Why computer literacy is important how does knowledge of using computer helps you as a student?

There’s no better time to learn than right now.

Taking computer courses are a life long learning skill builder. The more computer courses you take the more it will elevate your abilities and employability.

Even so-called computer or “IT” experts need to keep up their learning as things are changing daily in a rapidly expanding industry.

“But I don’t work in IT” I hear you say. That’s where you are wrong, IT is everywhere now.

We are going to show you what computer literacy is by explaining what these computer courses are about. We will show you detail about beginner’s computer courses, Windows computer courses, Word computer courses, Excel computer courses, Internet and Edge computer courses, and Outlook email computer courses.

For some background about IT let’s look at where it began.

The word “Computer” is surprisingly not a new or modern word. It was first used in 1613, to describe a person who did calculations and computations for a living.

In 1822, Charles Babbage designed the first mechanical computer, which he called the “Difference Engine” and this contraption was in reality the birth of the new technology called Computers. But even before that the Chinese used the abacus, which is still used today and is surely the purest form of calculator or computer in mathematics.

Here is a very interesting video that shows how what seems complicated at first becomes an amazing form of calculation or computation.

The abacus: 

Today, we live in a digital age, where computers are integrated into almost every part of our lives. Where you use computers, you will need computer courses to help you get the most from the computer and its programs. Knowing computer skills is an important basic skill that everybody should know and be able to use in their daily lives. To do that you will need to take computer courses,

There’s no better time than right now to take computer courses. Even so-called computer experts need to keep up their learning as things are changing daily in a rapidly expanding industry.

Your knowledge base is what defines you as a member of society and especially the being part of the employed today.

Being highly computer literate puts you at an advantage.

It is not just important to get a degree and then you are off to work and set for life. In the digital age you are constantly racing to stay ahead of your competition who will grab the job you want if they are more informed than you are! The question will always be can you do the job and to have the answer be “YES” you will have to know how to work the latest programs used in your company. To do that yu will need to take the suitable computer courses, that will equip you.

This journey of learning starts with basic computer literacy computer courses, being a knowledge of what a computer is, getting skilled by computer courses, in Windows 10, and Microsoft Office programs like Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and access. When the time comes to buy your own software you don’t have to use Office but can get one of the free office suites (see our article on our website www.minds.co.za about the best free Office Suites that we recommend) that have most if not all of the functionality that Microsoft Office has.

Before we explain all the different elements of basic computer literacy let’s look at why we at Cyber-Minds Training Institutes, stand out from the many traditional training companies out there when it comes to taking stress free computer courses.

In short, it all about you!

You are probably afraid or have trepidations about taking computer courses, together with a room full of people competing with you.

• Firstly, like most of us you could be unsure of yourself.
• You could be insecure about your level of skills to take these computer courses.
• You do not wish to be asked questions in front of everyone else.
• You do not want to compete, you just want to take a few computer courses,.

What do you want?

• You want security and someone who will care about you personally while doing the computer courses,.
• You want fun and easy to understand computer courses.
• You want a calm and peaceful learning environment.
• You want highly qualified people standing by to help you in case of you having questions, and on that note:
• You want to be able to ask questions and not be intimidated by the lecturer, other students or both.
• Finally, you may want a cup of tea or coffee to calm the nerves… ?

Starting out on the computer literacy pathway:

If you are a complete novice we will welcome you to a whole new world of technology that will not be a scary as you may think, because we will make it easy to understand and fun to learn about.

Firstly, we will start with:

What is a computer?

In this part of the learning process we will show you that you have nothing to fear from working on a computer.

The myths about computers like, pressing the wrong button will break the computer or will wipe out all your information is just that a myth. IT IS NOT TRUE!

We will show you the various components of a PC and how easy it is to start and shut down the PC.

We will show you the keyboard and how it works.

The thing that most people need a little time and practice with is the mouse. Learning to handle the mouse is a new skill and we train your hand to work with it using simple and fun games.

Windows

Next, we will introduce you to the environment on which you will run all your programs, and which will be the interface between you and the Pc itself. This is called Windows and the latest version is Windows 10. Windows 10 is easy to use and has some elements of touchscreen technology as used in mobile phones, just to make it a bit easier for you to manage.

In your windows course you will learn how to create storage spaces where you can store your documents that you will type in various programs, as discussed below. Document and program files are stored in folders, much like an old-fashioned filing system, to make sense of placement and storage areas where these documents reside.

Once you have Windows under your belt we will move on to programs that will do specific things for you like: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and many more.

Microsoft Word (or simply Word) is a word processor developed by Microsoft.

