Guidelines for lesson creation [with basic topics to be covered] (1-1, 1-2) Parts of a computer and identifying What minimal topics must to be covered in each lesson? List only the 4 main parts of a computer and their main functions Monitor CPU Keyboard Mouse Emphasis on : Just the names and minimal functionality The analogy with parts of the body What other optional topics may also be covered Can also mention Speaker, mike and printer and say that they will be covered in detail later Suggestions for detailing All different parts are connected and talk to each other Explain the fact that it is useful device with basic examples: play games, do homework Fun tool and a useful tool to know about Basic function of each part Keyboard gives input You can see what you enter through the keyboard on the Monitor Mouse helps us to move around the Monitor Suggestions for worksheets Pictorial representation of parts and identification Learning the correct spellings of the parts Pictures of activities: typing, reading on the monitor, switching on and relate them to the appropriate part of the computer Giving a list of objects and picking the odd object out Drawing the part wrongly and asking them to correct Draw the connections between all the parts after taking them to a lab [ CPU to mouse/keypad/ monitor, power cord from CPU / monitor ] Learning the names of parts by typing on the keyboard Identifying the name when picture of each part is shown Drawing the parts through dotted paths given the names Given the picture of a monitor, keyboard, CPU draw lines between them Colour different parts according to the legend: Color the monitor in black, keyboard in grey.
References ILFS computer education program Oxford publishers: computers for class 1 http://www.computerlab.kids.new.net/parts.htm http://www.fayette.k12.il.us/99/intro2comp/parts.html (1-3 to 1-5 ) Demo of interesting uses, applications, worksheets What must to be covered in each lesson Listening to music, drawing pictures, watching videos, simple games Emphasis : Although a computer can be used for fun activities, it cannot be a replacement for that activity eg; drawing. Don t overdo (1-6, 1-7). General carefulness What must to be covered in each lesson The correct procedure/order to switch on the computer The correct procedure to switch off the computer [Not directly switch off the power] Shutdown procedure No banging [Care of computer accessories] Emphasis: Correct procedure to switch off What other optional topics may also be covered It needs power to run Ideally switch off the computer if it is not being used: to save power Probable error messages while switching on What if the PC does not start? What happens when even one part of the computer [ keyboard/monitor..] does not get power Any suggestions for the detailing / lesson plan Analogy with an automobile needs fuel to start / humans need food to start work:
similarly computers need power to start Illustrations for showing the computer in the on mode / off mode What happens when you switch on the monitor first, but do not switch on the CPU: you will see a blank screen. If computer is not properly switched off, what is the message you get when you switch on next [ shut down was not done properly the last time, it will start some auto check of hard disk..] Suggestions for worksheets Ask the student to start the computer by himself/herself How many places do they have to switch on [power plug, CPU, monitor] Jumble the order of switching and ask the student to put it in order [ even though the order is not critical..] The student should be asked to shut down the computer Pointers to existing contents http://www.jegsworks.com/lessons/lesson1-2/lesson1-1.htm http://www.itrainonline.org/itrainonline/english/computers.shtml http://www.kidsdomain.com/brain/computer/lesson/comp_les1.html http://eduscapes.com/ http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/teaching_computer_literacy_-_from_the_beginning (1-10,1-11, ). Introduction to Keyboard What must to be covered in each lesson Function of a keyboard [Input to the computer] :
Keyboard elements Alphabets Digits Special keys Function keys The output of what is entered through the keyboard to be viewed on the Monitor Emphasis: Keyboard is one device which helps us to interact with the computer What other optional topics may also be covered Using both hands while using a keyboard Functions which can be performed both through keyboard/mouse: eg line up through KB and mouse Layouts of all Keyboards are the same except some minor differences If a student is familiar with a particular KB can use any other KB Any suggestions for the detailing / lesson plan Pictorial representation of a keyboard highlighting the Alphabets, Digits and special keys Learning spellings through the Keyboard Student can point out the names of their classmates, subjects, family on the keyboard Suggestions for worksheets Keyboard diagrams with all keys printed is given to the student The student can colour the alphabets in one colour, digits in another colour, special keys in a different color [ this activity will make them search for the different keys ] Any letter of a KB is highlighted and students can name a word starting with that alphabet Two letters are highlighted, name a word which has both these letters eg: A, B : Baby Given the number in spelling, [ fifty nine ] type the number using the keyboard : 59 Type the three letter words that they learn with all alphabets [ a to z ] a for ant, b for bat One of the keys in the KB diagram is left blank and the student is asked to fill the blank with the character
