Lesson 4: Learning to use a mouse

AIM

In this lesson you will learn:

How to use mouse effectively

LESSON OUTCOME

After you have studied this lesson, you will be able to:

Parts of a mouse and their functions --- Left button, Right

button, Scroll button

A mouse is an input device that is used to tell the computer what to do. It is a

small object that can roll along a hard, flat surface. It is connected to the CPU

with a wire. The mouse pad is the mouse's ‘home’, and it should always remain

in its house even while you move the mouse.

(kaumudi draw a picture of a real mouse so that kids can compare and observe the
similarities between the two)

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A pointer or a cursor indicates the current spot of activity on the screen. We can

make the computer do what we want it to do by moving the mouse pointer to the

required spot and clicking to perform an action. Some of the commonly seen

mouse pointers are as follows:

This pointer is the most commonly seen pointer while moving on

the desktop, selecting a particular file, folder or an application.

This is used to indicate that the computer is busy with some action.

This pointer indicates that clicking the mouse will take the user to a

different page. It is seen mostly while using the Internet.

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In order to initiate some action, the user clicks the mouse. There are two buttons

on either side of the mouse called the right button and left button. Depending

on which button is pressed, we call it a right click or a left click. The figure below

shows a left click. When the mouse button is clicked twice in quick succession we

call it a double click. Remember that you can double click only the left button. For

example, on the desktop, double clicking the left mouse button on a file or folder

usually opens it. A single right click on the desktop will open a menu with options

for the desktop's settings. In addition to the right and left click, there is one more

button on the mouse. This small button located between the left and right mouse

buttons is called the scroll button. It can be move like a wheel and is used to

move up and down in a particular file quickly.

Several computer games require the user to have effective

control over the mouse.

Worksheet

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1. What do we use as a pointer when we are reading a book? Which

is the mouse pointer on the screen? Circle both of them !

2. Pick out the words that are related to the computer and circle them

Mouse House Rat

Right click Photo click Left click

Mouse pad Writing pad Panda

Double click Tick Cheek

3. In the mouse shown below, colour the left button in red, right
button in green and scroll button in blue.

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4 Match the following by checking what parts of computers can be

compared to the different things you see around you

(kaumudi draw pics of real mouse, house, computer mouse without the

pad, hand finger on the book, cursor on the monitor and mouse pad; u may

edit the existing pics)

Real mouse Mouse pad

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Real house Computer mouse

Hand finger Cursor on monitor

5. In the mouse shown below, which button will you press for left-
click? Which for right-click? Mark with 'L' and 'R'.

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5. Fill in the blanks:

a) For double click, press the ______________button of the

mouse (right/ left)

b) ____________ button is located in the middle of the mouse

(right/ left/ scroll)

c) _____________ is the home of the mouse (Table/ Mouse pad)

d) The mouse is connected to the ____________ with a wire

(monitor/ CPU)

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For the teacher
 This lesson can be made a fun experience. Hold up computer mouse and
elicit discussion on similarities/differences with a real mouse. Show
diagrams or photos of each. Pass the computer mouse for students to
examine.

 Gauge pre-knowledge by asking if students know what a computer mouse

 Let several students handle the mouse. Other students can provide
directions--i.e. "Make the cursor go up, down, left, right, etc.". If time
permits, let each student practice moving a mouse on the mouse pad with
the computers turned off. Stress that the mouse pad is the mouse's
"home," and that he never leaves his house.

 Give crayons and paper at the end of the session for them to draw a real
mouse and the computer mouse and write the correct spelling of a mouse.

 The concepts of a pointer and of clicking the mouse are very intuitive
ones, and children should take to it naturally when actually given a mouse
to handle. Of the two periods allotted for this topic, at least one should be
devoted to allowing the children to use the mouse for simple tasks. In this
regard, the gcompris education suite has enjoyable games for introducing
mouse usage. The teacher is encouraged to let the children play these
games one by one (they are not time-consuming) to build a familiarity with
mouse usage. The mouse related games are found in Edubuntu by going
through Applications=>Games=>Educational suite gcompris. The
games include clearing up large blocks on a screen by i) simply moving a
cursor, ii) single clicking on each block, and iii) double clicking on each
block. As the blocks are cleared, an animal's photograph becomes
revealed. The cursor is large and colourful, and the blocks are simple to
clear. We highly recommend using these games for this lesson. They can
also be used for effective evaluation of learning.