Early word processors were stand-alone devices dedicated to the function of typing, thus being a word processor. These were somewhat like typewriters with a small screen on which you could see the single line or a few lines of text before it was printed to the paper like a typewriter. That gave you the opportunity to correct any mistakes before putting ink on paper.

In the present day, word processors are a completely different animal. Word processor programs are dedicated programs running on general purpose computers or PCs.

The functions of a word processor program like Microsoft Word, fits somewhere between those of a simple text editor and a fully functioned desktop publishing program. Over time the distinctions between these three have narrowed considerably. You get Text editors like WordPad in Windows 10 that is like a mini version of Word and has quite a few functions for the everyday user, while the latest Word in Office 2018 or Office 365 functions easily as a Desktop Publishing program.

Microsoft Excel (or simply Excel) is a spreadsheet developed by Microsoft.

• Excel has a vast array of built-in functions to help answer statistical, engineering and financial questions. In addition to these functions, it can also display data as graphs, histograms and charts.
• Excel also has a three-dimensional graphical display ability although it is limited in its abilities.
• Excel allows sectioning of data to view its dependencies on various factors for different perspectives (usingpivot tables and the scenario manager).
• Excel has a programming option,Visual Basic for Applications, that allows the user to employ a wide variety of advanced numerical methods.
• Excel Visual Basic applications can automatically sample external databases and analyze the results. It can then make aWord report or PowerPoint slide show, and e-mail these presentations to a list of people. Excel was not designed to be used as a database. For that we use Microsoft Access or a similar dedicated database program.

Microsoft PowerPoint (or simply PowerPoint) is a presentation Program developed by Microsoft.

PowerPoint is a slideshow presentation program that’s part of the Microsoft office suite of tools. PowerPoint makes it easy to create, collaborate, and present your ideas in dynamic, visually compelling ways, use slideshows as the main element.

You can tell your story using pictures, illustrations, animations and video or audio files, together with elaborate scripts and fonts available to you.

“Microsoft PowerPoint is an application that assists in the delivery of information through presentations.  Presentations are a series of slides that can contain text, images, video, clip art, music, and more, and are built to support a message being delivered by a person, either in real-time as part of a live presentation or on-demand through video formats.”

John Moore, , Entrepreneur

We can continue to list many more programs and computer courses, that will build on your basic computer literacy skills but chief of these, barring the above will be an internet Browser like Microsoft Edge and an email program like Microsoft Outlook or Google Chrome.

Microsoft Edge (or simply Edge) is an internet web browser Program developed by Microsoft.

“Microsoft Edge is the browser for Windows 10. This browser version replaced Internet Explorer that was released with Windows 95.

One of its awesome features is it allows you to scribble over website pages and allows you to annotate it and save it for future reference and even share it with other users.

Speed is also one big feature for this browser – a win for Microsoft Windows as it trimmed of its “excess fat” of the IE that basically slowed a down your browsing most of the time.

Microsoft Edge boasts of the Cortana assistance built into the browser. To launch a Cortana, open it from the Windows 10 desktop: and it will launch as soon as you do a web search.”

Sandy Georgiana, Marketing Specialist at IT Architects, Inc.

But despite all the great features listed above what exactly is a web browser or browser for short?

A web browser, or browser is a software application used to locate, retrieve and display content on the World Wide Web, including webpages, images, video and other files. As a client/server model, the browser is the client that runs on a computer or mobile device that contacts the Web server and requests information from it to display it to you.

Microsoft Outlook (or simply outlook) is an internet email Program developed by Microsoft.

Wikipedia describes Microsoft Outlook as follows: “Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available as a part of the Microsoft Office suite. Although often used mainly as an email application, it also includes a calendar, task manager, contact manager, note taking, journal, and web browsing.”

Despite all the functionalities Outlook is often used just for its main components, email browser, calendar and contact manager.

The email management system handles all your email needs:

• giving you a list of folders to file your various emails for future reference.
• It provides a cut Down text editor to allow you to compose an email in a letter format with formatting and various fonts and typefaces. You can also include pictures or attach pictures, documents and videos amongst many others, to the email as a separate attachment that will be opened separately.

The calendar is used to schedule and put reminders of meetings, birthdays etc., in such a way that you will be notified in time that the event will take place at a certain time and date.

The contact function is used to build a database of all the people you email and receive email, that you want to save for a future time when you may want to contact them again. It will save complete details of the person and his/her email address.

This then is what you can expect from studying at a Cyber-Minds Training Institute and what computer literacy is all about. We urge you to keep learning and keep your skills current. If you need guidance of have any question, please contact us as we are eager to be of help and give you the best possible experience.

Our website: www.minds.co.za

Email:

Finally, a video about Cyber-Minds Training Institute, also known as Creative Minds®.

Author: Marius Lubbe

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