Desktop Basics
Time
60 mins
Difficulty
Beginner
Prerequisites
Free Learning For Students
Departments
Human Technologies
Authors
Ross Parker
Groupings
Individual
Pairs
Threes
Pairs
Threes
Minimum Year Group
None
Blurb
Computers are extremely powerful machines...as long as you know how to use them. This unit introduces some of the basics of using a computer
License
This work is shared under the following license: Creative Commons BY-SA-NC
Outline
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10 mins
Computers
Getting Started
- Digital computers were invented in the 1940s, but for a long time, computers were massive, and very expensive.
- It was not until the late 1970s, that computers became small and cheap enough to use at home.
- These computers are called "desktop computers", a group that includes the laptop you are using today.
- This IBM PC, one of the first desktop computers, was invented in 1981
- Computers have come a long way since then, and we now have very portable machines with thousands of times as much power for a fraction of the cost:
- Despite the differences, we call all of these computers "desktops" because they replaced many of the things that used to sit on people's desks, which have now been turned into apps:
10 mins
Operating Systems
Why a desktop?
- An operating system, or OS, is the software that lets you install and run apps on a computer.
- If you have a Mac, it will run an operating system called macOS, which is updated every year
- If you have a Chromebook, it will run Chrome OS, which is an operating system with a few differences
- Other operating systems used on other computers include Linux, Windows, Android, iOS.
- macOS and Chrome OS are both a desktop OS, meaning they are used on desktops and laptops, not mobile devices not such as phones and tablets.
- Desktop operating systems generally have what we call WIMP:
- Windows - boxes on the screen in which things appear.
- Icons - images, which we can double click to open, which represent files and apps
- Menus - lists of actions we can perform
- Pointers - a virtual hand on screen, which we can use to manipulate windows, icons and menus.
- Spend a couple of minutes reading the Wikipedia article on macOS or Chrome OS to see what you can learn.
30 mins
OS Basics
Digging In
- Let's look at some of the basic things we can do with our Mac.
- Take some time to watch the video below. Stop it as often as you need in order to understand, learn and practice the skills and ideas shown:
- If you have a Chromebook, this video will explain some of the basics of your machine
10 mins
Finishing Up
Evidence
- Using your new found skills:
- Record a one-minute video where you appear on camera.
- On Mac, use Spotlight to launch an app called Photo Booth.
- On Chromebook, use the Launcher in the bottom corner of the screen to open the Camera
- In your video talk about:
- What a desktop computer is.
- Ways that you have learned to use your own desktop computer (e.g. Chromebook or Mac)
- Don't script your response, just try and speak as if you were talking to a friend.
- Try not to record your video lots of times: do it once or twice only: it does not need to be perfect.
- Record a one-minute video where you appear on camera.
- Once you have completed your video, upload the video file to this unit as evidence of your learning.
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