? The missing key is W Pointers to existing contents There are many online sites where students can practice KB skills http://www.ckls.org/~crippel/computerlab/tutorials/keyboard/fifthrow.html http://www.southwest.com.au/~jfuller/keyboard/jskeyboard7.htm (1-9, 1-11, 1-12). Introduction to a Mouse Mouse is an input device : Tell the computer what to do Parts of a mouse Left button Right button Scroll button [sometimes a middle button ] Mouse can be wired / not wired Function: To point to the required area, select required text, open files, control over the monitor area,
Buttons are on the mouse hardware, whereas cursor/pointer is what we see on the monitor while moving the mouse Emphasis: Correct way of holding and pointing a mouse. Difference between inputs through keyboard and mouse. The mouse allows us to define the starting point for any activity/action [ eg : double click an application / entry through a Keyboard ]. What other optional topics may also be covered Mouse properties like : button, pointer settings can be changed By default, mouse is for right handed students Settings can be changed to suit left handed students Any suggestions for the detailing / lesson plan Handling the mouse Mouse should be kept on the mouse pad When is a right click / left click / double click used Correct way to hold a mouse : index finger on the left button, middle finger on the right button Position of the mouse is to the right of the keyboard Suggestions for worksheets Illustration of a mouse and the student writes the parts of the mouse Where is the cord? : This is a cordless mouse What is this? Pointer on the monitor What is this? I The Cursor on the monitor How many buttons are there on a mouse? What is the scroll button used for? What else can be used to go up/ down a page? The wire on the mouse is at the top of the mouse / bottom of the mouse?
When does the cursor start blinking? Open a document, ask the students to use the mouse to point to a certain word : this requires them to scroll through the document to search for the word and then use the mouse to point to the required word. Pointers to existing contents http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/myway/index.htm http://learningladder.org/basics/part1.htm 1-13. Desktop The first Graphical Interface through which the student interacts Notion of icon and clicking icons [ eg : background and windows ] Emphasis : Different icons correspond to different uses 1-14 opening and closing some files on the desktop Double click two different types of files on the desktop. Notion of closing files using X [ on the top bar ] Emphasis : Familiarity with double click and explore the desktop 1-17 Elements of a window Top bar Different parts of an application window Emphasis: Different elements of a window provide the means to control the application in that window [ clicking X will close the window ] 1-18 Open Paint application and scribble
Just opening a Paint application and see the output on the monitor when the mouse is randomly moved across the window [scribbling] Emphasis: On getting familiar with mouse handling and not use Paint as a substitute for drawing on the paper 1-19 Notion of a Dialog Box The fact that the computer waits for the users input before performing certain activities Eg : When you close a paint file, it asks the question Save, Cancel? Only when the user chooses an option the actual saving happens. Emphasis: Any application, whenever there is choice of options for the next step, opens up a dialog box and waits for the user s input. Computer does exactly what we specify, no more no less (1-20, 1-21 )Open an existing Paint application, edit and save The concept that any work done on a computer can be saved permanently and retrieved when needed The work done previously can always be changed/edited. The new file can overwrite the previous file or be saved as another version. Emphasis: On permanence of previous work. Similar to writing in a notebook. 1-22 Elements of a window, tool bar, and scroll bar : A window is the means through which any application can be controlled. It allows us to do various activities with just one click on the graphical icons present in the various tool bars like Example activities : open, close, edit, save, format, navigate, undo, print, help Emphasis: All tools required to control a window are part of the window. For any activity, there is usually no need to look outside the window to control that activity. [ except Ctrl Alt Del ] 1-23 Open a music player and play a music file : Introducing a simple application of a computer like listening to music Introduce basic controls on the player like : Play, Stop, Pause Emphasis : Difference between a music player and a music file. Different applications
