Basic Computer

Agenda

Basic Computer Operations Introduction to Internet Use of Search Engines for Information and Software

Basic Computer Operations

Goals

By learning terms associated with computers and some basic operations, you'll be ready to make best use of a computer. Contents 1) Computer terms 2) Starting up and shutting down 3) Basic mouse operations 4) Basic desktop operations 5) Basic file and folder operations 6)Basic saving operations.

Introduction to Internet
What is Internet? The internet is made up of millions of computers linked together around the world in such a way that information can be sent from any computer to any other 24 hours a day. These computers can be in homes, schools, universities, government departments, or businesses small and large. The internet is often described as 'a network of networks'.

Internet
The internet has developed a very strong community base where information, software and expert advice are freely shared and for this reason users have developed a very strong protective stance on freedom of speech, freedom from commercial interests, netiquette and unsuitable material on the web.

Why would you want to use it?

You'll be able to keep in touch and send things to colleagues and friends using electronic mail, internet telephone, keyboard chat and video conferencing. You can also tap into thousands of databases, libraries and newsgroups around the world to gather information on any topics of interest for work or recreation. The information can be in the form of text, pictures or even video material.

Why would you want to use it? (Cont.)

This means you can stay up to date with news, sports, weather and any current affairs around the world with information updated daily, hourly or instantly. You can also locate and download computer software and other products that are available in cyberspace You can listen to sounds and music, and watch digital movies,

There are also a growing number of interactive multimedia games and educational tools.

A Brief History of Cyberspace

the net has actually been around for over 40 years. It all began in the US during the Cold War, as a university experiment in military communications. By linking lots of computers together in a network rather than serially (in a straight line). At first each computer was physically linked by cable to the next computer. development of networks utilizing the telephone system initially the users were only from the university and government sectors.

The Internet & the World Wide Web

Sometimes people use the words Internet and World Wide Web (WWW) synonymously but they are different. The WWW is a component of the Internet that presents information in a graphical interface. It began in the late 1980's by Dr. Berners-Lee wrote a small computer program for his own personal use. This program allowed pages, within his computer, to be linked together using keywords. It soon became possible to link documents in different computers, as long as they were connected to the Internet. The document formatting language used to link documents is called HTML (Hypertext Markup Language.)

Web Browser
The Web remained primarily text based until 1992. Marc Andreesen developed a new computer program called the NCSA Mosaic and gave it away! The NCSA Mosaic was the first Web browser. The browser made it easier to access the different Web sites that had started to appear. Soon Web sites contained more than just text, they also had sound and video files. The development of the WWW has been the catalyst for the popularity of the internet and is also the easiest part of the internet to use. We now have Internet Chat, Discussion Groups, Internet Phone capabilities, Video conferencing, News Groups, Interactive Multimedia, Games and so much more.

Use of Search Engines for Information and Software

search engines rely on computer programs called spiders or robots to crawl the Web and log the words on each page. With a search engine, keywords related to a topic are typed into a search box.
The search engine scans its database and returns a file with links to websites containing the word or words specified. Because these databases are very large, search engines often return thousands of results.

IDENTIFY KEYWORDS
When conducting a search, break down the topic into key concepts. For example, to find information on what the free office software, the keywords might be: Office free license

PREPARING

YOUR

SEARCH

STEP 1: STATE WHAT YOU WANT TO FIND STEP 2: IDENTIFY KEYWORDS STEP 3: SELECT SYNONYMS AND V ARIANT WORD FORMS STEP 4: COMBINE SYNONYMS, KEY WORDS, AND VARIANT WORD FORMS

STEP 5:

CHECK YOUR SPELLING

Search Engine Rating