These are basic terms I think you should know in this class. If you run across other terms which are not here but which you think would be valuable for the rest of the class to know about, please e-mail me, and I will put them on this page.
User Name: Your User Name is the name you use to log onto the computer (at OU, your User Name is your 4 by 4--the first 4 letters of you last name and the last 4 numbers of your ID#).
Password: Your Password is the word you use to complete the log-in process. This word is usually very personal and may contain letters and numbers. Often the Password is limited to 8 characters. When choosing a Password, you should make sure it's not a common name or something easily found in the dictionary because it's more difficult for someone to steal your password if it's uncommon.
Case Sensitive: A Case Sensitive password is a password which requires you to type in capital and lowercase letters as they originally appeared. Your password for most things will be case sensitive. Web Pages are usually Case Sensitive, so if you type in a capital instead of a lowercase letter, you will get an error message.
Dialog Box: A Dialog Box is the box which appears asking for information--usually a user name and password. You will see a Dialog Box appear when you go to WebBoard and when you check your e-mail.
Menu (Menu Bar): A Menu (sometimes called a Menu Bar or a Task Bar) is the area (usually at the top of the screen) which gives you options for the program you're working in. In Microsoft Word, for example, you will see several menus. The top one is a list of words (starting with File), and clicking on any of those words will give you a longer list of options. Other Menus in Word are rows of Icons, and pressing each Icon will cause a different thing to happen to your document. To see what an Icon will do, put the mouse near it and wait for a small information box to appear beside it.
Directory: A Directory is the area of the computer your document or programs is in. You will often need to change directory when you go to save on your disk. For the lab computers, the directory for your disk is the A: drive (3.5" floppy disk).
Upload: When you Upload something, you move its information from your disk or computer to a directory elsewhere. Please note that uploading is a copying function, so you will still have a copy of your draft (or whatever document) on your disk.
Download: Download is the opposite of Upload. When you Download something you copy it from a directory elsewhere to your local computer or to your disk. You need to become comfortable with Uploading and Downloading in this class.
This information from Dr. Robert Perrin's course packet for English 105, 1991.