the Operating System that assumes the roll of housekeeper in the computer. As such, it relieves you of the otherwise tedious business of properly loading all the software that allows you to work with your data/information. You just ask it to start your application and away you go!
>> Application
Merriam-Webster defines Application as:
- - an act of applying: (a): an act of putting to use [application of new techniques] (b): a use to which something is put [new applications for old remedies]
- - (b): a form used in making a request (filling out an application)
- - a program (as a word processor or a spreadsheet) that performs a particular task or set of tasks
First use: 14th century
So like many other terms used in computing, the term application has been around a long time, like 700 years! However, the application of the term (pardon the pun, but check the definition, above!) as used by computing is new.
When talking about computers, tablets and smartphones, we use the term application the same way a cook uses the term recipe.
For the cook, a recipe is a list of instructions to take some common household items (flour, butter, sugar, etc.) and hopefully produce an attractive, usually tasty, and frequently fragrant item as defined by the name of the recipe; for example: Chocolate Chip Cookies.
For the computer, an application is a list of computer instructions to take information provided by the user and process that information into a result defined by its name. Some examples:
- If the application was a word processor (a computer world typewriter), it would take words (information) entered into the computer by YOU the user, from notes made by Grandma, and process them into a document you could pass on as a recipe for Grandma's German Chocolate Cake!
- If the application was a DVD viewer (DVD player), it would take information from the DVD movie you put into the computers' CD/DVD drive and display video on the screen as a movie, and play the audio for that movie, on the computers' sound system.
- If the application was a game, the computer would take information from your game controller and manipulate your Avatar on the screen as if it was you!
There are applications (or apps), to do almost anything. In class we talk about very few applications. There are so many different kinds of apps that no one person can know about them all! When you learn to browse the Internet, you can search for anything, ... including applications. If there is something special you wish to do with your computer, chances are someone has already written an application to do it! All you have to do is find it.
>> Desktop
Your computer desktop is what you wait for while the computer is booting. Your desktop is suppose to be a model (example) of an item many people are used to: the desk they may normally work at. If you are not used to a desk, think kitchen table. You may set your table for breakfast one way, clear the stuff away to do a project, then re-set the table for lunch, but not the same way you set it for breakfast, etc. A kitchen table is in a state of flux the whole day.
If you have a desk, the top of the desk is usually set up one way for all day, day after day. A haven of sorts. It is very personal. No two people have their desk set up the same way. In fact; NO TWO COMPUTER DESKTOPS are set up the same way! At least not after the computer is used the first time. It's too personal! That's why you PERSONALIZE your computer! The desktop on the computer is your haven. It is the place (on the computer) that should give you comfort because it's YOURS! You set it up the way your want to work, and only you can change it! In fact, if you allow other users access to your computer (separate logins), they have their own desktop!
Your desktop is what you wait for while the computer is booting. In fact, you can't do much of anything until your computer presents you with your desktop or your start screen. One or the other will be the place you begin working with your computer.
>> Window
A window is another item that computers borrow from real life. Think about a window in your home. Imagine one of them looks out into a garden. Make it a 'Better Homes and Gardens' garden. A pleasant view that changes with time. Reflections of weather and season.
Now walk over to the window that looks out into the kids play area. Wow! A riot of movement, color and sound (at least if the kids are home).
You may have a window in your kitchen that looks out at the street. Again, a changing view, but one that may give a sense of security in that you can see who may be approaching the house.
Each of these windows can evoke different feelings and responses on your part, because they force you to focus your attention to what is happening in that space.
When you carry the idea of this type of window into the computer world, it serves a similar purpose. When you start a computer application, the operating system will open a window as your user interface into that application. The window serves to focus your attention on that one application. Each application you choose to run will have a window of its own.
You are not limited to using a single window. Open another application and another window will open. You can change size and position of any window, or even temporarily tuck it out of sight without ever leaving your chair. We will talk about the anatomy of a window in a later class to learn about the parts of a window that work exactly the same in all personal computer windows.
3) What IS a User Interface?
Merriam-Webster defines Interface as:
- - a surface forming a common boundary of two bodies, spaces, or phases [an oil-water interface]
- - (a): the place at which independent and often unrelated systems meet and act on or communicate with each other [the man-machine interface] (b): the means by which interaction or communication is achieved at an interface
First known use: 1882
This term may not have been around as long as some others, but better than 100 years is longer than we have been using personal computers.
Please watch the following video at least once before moving on.
User Interface Video
Every device we use has a user interface. When we give an infant a new toy, it is fun to watch the baby explore it. Can I bite it? Can I taste it? Does it make noise? What happens when I squeeze it? The infant is learning the user interface for the new toy.
