Unit #17 Objectives: Input Devices

The objective of unit Input Devices is to learn to recognize and understand the 18 key unit vocabulary terms. This is accomplished by completing the readings and other activities.

Unit Vocabulary

Below is a list of key vocabulary terms in this unit. You can also Print out the vocabulary list.

a hardware peripheral designed to 'scan' products into an inventory tracking system.

Harry got into trouble during inventory because he forgot to charge his remote barcode scanner.

To press and release the primary (left-side) mouse button

The screen prompt read, "Click next to continue."

To depress and release the left mouse button twice in quick succession

The Macintosh user did not know that in order to open a file in Windows you need to double-click it.

a device which forms a digitised image of a human finger print for the purpose of biometric authentication.

The security firm was so tired of people choosing weak passwords that they installed fingerprint scanners to increase the security of their systems.

an input device or mouse alternative using a sensitive rectangular surface and a stylus

The graphic designer used a graphics tablet in addition to a mouse in Illustrator

a peripheral used primarily to enter data into a computer

The mouse and the keyboard are two examples of common input devices.

an input device with a vertical rod mounted on a base used to control pointing devices or on-screen objects; normally with one or more buttons

The user used a joystick to control the airplane in the flight simulation.

an input device using a light-sensitive pen shaped handle which can be used to draw on the computer screen

Many older computers used light pens to increase interactivity before the mouse became a standard.

a hardware device plugged into a computer's sound card optimized for voice commands or other audio recording

The handicapped computer user used a headset with a microphone to navigate his programs.

a handheld input device used to move an onscreen pointer by means of sliding on a flat surface

Before the invention of the mouse, the 'tab key' or 'arrow keys' were used to navigate on screen.

A special icon (normally an arrow) which indicates the current location of the mouse on the desktop screen.

The mouse pointer changes shapes at times depending on the application being run and task being executed or performed.

the ability of a computer to determine standard letters and numbers based on fuzzy logic

Instead of retyping the stack of documents, the secretary decided to OCR them to save time.

to press the right-side mouse button

Windows 95 was the first major operating system to popularize the right-click

the ability of a computer to convert spoken words from a user into usable data.

The new phone system used speech recognition to help reduce the number of customer service representatives.

a part of an input device resembling a pen used to draw on the surface of a graphics tablet

The man lost his stylus and thus could no longer enter text on his PDA until he replaced it.

an input device consisting of a sensitive rectangular area in which one uses a finger to move a cursor on a display.

Laptops commonly include a built-in touchpad in addition to supporting a mouse.

a display that also acts as an input device by allowing a user to navigate a program by touching specific locations of the screen.

Most information kiosks in airports make use of touchscreens instead of keyboards or mice.

a pointing device consisting of a ball on top of a base that is rotated to move a cursor on the computer screen

The handicapped person used a trackball instead of a mouse to move the cursor.