acronym: a word made from initials. For example: SAS is an acronym for St. Agatha School... BRB stands for Be Right Back.

address book:  an area for storing names, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, etc. 

Email programs have address books that make sending a message much easier!

anti-virus: programs that clean or remove viruses or stop them before they attack your computer.

backup: an extra copy of a file, document, or program, in case anything happens to the original.

bookmarks: a list of websites that you visit often or would like to visit again.

browser:  a program you use to surf the internet such as Internet Explorer, or Firefox.

bullets: dots used when creating a list or an outline. Each item on the list has its own bullet next to it.

bug: something that causes a computer or program to stop working altogether or not work properly, giving incorrect results. Bugs are unintentional.

Burn a CD: saving or recording information onto a CD. You can burn a "Data CD" to save work, files, pictures, etc., 

or burn an "Audio CD" to play in your CD player, car or computer.

C: Drive:  the computer's main storage area, also known as the "Hard Drive". When information is saved to the C: drive, it stays on that computer only. 

You must be using that same computer to access the information again.

case sensitive:  it matters if it is capital or lower case. User names and passwords are often case sensitive.

CD Burner (also known as a CD-R or CD-RW drive):  a drive that allows you to play and save to CDs. Saving to CDs is known as burning.

cell:  individual section (box) of a table or spreadsheet.

copy:  to leave some text or image where it is, but copy it to another location also;  to copy - highlight then hold down the control key and press C, to paste - control V

CPU: (Central Processing Unit) is the chip or processor found inside the computer that does all of the work. Also known as the brain of the computer or the processor.

cut: to get rid of something, to move it or remove it. (Ctrl+X is the "cut" shortcut).

delete:  to remove or erase, often permanently.

desktop:  the screen where all your icons are

digital camera:  a camera that takes and stores pictures electronically. Pictures can be reviewed, edited, saved, deleted, or printed.

double click:  clicking the mouse button 2 times quickly. Double click on icons to open programs.

download: getting a file from someone else's computer and saving it to your own.

dragging: clicking on an icon or object and holding the mouse button down while moving the mouse.

e-mail: electronic mail, mail sent electronically using the computer rather than using paper and people to deliver.

emoticons:  symbols of expression created with the keyboard :-)

extension:  letters that tell us what kind of file we are using. Extensions follow a dot (.) and help us understand which programs can open the file. 

For example: a .doc file is a Word document, a .bmp file is a picture, a .ppt file is a Power Point project.

FAQ:  acronym for frequently asked questions

flash drive:  a small, portable drive that plugs into the USB port and is used to store and transfer files. Also known as a jump drive, pen drive, or USB drive.

floppy disk:  a 3½ disk used to store files.

font: the style of typed letters; different fonts have different appearances.

graphic:  a picture; also known as an image.

gigabytes: units of storage space; 1 gigabyte is about equal to about 1 billion bytes

handles:  small marks in the corners and center points of a graphic that allow you to resize the image.

hard boot:  using the power button to turn your computer off and on. This is not the proper way to restart a computer, and we usually only do this if the computer freezes.

hard drive:  the computer's main storage area, found inside the computer case. Usually named the C: Drive.

hardware:  the parts of your computer that you can touch, such as the monitor, tower, mouse, & keyboard

highlight:  to select and surround something with color by clicking and dragging over it

HTML:  acronym for Hyper Text Markup Language. HTML is a set of codes used to create web pages.

hyperlink:  something you can click on, can be pictures or text

icon:  pictures or symbols that represent a program or file.

IM: (Instant Message) – sending and receiving messages instantly via a program such as AIM, MSN Messenger, or Yahoo Instant Messenger.

inbox:  area where all e-mail messages sent to you are kept

install:  adding a program to your computer from a CD or floppy disk or by downloading

ISP:  stands for Internet Service Provider, the company that provides your internet service

Internet:  computers connected to each other all over the world, making it easy to share information

keyboard shortcuts:  quick ways, using the keyboard, to do things like copy & paste.

link:  something to click on to go to another place on the internet

megabytes: units of storage space; 1 megabyte is about equal to 1 million bytes

memory: (RAM - Random Access Memory) the amount of memory available for your programs to use. 

 Working with graphics or animation programs will use up a lot of RAM and may cause your computer to become slow. 

Shutting down and restarting your computer resets the RAM.

menu bar: the bar across the top of the window that begins with File, Edit, View... It's called a Menu Bar because every item on it bring a menu.

modem: the part of your computer that connects to and communicates with phone lines or signals. That's the way Internet service is provided.

monitor: the part of the computer that looks like a TV and shows you information. The monitor can also be referred to as the display or the screen.

netiquette: good manners for Internet and e-mail use

network:  a number of computers connected together to share information and hardware.

numeric keypad:  the group of number keys found on the side of a keyboard

paste:  to insert some text or an image you previously cut or copied

queue: a waiting line. For example, when several people are printing to the same printer at once, the queue shows who is next in line.

radio button:  a little open circle beside something you can select

RAM: Random Access Memory. The part of your computer that temporarily stores information you're using at that time 

so that it can more quickly appear than if it had to retrieve it each time from the hard drive. Sometimes simply called "memory".

right click:  using the button on the right side of the mouse

scanner: a hardware device that copies or "scans" items such as pictures onto your computer. The images can then be saved as a file.

screensaver: a moving picture that covers the monitor when you have been idle for a set amount of time

server:  a central computer in a network that other computers connect to so they can share files. Servers generally have a very large amount of storage space.

shortcut:  using an icon to create a quick way to open a program or document. A shortcut is not the actual document or program; only an easy way of opening. 

Deleting a shortcut does not, therefore, delete the document or program.

soft boot:  pressing the Ctrl & Alt & Delete keys to reboot your computer in case of a problem;  this is better for your computer than a hard boot

software:  programs you add to your computer

spam:  unwanted e-mail

spreadsheet:  a tool that allows you to enter information in rown and columns to create charts, graphs, etc. 

Spreadsheets are used for organizing information and use formulas to calculate values.

status bar:  the thin bar found at the bottom of a window or program that tells you when a page is finished loading

system tray:  the area at the bottom of the screen, right corner of the task bar, where you find the time display and other small icons.

table:  a chart of columns and rows used to divide and organize information. Tables are especially helpful to keep items in line.

task bar:  the bar beside the Start button that shows what programs are open and allows you to switch between windows

text:  words, writing, no pictures

title bar:  the blue strip across the top of a program's window;  it tells you what you are working in

tool bar: a row of buttons to help you easily access tools

upload: sending information from your computer to another one.

URL:  stands for uniform resource locator and is what you type in to go to a site; also called the web site address, but it's correct name is URL. 

virus: computer program written to cause problems or damage your computer by changing files it uses to operate properly.

WWW:  acronym for World Wide Web

 These acronyms are often used in text messages, emails, and instant messages to save time. It is OK to abbreviate your words when chatting with friends, 

but remember to use proper English when completing school assignments!