exist to do different activities and they are not interchangeable. Paint application cannot be used to open a music file. Note : Music player : CD player and Music file : CD (1-9, 1-25). Operating a Mouse: right click, left click, and double click When is a right click used : To show some functions as short cuts : Copy,Paste, Font Paragraph, Bullets, properties, Maximise, minimize etc When is a left click used : To select a particular file, Select an option like File, open, To move the mouse pointer to a specific location, Drag the mouse with the Left button pressed / Two consecutive left clicks: To select a certain text or object Scroll button: To move up/down a page Double click: To open a certain file/application Emphasis: Discovering different controls inbuilt into a device. Additional controls to perform tasks What other optional topics may also be covered Multiple Selection using mouse and KB keys : Shift + Left button, Ctrl + Left button Clicking the Left button with a small gap of time : For Renaming a file Right click shows different option based on where you right click, within a document, desktop, on the task bar.. Any suggestions for the detailing / lesson plan Details of what happens after each type of click with reference to simple files or icons on the desktop can be shown File left click File selected File double click File opened File right click list of options like copy, paste, bullets File two left clicks with a gap File name highlighted for renaming
Suggestions for worksheets Getting used to mouse movements can be done in the lab Which click is used on the mouse for the following actions : A file on the desktop needs to be opened ------------------- A file on the desktop needs to be given a new name -------------------- A list of actions needs to be viewed ----------------------- In an opened file, to go to the top of the page use the ---------------------- Can you change the settings for a mouse to suit a left handed person -------------- The right position of the mouse is to the -------------- of the keyboard A mouse can be with or without cord -------------------- Give illustrations of icon, -------------------, action that takes place. The blanks have to be filled with different types of clicks. How is text selected? ------------------------------- Pointers to existing contents http://www.calgaryeducation.org/tutorials/eeekamouse.htm 1-26 Desktop background and screensavers The desktop can have any background picture or it can have the default background The background picture can be changed any number of times When a computer is not used for some time [ which can be defined : after 5minutes, 20 minutes ], the screensaver is turned on. When the activity re-starts on the computer, the screen saver is off Emphasis: Fun. (1-27, 1-28, 1-29 )Keyboard navigation keys Frequently used keys on the Keyboard for navigation Page Up Page Down Four arrows Up/down/right/left Emphasis: Application can be further controlled using Mouse or Keyboard
1-30 Do s and Don ts Basic precautions. Do not touch power cords Importance of keeping a computer clean No eating near a Computer Emphasis : More On Dont s (2-4, 2-5) Functionality of additional parts and peripherals Initial parts introduced earlier were : Monitor, CPU, Keyboard, Mouse Computer needs additional peripherals to perform certain actions It needs a printer to Print It needs a speaker to play a music/video file It needs a mike if we want to record audio It can show pictures if a Webcam is attached It has CD drive as part of the CPU to play CDs Basic controls on these devices Emphasis: The simple additional parts/peripherals attached to a computer allow it to perform many more activities (2-6, 2-7) Concept of Input and Output mechanisms and devices. Any device can be categorized as either Input or an Output device All parts of the computer introduced till this point can be classified as Input / Output devices Analogy with body saying food is input / processed in the body and Energy is the output Emphasis: The computer takes commands from the input device and responds through the output device (2-10,2-12) Operating a Keyboard: Using numbers and special keys Revision of using alphabets on the keyboard Special keys to be introduced should be limited to Enter, Spacebar, CapsLock, Numbers
Emphasis: Special keys give us more options to use the Keyboard for entering not only alphabets but also Numbers, Capital letters etc.. (2-11,2-12) Operating a Mouse: Selecting objects; Drag and Drop. Left click on any icon/ folder/file/object to select it With the left button pressed move the object to any other place This is called Drag During this activity the mouse pointer will be on the object After you reach the new place where the object should be placed, release the left button This is called Drop Emphasis: A mouse is not only used to point at objects but can also move the objects fron one place to another (2-13) Using the basic controls of a Music player. Play Play button changes to Pause/resume button while the file is playing Stop Volume [increase, decrease] Seek Emphasis: Should be able to just play a file by using the basic controls (2-14) Using the basic features of Paint s/w Selecting a pencil, paint brush [icons on the left] Drawing lines or freehand drawing Selecting a color for the pencil Emphasis : Understanding the graphical interface : selecting a pencil by clicking on the pencil icon Selecting a Brush by clicking on the brush icon Selecting a color by clicking on the color palette
