Wednesday, January 9, 2008

What is Microsoft Word?

Microsoft Word is a word-processing program sold by Bill Gates’s company, Microsoft. Word lets you efficiently produce professional-looking documents, such as letters, reports, essays, and newsletters.

Word offers many features that help you edit (change) text in a document. You can add, delete, and rearrange text. You can also check your document for spelling and grammar errors and use Word’s build-in thesaurus to find more suitable words. The spelling and grammar check is particularly useful if you are typing an assignment for your English class.

You can format a document to enhance the appearance of the document. You can use various fonts, styles, and colors to emphasize important text. You can also center text on a page, adjust the spacing between lines of text, change the margins and create newspaper columns. Word comes with many types of pictures, or graphics, that you can use to make a document more interesting and entertaining.

Clip art is a collection of pictures already in the program that you can add to a document, such as a children’s story, to make the document more interesting. You can also import pictures that you take on your camera. Imagine, for example, that you are making a poster to advertise your. Including a picture of your car will make the advertisement more successful.

You can make a paper copy of a document to you create. Before printing, you can preview how the document will appear on a printed page. You can also print envelopes and mailing labels.

Word-processing programs, like Microsoft Word, have made many tasks easier. Students can check their work when they write essays, poems, and reports. Office workers can make changes and see their work before they print. People can make professional-looking documents, such as posters, newsletters, and memos, even from home.

Computer Basics and Word Processing


1. APPLICATION: Another word for a program or software.


2. BOLD: A font style that makes letters and words darker.

These words are bold.

These words are not.

3. CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT or CPU: Where all of the information you put into the computer is stored.


4. CLICKING: Pointing to something on the screen and then pushing the button on the mouse is called clicking.


5. CURSOR: The line or arrow that you control by moving the mouse.


6. DESKTOP: The screen you see first when your computer turns on. This screen has many icons.


7. DIALOGUE BOX: A window that opens and asks you questions.


8. DISK DRIVE: The place where you put your floppy disk so that you can save files on it.


9. DISKS: One way to save your work, like recording on a video tape.


10. DOCUMENT: Anything you create in Microsoft Word is called a document.


11. FILE: A piece of computer information such as a document or part of a computer program.


12. FOLDER: Like a file folder in a filing cabinet, a file is where documents (letters, spreadsheets, etc.) are kept.


13. FONT: The way letters and words look.


14. FORMAT: Changing the way that text looks on the page.

THIS is formatted.

This is not formatted.

15. HARDWARE: All the parts of the computer that you can touch: the monitor, CPU, printer, mouse, and keyboard.


16. HARD DRIVE: The place inside your computer where programs and files are stored.


17. HEADSET: Earphones and a microphone that you wear on your head.


18. HIGHLIGHT/SELECTING: Click and drag across a word or sentence to highlight it. When it is highlighted you can make changes to it.


19. ICON: Symbols or pictures that you can click on to perform an action. Each program has its own icon.


20. ITALICS: A font style that slants words to the right.


21. KEYBOARD: Like a typewriter, it’s where you type and enter numbers. It is one way to tell the computer what you want it to do.


22. LAPTOP: A portable computer that you can carry with you.


23. Mac or MACINTOSH: A computer that is made to use the Macintosh operating system. There are two basic kinds of computers: PCs and Macs.


24. MENU BAR: The words at the top of the screen. Click on these words and you see menus of other things you can do.


25. MENU: A list of other things you can do. You see a menu when you click on one of the words on the Menu Bar.


26. MICROSOFT: A software company owned by Bill Gates.


27. MICROSOFT POWERPOINT: A software program for making presentations that you can show to others.


28. MICROSOFT WINDOWS: An operating system made by the Microsoft company.


29. MICROSOFT WORD: A word-processing program for typing letters, resumes, school papers and more.


30. MINIMIZE: To move a window to the bottom of the screen without closing the window.

31. MAXIMIZE: To expand a window to the full size of the screen.

32. RESTORE: To make a window smaller so that you can change the size or position.


33. MONITOR: Your computer’s screen


34. MOUSE: The tool you can use tell the computer what to do. For example you can open programs and files by clicking or double clicking.


35. OPEN: A command on the File Menu that brings files onto the screen so that you can see them.


36. OPERATING SYSTEM: The most important program in your computer. This program is like the “manager” of all of the other programs.


37. PC = PERSONAL COMPUTER: A computer that is made to use the Windows operating system. There are two basic kinds of computers: PCs and Macs.


38. POINT: The size of text.

12 point 16 point 24 point

39. PROGRAMS: Another word for software or applications.


40. SCREEN SAVER: A design on the screen that turns on if you don’t use your computer for a few minutes.


41. SCROLL BARS: The bars on the sides of the screen that allow you to move up or down the page.


42. SOFTWARE: Another word for programs, instructions in the computer that help it do different tasks.


43. SPELL CHECK: When you’re using Microsoft Word, you can click on this button to look for spelling and grammar mistakes.


