What is a screen?

What is a screen used for?

A computer screen, also known as a monitor or display, is used to show you what is happening on the computer at any given time.

For example, if you visit a banking website to check your account balance or pay a bill, the screen will show you all of this information.

Locating the screen controls

The screen has several buttons that can be used to turn it on and off, and to adjust its settings. These settings may include:

• Brightness
• Contrast
• Volume
• Input
• Picture mode

These controls are often located on the front of the screen or under the bottom edge.

Using an On-Screen Display

Some screens don’t have individual buttons for controls, but instead access all functions through what’s called an On-Screen Display. This is a small visual guide that appears on the screen when you press a Menu button. It will appear no matter what you are doing on your computer.

If your screen uses an On-Screen Display you can still follow along with the rest of this activity, but you might need to press the Menu, up/down, left/right, and select buttons to access features.

The Power button

The screen will need to be plugged into mains power for it to work. Once plugged in, locate the power button which often has a symbol on it that looks like a circle with a line through it. Press this button once to turn the screen on and once again to turn it off.

The Volume buttons

If your computer screen has built-in speakers, it will have volume controls. Push the up button to turn the volume up, and the down button to turn the volume down.

Some screens have a right arrow to turn the volume up, and a left arrow to turn it down.

The Contrast button

The Contrast button allows you to control the contrast so that it’s easier to see what’s on the screen when you’re in darker or lighter areas of the house, indoors or outside.

The Brightness button

If the screen is too dark and you’re struggling to see what’s on the screen, you can turn the Brightness up to increase the brightness of the display. Likewise, if your screen is too bright, things may appear washed out. You can fix this by turning the Brightness down to a lower setting.

The camera or webcam

Many computer screens come with a built-in camera or webcam that can be used to video yourself when you’re speaking to friends and family via a video call.

If your screen does have a camera, you’ll see a small pinhole on the frame, often with a small light next to it that will illuminate when the camera is in use.

Some screens don’t have a built-in camera, so you’ll need to purchase a camera that can be attached if you want to make video calls with other people.

Well done!

This is the end of the What is a screen? activity. You learned about your computer’s screen, how to turn it on and off and how to adjust its settings so it works in a way that best suits you.

Up next, find out more about the keyboard in the What is a keyboard? activity.