Gentle Introduction to Computers
By Michalis Faloutsos and the UCR Teach-To-Learn team – Handout 1
Computers consist of software (programs) and hardware (wires, glass, metal parts).
The computer compared to a human:
a) Hardware (wire and metal -> flesh and bones)
b) Operating system (what controls hardware -> brain and elementary functions)
c) Applications (interesting functions like word editing -> ability to perform tasks)
Examples of each category:
a) Hardware: The mouse, the screen, the hard-drive (permanent storage), the memory
(temporary storage), disk or floppy disk (moveable storage)
b) Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows 95, 98, 2000, XP (our lab) and linux, OSX etc
c) Applications: Word processing with Microsoft Word, searching the web with Netscape or
Internet Explorer, Games
Some basic terms:
Cursor: pointer which shows the point in the screen we are at.
Mouse: controls the pointer – moving the mouse moves the pointer
By clicking (pressing a button, typically the left one) we “select” something or place the cursor.
Keyboard: a typewriter plus some more control buttons: we can type letters and numbers.
When we write: We can use: the arrow or “cursor” buttons to move the cursor,
the backspace button to delete unwanted letters. The Enter button changes a line.
Files and Directories
Think of the computer as an actual office:
- a file is a document, it contains information, it was written by someone and will be read by
someone.
- a directory is a folder where you can keep a number of files for convenience.
Some files in the computer are applications: if you click on them a program will execute. We
often use the term “run” instead of execute. A program is running means it is active. To run a
program, we typically select it with our mouse (place cursor on program icon and click twice).
Directories can be organized in a hierarchical fashion: a directory of “All offered classes” can
contain directories of “Class 1” “Class 2” and each class can contain the file of a student that is
registered in the class.
In fact, everything in the computer is organized in one large hierarchy of directories.
Surfing the Web –In lab exercise
[If you have not done this before ask the help of someone that has]
Run the program “Internet Explorer” or “Netscape”. Go to the site “www.google.com”. Type a
word, your name for example, and press the Enter button.
Managing files – In lab exercise
Creating a file: Run the program Word. Type anything. Save the file giving it your name.
Exit word. Find the file in the computer. Click-select it. What you wrote is still there.
