What is a keyboard?

What is a keyboard used for?

The main purpose of a keyboard is to type text into your computer to tell it what to do. For example, you might want to visit a particular website, so you’ll use the keyboard to type the exact web address.

A keyboard also allows you to enter numbers to perform calculations, and may even allow you to control the computer’s volume, brightness, and contrast.

The keyboard layout

As you can tell when you look at your keyboard, the letters aren’t in alphabetical order. The most common keyboard layout is known as the QWERTY keyboard, due to the first six letters that appear from the top-left.

The number keys

Sitting in a row above the letters are the numbers 1 – 9 with zero (0) sitting on the far right. Some larger keyboards also have a number pad located on the right-hand side of the keyboard.

The Enter, Delete and Space bar keys

Enter key: When you have finished typing and want to start a new line of text, press the Enter key. This is sometimes marked with an arrow pointing down and back, and on some keyboards it’s labelled Return.

Space bar: The Space bar allows you to add a space between words when typing text.

Delete key: Press this key to delete the last letter you typed. This key is sometimes marked with a cross inside a square.

Typing capital letters

You can type a capital letter in two different ways:

• Hold down the Shift key and press the letter you wish to make into a capital
• Press the caps lock key once and then press any letter on the keyboard. You will need to press the caps lock key again to go back to typing lowercase letters.

Using the Shift key

Aside from allowing you to type capital letters when holding it down, the Shift key also allows you to type a symbol that appears on the top half of a given key. For example, if you want to add a percentage symbol (%),hold down the Shift key and press the number 5.

Using the number pad

Some keyboards include a number pad on the far right. The number pad allows you to quickly make calculations by pressing the numbers as well as the decimal point, +, -, *, / and = keys.

If your number pad does not seem to be working, press the Num Lock key in the top left corner of the number pad. This will turn it on and let you use it to type numbers.

Punctuation and symbols

Many of the keys on the keyboard combine more than one symbol or punctuation mark. If you press the key, the bottom symbol will appear on the screen. If you hold down the Shift key and press the key, the bottom symbol will appear.

The Escape key

The Escape key is located in the top-left of the keyboard and often has the letters esc on it. The Escape key acts a bit like a cancel button, in that it allows you to interrupt what the computer is doing if you press it.

For example, if you’re watching a video in full-screen mode, pressing the esc key can make that video return to playing in a smaller window.

The Backspace and Delete keys

The Backspace key acts a bit like an eraser, in that it allows you to erase any letter, number or symbol you’ve just typed. To erase large quantities of text, simply hold the Backspace key down.

Backspace erases text to the left of the blinking cursor. To erase text to the right of the cursor, you use the Delete key. This is sometimes labelled as Del.

The Arrow keys

The Arrow keys allow you to move around the screen, spreadsheet, or document. You can press the Up arrow key once to jump up by one line, or hold it down to jump up multiple lines. You can also use the Right arrow or Left arrow keys to move the cursor forward or backwards through a line of text.

The Tab key

The Tab key allows you to skip from one section of a webpage to another with one press. The Tab key is useful if you’re filling out an online form and need to jump from one section of the form to another.

Well done!

You’ve completed the What is a keyboard? activity. You’ve learned what a keyboard is used for and some of its basic commands.

Up next, learn about another important item of hardware: the mouse in the What is a mouse? activity.