Computer Essentials

Windows 10

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Computer Essentials

This part of the module sets out

essential concepts and skills
relating to the use of devices, file
creation and management,
networks and data security.

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ICT : Information and
Communication Technology
• ICT : Using digital technology to access, store and
process information into an organized and
understandable form.
• ICT services and uses
• Internet services - Examples include online banking, online
shopping, e-mail and data transfer.
• Mobile technology - Examples include using the internet on
smartphones, laptops.
• Office productivity applications - Examples include word
processing, spread sheets, presentation software.

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 Parts of a Computer

CPU Screen

Keyboard

Mouse

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 Computer

Hardware Software

Physical, tangible items that form Applications or programs that

part of a computer system. perform specific tasks. It’s the
intangible part of a computer
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 Identify the main types of computers
Device Presentation
Desktop A traditional stand-alone or
networked computer.

Laptop A small, portable computer

designed for mobile, flexible
use.

Tablet A small, mobile, hand-held

computer that combines
computing and Internet
access.

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 Identify the main types of devices
Device Presentation
Smartphone Used for phone calls,
e-mail, Internet browsing,
and working with mobile
Applications.

Media Player Used to download and play

music and videos.

Camera Used to take photographs in

digital format.

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Types of

Devices
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Input devices

Device Presentation

Keyboard Typing device used to issue commands and enter

characters.

Mouse/ A pointing device used to select items and issue

Trackpad commands.

Scanner Device that read images or text and convert the data
into digital information.

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Output devices

Device Presentation

Printers Devices that print information on paper or other

materials.

Screens Devices that display text and graphics

Speakers Devices that produce sound waves audible to

the human ear

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Input-ouput devices

Device Presentation

USB Key Typically used to connect storage and other devices.

External Hard Read and store data

drive

Touchscreen A screen that reacts to finger contact .

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Parts of a Computer

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Parts of a Computer

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Common input/output ports
• Universal Serial Bus (USB/USB-C):
Typically used to connect storage and
other devices.

• High-Definition Multimedia Interface

(HDMI): Typically used to connect media
devices.

• Video Graphics Array (VGA): Typically

used to connect media devices.
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Start Up, Shut Down

Start a computer
• Make sure that both the computer and
monitor are plugged into a power
source.
• Turn on the computer and the monitor.
• Enter a user name and password when
• requested.
• Press the Return key
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Start Up, Shut Down
Shut down a computer using an appropriate
routine
• Close any open files and applications.
• Click the Start button.
• Click Shut Down.

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 Keyboard
The keyboard is the computer’s standard input device.
It’s the main way to enter information into your
computer.

 Typing Keys
 Navigation Keys
 Numeric Keyboard
 Functions Keys

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Keyboard
 Typewriter keys: These keys are the same types of keys you
would find on an old typewriter: letters, numbers, and
punctuation symbols.
• Navigation keys: These keys are used for moving around in
documents or webpages and editing text. They include the arrow
keys, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, Delete, and Insert.
• Numeric keypad: The numeric keypad is handy for entering
numbers quickly. The keys are grouped together in a block like a
conventional calculator or adding machine
• Function keys: The function keys are used to perform specific
tasks. They are labelled as F1, F2, F3, and so on, up to F12. The
functionality of these keys differs from program to program.

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Keyboard
› Shift
› Ctrl or Control
› Alt or Alternate
› Win or Windows
These keys work in combination with other keys to do
various interesting and unbelievable things. You hold
down a shift key and then press another key on the
keyboard. What happens then depends on the shift key
you pressed and how the program you’re using reacts to
the key combination

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Keyboard
› Tab: Move the curser several spaces forward.
You can also use it to move to next textbox
on a form.
› Enter: Move the cursor to the beginning of
the next line.
› Spacebar: move the cursor one space
forward.
› Backspace: delete the character before the
cursor.

