Computer literacy describes a general knowledge of computers, software, hardware and how they work.  Computer literacy usually refers to the ability to run and navigate applications rather than being able to program.

Basic Computer Skills:

In order to properly use a computer or computing device it is necessary to have a basic understanding of what a basic computer is and how it operates. All computers have two things in common, hardware and software.

Hardware is what the computer is physically made up of; which includes the monitor, keyboard and mouse, and all of its internal components which allows it to store, receive, and process information and data.

  • The central processing unit(CPU), or processor, contains logic circuitry and performs the instructions of a computer’s programs. It is the “brain” of the computer.
  • Read-only memory(ROM) is the memory that comes with your computer that is pre-written to hold the instructions for booting-up the computer.Information can be read from ROM, but not written back to it. ROM will retain data when the computer is powered off.It is known as non-volatile memory.
  • Random access memory(RAM)is the memory available for the operating system, programs and processes to use when the computer is running.RAM can be read from, and written to, for processing information and instructions.Data in RAM is not permanently written and therefore known as volatile memory. When you power off your computer the data stored in RAM is deleted.

Software is made up of informational data and code that acts as a set of instructions informing the hardware what actions it is to perform or initiate. (ie. Software applications: The computer’s operating system, Microsoft Word(word processing), Excel(spreadsheets and data calculation),Web browsers: Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari, Search engines: Google, Bing, Yahoo

Computer literacy is considered to be a very important skill to possess in developed countries. Employers want their workers to have basic computer skills because companies are very dependent on them to conduct basic tasks. Having knowledge of skills in computers also gives people access to higher paying jobs and they can access to resources they need