44. SPREADSHEET: Organizes information into rows and columns and often uses math and numbers.


45. TOOL BARS: The bars across the top of the screen that have icons you click on to do different things.


46. USB DRIVE: A disk that you can save information on. Also called a flash drive, jump drive, or thumb drive.


47. WORD PROCESSING: Typing documents on a computer. Word processing also allows you to format, save, and edit your writing.


Computer Vocabulary

1. Microsoft Word
2. word processing
3. hardware
4. software
5. operating system
6. laptop
7. desktop
8. PC
9. Mac
10. mouse
11. monitor
12. Central Processing Unit
13. USB drive
14. headset
15. icon
16. start menu
17. drive
18. file
19. folder
20. document
21. minimize
22. maximize
23. Microsoft Windows
24. delete
25. backspace
26. enter
27. font
28. bold
29. italic
30. align right
31. copy
32. cut
33. paste
34. spell check
35. change
36. ignore
37. ignore all
38. Microsoft PowerPoint
39. slide
40. text box
41. animation
42. clipart
43. CD-R
44. CD-RW
45. DVD-R
46. DVD-RW

Related Vocabulary

1. skimming

2. scanning

3. main idea

4. business letter

5. memo

6. poster

7. flyer

8. advertisement

9. story

10. essay

11. poem

12. report

13. schedule

14. assignment

15. envelope

16. mailing label

Using a Mouse

A computer mouse is similar to a mouse because they both have long tails.
A computer mouse, or mouse, is used to communicate with the computer. It is held in your hand. Identify the parts of your hand.

To hold the mouse,
1. Rest the heel of your hand on the table in front of the mouse.
2. Hold the mouse loosely between the thumb and ring and little fingers.
3. Rest the index and ring fingers lightly on top of the mouse.

The mouse controls the cursor on your screen. The cursor can look like an arrow or a simple line or a hand or a double arrow .

Use the thumb and fingers to move the mouse. When you move the mouse gently, the cursor will also move.

Click
The mouse is divided into two parts or buttons : the left button and the right button. With your index finger on the left part of the mouse, push down lightly and then release quickly. You might hear or feel a small ‘click’ sound. This is called a ‘mouse click’ or a ‘click.’ When you click with the mouse, a specific action will happen.

A click or left click is done with the index finger on the left button.
A right click is done with the middle finger on the right button.
A double click is done twice, quickly, with the index finger on the left button.

Drag
An icon is a picture or symbol on the desktop. The position of the icon can be moved on the desktop.

To drag or pull the MY COMPUTER icon:
1. Place the cursor on the icon.
2. Push the left button on the mouse with the index finger. Continue to push. Do not lift the index finger.
3. Move the mouse and continue to push the left button. The icon will move.
4. Release the left button. The icon will stay in that position.

Minimize / Maximize
Most programs have three buttons in the upper left corner of the screen.

1. Minimize and Maximize.
2. Smaller and Larger.
3. Exit or Close.

Minimize and Maximize

This button will minimize and maximize the program. Minimize means to make the program as small as possible, or to make it the minimum size. Maximize means to make the program as big as possible, or to make it the maximum size.

1. Click on the Minimize button to hide the program.
2. An image of the program will appear on the bottom of the screen. Click on this image to maximize the program.

Smaller and Larger
This button will make the program smaller or bigger on the screen.

Make the program smaller:
1. Click on the Smaller button.
2. The Smaller button changes to a Larger button.

Change the size of the program.
1. Place the cursor on the edge of program so that it becomes a double arrow.
2. Drag the cursor until the program is the size you want.
3. You can change the top, bottom, left or right sides.

Move the program:
1. Place the cursor on the top of the program or the program header.
2. Drag the program until it is where you want.

Make the program larger:
1. Click on the Larger button.
Exit or Close

This button will close or stop the program.
1. Save all your documents.
2. Click on the Exit button.
3. If your documents are not saved, you will be asked if you want to save your document before you exit the program. Click Yes or No

Try your mouse skills at the following websites:
‘Mouserobics’:
http://www.ckls.org/~crippel/computerlab/tutorials/mouse/page1.html

Play a game of hangman:
http://www.manythings.org/hmf/

Play a game of checkers:
http://www.prongo.com/checkers/game.html

mouse visual aid


Mouse Skills Vocabulary
CLICK
DOUBLE CLICK
LEFT CLICK
RIGHT CLICK
CURSOR
ARROW
HAND
FINGERS
ICON
PROGRAM
DRAG

Turn Off the Computer

1. Remove the floppy disk, if there is one.

2. Close all programs.

3. Click on the START menu in the lower left corner.

4. Click on SHUT DOWN…

5. Be sure the drop-down menu shows SHUT DOWN.

6. Click on OK.

7. Wait! The computer will turn off automatically.

8. Turn off the monitor.

Turn On the 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.

Do you see this message?

Non-System disk or disk error

This means there is a floppy disk in the A:/ drive.

1. Remove the floppy disk.

2. Hit any key on the keyboard (for example: hit ‘A’).

3. Wait!