Activity Sheet - Navigate within the Windows environment

Introduction to the windows desktop

This video will introduce you to elements of the windows desktop such as Icons, Short-cuts, the Start menu and the Task bar.

Please note - the author states that she is closing windows when she is in fact minimising them.

The video may take some time to load especially if you're on a dial-up connection. Ensure you use the time productively to work on something else.

After watching the video check to ensure you can identify the following on your computer desktop

1) an Icon

2) A Short-cut

3) How to find programmes that are not present on the desk top

4) How to find a recent document that you have been working on

Then open the Start menu and Log off your session or Shut down the computer.

Logging off closes down the session that you are working within. Many computers have multiple users, each with an individual account. Logging off makes the computer available to another user so that they can log in to their account

When you shut down the computer your computer closes all programmes that are open, then turns itself off.

Manipulating Windows

This video will demonstrate how you can open and close windows, resize them and move them around on the screen to suit your needs.

After watching the video make sure that you are able to do the following

1) Open a program by double-clicking on an icon or short-cut on the desktop. This should open a window that the program runs within.

2) Minimise this window

3) Maximise this window

4) Resize the window so that it takes up about 1/2 a screen

5) Open another programme by clicking on the start menu, navigating through the programs option or the documents option, and clicking on the programme or document that you want to open.

6) Resize both windows and move them around on the screen so that you can see all of both windows.

(If you are unsure at any stage how to complete one of these tasks, please feel free to watch the video again. After the video is playing you can skip through the video by clicking wherever you want the dot on the screen to move to.)