TECH CLUBBOZOMA INNOVATION HUB

Session 25 • Page 1

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Session 25: Keyboard Shortcuts & Working Faster

You already know a few secret key combinations: Ctrl + Z to undo, Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V to copy and paste, and Ctrl + B for bold. Today you will learn the 20 shortcuts that save the most time, race your classmates with them, and try to use a computer with no mouse at all. By the end you will work like a real office professional.

1. Plain Talk: The Short Path Through the Market

Imagine Kofi needs to buy tomatoes at Makola. The long way is to walk all round the outside of the market. His aunt, who sells there, knows a short path between the stalls and is there in one minute. Same place, much less walking.

A keyboard shortcut is a short path on the computer. With the mouse, copying a word means: move to the ribbon, find the Home tab, find the Copy button, click. With a shortcut, your fingers never leave the keyboard: one quick press and it is done.

Figure 25.1: The long way and the short path. A few seconds saved, a hundred times a day, adds up to a lot of time.

2. How to Press a Shortcut: Hold, Tap, Let Go

A shortcut written Ctrl + S does not mean "press both at exactly the same moment". It means:

1. HOLD

Press and hold down the first key (Ctrl, Alt, Shift or the Windows key). These are called modifier keys: they change what the next key does.

2. TAP

While still holding it, tap the letter key once, quickly. Do not hold the letter down, or it may repeat.

3. LET GO

Let go of both keys. For three-key shortcuts like Ctrl + Shift + T, hold the first two, then tap the third.

💡 USE TWO HANDS FOR BIG STRETCHES

Your typing fingers already know where every key is. For a shortcut like Ctrl + P, hold Ctrl with your left little finger and tap P with your right hand. No twisting your hand like a crab!

Editing, Formatting & Moving Through Text

Session 25 • Page 2

1. The Editing and Formatting Shortcuts

These work in almost every programme: Word, Google Docs, Excel, PowerPoint, File Explorer and your web browser. Some are old friends from Sessions 5 and 16.

Shortcut	What it does	Memory trick
Ctrl + C	Copy what you selected (the original stays).	Copy
Ctrl + X	Cut: move it (it disappears until you paste).	X = scissors
Ctrl + V	Paste it where your cursor is.	V = a down arrow
Ctrl + Z / Ctrl + Y	Undo your last action / Redo it if you undid too much.	Z = zap it
Ctrl + A	Select all the text, or every file in a folder.	All
Ctrl + S	Save. Do it every few minutes: power cuts happen!	Save
Ctrl + P	Print, with Print Preview (Session 17).	Print
Ctrl + F	Find a word on a long page or document.	Find
Ctrl + B I U	Bold, italic, underline. Select first; press again to undo it.	B, I, U

2. Moving and Selecting Text Without the Mouse

Arrow keys move the cursor one letter at a time. Add Ctrl and it jumps a whole word. Add Shift and it selects as it moves.

Figure 25.2: Moving through a sentence. The red line is the cursor; blue shows the selected word.

Ctrl + ← Ctrl + → jump one word.
Shift + ← Shift + → select as you move.

Home End start or end of the line.
Ctrl + Backspace delete a whole word.

Your turn: Your cursor is at the end of "kenkey". Which keys delete the word "kenkey" in one press?

Windows, Browser & Screenshot Shortcuts

Session 25 • Page 3

1. Driving Windows with the Windows Key

The Windows key (the four-square logo, between Ctrl and Alt) is a master key for the whole computer:

Shortcut	What happens
Alt + Tab	Switch windows: hold Alt, tap Tab to step, let go on the one you want.
Windows key + D	Show the Desktop at once. Press again to bring your windows back.
Windows key + ← / →	Snap the window to the left or right half. (↑ maximises, ↓ shrinks it.)
Windows key + E	Open File Explorer (you met this in Session 4).
Windows key + L	Lock the PC (Session 8). Your work stays open, but nobody else can use it.

Figure 25.3: Snapping two windows side by side. Windows 11 may then offer your other windows to fill the empty half.

2. Browser Shortcuts (recap of Session 11, plus Ctrl + L)

TABS

Ctrl + T opens a new Tab.
Ctrl + W closes the tab you are on.
Ctrl + Shift + T brings back the tab you closed by mistake. A life-saver!

ADDRESS & REFRESH

Ctrl + L jumps to the address bar and selects it, ready to type a new address or search (you clicked in it in Session 11; this is the keyboard way).
F5 refreshes (reloads) the page. In PowerPoint, F5 starts the slide show: same key, different job!

3. Screenshots: A Picture of Your Screen

📸 WINDOWS KEY + SHIFT + S (Session 8)

The screen goes dim and the Snipping Tool opens. Drag a box round the part you want. The picture is copied: press Ctrl + V to paste it into a document or email. Windows 11 may also save it in Pictures > Screenshots.

🖥️ PRTSC (PRINT SCREEN)

On some PCs it copies the whole screen, ready to paste. On newer Windows 11 PCs it opens the Snipping Tool instead, just like Windows key + Shift + S. Try it on your PC and see which!

⚠️ THINK BEFORE YOU SNAP OR CLOSE

A screenshot copies everything in the box, including names, messages and passwords: check it before you share it. Ctrl + W closes a tab at once, so a half-filled form may be lost. Leaving your PC? Press Windows key + L.

My Shortcut Card (Cut Out & Keep!)

Session 25 • Page 4

This is your own shortcut card. Print this page, cut along the dashed line, and keep it beside your keyboard or inside your exercise book. Tick each shortcut once you can do it without looking at the card.

⚡ BIH TECH CLUB SHORTCUT CARD

Owner:

Win = the Windows key. Remember: hold the first key, tap the last key, let go.

On a Mac?

Apple computers use the Command key (⌘ Cmd) where Windows uses Ctrl: Cmd + C, Cmd + V, Cmd + Z, Cmd + S, Cmd + T and so on. A few are different: Cmd + Tab switches apps, Cmd + Shift + 4 takes a screenshot of part of the screen, Option + ←/→ jumps a word and Option + Delete deletes a word. Chromebooks use Ctrl, like Windows.

Your turn: Which two shortcuts on the card do you think will save you the most time? Why?

Guided Hands-On Lab: Shortcut Races

Session 25 • Page 5

1. Warm Up in the 3D Lab

Open the Shortcut Race 3D lab on your session page. Race the clock with copy, paste, undo, find, switching windows and screenshots. Press the real keys on your keyboard (for the few keys Windows keeps for itself, like Alt + Tab, you pick them on the screen). Write your best time in the table below.

2. Lab Mission: Three Races on a Real Computer

Work in pairs: one pupil races, the partner times with a phone stopwatch or the classroom clock and checks for mouse use. Then swap. Each race you finish earns your team a point; the fastest pair in the class earns a bonus point.

1

Race 1: The Editing Race. Open your word processor and a new document. Type: "Waakye is the best breakfast in Ghana." Then, using only shortcuts: select all, make it bold, copy it, press End, Enter, paste it 3 times (one per line), undo the last paste, then press F12 (Save As; Fn + F12 on some laptops) and save it in BIH_Practice > Notes as Shortcut_Race_YourName.

2

Race 2: The Browser Race. Open Chrome or Edge. