Terms You Terms You Should KnowShould Know

Fifth Grade Fifth Grade TechnologyTechnology

Course of StudyCourse of Study

Login

• The process of identifying oneself on a computer,usually by entering one’s username or password.

Icon

• A picture on a screen that represents a specific file, directory, window, option or program.

Scroll Bar/Address Bar

• The scroll bar is the vertical bar located on the right side of the page. The scroll bar allows you to view the entire document by clicking on the bar and moving the mouse up or down.

• The address bar is labeled “address”. The space on the screen in which the currently used Web site is displayed; also the place where the user types in a Web site they wish to access.

Hour Glass/Cursor

• A moving position-indicator displayed on a computer that shows a computer operator where the next action or operation will take place.

Word Processing

• The creation, input, editing, and production of documents and texts by means of computer systems.

Internet

• The largest system of linked computers in the world.

• The computers are connected by phone lines or cable lines. They all share a common language and understand a set of Internet rules so they can relay information whenever you need it.

• You can send email, watch a movie, or finish homework projects about the solar system!

Maximize/Minimize

• The maximize/minimize button is located in the top right corner of the page. It is used to temporarily shrink the size of the page or increase the page size back to its original size.

• There are three buttons in the top right corner of the page. The maximize/minimize button is not the X.

Folder

• A structure for containing electronic files. In some operating systems, it is called a “directory”.

Open File

• Open file refers to a file that is open on the computer screen.

Search Engine

• A program found on certain sites that can perform searches for information on the Internet based on the words or phrases you supply. Some sites have search engines that only search within their site.

Download

• Sometimes you see something on the Internet that you want to keep and use later. If you have a disk, you can save the information by downloading it. It’s like videotaping a TV show onto a tape so you can watch it later. Downloading takes the information from your computer screen and puts it on your disk so you can look at it whenever you want to.

Save/Save As

• Save and save as are located by clicking on File. You are then given the option to save or save as.

• By clicking save, the computer automatically saves to the last place you saved to.

• By clicking save as, you are able to direct where you want your work to be saved.

Print/Print Preview

• Print and print preview is located by clicking on File.

• By clicking print, you send your work to a printer. You will then have a hard copy (piece of paper) of your work.

• Print preview allows you to see what your whole document looks like before it is printed.

Edit

• To prepare for the final product.

• You are able to undo typing, cut, paste and delete items.

Hardware

• The nuts, bolts, wires, metal, plastic, and glass. The actual computer and related machines such as scanners and printers.

• This doesn’t mean that there is a hammer or nails inside your computer!!

Software

• A computer program; loosely defined, a set of instructions to be used on your hardware. There is a system software that operates the machine itself (such as Windows and Mac OS), and there is application software for specific uses e.g., word processing, playing games, managing your money.

Copyright

• The legal right granted to an author, composer, playwright, publisher, or distributor to exclusive publication, production, sale, or distribution of a literary, musical, dramatic, or artistic work.

• You are not allowed to copy someone’s work without giving them credit.

• Basically, everything you can read has a copyright.

Electronic Mail (E-mail)

• E-mail stands for electronic mail, it is a way of sending messages electronically from one computer user to another. You need to have a modem, a telephone line connected to your computer, and an e-mail address (recognizable because of the @ symbol, such as khill@madison.k12.al.us.

• Electronic mail may be sent across the room or around the world.

File

• How many of you have ever seen a file cabinet? Inside the cabinet are usually file folders, which hold information that the teacher has saved so they can find it quickly.

• A file on a computer is like the file cabinet. In a computer file, you can save anything from a school report you typed to a picture you found on the Internet.

Multimedia

• A combination of two or more types of information such as text, audio, video, and images.

Desktop Publishing

• The production of publication-quality documents using a personal computer in combination with text, graphics, and page layout programs.