Your Digital Basics Checklist
Listed below is a checklist of IT/digital skills that will help you through your studies. If there are topics you aren’t sure about, you can use the links to jump straight to that topic and watch the short video. Or, just work through all the sections. It won’t take long.
Do you already know…
- What do computer, tablets and mobile phones have in common? (2 minutes)
- What can your computer do? (2 minutes)
- What is the internet made of? (4 minutes)
- What are input and output devices and where do you find them? (5 minutes)
- Where can you store your files and documents and how much space might you need? (6.5 minutes)
- What is an operating system and how do you find your way around them? (8.5 minutes)
- What is an app and how does your device know which app to open when you try to do something? (7 minutes)
- How do you manage your documents on your device? finding, copying, moving, deleting …(10 minutes)
- What is cloud computing and what is your university Office 365 account? (13.5 minutes) <– this section is essential!
The videos on this page provide general information to help you understand how your computer works. You can complete your studies without understanding all the topics on this page, but some knowledge can help to demystify computers and give you more confidence.
1. Computers, tablets and mobile phones
What do these computing devices have in common? They all handle input, output, storage and processing.
In this 2 minute video Scott explains what this means:
Features common to every computing device from Help Desk Handbook for End Users: PC Basics, Hardware, Operating Systems, and Applications by Scott Jernigan
2. What can your computer do?
In this 2 minute video Scott shows the types of things computing devices can do when you add apps. (‘Apps’ are also known as ‘applications’, or ‘software’)
Common general-purpose computing devices from Help Desk Handbook for End Users: PC Basics, Hardware, Operating Systems, and Applications by Scott Jernigan
3. Computer networks
In this 4 minute video Scott gives an overview of what the internet is made from (spoiler alert: lots of smaller networks).
If you hear Scott say ‘R-ow-ter’, he is talking about a router – the box that connects devices in you house to the internet.
Networks of computing devices from Help Desk Handbook for End Users: PC Basics, Hardware, Operating Systems, and Applications by Scott Jernigan
4. Input and output devices
In this 2 minute video, Scott summarises the most common input and output devices for different types of computing devices. In other words, how you give information to your computer and how your receive information from your computer.
General use I/O devices from Help Desk Handbook for End Users: PC Basics, Hardware, Operating Systems, and Applications by Scott Jernigan
Cables and connectors
In this 3 minute video, Scott show you some of the different types of connectors you might use to connect your computer to the , to speakers, monitors, printers, headphones and the internet.
Ports and connectors from Help Desk Handbook for End Users: PC Basics, Hardware, Operating Systems, and Applications by Scott Jernigan
5. Storing your information
There are two videos in this section.
In this first 3.5 minute video, Scott gives an overview of file storage. Where do the pictures and documents you save go? How much storage space do you need?
Storage technologies from Help Desk Handbook for End Users: PC Basics, Hardware, Operating Systems, and Applications by Scott Jernigan
Different types of file storage systems
In this 3 minute video, Scott discusses different options for storing your documents, pictures, videos and other information.
Mass storage variation from Help Desk Handbook for End Users: PC Basics, Hardware, Operating Systems, and Applications by Scott Jernigan
Note that the university provides you with 1 Terabyte (that’s massive) of secure file storage space with OneDrive. See information on Cloud computing and Office 365 below.
6. Operating systems
In this 4 minute video, Scott explains what an operating system is for.
Windows, Mac OS, Unix, iOS, Android: What does this all mean and why do you need to know?
Operating system functions from Help Desk Handbook for End Users: PC Basics, Hardware, Operating Systems, and Applications by Scott Jernigan
Different operating systems and what they look like
In this 4.5 minute video Scott shows what the most common operating systems look like and how you download a file using each of the different operating systems.
Operating system interfaces from Help Desk Handbook for End Users: PC Basics, Hardware, Operating Systems, and Applications by Scott Jernigan
7. Adding more with apps
There are two videos in this section.
In this first 3 minute video, Scott gives examples of common apps people add to their phones and computers to carry out useful tasks:
Walking survey of applications from Help Desk Handbook for End Users: PC Basics, Hardware, Operating Systems, and Applications by Scott Jernigan
What is a file extension?
If you have ever wondered how your computer, or phone, knows which app to open when you try to do something, then watch this 4 minute video. Scott shows some common file extensions (the bit that comes after the dot in a file name) and how your device uses this information:
Applications and extensions from Help Desk Handbook for End Users: PC Basics, Hardware, Operating Systems, and Applications by Scott Jernigan
8. Managing your documents and other files
There are three videos in this section.
In this 2 minute video, Scott shows the different systems you might come across for finding and managing your documents. This includes the Windows tool: File Explorer, and the Mac tool: Finder.
File management tools from Help Desk Handbook for End Users: PC Basics, Hardware, Operating Systems, and Applications by Scott Jernigan
Basic file management
In this 5 minute video, Scott talks through essential things you need to know how to do to look after your files. This includes creating, copying, moving and deleting files:
File manipulation from Help Desk Handbook for End Users: PC Basics, Hardware, Operating Systems, and Applications by Scott Jernigan
Backup
You need to know that the work you create is safe and won’t disappear when you need it most. In this 3 minute video Scott explains different systems you might come across for backing up your important information.
Remember that you can safely store your documents in your OneDrive folders, provided through your Office 365 account.
Backups from Help Desk Handbook for End Users: PC Basics, Hardware, Operating Systems, and Applications by Scott Jernigan
9. Cloud computing
This section has three videos.
As a student of the University of Brighton you will have access to an Office 365 account. Office 365 is an example of Cloud (or remote) computing. Office 365 provides you with a free and secure space to store your documents online. In this context, ‘online’ means somewhere on the internet – and not on your computer’s hard disk.
If your documents are stored online, you can use ‘online apps’ to view and make changes to your documents. This means you don’t need a copy of Word, or Excel on your own computer to edit documents and spreadsheets. You can edit documents using your web browser to connect to apps that are in the ‘cloud’ – somewhere on the internet.
In this 3.5 minute video, Scott talks about the advantages of cloud computing, although he calls it ‘remotely accessed computer systems’:
Remotely-accessed computer systems from Help Desk Handbook for End Users: PC Basics, Hardware, Operating Systems, and Applications by Scott Jernigan
What is Office 365?
In this four minute video, Jill explains what you will see in your University Office 365 account.
You will have access to your Office 365 account after you have enrolled online.
More about Online apps
The online versions of the apps are generally simplified versions of the full desktop apps. They don’t do all the things you can do with the desktop versions. If you want the full versions of Office apps, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, you can download these free of charge from your Office 365 home page and install them on your own computer.
In this six minute video, Nick explains the difference between online apps and desktop apps (the ones installed on your computer) and shows how you can use OneDrive to store documents online:
Word online from Learning Word Desktop (Office 365/Microsoft 365) (2018) by Nick Brazzi
LinkedIn Learning
When you have completed your online enrolment, you will have access to the full library of LinkedIn Learning videos. The LinkedIn Learning library includes more detailed help on how to carry out specific tasks on your computer, as well as lots of other skills including time management, confident presentations, interviews, mindfulness and much, much more.