Computer Underground Railroad Ent.

THE COMPUTER’S ATTENTION

Place the computer’s attention, 
the blinking vertical line 
or solid black highlight  
on what you want to affect, 
then click on the button 
that creates the effect you want,
 like bold, italic, type size or location.

Using computers is as easy as understanding what is on and what is off.  The machine assumes certain things, like bold print is off and text is aligned to the left.  Your job is to tell the computer how you want your ideas to look.

Place the computer's attention on what you want to affect, then click on the button that creates the effect you want

The computer only understands what is on and what is off.  And it only deals with one area of what you’re working on at a time, where its attention is focused.

The computer’s attention is focused wherever you see a black light.  This light is either a thin black line that is blinking or a solid black light surrounding various text, numbers, graphics or pictures.  Whatever is in this light is what is impacted.  Is Bold or Italic on or off?  Are the scissors (icon for cut) on or off?

A single blinking black light (sometimes called the cursor) means that the computer’s attention is focused on that one space in the one line or cell. Use your mouse to place the blinking light where you want to insert or delete something like text or a picture.

When you see that blinking light, you can begin typing or inserting/deleting.  In my experience, it is wise to make the type size large enough for you to comfortably see.

If you have an expanded black light that is not blinking, that means that the computer’s attention is on the area in that highlight.  To create an expanded black light, move your mouse pointer to the beginning or end of what you want to affect, click the left mouse button and hold it down.  Drag the mouse pointer over the text you want to include in the computer's attention.  When highlighted, release the mouse button.

WHAT IS LITERACY?

 Source:  Emmy Bledsoe of Project Plus, New Jersey

How To Talk With Your Computer

Like a friend, not an enemy

1.      Highlight what you want to affect or influence (like the word Truth)

2.      Click the appropriate button or item on the menu bar (click on the B icon)

3.      Make your selections in a dialogue box, if asked, and click on O.K.

4.      Remove the highlight by pressing one of the arrow keys.

It is important to the computer that you know where its attention is.  You can change where the computer’s attention is by moving your mouse to point to the area on the screen where you want it to be.  Click the left mouse button once.  The light will move to where the tip of the arrow is.  This enables you to begin typing at the location of the blinking light.

There are three ways to place the computer’s attention.

Blinking Black Light:  When your word processor opens you first come to a blank page.  You’ll see a white portion of the screen.  This represents the page you will be working on.  When you see it, you can begin typing.

Solid Black Highlight:  When you see a solid highlight around an area of text, pictures or numbers, you are in the ‘Highlight Zone.’  To activate this zone to cover all the material in your document, hold down the Ctrl (control) key and press the letter A.  The light will stop blinking and expand its focus to cover the whole document.  Everything within the highlight is in the computer’s attention.

To Highlight A Specific Area:  To affect more than one space at a time, use a Drag – And – Drop maneuver with your mouse.  Place the top of the mouse arrow at the beginning or end of what you want to affect.  Click and hold the mouse button down.  Drag the arrow over what you want to affect.  Release the mouse button.  This is effective for highlighting an area and underlining it, for example.

SCREEN THINGS

To learn this information in Windows 3.1 from their main information windows click on HELP, WINDOWS TUTORIAL and do both the mouse and the Windows tutorials.

Title Bar – the top bar on a window that lists the title of the program and the name of the document you are working on.

Minimize Button – a minus sign located at the top right hand corner of the screen.  Single click the minus/minimize button once and the entire window moves to the bottom of the screen.

Maximize – Box with a bold square box next to minimize. Pressing this button makes the window take up the whole screen

Restore – Maximize button at maximum.  Brings the window back to its original size.

Dialogue Box – A box of questions and settings the computer uses to find out what you want to do.

Menu Bar – the second bar from the top.  It offers lists and sub lists of the various tasks that the program can perform and asks you a series of questions to accomplish your goal.

Tool Bars – Tool Bars are short cut pictures (icons) to help you do things in your program faster.  Click on VIEW – TOOL BARS – STANDARD – FORMATTING – OK You can also choose other tool bars.

Icons – Small pictures on the computer screen that serve as a short hand for tasks, i.e. the spell check icon in Word is a small button upon which is written ABC over a check mark.

Scroll Bar – located on the right and bottom of the screen, they are a way to quickly move you through what you’re working on.  Click either the up, down, left or right arrows to travel.  Also, a gray box can be moved with your mouse for faster action by POINT – CLICK and DRAG.

END OF LESSON III

  Practice Material

Organizational Material

HOW TO COMPUTE
CLASS NOTES AND MATERIAL BY:  

J. Nayer Hardin, Founder
Computer Underground Railroad Enterprises (C.U.R.E.)

C.U.R.E. Website:  http://www.compurest.com
E-mail:  [email protected]

 The cost of using this material is that
the knowledge be passed onto at least two other people.

 Published 1994-Present

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED