1. Tulane School of
Public Health
5 Basic Things To Know
About Computing
Starleen Maharaj Lewis
Senior Program Coordinator
Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine
Department of Global Environmental Health Sciences

2. Introduction
Introductory class- You won’t
learn everything, you will learn:
• Basic computer vocabulary
• Mouse skills
• Typing skills
• Saving information
• Basic Internet access
• Introduction to email
• Figuring out basic icons on
desktop and online/email
• 1 form of Social Connecting
online

3. Computers are
Everywhere
Why are we here today?
• Computers are a part of
everyday life
• Large part of our children’s
and grandchildren’s lives
• Do you have any prior
experience to using a
computer?
• Lets take a pre assessment to
gauge comfort levels with
computers for this class

4. What is
Hardware
 Physical parts of the computer,
can be touched
 Computers can be updated
with new hardware
 Is a Touch Screen Hardware?
YES!
 Many types of hardware
 Mouse
 Monitor
 System Unit
 Keyboard

5. Turn On
Computer
1. Turn on the monitor.
2. Turn on the CPU.
3. Wait!
4. Log on with the id and
password, if they are needed.
5. When the computer has
finished, you will see the
desktop. This is the main screen.
POWER
BUTTONS

6. The Desktop
• Screen that is displayed after
turning on computer
• Icons (small pictures) found on
desktop, programs, files or
folders, will open to display
tools and commands
• Programs, files, and folders
will open over the desktop
• Taskbar is displayed at bottom
of screen, displays programs in
use, special notifications, and
the Start button
• Arrow is symbol on the screen
to show where mouse is
pointing, will change shape for
different computer tasks
ICON
S
PROGRA
M
FOLDER
TASKBA
R
MOUSE
ARROW
START BUTTON

7. The Mouse
• Left Button
• Scroll Wheel
• Right Button
• *Not all computer mice have
these parts
• Mouse can be changed for left-
hand use, functions of buttons
remain the same
• Functions include:
o Shaking (move side to side) to
“wake up” monitor screen
o Pointing to something
o Hovering over something to see
name
o Scrolling a page
o Left Clicking
o Right Clicking
Left Button
Right Button
ScrollWheel

8. Holding Your
Mouse
• Rest the heel of your hand on
the table
• Rest your hand on the mouse
o Your thumb and little finger or
ring finger should hold it on
either side
o Your pointer finger should rest
on the left button
o Your ring finger or middle finger
should rest on the right button
• Do not put a lot of pressure on
the mouse or grip it tightly, keep
hand relaxed and rest fingers
lightly
• *Arthritic? Instead of index
finger, place thumb on side of
left button- allows hand to rest
on mouse with thumb flat
against the mouse

9. Moving Your
Mouse
• Move the mouse gently in the direction
you want the pointer to go
• Pick the mouse up and reposition it if it
is near the edge of the desk
• Press the buttons gently when clicking
• Do not move the mouse when clicking
• Left Clicking
o To open programs, files, or links on
internet
o To select an option or task
o To drag objects on screen (hold left
button down while dragging)
• When double clicking, press the left
button twice quickly (to open folders and
icons on desktop)
• When right clicking, a menu will appear

10. Mouse Practice!
• Practice moving mouse from
one side of the screen to the
other
• Locate the Start Button in the
left hand corner of screen with
cursor (hover on top of it) and
left-click once (opens a menu)
• Move the mouse up the list,
notice highlighted selections
of items (a single left-click will
open the application)
• Find and hover over “All
Programs” and right-click once
(opens an option menu)
• Click outside the Menu box to
close it

11. Keyboard
Practice!
• Used for typing or shortcuts to special
computer functions and commands
• Main keys used are
o “QWERTY” keyboard (typing)
o “Enter” key (go to next line when
typing or execute command)
o “Backspace” key (delete/move back
one space)
o “Space Bar” key (move forward one
space)
o “Shift” key to Capitalize a letter
o “Cursor Keys” (to move cursor in
direction by on e space)
o “Numeric Keypad” (lock in to type
numbers)
• Open “Start” Menu:
o In Search Box, type in “Word”, hit
“Enter” key

12. Software and
Programs
• Instructions that tell the
computer what to do
• Many types of programs
• Typing into a document
• Playing music
• Drawing pictures
• Games
• Browsing the internet
• Many More!
• Some software is free, other
software is available to buy
• Software can be upgraded
• Some Examples:
Calculator
Paint
Microsoft Word
Windows Media
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft
PowerPoint
Internet Explorer

