Introduction to Computers

Hands-on Skills Lesson II

By the end of the lesson, you should be able to:state and explain various categories of keys on a computer keyboardGive examples of the above categoriestype while observing the typing guidelines

Keyboarding Skills

Categories of keys on a computer keyboard

Typing(Alphanumeric) keys

These are A-Z and 0-9

Function Keys

These are F1-F12

Cursor movement Keys

• Arrow keys
• Page up and down keys
• Home and end keys

Editing Keys

• delete
• insert

Special purpose keys

Used together with other keys to issue specific commands to a computer

They include:

• Shift
• Control(ctrl)
• Alt
• Escape(Esc)

Numeric keypad keys

They are used when Num Lock is turned on

0-9 and arithmetic keys

Typing Guidelines

1. Sit upright with both feet firm on the ground maintaining a straight upward posture
2. Place the material to be typed on the left handside at an accessible distance to avoid eyestrain
3. Rest both hands on the keyboard with fingers resting on the home keys.
4. Always take your fingers back to home keys after striking other keys
5. Never look at  your fingers while typing so you may improve on typing speed

Left hand home keys

• A.,S,D,F

Right hand home keys

• JKL and ;