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Computer Skills: Technology Tricks

This brief tutorial guide leads you to ways to brush up on your computer skills. It is useful for new students or students who may need some basic skills training.

Why Isn't My Computer Working?

Your learning environment is not designed to work on the Internet Edge or Safari web browsers. If you use these browsers, you will not be able to complete assignments or access some Big Sandy websites.

Two icons representing the Microsoft Edge and Explorer browsers, with red Xs drawn through them.an image of the safari icon with a red x drawn through it

To download Chrome, go to https://google.com/chrome and use the download button.  Follow on-screen directions.

An animated gif where the user navigates to a website and selects the download button for the Chrome browser.

To change your default browser setting, search for Default Apps and change to anything but Internet Edge or Safari.

An animated gif of a user using the search tool on the desktop to change the default app for Browser to Google Chrome.

[ a screenshot with the NEW PASSWORD button highlighted on the KCTCS User Account Center]I Forgot My Password!

Go to the reset password link and ask for a new one.   Current Students > User Account Center

Basic Formatting Tips

THE TASK

ANIMATION (click to view)

KEYBOARD SHORTCUT (WINDOWS)

EXTRA TIPS
Opening OneDrive Navigating MyPathy to the Take Me To section, then selecting OneDrive.   OneDrive will attempt to launch in a new window, so please turn off pop-up blockers.
Creating a New Word Document Finding the Add New button in OneDrive, then opening a new Word document.    
Changing Alignment and Centering Using the Alignment buttonto change rom left to center, centering a title, and then changing it back.

 CTRL + L (Left Align Text)

CTRL + E (Center Text)

  
Line Spacing Highlighting a block of text, then selecing the Paragraph Options to select Line Spacing and changing it to 2.

Paragraph options >

Spacing >

2

 Each number in the list represents how many lines should be between the lines of the paragraph.
Hanging Indent After higlighting text, select hte Paragraph options and the Special Indent text option Hanging.

Paragraph options >

Special Indent > 

option Hanging

 Hanging indents are used most frequently for citations.   Learn more about citations here.  
Renaming a File Naviging to the name of the file and clicking it, adding extra content.    Remember that turning in "Document4.docx" isn't helpful to your instructor, if they're taking in two dozen responses at the same time, and it isn't helpful to you, if you're trying to find it on OneDrive to work on it again.
Download a Word Document Moving to File and selecting Save a Copy > Download a Copy, then finding it in the Downloads section of the browser.

File > 

Save a copy > 

Download a copy

 Default folder is called Downloads, unless you changed it 

 

Putting It All Together

Clearing the cache means deleting the search history, deleting any cookies you have received from sites, and clearing any saved password login data.  

Clearing the cache is especially important if:

  • something weird started happening recently on a computer where you could always access Big Sandy content

  • you changed your password recently

  • you can't access Blackboard assignments or quizzes, especially from a textbook company