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Keyboard
› Caps Lock: This key works like holding down the Shift key,
but it produces only capital letters. Press Caps Lock again,
and the letters return to their normal, lowercase state.
› Num Lock: Pressing this key makes the numeric keypad on
the right side of the keyboard produce numbers..
› Scroll Lock: This key has no purpose in life. Some
spreadsheets use it to reverse the function of the cursor
keys (which move the spreadsheet rather than the cell
highlight). Scroll Lock does little else that’s significant or
famous.

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Finger names

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Proper Finger Positioning

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Proper Finger Positioning

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Processor, RAM, and Storage
Processor:
A processor, or "microprocessor," is
an essential component of
computers and other electronic
devices. The main role of this
computer chip is to receive input and
provide the appropriate output.
Modern processors can carry out
trillions of calculations per second

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Processor, RAM, and Storage
Random Access Memory (RAM):
RAM is the place where the
computer keeps software and
information that it is currently using
or working on. RAM is a temporary
storage location – when the
computer is switched off the data
here is lost.

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Processor, RAM, and Storage
Storage:
A computer storage device is a type
of hardware that stores data. One
common type of storage device is a
hard drive, which nearly all
computers have. The computer's
main hard drive stores the
operating system, applications, and
files and folders associated with
users of the computer.

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 Processor, RAM, and Storage
 All computers need memory.
 Memory is where the processor saves and stores its work.
 The more memory in your PC, the better. With more computer memory on
hand, you can work on larger documents, work graphics programs without
interminable delays, play games faster, edit video.
Remember

 RAM stands for random access memory.

 Turning off the power makes the contents of memory disappear. The
memory chips themselves aren’t destroyed, but without electricity to
maintain their contents, the information stored on the chips is lost.
 Computer memory is fast. The processor can scan millions of bytes of
memory in fractions of a second.
 The PC’s mass storage system is for long‐term storage.
 Memory is reusable. After you create something and save it, the computer
allows that memory to be used again for something else.

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Software

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Software

Applications or programs that

perform specific tasks, such as word
processing or graphics editing.

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Operating System

Controls the computer, schedules tasks, manages

storage, and handles communication with other
devices.

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Operating System
 On PCs, the most common operating
system is Windows.
Remember

 The hardware is not in charge!

 The computer’s most important piece of
software is its operating system.
 When you buy software, you buy it for an
operating system, not for your brand of PC.
So, rather than buy software for your HP or
Lenovo, you look in the Windows section of
the software store.
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Common Examples of Applications
› Office productivity: These include word processing and
spreadsheet applications, such as those contained in
Microsoft Office or Open Office.
› Communications: These include e-mail applications,
such as Microsoft Outlook, and messaging / voice
applications such as Skype or Zoom.
› Social networking: These include mobile applications
and websites that allow users to connect and exchange
status updates and comments. Examples of these are
Facebook, Twitter (X), and LinkedIn.
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Common Examples of Applications
› Media: These include tools that allow media to be
viewed or listened to, such as Windows Media Player or
iTunes..
› Design: These include applications for working with
images, such as Adobe Photoshop, or publishing, such
as Adobe InDesign.
› Mobile applications: These include a range of
applications that can be used in mobile devices and
smartphones. Examples are online storage applications
or e-mail.
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Types of Software Licenses
› Proprietary: the user is given the right to use the
software under certain conditions, and restricted from
other uses, such as modification and sharing.
› Open Source: the source code and design of the
software is available to anyone who wants to enhance
or develop it.
› Freeware: this is software which can be copied or
downloaded for free.
› Shareware: the software functionality may be limited,
with additional features becoming available only after
payment.
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Discover
Windows 10

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Logging in
› The first step to using Windows is to identify yourself.
That process is called signing in or logging in.
› The signing‐in process is part of the computer’s
security. It’s a good thing.
› In Windows, you identify yourself by choosing your
account picture or typing your account name or an
email address. Then you type a password.
› The password is case sensitive

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Desktop, Icons, Settings

An interface
that displays
icons for files,
folders and
applications.