13. Windows
• Area on a screen where you view
program
• Click and drag to move window
• Computer screen can have multiple
windows open at same time
• Main Components:
o Title Bar (tells you what function or
program you are in)
o Menu Bar (all the commands and
functions of that window)
o Tool Bar (shortcuts to some
commands)
o Scroll Bar (move window up and down
or side to side to see everything in
window)
• Other options: Open,
Maximize/Minimize, Restore, Close

14. Create a Folder
• Store your own personal files
in one spot
o Open Start Menu
o Open Documents Folder
o Right-click on a blank space in
the folder or on your desktop
o Select "New" from the right-
click menu
o Submenu will appear, showing
all options for creating a new
object
o Select "Folder" from the top
of the list
o A new folder will appear in
current location

15. Microsoft Word
• On Desktop, double left-click on
Word to open
• Microsoft Word is written on top
of page
• Notice toolbar, helps to create
documents
• Let’s practice writing and
creating a document!
• Let’s use some of the tools in the
toolbar
o BOLD
o Underline
o Different FONT
• Now let’s EDIT (Toolbar menu)
• Now let’s SAVE in our FOLDER
(Emergency File)

16. Shut Down
Computer
• Shut down computer is the correct way to
keep performance at its best
• Close all programs
• Click on Start Menu in lower left corner
• Click on Shut Down
• Choose Shutdown from listed options menu
• (Log Off will log off current user only and
go to an opening screen)
• (Restart will shut down and restart
computer)
• (Stand-by/Hibernate/Sleep is a way to
keep computer on in a low powered state)
• Click on OK, Wait!
• Computer will turn off automatically
• Turn off Monitor

17. Basic Navigation
• Browser- program that lets
you see a web page
• Three largest are:
o Google
o Explorer
o Firefox

18. URL
• Uniform Resource Locator
• Address for a website, tells
computer where to go for
searched information
• Also known as “web site
address”

19. Search Engine
• Find information through
searches using keywords and
phrases

20. Link
• A word, icon or phrase to click
on to show a web page with
more information
• Links in a Web browser are
usually underlined and are a
different color than the rest of
the text

21. Be Safe Online
• Many free anti-virus programs
for installation, be protected
• DO weekly scans
• When online, be aware of
malware, spyware, block
popups

22. Email
• Electronic Mail
• Text messages sent through a
network to one person or a
group
• Email messages can also carry
attached files

23. Make a GMAIL
account
• Go to Google.com homepage
• Click “Create an account”
• Choose Username (will be first
2 initials and last name in
class)
• Complete questionnaire

24. Send an email
• Click Compose
• In the ‘To’ box, type in the
email address of the recipient
• Fill in Subject field (allows you
to give the recipient an idea of
the topic of your email, like a
heading)
• Type message in the main
body field of
• Can format, change the font
style, colour and size using the
formatting toolbar
• When complete, click the
SEND button

25. Other Folders
• Click on other folders to view
• Common use folders:
o Sent Mail
o Drafts
o Inbox
o Deleted
• Create a new personal
folder/label
o Go down side Menu
o Left-click “Create New Label”
o Name it
o Either click Save button or hit
“Enter” key

26. SOCIAL MEDIA-
SKYPE
• Download SKYPE
o Download from skype.com,
basic download is free, fees
for phone calls
o Follow instructions for set up
of program
• When installed, a shortcut
appears on desktop, double
click to open
• Create an account
o Asks for basic information --
nothing important or secure
has to be given
o Create your account name
and how your name will
appear to others

27. Using Skype Pt.
1
• Add contacts
o Click the contacts box
o Click "Add New Contact" button,
then follow the search
instructions listed
o The other person has to accept
your contact, too. You won't be
able to Skype them if they
haven't accepted. Skype will let
you know when they've been
added to your list.
• Check to see if contact is online
o look at the icon in front of their
username: green check is online,
yellow is away, grey means
offline
• Click on names online to open
up options for chat connection

28. Using SKYPE Pt.
2
• Choose and click either the
video call (need camera) or
phone call icon
• When finished, click the red
phone icon to end call

29. Flash Drive
• Saving to Flash Drive
o Insert into computer
o Click on Start Menu
o Click on Documents to access
library
o Find and open file you want to
save, click “save as” (will be
under Removable file/Disk)
o You can also right click on the
file you want to save, and on
the menu select “send to”
option and choose the
removable file/disk
When finished, remove the flash
drive from computer

30. At Last
• Ergonomics
o Take breaks from your
computer every hour to
prevent aches, pains, and eye
strains
• Beware of spam messages
• Be internet aware, do not give
out personal info on general
sites or emails