Section 3: Computing With Confidence

1
Section 3 Computing With Confidence
2
How to Become a Skilled Learner

• Outline
• Computing problem
• Becoming a skilled learner
• How to learn on your own
• Basic steps in learning new software
• Word Processing
• Graphics software

3
Computing problem

• Reliability problem of computers
• Reasons
• Complexity of computers and software
• Competition of companies in the software market
• Software versions problem newer versions cannot
  interpret features of the older versions
• Problem of complex software that require more
  memory and space and hence more powerful
  machines.

4
Becoming a skilled learner

• How to manage when computer problems show up?
• Act defensively Protect
• save your work often
• do regular backup for your important data
• Look for workarounds
• Shut down computers
• Restart computers on crashes
• Reinstall software
• Check built in sources, which is your immediate
  source of help
• Have a network support, including FAQs and the
  Web discussion boards

5
How to learn on your own

• Dont be afraid to try things out and explore
• Find differences and similarities between ways in
  which things are done in different software
• Use your network of support

6
Basic steps in learning new software

• Get some general sense of what it is supposed to
  do by reading the introduction in its manual.
• Systematically explore its toolbars
• Systematically explore its menus
• Look for menus called preferences or options
• Create a new document or whatever, and then
  change it around and look to the different
  formats in which it can be saved.
• Have a brief look at the build-in help files.

7
Word Processors

• History
• Compare modern word processors with old
  typewriter machines
• With typewriters, making changes was very tedious
  (requires page rewriting)
• With modern word processors, you can easily add
  font styles (bold/italic/..), different font
  types (Arial/Times Romans/), colors, margins,
  tables, columns, etc.

8
Word Processors (Cont.)

• Teletype machine
• These are automatic typewriter machines connected
  to computers
• Computers feed a string of codes (characters,
  numbers or symbols like spaces, CR (Carriage
  Return) and LF (Line Feed)) into the teletype
  machine
• Such code is called the ASCII code, which stands
  for American Standard Code for Information
  Interchange

9
Word Processors (Cont.)

• Modern word processors
• They treat text as string of code, but with more
  codes corresponding to features such as (bold,
  italic, margins, etc.)
• You cannot see these codes, you only see the
  effects of these codes.
• You can see the codes corresponding to some
  simple text such as the spaces, returns and tabs.
  
• The problem of incompatible files
• Older versions cannot read files created by newer
  versions, because this requires first converting
  the codes corresponding to the new features. This
  process is not always successful
• Solutions
• Save file in Rich Text Format .rtf
• Save file in text format .txt

10
Practical capabilities of MS word(Tutor should
do it practically with students)

• Used to produce different types of documents such
  as reports, posters, letters, etc.
• Check the basic toolbars and menus for standard
  buttons, e.g. how to format text (change
  color/size/font), undo and redo buttons, save,
  open, print, etc.

11
Practical capabilities of MS word

• Check the effect of basic key presses, e.g.
• key used to go to the beginning of the line
  (home)
• key used to go to the end of the line (End)
• key used to go the beginning of the document
  (Ctrlhome)
• key used to go to end of the document (Ctrlend)
• keys used to go to the next and previous pages
  (page up and page down)
• key used to select the whole document (CtrlA)
• Check the major shortcut keys
• e.g. Check the shortcut keys in the edit menu for
  copy, cut, paste, etc.

12
Graphics Software

• In the past, people used to use programming
  languages to create pictures
• Examples of graphs software include Windows
  Paint, ClarisWorks, CorelDraw, etc.
• Uses of graphics software
• To view and analyze data
• To make a positive impression during the document
  presentation.
• There are four categories of graphics software
  Paint, drawing, image manipulation and page
  layout programs

13
Comparison between the paint and drawing programs
14
Graphics Software (Cont.)

• The size of bitmap images can be reduced by
  compression
• converting them into jpeg and gif formats which
  are the most widely used formats for images on
  the web.
• Page layout programs like PageMaker and Quark
  Express combine features of a word processor with
  a drawing program.
• Used to produce books, magazines or
  advertisements
• Image manipulation software like Photoshop is
  used to modify or process images in a
  sophisticated manner
• Retouch, stretch, distort, change color,

15
Graphics Software (Cont.)

• Practical experience in using Paint programs
• Drawing a basic object
• Painting an object
• Selecting an object by using the Free-Form select
  tool
• Adding text to an object
• Moving the object
• Changing the object size
• by using the stretch/skew command to reduce or
  increase the size of the object