DIGITAL LITERACY LEARNER GUIDE 1 GETTING ONLINE · Learner Guide 1 – Access the internet to carry out a search June 2015 video commentary 15 PART 5 There are two main ways to carry

Learner Guide 1 – Access the internet to carry out a search June 2015 video commentary

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DIGITAL LITERACY LEARNER GUIDE 1 GETTING ONLINE

Part 1 Switch on your device using the ‘on’ button as shown; this button may be located in different places depending on the device you are using, but it will usually look like this:

The screen may have its own on-button that you will need to switch on.

On button

On button


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When it has finished booting up (or loading) your computer will be ready to use. The screen displayed is called your ‘home screen’ or ‘desktop’.

HOME SCREEN OR DESKTOP


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Part 2 Now let’s take a quick look around your keyboard. For many online actions, you will need to press the ‘enter’ key on your keyboard. This is the large key located on the right hand side and when pressed it enters information into your computer.

When typing text, for example in an email, the ‘enter’ key also works as a return key which you would press to move to the next line of your document. Press twice to add an extra line space.


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The space bar is located at the bottom of the keyboard, and enters a space between words when you are typing.


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The shift key will allow you to make capital letters at the start of a new sentence or when using a proper noun such as a name. There are 2 shift keys, one at each side of the keyboard. Simply hold down the shift key and press the letter you wish to capitalise, then let go when you have finished. You can also use the shift key to access the symbols shown above your numbers, for example the percentage sign is above the number 5; to type a percentage sign hold down the shift key and press 5.

If you wish to type full words or sentences in capital letters, you can use the Caps Lock key; press this and all your letters will be capitals; press again to go back to lower case letters. When pressed, the caps lock key will light up to show it is on; this light disappears when you switch it off. This is a useful way to know whether the caps lock has been activated.


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If you make a mistake when you are typing, there are two ways you can delete it. Using the ‘del’ key at the top right of your keyboard will delete all information in front of your cursor; the back space key will delete all information behind the cursor.

Delete key

Backspace key


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You can navigate through your page by using the arrows on the right of your keyboard, to move the cursor up, down, left or right.


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Part 3 Now let’s look at the mouse; you use your mouse to move around on your screen and to access documents or programs on your computer. Move the mouse to move the cursor, as shown.


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You can click the left mouse button to access programs or documents; sometimes you need to double-click the left mouse button, this means clicking twice in succession to open a document or link.

Left mouse button


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If you click on the right mouse button a menu will appear; this is called a pop up menu and you can select from a range of options offered by clicking on the preferred option.

Right mouse button


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If your mouse has a scroll button or wheel you can use this to scroll through a document or web page; use your finger to roll the wheel either backwards or forwards to make the page scroll up or down.

Scroll wheel


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Part 4 There are a number of ways you can log into the internet from your home screen, depending on your computer setup. The internet is accessed through a browser, which is a programme designed for this purpose. There are many different browsers; some of the more popular ones are Internet Explorer, Firefox or Google Chrome; an Apple Mac computer usually uses Safari as its browser. The pictures on your home screen are called ‘icons’ and they represent some of the different browsers and programs you can use.

HOME SCREEN Icons

Icons


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You can access the internet using whichever internet browser is already installed in your computer; this is called your ‘default browser’. There are two ways to do this. If you have one of the icons on your desktop or home screen already, move the mouse pointer over this icon and press the left mouse button twice in quick succession as shown in the video. The icon may be located on the bottom of the screen in an area known as the ‘status bar’. It may also be found on the main home screen.

Icon on desktop

Icons on

status bar


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If there is no browser icon on your home screen, you can open the browser directly from your list of programmes, as follows: Use your left mouse button to click once on the ‘start’ button at the bottom left of your home screen. This will cause a menu of options to appear; this is called a ‘pop up menu’.

From the pop up menu, select Internet Explorer (or whichever browser is installed on your device) by clicking on it once with the left mouse button, as shown in the video. When you have successfully opened up an internet browser window, your screen will display a web page. You have now logged on to the internet, and you are ready to start browsing.

Pop up menu


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PART 5 There are two main ways to carry out a basic search:

1. Typing the website address (or URL) directly into your browser if you already know the website address or

2. Using a ‘search engine’ such as Google or Bing to find and select a

web page from a list For option 1: Type the full website address into the address bar at the top of the page; then tap ‘enter’ on your keyboard

For option 2: ‘Google.co.uk’ into your address bar and tap ‘enter’. This will load up the Google search engine

Type your required search into the search box.

Address bar

Search box


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Part 6 A simple search can generate a huge list of results and it can be difficult to cut the list down into a more manageable size. There are a number of ways to help narrow your search; let’s carry out an exercise to show this: You would like to find a plumber to fix a leak in your sink. Using Google search engine, type in “plumber” This will generate a list of different websites you can access to help you find a plumber.

The items at the top of the list are often websites that have paid to be placed first; this is indicated by the yellow “Ad” sign at the left hand side of the listing (it can also be shown as a yellow “+” sign)

Sear

ch

List

Ads


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The list is long; to make it more manageable, you need to cut it down; the more specific your search is, the more relevant your list will be.

Use a more specific search, for example you are looking for a plumber in the Falkirk area to fix a leak in your sink. There is no need to type in full sentences or punctuation, simply using key words will narrow down your search.

In your search engine text box, type in “plumber Falkirk leak” and hit ‘enter’ on your keyboard or click on the search icon at the end of the text box; this will produce a much smaller list of possible websites

The resulting list will be much smaller and generates more relevant results in your selected area. You can access any of the websites on your list by simply clicking on it with your mouse.


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Part 7 Once you have finished with your tasks, you should always exit all programs being used, close all open internet windows and close down your device. To exit the Web browser is fairly straightforward. Simply left click on the cross at top right to close any browser Window.

You may see a message screen warning that you are about to close multiple tabs. If you are finished browsing it is safe to exit the application.

Warning message


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Shut down your device safely by taking the following steps:

Click on the ‘start’ button at the bottom left of your screen

A pop up menu will appear; select shut down from the list Your computer will now go through the shut-down process and will switch off

Clic

k o

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tart

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A pop up menu appears

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DIGITAL LITERACY LEARNER GUIDE 1 GETTING ONLINE · Learner Guide 1 – Access the internet to carry out a search June 2015 video commentary 15 PART 5 There are two main ways to carry