Lesson 3: Understanding Your Workplace

Objectives of this Tutorial:

 

R   The student will better understand how the computer environment holds parallel meaning to their work environment.

R   The student will understand there are numerous ways in which to customize their computer.

Personalizing Your Workspace

          Imagine that you are setting up your new home office and need to make decorating choices.  You’ve chosen your color scheme and type of furniture. You hang pictures on the wall, a clock to keep you focused, and a bulletin board to post notices.  The filing cabinet is organized with folders to hold all of the worksheets and lesson plans for the subjects that you teach.  Each drawer is neatly organized with labeled folders for each lesson and accompanying worksheets.

Now let’s transfer that scenario to your computer.  It is simply a parallel process. Just like you would arrange the desk in your office or classroom and personalize it with items that reflect your personality, so too can you customize the computer environment in which you work. 

With Windows 2000 Professional you have a wide range of choices to customize the way Windows looks on your screen (desktop themes), the way it behaves. You can change the behavior of the mouse and keyboard.  You can change the Windows 2000 color scheme or set the mouse to open files with a single click instead of a double click (mouse properties). Are you left-handed?  Not a problem.  Customize the mouse to fit your work style.

These are but only a few of the many, many ways in which you can decorate, customize and tailor the computer and its applications to suit your needs and work requirements.

We will cover the basics in creating the workstation that suits your needs and your moods.  Once we have your desktop set up, we will move on to the taskbar, the mouse,  and then keyboard shortcuts.

  The right click of your mouse opens up a world of options.  Right-click freely to discover some really neat choices.  Be ready and willing to explore the many menus offered you!