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 Desktop - Windows 10

Recycle Bin

Wallpaper

Start Menu

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Identify common icons

Recycle Bin

Folders

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Identify common icons

Shortcuts allow easy access to a document or an

application.

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Task Bar
Shows active applications, files and folders
and other icons.

Task Bar

Start Menu Task View Windows Firefox

MS Edge
Explorer

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Icons
• Select and move icons.
• On the desktop, click on an icon and drag and drop to a new location.
• Rename a shortcut/alias.
• Right-click on the shortcut icon.
• Click Rename.
• Enter new name.
• Move a shortcut/alias.
• Right-click on the shortcut icon.
• Click Cut.
• Select location to move shortcut to.
• Right-click and select Paste.
• Delete a shortcut/alias.
• Right-click on the shortcut icon.
• Click Delete.
• Click Yes to confirm deletion.

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Notification Area

Volume Wifi Battery Language Time/Date

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Start Menu

Applications

Widgets
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Using Windows
 Rectangular blocks
that display the
contents of a folder
or software;
 Can be move or
resize.

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Using Windows
• To close, maximize or resize an open window, click one
of the buttons, located at the top right of it

Minimize Maximize Close

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Folders
• A folder has exactly the same
function as it does in real life: to
store files and other information.
• The icon that Windows uses to
represent a folder looks like this
• A folder has a name and can
contain an infinite amount of
data.
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Folders

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Folders
Create a new folder
To create a new folder on your
computer, navigate to the place
where you want your new folder
to reside (for instance, the
Desktop), and Right Click >
New> Folder.
As soon as you create a new
folder, the operating system
temporarily names it new
folder.
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Folders

 Rename Folder
• Right click on the folder.
• Choose Rename.
• Type the new name
 Delete Folder
• Right click on the folder.
• Choose Delete.
• Click yes

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Folders
• Customize a folder
 Locate the folder and
right click.
 Choose Properties.
 Click Customize.

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Folders

Subfolders
Folders exist in a hierarchy,
with folders containing other
folders, called subfolders. The
folder hierarchy is often
visualized as a tree structure.
No limit exists on the number
of subfolders you can create. A
folder can be inside a folder
inside a folder, and so on

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Using File Explorer

Ribbon

Navigation Pane
Address Bar

Title Bar

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Using File Explorer
• Changing the View
• Click an option in the
Layout section of the
View ribbon; or
• right-click in a blank area
of the Contents pane and
then click View

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File Management

 A file is a block of information stored in a

computer.
 Computer programs create files. When you save
information, such as a document in a word
processor, you create a file.
 The file is separate from the program that
created it.

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File Management

 A file can be music

 A video
 A text document
 …
A file is visually represented by an icon.

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File Management
File Type Extension Common icon

Audio file .mp3

Video file .mp4, avi

Image file .jpe, gif

Word document .docx

PowerPoint presentation .pptx

Excel spreadsheet .xlsx

Portable Document File .pdf

Compressed File .zip, rar

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File Management
• Identify selected files

Selected File Not Selected

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File Management
 Copy/ Paste: to duplicate a file to another folder
 After selecting the file(s) or folder(s) to duplicate
 Right click on the file/folder, and then click Copy(or
CTRL + C).
 Move to the new location, right click, and then click Paste
(or CTRL + V).

 Cut/ paste: to move a file from a folder to another folder

 After selecting the file(s) or folder(s) to move
 Right click on the file/folder, and then click Cut (or CTRL
+ X).
 Move to the new location, right click, and then click Paste
(or CTRL + V).

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File Management
• Selecting Files and Folders
 To select one file or folder, click it.
 To select all files and folders within a location, click
the Home tab, and click Select all in the ribbon or
press CTRL+A.
 To select multiple files or folders that are
consecutive, point to the first file or folder in the list,
press and hold the SHIFT key, and then point to the
last file or folder in the list.

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File Management
• Selecting Files and Folders
 To select multiple files or folders that are non-
consecutive, point to the first file or folder to
be selected, press and hold the CTRL key, and
then point at each file or folder to be selected.

