The basic computer skills needed for kids

The basic computer skills needed for kids

-Anitha Raman, CEO, codePannu

 

In an era where technology is a visible part of our lives, we interact with computers in countless ways. Kids are no exception, as they are required to use computers both at school and at home. Hence it’s important to equip them with the basic knowledge and skills to navigate the digital landscape. Fundamentals such as opening applications, closing all programs before turning off the computer and avoiding downloads from unknown sources must be taught to kids. These fundamentals are crucial to help them use computers and the internet safely. 

 

A beginner’s struggle

Although all of us will agree that fundamentals are important for kids, there are many challenges in teaching such fundamentals to kids. They often face difficulties when encountering a laptop or computer for the first time. Here are 5 challenges we’ve observed:

1. Developing the motor skills needed to use a mouse requires a lot of patience. Kids take time to master basic tasks like double-clicking, scrolling up or down, and dragging and dropping elements.
2. Typing can be time-consuming as they don’t know the placement of the alphabets on the keyboard, and holding down two keys simultaneously can also be difficult.
3. Remembering the purpose of fundamental keys like Shift, Ctrl, Enter, arrow keys, Esc key, space bar, backspace, and delete takes time.
4. Considering that desktop applications have so many features, understanding basic functions like creating a new slide, finding format options, and adding text can be initially confusing.
5. Understanding the functions of various applications, including a browser for web browsing, a file manager for accessing files, and drives for storing data, can be a time-consuming process.

Considering all the challenges, we wanted to create a course that covers all the fundamentals and help kids navigate these challenges.

 

Computer basics course

As an organization dedicated to providing a good foundation in technology, we know how to teach basics and also make it fun. Using their prior experience in designing courses, our E-learning content team was able to create a course that addresses these challenges and help kids learn the basics of using a computer. Here’s what kids will learn: 

• Use a mouse to scroll through pages, click on icons and drag and drop elements.
• Use the keyboard to type text, and keys such as Esc, Ctrl, Shift, Fn and more. 
• Use programs such as word processors, spreadsheets, presentation tools, file manager etc.
• Use search engines like Google to find information on the internet.

These skills help kids use the internet, save and retrieve their work, and make cool things like projects and presentations on the computer. Once they learn these basics, many kids go on to learn block or text based programming. However, these skills are the foundation of their digital literacy.

 

Using a desktop application – PowerPoint

While various applications can be used to teach fundamental computer skills, our E-learning content team chose PowerPoint as we believe that is a great tool to teach the basics. Its user-friendly interface and visual elements make learning fun and interactive. Kids can learn to use the mouse, keyboard, and different software features while creating their own presentations. Here are some of the basics that can be taught to kids using PowerPoint.

 

Pic 1: Our students drawing objects with shapes

• Activities such as dragging and dropping shapes to create their favorite objects, selecting options from menu, and using the keyboard to type text help kids to develop their fine motor skills. Seep Pic 1
• Understand key combinations through tasks such as copying text using Ctrl+C, pasting using Ctrl+V and using Fn+5 to go to presentation mode. This skill is the most underrated and yet very important to use computers on regular basis.
• Saving their presentations in specific folders on their computer helps them understand how to use applications like file manager and the taskbar.

 

Understanding the Desktop

While the ability to open and use a specific application like PowerPoint is valuable, we believe a true understanding of the desktop environment is equally important. So our team included learning content that teaches kids how to use Windows and Mac environments. Here are the topics that we teach kids in this area:

 

Pic 2: Showing desktop applications, task bar etc. to kids

• Understand the Desktop by identifying other common icons like power button, recycle bin, my Computer, and the start menu. See pic 2
• Open and close applications by using the mouse or keyboard shortcuts.
• Concept of file organization and the use of folders. Learn to retrieve files using file paths.
• Use the taskbar (Windows) and dock (Mac) as tools to manage open applications.

 

Browsing the internet

Now that we have introduced the basics of creating presentations and navigating an operating system, another crucial aspect is to introduce the internet effectively. We begin by introducing the concept of search queries and guiding children in typing words to search for images of animals, flowers, and other engaging subjects. Although search engines and many websites are straightforward to use, teaching children how to safely and effectively browse the internet is a key element. Here are some techniques we have incorporated:

 

Pic 3: Showing safe websites to kids to take images

• Logging in to browser using the kid’s email, so search engines will filter out inappropriate content.
• Showcasing kid-friendly websites and educational platforms to encourage safe and engaging online experiences. See pic 3
• Emphasizing the importance of avoiding clicking on unknown or suspicious links and encouraging parents to enable appropriate parental controls
• Download images only from reputed websites and store in local drive in a specific folder to retrieve and use later.

Providing these three skills will help them to get started. These skills will make them safe explorers, enhance their curiosity and prepare them to use technology better in future. Most of our students later go on to take other interesting courses like Scratch basics course or Canva basics course or Python basics course. Whatever course they pick, they fundamentals will help them learn those applications better and in an easy way.