Drawing and typing on a computer
Computer Science · Early Years · The School
Paint tools
A paint program gives you a brush, a colour palette, a fill tool and an undo button. UNDO is the most important one: it means nothing you do is permanent, so you can experiment freely. Try each tool once before making your picture, so you know what you have.
Typing basics
The space bar makes gaps between words. The shift key held down with a letter gives a CAPITAL. Backspace deletes the letter before the cursor. Type your name with a capital first letter — that one line uses three of the four keys that matter most.
Saving and finding
Work only exists after you SAVE it, and it needs a name you will recognise later — "my house picture" beats "untitled3". Files live in folders like drawings live in a drawer. Save, close, then find and reopen it: doing that once teaches more than being told ten times.
Type your name in a drawing program and then close it WITHOUT saving. Reopen: gone. Now type it again, click Save, choose a name like 'my-name' and a place you will remember, and close it. Reopen the program and find your file. Two things were needed — the save, and knowing where it went. A file you cannot find again is nearly as lost as one you never saved.