 To de-select or turn off the selection of files or

folders, click anywhere away from the
selection

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File Management
• Compressing Files
When you need to reduce the size of one or more files,
you can use a file compression utility.
Compressing one or more files is also referred to as
zipping.

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File Management
• Compressing Files
To compress (zip) a file or folder
• Locate the file or folder that you want to compress.
• Right-click the file or folder, point to Send to, and then
click Compressed (zipped) folder.

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File Management
• Extracting Files
To extract (unzip) compressed files and folders
• Locate the file or folder that you want to compress.
• To extract a single file or folder, double-click the
compressed folder to open it. Then drag the file or
folder from the compressed folder to a new location
• To extract the entire contents of the compressed folder,
right-click the folder, click Extract All, specify a
destination folder, then click Extract.

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File Management
• Task Manager
Occasionally when you are running Windows,
you may find that you are unable to close an
application that has ‘crashed’. If this happens,
you need to press the Ctrl + Alt + Del keys
simultaneously (you can also press Ctrl +
Shift + Esc or Right click an empty area on
the taskbar and select from the menu). A
list of options will be displayed. Select the
Start Task Manager option. This will display the
Task Manager dialog box.

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Changing Desktop Configuration Settings

 Set the date and time

› On the task bar, right click on the
time and date.
› From the menu choose Adjust
date/time.
› Click the toggle beneath the
heading Set Time Automatically if it
reads Off instead of On or leave it
Off if you want to manually set the
date/time.
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Changing Desktop Configuration Settings

• Setting Keyboard Language

› On the task bar, click on the
language button.
› From the menu choose Language
preferences.
› Click Add a language.
› Scroll and select the language of
choice. Click Add. The language is
now included below the default
language.

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Changing Desktop Configuration Settings

• Changing desktop background

› Right click on the desktop, click
Personalize.
› A new window appears with options
to edit the background. Select
whether you want to use a Picture,
Solid colour or a Slideshow for your
background from the drop-down
and then choose a background of
choice.
› Close the window to save changes.
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Changing Desktop Configuration Settings

• Uninstall an application
› Click the Start button. Find
Windows System and
select Control Panel.
› Click Programs and
Features.
› Select the application that
you want to uninstall. Click
Uninstall and then click
Yes.
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Changing Desktop Configuration Settings

• Screen Capture
› If you need to take a picture of what is shown on your
computer, you can use the print screen key (often
designated PrtScn or PrtScr). Pressing the key will
copy an image of your screen to the Clipboard, after
that, you have to paste it into an application such as
Microsoft Word or Paint to save it.
› If you only want to capture what is in your current
active window instead of the whole screen, press
Alt+PrtScn.
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Hard Drive and Removable Media
• Removable Media
A USB drive, also referred to as a
flash drive or memory stick, is a
small, portable device that plugs
into the USB port on your
computer. USB drives are
commonly used for storage, data
backup, and transferring files
between devices*.
*kingstone.com

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Hard Drive and Removable Media
• Hard Disks
Hard disks are the primary storage location for both data
and programs. Software programs must be installed on a
hard disk before you can use them.
• External Drives
External drives are hard drives contained in a case and
attached to a computer with a cord as a peripheral
device.

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Hard Drive and Removable Media
• Drive Letters
• On a computer, each storage device
(or location) is referred to by a drive
letter. This applies to internal storage
devices and externally connected
storage devices.
• if your computer has two hard
drives: the primary hard drive is
drive C and the secondary hard drive
is drive D.

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Hard Drive and Removable Media
• Measuring Capacity
• Storage capacity:
The amount of space available to store data either on disk or in
memory and is measured in bytes.
Measurement Abbreviation Equal To
Byte B 8 bit
Kilobyte KB 1,024 bytes (a thousand bytes)
Megabyte MB 1,024 KB (a million bytes)
Gigabyte GB 1,024 MB (a billion bytes)
Terabyte TB 1,024 GB (a trillion bytes)

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Networks
• A network is simply an arrangement of computers (and
additional computing devices) that are connected in
such a way that they can communicate and share
information.
• Enable users to share many things, including: files,
resources, internet connection.

