Computer Skills - Apple MAC Basics

This course is for those needing to learn the basic skills in operating their Apple MAC computer. This course will give a sound understanding that will enable students to move on to further study if desired.

Entry Requirements

To have access to an Apple Mac computer outside of TAFE. Keyboarding skills are beneficial but not essential.

Student Instructions

Please bring a pen and exercise book/paper for note taking. You will need a Memory stick/USB flash drive (512 Mb/1Gb is ideal) for saving your work and taking your files home to practice with.

Topics

Section A: Desktop and Finder (Week 1)
Intro to the Desktop and Menu bar, Navigating the Finder, Finder Preferences, The Dock, View Options, The Home Folder, Using Stacks, Disc Burning, Spotlight Search and Dashboard

Section B: System Preferences (Week 2)
System Preferences Introduction, Appearance, Desktop & Screensaver, Dock Preferences, Expose & Spaces, Language & Text, Security, Spotlight, CDs & DVDs, Displays, Energy Saver, Keyboard & Mouse, Print & Fax, Sound, Mobile Me, Network, Bluetooth, Sharing, Accounts, Date & Time, Parental Controls, Software Update, Speech, Start-up Disk and Time Machine

Section C: Applications (Weeks 3, 4 & 5)

  • Safari – Intro, Bookmarks, Tabbed Browsing, Saving Web Pages, Printing Web Pages, Viewing PDFs
  • Mail – Account Setup, Read Mail, Compose Mail, Junk Mail, Mailboxes & Rules, Notes & ToDos
  • Address Book – Creating & Editing Cards, Editing Fields & Photos, View Options, Groups, Search
  • iCal – The iCal Interface, Creating Calendars & Events, ToDos & Notifications, Publish & Subscribe, Printing Calendars
  • iTunes – iTunes Interface part 1 & 2, Import from a CD, Create Playlists & Burn CDs, Using the iTunes Store
  • Preview – Opening & Editing Images, Opening and Editing PDFs, Annotate PDFs, Taking Screenshots & Printing
  • Text Edit – Tabs & Indents, Text Styles, Lists & Tables, Saving & Printing,
  • Time Machine – Recover Files, Put Back
  • Dictionary – Using the OS X Dictionary, Spell Check
  • Quicktime X – Play Videos, Trim & Share, Record your Display


Section D: Basic Troubleshooting (Week 5)
Organization, Trash, Updates, Force Quit, Restart, playlist Files and Disk Utility

Career Prospects

Working in an Office environment.

Delivery Style

Teacher instruction, complemented by independent student work using a work book supplied as part of the course. This course is information based and designed to cater to a wide range of learner needs. Delivery is on a Gold Coast TAFE Apple MAC computers.
Please note tutor may change due to unforseen circumstances.

Outcomes

Students should gain basic knowledge and skills to operate a Apple MAC computer.