Unit 5: Type, click and talk

Lesson 5

Part I. Reading: Interacting with your computer

Input devices are the pieces of hardware which allow us to enter information into the computer. The most common are the keyboard and the mouse. We can also interact with a computer by using one of these: a trackball, a graphics tablet, a joystick, a voice recognition device, a scanner, a light pen, a mouse, and a laser keyboard.

Part II: About keyboards

A. Look at the picture of a keyboard and identify these groups of keys.

1. Alphanumeric key: arranged in the name order as a typewriter.

2. Function keys: used by various programs to instruct the PC to perform specific tasks, such as save, copy, cut, paste, help, etc.

3. Numeric keypad: set of numeric or editing keys. The Num Lock key is used to switch from numbers to editing functions.

4. Editing keys: cursor and other keys usually used within word processors to page up and down in a long document or to edit text (using Insert or Delete keys)

5. Special keys: used to issue commands or to produce alternatives characters in key combinations, for example, the Alt key

B. Match these descriptions with the names of keys on the right. Then find them on the keyboard.

Arrow keys return caps lock shift tab escape space bar backspace alt

1 A long key at the bottom of the keyboard. Each time it is pressed, it produces a blank space. (=………………………….)

2 It moves the cursor to the beginning of a new line. It is also used to confirm commends. (=………………………….)

3 It stops a program without losing the information from the main memory. Sometime s its use depends on the applications (=………………………….)

4. It works in combination with other keys to produce special characters or specific actions. (=………………………….)

5. It removes the character on the left of the cursor or any selected text

(=………………………….)

6. It produces UPPER-CASE characters (or the upper-case character of the key) (=………………………….)

7. It produces upper-case letters, but it does not affect numbers and symbols.

(=………………………….)

8. It moves the cursor horizontally to the right for a fixed number of spaces (in tabulations and data fields). (=………………………….)

9. They are used to move the cursor, as an alternative to the mouse.

(=………………………….)

Part III: Reading: ‘Point and Click’

Typically, a mouse is a palm-sized device, slightly smaller than a pack of cards. On top of the mouse there are one or more buttons for communicating with the computer. A ‘trail’ or wire extends from the mouse to a communication on the back of the computer. The mouse is designed to slide around on your desktop. As it moves, it moves an image on the screen called a pointer or mouse cursor. The pointer usually looks like an arrow or I-bar, and it mimics the movements of the mouse on your desktop. What makes the mouse especially useful is that it is a very quickly way to move around on a screen. Move the desktop mouse half an inch and the screen cursor will leap four inches. Making the same movements with the arrow keys takes much longer. The mouse also issues instruction to the computer very quickly. Point to an available option with the cursor, click on the mouse, and the option has been chosen. Mice are so widely used in graphics applications because they can do things that are difficult, if not impossible, to do with keyboard keys. For example, the way you move an image with a mouse is to put the pointer on the object you want to move, press the mouse button and drag the image from one place on the screen to another when you have the image where you want it. You release the mouse button and the image stays there. Similarly, the mouse is used to grab one corner of the image (say a square) and stretch it into another shape (say a rectangle). Both of these actions are so much more difficult to perform with a keyboard that most graphics programs require a mouse.

The buttons on the mouse are used to select items at which the mouse points. You position the pointer on an object on the screen. For example, on a menu or a tool in a paint program, and then you press the mouse button to ‘select’ it. Mice are also used to load documents into a program: you put the pointer on file name and double-click on the name – that is, you press a mouse button twice in rapid succession.