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Networks
• LANs and WANs
• Local Area Networks (LANs)
A private, local set-up. Your home network, or a small office or
school network is a LAN. LANs are private networks. LANs come
in different sizes, but are generally confined to one geographic
location.
• Wide Area Networks (WANs)
Networks that connect computers in multiple locations using
communication lines owned by a public carrier (such as the
phone company or an Internet Service Provider).

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Networks
• Connecting to the Internet
› Phone line
Your computer is connected to a modem, which connects to the phone
line.
› Mobile phone
The connection is established using Internet compatible mobile devices,
such as smart phones and tablets, through the mobile phone network.
› Wi-Fi
Wireless network that allows devices to connect to internet
› Satellite
A satellite connection does not require cable or phone lines; it connects
to the Internet through satellites orbiting the Earth

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Networks
• Wireless Connections –
Wi-Fi
• Click the Wi-Fi symbol on
the task bar at the right of
the screen to display a list of
available networks.
• Select your network from
the list.
• When prompted, enter the
passkey for your network,
and click OK.

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Networks

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Networks
• Internet
A global network connecting millions of computers worldwide.
• Internet Connection Sharing
• Stream audio and video to various devices.
• Share stored media (such as audio files, or photographs)
among your devices.
• Share and backup files (including documents, pictures, scans,
and so on.)
• Play games online.

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Networks
• VPN
A network used to connect remote users securely to a business network to
share data and communicate.
Transfer rate
The rate at which information is transferred to or from a disk
drive. Measured in bits per second (bps), kilobits per second
(kbps), megabits per second (mbps), gigabits per second (gbps)

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Networks
• Downloading
To copy a file or image from a web page

• Uploading
To copy a file or image from a computer to a web page

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Security and Well-Being
• User Names and Passwords
Your user name and password protect your account from
unauthorized access.

Good password policies

• Create with adequate length
• Create with adequate character mix
• Do not share
• Change regularly

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Security and Well-Being
• Viruses
A virus is a malicious program designed to take control
of system operations, and damage or destroy data.
All computer viruses are human made and are often
designed to spread to other computer users through
networks or email address books

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Security and Well-Being
• Worms
A worm is a self-replicating program that consumes
system and network resources. The difference between a
worm and a virus is that a worm automatically spreads
from one computer to another, whereas a virus requires
some form of action; for example, a user must pass an
infected disk to someone else, or must forward an
infected email message.

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Security and Well-Being
• Trojans
A Trojan (or Trojan horse) is a program designed to allow
a hacker remote access to a target computer system.
The code for a Trojan is hidden inside seemingly
harmless applications, such as games. Trojans are
installed on the target system when the user runs the
infected application. Unlike worms and viruses, Trojans
do not replicate themselves or copy themselves to other
files and disks

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Security and Well-Being
• Firewall
A security system designed to protect a network against external
threats
• Antivirus
Antivirus is a software used to prevent, scan, detect and delete
viruses from a computer. Once installed, most antivirus software
runs automatically in the background to provide real-time
protection against virus attacks.

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Security and Well-Being
• Backing up data
It’s important to have an off-site backup copy of files in case of
unforeseen network, hardware or software problems, so that a
copy of the data is available if the original data were to become
unusable.

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Security and Well-Being
• Health and Green IT
• User’s well-being while using a computer or a device
 Take regular breaks
 Ensure appropriate lighting and posture
 Lighting should be bright enough and correctly positioned.
 Correct positioning of the computer, desk and seat will minimise bad
posture.

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Security and Well-Being
• Energy saving practices
 Turning off - When not in use
 Adjusting automatic shut down - After a specified number of
minutes not used.
 Adjusting backlight - This can be decreased.
 Adjusting sleep mode settings - This can be activated after
pre-set timings.

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