IT Essentials · Beginner
Computer Basics / BCC (Basic Computer Course)
The course that assumes nothing: parts and ports, switching a computer on and off safely, files and folders, the internet and email, and the habits that keep a machine — and your work — safe.
IT Essentials program
- Lessons
- 4
- Study time
- 45m
- Level
- Beginner
- Program
- IT Essentials
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4 lessons
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About this course
This course assumes nothing. It names the parts of a desktop and a laptop and explains what each one does, shows how to start, use and shut down a machine safely, and covers the skills that cause the most early frustration: files, folders, the mouse, and finding a document again tomorrow.
From there it covers the internet and email in the vocabulary a beginner actually needs — Wi-Fi versus mobile data, what a browser and a search engine are, how to tell a safe page from a trap, and how to write an email somebody answers. It also covers the habits that protect your work: strong passwords, a backup you have tested, and updates that are not postponed forever.
Everything is taught on the machine you have, with printed checklists you can keep beside the computer, because the goal is confidence rather than vocabulary.
Who this is for
- You have never used a computer, or use one for a few tasks and want to stop guessing.
- You are starting an office, teaching or shop job that expects computer literacy.
- You are teaching a family member or a class and want a sensible order to teach it in.
Before you start
- Access to a computer — Windows appears in the examples and the ideas transfer to any machine.
- No previous experience whatsoever.
- About two to three hours a week for two weeks; the lessons are short on purpose.
Where it leads
- Microsoft Office is the natural next step for documents, spreadsheets and presentations.
- Computer Networking explains what happens after you connect to Wi-Fi.
- Basic computer literacy is asked for in almost every office, teaching and administrative job in Ghana, and it is the fastest way to stop being afraid of the machine.
Tools you will use
What you will build
- 1A workstation you set up and can explain, cable by cable
- 2A folder system for your own documents, with names you will still understand in a year
- 3A practised routine for saving, copying and finding files
- 4A tested backup: a copy you have actually restored from
- 5A printed checklist for whoever uses the computer next
Curriculum
2 modules · 4 lessons · 45m
Sign in to open each lesson
01 · Getting started
The machine, the screen, and the files you cannot see.
1. Parts of a computer and how to start one safely
This lesson names every part of a desktop and a laptop, explains what each one does and how to plug it together, and covers the two things beginners worry about most: the correct way to switch a computer on and off (and why holding the power button is a last resort), and what to do when the screen stays black. It assumes you have never touched a computer and ends with you sitting in front of one that is running.
2. The desktop, files, folders and the mouse
Files and folders are the back of a computer that beginners never see, and where most early frustration lives: a document saved to a place nobody can find again, a photograph copied instead of moved, a USB drive unplugged mid-copy. This lesson covers the desktop, the taskbar, windows, the mouse and keyboard basics, and a clear method for saving, finding and organising files — including the naming and folder habits that save an office hours every week.
02 · Connecting and keeping it working
Internet, email, safety, and the habits that keep a machine useful.
1. The internet, browsing and email
The internet begins with a connection and a browser, and both have vocabulary worth knowing: Wi-Fi versus mobile data, what "the page cannot be reached" actually means, searches, tabs and downloads, forms and passwords. This lesson covers the internet in plain language, safe browsing and searching, email — sending, replying, attachments and the folders that keep an inbox usable — and the security habits that prevent the most common problems: weak passwords, phishing messages and files from strangers.
2. Safety, maintenance and good habits
A computer is a machine that needs power, cleaning, backups and passwords — and its owner needs habits. This lesson covers protecting the machine physically (power, surges, heat, dust, liquids, transport), the software basics (updates, antivirus, what to install and what never to install), backup that actually works, password practice and account safety, and the professional habits of an office: shared computers, printing sensibly, printing costs, data privacy and knowing when to back away and ask for help.
4 lessons, including the a workstation you set up and can explain, plus a folder system, a tested backup and a printed checklist for whoever uses it next project. Sign in and buy the program to open them. Create an account to track progress and earn the certificate.
Taught by a working engineer
codemasterghana Team — Course team. Every lesson is written to be used, not just watched.
A verifiable certificate
Complete every lesson and you get a certificate with a code and QR that an employer can check in seconds.
Practice in the Code Lab
Write and run code in the browser while you learn, with your work saved to your own account.
Still have a question?
Email hello@codemasterghana.com or send a message from the contact page — we answer within two working days, in English or Twi.