User:Jwmh/Class Drafts

Link to Modules

draft proposal for the class

Hardware

1. how to turn on; do's/don'ts
   • power/electric/heat
2. Module 2 (external peripherals; hooking up a computer)
3. Module 3 Interface (mouse and keyboard)
   • get Mac keyboard also

Software (UI)

• Module 4: - login screen
  • keys to different apartments in a building
  • guest: key to a hotel room for one night -- cleaned after you leave

• Module 5: - desktop environment
  • default at login
• Module 6: panels, menus, pointer, icons, and "windows"
  • "windows" aren't really like a window -- they're more like a table -- or better yet, they're like a book....
• Module 7: Extras: Status bars, Workspaces ("a second window to look thru"??)

(Interacting w/ the computer)

Class Proposal: "Living in a Technology World"

This is a draft proposal for the class, "Living in a Technology World" (title suggested by Darren - User:Dheiber).

The idea for this class came from me, Joseph Herbert (User:Jwmh).

The basic premises are as follows: - What separates a "computer person" from a "non-computer person"? (note: these are usually self-identified)

• • NB: currently this below content seems only applicable to the WIMP / Desktop model. Is this appropriate? (initial instinct is to respond, "yes, and necessary, at least in present-day").

However, how do we expand / generalize for smartphones? ... The usual case for teaching abstractions is, Start with specific cases, then the rest (generalized) can follow. So may not be possible to teach 'only' the abstract (which we knew as soon as we started talking about UI conventions:windows/menus/etc, didn't we?).

Section 1: Getting to know the basics

This should entail only the *bare necessities* for operating a computer:

• physical care - heat=bad, liquid=bad, grounded surge protector = good, etc. (is this really "necessary"?)
• poweron / login / poweroff
• using the keyboard and mouse
• understanding the folders, files, and applications

Note that this doesn't cover the use of any specific applications (such as a web browser or a word processor).

Section 2: Getting savvy

Okay, this is where it gets tricky, and I'm not sure what it Section 2 vs Section 3.

• How do you know what to look for?
• How do you go about finding it?
  • what are we even talking about; what does "it" cover here?
• Difference between "exploring" vs "changing"
• How do you make changes?
  • How do you do so safely?

??===Section 3: Getting savvy - making changes=== um. basics of making changes?

right-clicking fits in here somewhere

Parts of a UI:

• windows
• menus
• status bar

• locating & changing -- settings (OS) + settings (applications)