When someone hands you a new tool, you turn it, shake it, look for buttons, etc.; YOU are trying to learn what it is and what it does; you are trying to learn the user interface for the tool. A personal computer is just another tool, however a very personalizable tool. Give a child a personal computer, esp. in the form of a 'tablet' and watch the learning process! The child is past the infant stage, so probably won't bite or taste it. On the other hand, does it make noise?, what happens when I squeeze it?, and similar 'explorations' still take place.
The best advice I can give you is: re-learn to explore like a child! You won't learn the computer's user interface unless you are willing to explore!
- Explorers (ie Chris Columbus, etc) can get lost! When exploring a personal computer there is ALWAYS a way to get back to the beginning: if all else fails, reboot! Reboot (or restart) will be discussed later when we talk about turning the computer ON.
Here is your first test. You are given a sheet of paper upon which is printed a circle with vertical and horizontal centerlines. You are asked to measure the diameter of the circle. To aid in the measurement, you are asked to select an appropriate tool from a box of tools. The tool collection looked like the photo below.
Which of the tools would you select? Are you sure? Look again. In a physical class (as opposed to an on-line class like this one) each of 10-12 students were able to select any of the devices without question. They ignored the fact that each tool had a different shape! People in the class were looking for a familiar user interface; a scale that they could use to make the measurement! It is the user interface to any piece of technology (tool) that you must learn in order to make the best use of the tool. Please try to remember this test when you want to say “but mine doesn’t look like theirs!”.
The computer user interface
The most common human/computer user interface consists of a monitor (screen) the computer uses to display information to us humans, a keyboard we use to give information to the computer, and a pointing device (mouse) we can use to point to the object we wish to work with on the computer screen.
Monitor screen
The monitor (screen), thanks to television, is perfectly understandable. It is where the computer will display anything you need to see. There is a bit of weirdness in talking about the monitor. “Look at your screen!”, as you might expect, means “Look at your monitor!”. On the other hand, computer people will talk about your lock screen, login screen and desktop (screen) as if they were separate units, when in fact, they are more like slides you are viewing on your monitor.
Keyboard
The keyboard may look familiar, but there are a few changes. People that grew up with typewriters (an archaic word processing device), became used to requiring a "carriage return" at the right margin of a piece of paper, in order to continue their typing at the left margin, below the previous line. In our Digital world, we let the computer do that, because our 'paper' is now electronic; AND, the 'width' of our electronic paper changes. We will learn more about that in a later class. For now: Do NOT use an ENTER as a carriage return! Use the enter key only to tell the computer you are done with the current paragraph (start a new paragraph), OR, that you have finished typing the current data. The computer knows how wide your 'paper' is, and automatically inserts 'carriage returns' as necessary.
Pointing Device (Mouse)
There are many pointing devices (including your pointing finger!) that can be used to tell the computer which object on the computer screen you choose to use. The mouse is only one such device, though it is the most commonly used one. We will discuss some other possibilities when we get to the pointing devices class.
4) Computer world switches
The days of the old toggle switches are gone, at least in today's computer world. The light switch on the wall of your home, and the smaller version shown on the left, usually found on electrical equipment, gave a satisfying click when turned on or off; and they remained in position.
Now we get a pushbutton with an icon that is a symbolic representation of the toggle. The button does not stay in when pushed, nor may you feel a satisfying click when you touch or press it. If the computer programmer was on the ball, it may light up or give some sort of feedback when touched or pressed that takes the place of the 'snap' you are used to.
Most people think of pressing a button as a single action such as: press to ring the bell, release to stop ringing. Pressing a button is actually two distinct operations...press, then release - like many older doorbells; press for ding, release for dong! Electric typewriter keys were press/release to type a character, press/hold to repeat typing the character.
A computer can detect HOW you push (and release) a button. Did you poke it? Did you hold it down for a second, two seconds, five seconds? Every button can be different! AND IT CAN CHANGE WITH THE APPLICATION!
Until you get used to the idea, I suggest you simply POKE any computer button you encounter. Remember poke? As in poking a sibling or friend in the ribs?
Additionally, computers make changing of the user interface much simpler than a user interface that has to be machined of metal, then stamped in plastic and so forth... As user interface designers find simpler, easier, more visible (or invisible!!) ways to do something, they WILL change it!! Therefore: in the computer world, everything WILL change!
Speaking of change, for now, get used to the idea that with a computer EVERYTHING can be changed!!! Likely as not, you will NOT see the same thing on your computer that your neighbor has on the one they are using. The popular word for changing how the computer looks and operates is personalize! In this class you will learn how to personalize the computer for the way YOU work. Because everyone has different habits and ways they like to work, it is intended that you personalize the computer so YOU can feel comfortable with the way YOU work, not force yourself to work the way you think the computer works!
