Mouse basics
Mouse basics
What's coming up
Most people use a mouse to control a desktop computer.
In this activity, you'll find out what a mouse is, how to hold a mouse so you don't hurt your wrist and, of course, how to use a mouse.
Start activity
What is a mouse?
The mouse is a great tool for telling your computer what to do by choosing things on the screen.
Most mice have a left and a right button, and a scroll-wheel between them. For most of the tasks you perform with the mouse, you use the left button.
Different types of mouse
There are many different types of computer mouse.
The analogue mouse has a ball underneath. This type of mouse needs to rest on a mouse mat to move smoothly.
The digital mouse uses a red laser instead of a ball. Usually, this type of mouse does not need a mouse mat.
Some mouse types don't need a cable; a mouse without a cable is known as a wireless mouse.
Computer mice come in all different shapes and sizes, but they all do the same thing.
The correct way to hold a mouse
When you use a mouse, it's important to avoid straining your wrist, arm or shoulder.
Sit with your arm at your side, bent at the elbow. You should be able to reach the mouse without extending your arm.
Rest your wrist on the desk, or mouse mat, with the palm of your hand on the back side of the mouse.
The correct way to hold a mouse
Hold the mouse gently between your thumb and last two fingers. Lightly rest your index finger on the left button and your middle finger on the right button.
Make sure your wrist is not bent up or down. You may need to adjust the height of your seat to make sure your wrist is straight.
Let's practise
Have a go at holding the mouse the way you've just been shown. Move it around on the desk or the mouse mat and look at the screen while you do this. What's happening?
You should see the pointer on the screen moving as you move the mouse. This pointer is called the cursor.
A changing cursor
The cursor changes shape according to what it's hovering over on the screen. On the next slide, you can watch a video to see this in action. Click the 'Continue' button to see the video.
Clicking
When selecting an item such as a program, you press down once on the left mouse button. This is called clicking. On the next slide, you can watch a video to see this in action. Click the 'Continue' button to see the video.
Congratulations!
Well done, you've come to the end of the Mouse basics activity.
You've learnt what a mouse is, how to hold a mouse safely and how to select more than one item at the same time.
In the next activity, The click factor, we'll start by looking at some of the other things you can do using the left mouse button.