(2-17, 2-19) Introduction to additional uses of computer Computer can also be used for writing text It can also do calculations It can play files from CDs It can be used for booking tickets Emphasis: Simple uses of computers and the advantages.eg: Text can also be written on a paper but cannot be edited like on a computer. Tickets can be booked without physically traveling. (2-18, 2-19) Insert and use of a CD in auto play mode The button on the CD drive to eject the drive How to hold the CD [ on the edge ] Two sides of the CD How to insert a CD in the CD drive [ which side facing up ] How to close the CD drive See the output on the Monitor There can be multiple CD drives Emphasis: Hold and insert the CD in the right manner in the CD drive (2-20) Using basic features of Text editing s/w A computer can be used as a notebook to write text It also gives us tools to edit the text This text writing/editing can be done by using applications like : Word, Notepad The text data in the file is permanently stored The files can be given appropriate names Give the students an already open new file and ask them to write one or two sentences. Emphasis: Existence of a tool to write/edit/save text. It does not necessarily substitute the notebook. (2-21, 2-22) Open an existing document, edit, and close and save it Open an application for text processing Open an existing file which was created in the previous lesson Add a few more sentences / or change the original sentence [ edit ] Close the file by using the X icon on the window Dialog box with save option pops up Save it by giving a new name
If no new name is given, it overwrites the previous file Emphasis : Text processing is a simple and useful task that can be performed using tools. (2-23) Create a new document and save it Different ways to open a text processing application Right click and select new Open the application window and select File new Click on the white paper icon on the Tool bar After entering text, close and save the file While giving a name to the file, give appropriate names: Eg: File with grades: grades.txt Emphasis: How new documents can be created (2-25) Concept of file permanence Any content created on the computer is stored permanently The file contains the content The file can be stored in directories / subdirectories The file can be reopened and accessed for editing Emphasis : The content created is stored in the computer and can be retrieved whenever needed. (2-26) Ways to save files A file can be saved in different ways Select File on the menu bar and click save Select the Floppy icon on the tool bar Same file can be stored with different names Same name cannot be given to two different files Saving a file will give us access to the content later Emphasis : Importance and the correct way of saving files without losing content (2-27, 2-28) Copy / rename/ delete files Point to a file using the left button of the mouse The file gets selected With the mouse pointer on the file, right click the mouse
The action of right click opens a menu with options like Open, edit, New, Copy, rename, Delete. Selecting the Copy action makes a copy of the file and can be pasted in any other directory The result of Copy and Paste is two versions of the same file [the locations are different] Selecting the Rename action will enable us to give a new name to the file Selecting the Delete option, results in a pop up of a dialog box The dialog box asks whether we really want to delete the file If the answer is Yes, it is moved to Recycle Bin, but is not yet deleted from the PC Emphasis: Simple tasks that can be performed on files (2-29) Login Logout and concept of Privacy Concept of login to have permission to access the computer For logging in, two parameters are required: Name and password Name and password are case sensitive Password should not be the same as name or obvious dates like birthdays Name is mandatory and password is optional The name appears on the screen The password will be prompted for After finishing the work on a computer, a user has to log out Emphasis : The process of accessing a computer with permission [ Login] (2-30) Precautions while operation Delete action to be taken only after rechecking whether the file is really not needed Taking care to see that all files are saved periodically so that edited content is not lost In case of Power shut down, if files are not saved, the last saved version can only be retrieved Close all programs before Logout Emphasis: Basic safety measures while using the computer