5) Turn the computer ON
When you first start up your new Windows 10 computer, the computer will walk you through a few questions about you and how you choose to use your computer. I, personally, prefer not to let the computer choose for me. Usually there is an option to let you customize your answers. That way you will know exactly what information will automatically get shared on the Internet.
Once you have completed the questionnaire, and depending on some of the choices you have made, the computer may restart.
In any case, from this point on, turning your computer ON is relatively simple. Find the button marked by the icon described previously, and poke it!
Unlike almost any other electronic device you may have to turn ON, a personal computer cannot be ready to use the instant you turn on the power. Actually, there is no power switch (as in a light switch) you can turn on! Poking the power button is more a request for the computer to start up. The process is called booting the computer.
When we talk about computer hardware in Class 4, you will learn more about why booting takes so long, but for now, it will take patience on your part, until the computer is ready to use.
Please watch the following video at least once before moving on.
Turn Computer ON Video
If you are using a desktop or tower computer that has separate devices such as a monitor or printer, you must turn them on and off individually. I suggest you turn the monitor on first! Poke the button with the power icon shown above. The button will usually light up green to signify power is now on. If you have not yet turned the computer on, the light will change to yellow indicating the monitor has no input signal and has gone to sleep.
The computer power button usually (yes, it too is adjustable!) has three options. A poke when the computer is off (or is sleeping or hibernating) means turn on. A poke when the computer is on usually will tell the computer you want it to turn off. You may use the computer's Control Panel to change these behaviors. In the Control Panel, select Power Options, then Choose what the power buttons do.
While the computer is on and you press and hold the power button for five seconds or so, it means EMERGENCY! - POWER OFF NOW!
Lock screen and Login screen
When you have successfully turned your computer ON, you may be presented with a lock screen and/or login screen rather than your desktop.
Simply tap any keyboard key or mouse button to close the lock screen. On a touch screen, tap or swipe the screen up. If your computer is protected by a password, the next screen you see is the login screen. If you do not see a flashing vertical bar in the password text box, move your mouse cursor into the box, then click. Type your password in the login text box, then poke enter to tell the computer you are done typing. The computer should then present you with your desktop.
Restart or Reboot
Once the computer is up and running, you can examine power options available to you. The only one I want to talk about now is Restart. If you are just learning your computer, and get lost…that is, for whatever reason your computer is not behaving the way you expect it to. You have tried to get to your desktop, or anywhere else you recognize and it simply doesn’t work. In short, you are frustrated and ready to throw the boat anchor out the window…don’t despair, Restart!
At this point in the classes you haven’t been introduced to pointing devices. Therefore I can not assume you know how to use a pointing device to ‘click’ on anything. So we will do it the easy keyboard only way.
First you need to locate five special keys on the keyboard. Left and/or right of the long space bar, you should see an ‘Alt’ key, and a ‘Ctrl’ key. Somewhere on the keyboard will be four arrow keys, up, down, left and right. You need the UP key. Then you need a ‘Del’ or ‘Delete’ key. Lastly, you need the ‘Enter’ key and please remember: this is NOT a carriage return key!
Using your left hand, hold down the Alt and Ctrl keys, then using your right hand, poke the Delete key. Release the Alt and Ctrl keys. Your screen should now look very different. In the center of the screen you should have a group of words which we don’t care about now. But, in the lower right corner of the screen you should see a power switch icon. Poke the UP arrow key. The power icon should now have a box drawn around it. In this case, the box is known as a ‘highlight’, so you have ‘highlighted’ or ‘selected’ the power icon. Now poke the Enter key which tells the computer you have selected the item on the screen that you want to use. The computer responds by opening a power option menu. Use the UP arrow key again to ‘select’ Restart. Once again poke Enter to tell the computer you have made your ‘selection’. With a little patience on your part, you should be returned to your desktop.
A note for portable devices, such as a laptop!
Portable devices are intended to be just that: portable. As such, they cannot be tethered to a source of power. ALL portable devices come with a battery charger, NOT a power supply. As of this writing, it is intended that the charger be connected to the device only when needed to charge the battery. It should then be disconnected to maximize the life of the battery.
Recent searches for more information suggest it 'probably' will not damage the battery if you forget and leave it plugged in for a few days. It is also suggested that you change the low voltage warning (Control Panel, Power Options) to 30-40%. This is the point the computer will remind you to plug in the battery charger! Even the computer manufacturers are not certain how best to extend the life of Lithium-Ion batteries (the value is usually set to 10% or less!). If your device has a battery; in the Control Panel, select Power Options, then Change Plan Settings and Change Advanced Power Settings. In the dialog box that opens, look for 'low voltage warning' or similar wording under a battery heading. If that value is 10% or less, change it to 30 to 40%
6) Turn the computer OFF
Please watch the following video at least once before moving on.
Turn Computer OFF Video
There are a couple of reasons you may not want to actually turn the computer OFF. If you tell the computer to 'take a nap' (sleep) rather than turn off; when you return to the computer and poke the power button:
- The computer will be ready to use with much less boot delay
- The computer will return to what you were doing as if you had never left
Please plan ahead and save all your open files before you tell the computer to 'take a nap' (sleep). This will avoid data loss possibilities if there is a power failure while you are gone.
BIG NOTE: We do NOT physically turn the computer OFF. We tell the computer to do it by poking the power button.
Small Note: These are Class 1 instructions. When we move on to Class 2 and beyond, we will use pointing devices to do our selecting. We will then be able to find and select the virtual (on screen) power button to shut down the computer.
An experiment to compare the length of time it takes to turn the computer on from an off condition, or wake it from from sleep. Please note: Keep your hand off the mouse! After we talk about pointing devices, you can use your mouse.
- - On the keyboard, poke the Windows logo key. Notice this action pops up the start screen. A second poke of the Windows logo key will also close the start screen if it was open!
- - If you see the power icon on the start menu, go on to the next step. Otherwise, you may be using an earlier version of Windows. The quick way to get the power icon on the screen with ALL versions of Windows, is to press and hold the Ctrl AND Alt keys, then poke Del (delete). At this point, for now, I will remind you; you're done! Let go of the Ctrl and Alt keys!
- - Press the tab key to select (highlight) an object, then use the arrow keys to navigate to (move highlight to) the power icon. If the arrow keys don't move the highlight to the object you want, try the tab key; you may need to alternate between arrows and tab to get where you want to go. When you have selected (moved highlight to) the power icon, poke Enter to open the shutdown menu. Navigate (move the highlight) to sleep.
- - Once you select (move your highlight to) Sleep, poke the Enter key and notice how long it takes the computer to shut down.
- - Once the computer is asleep (you may need to wait a while for the indicator lights to go out!), poke the power button. Notice how rapidly the computer starts up again (as compared with ON from an OFF condition).
- - As long as you have your computer plugged in to power, you can use ‘Sleep’ to get rapid startup the next time you turn the computer on. If you have a laptop and need to unplug the power, use ‘Hibernate’. A laptop with a well charged battery will hibernate for a month or more. You may have to enable hibernate using the Power options on the Control Panel.
DON'T FORGET to turn the monitor OFF if you are using a tower or desktop computer!
If you have not watched the Turn Computer OFF video to see how you can make the computer boot more rapidly, please go back and do so. If your computer is normally plugged into power, you may find it much more convenient to tell the computer to sleep, rather than shutdown.
Turn the computer off NOW (emergencies only)!
Press and HOLD the power button for at least 5 seconds. If that fails, pull the plug or if it's a laptop, you must remove the battery, although on most modern laptops you can not access the battery.
7) Keyboard navigation
Columbus was a navigator, but even HE got lost. Navigating around a computer can be tedious, or when you use the right tools, you may not even know you are doing it.
- A special note for typewriter keyboarders and non-keyboarders alike: While the mechanical keyboard labels keys using capital letters, it will 'print' lower case letters UNLESS you press (and hold) the SHIFT key until you have poked the letter you want capitalized, then release the SHIFT key. (There is a shift lock key, which locks ALL the keys in SHIFT position). The two new keys, CTRL and ALT work EXACTLY the same way! Press and hold CTRL and/or ALT, poke the required key, release all keys!
Keyboard navigation used to be the only form of navigation on a computer. It is still a very important technique when pointing devices are unavailable (like when its battery is dead!), or when a keyboard shortcut can save several 'mouse' clicks. The process of keyboard navigation is to tell the computer to move the highlight around until you have highlighted or selected an item you want to work with, then poking Enter to 'activate' the selected item.
Five of the keyboard keys are used during the navigation process. They are the group of arrow keys and the tab key. If the screen you are looking at has no highlight, poke the tab key. You may need to alternate between the tab key and the arrow keys to see where the highlight is, or move it to where you need it. Sometimes the items are grouped. If this happens, and the highlight is in the group, using only the arrow keys you cannot get the highlight OUT of the group. I call this getting stuck in a sandbox! Poke the tab key to move to another group.
Navigation exercise
At this point you know how to turn the computer on, and get past the lock screen and/or login screen. Once that is done, you should be looking at your desktop. Use the above information to get a highlight on a desktop item.
Spend some time moving the highlight around. If you want to see what the item you have selected will do, poke the Enter key. Many times the Esc key (escape) will allow you to Cancel, or back up a step.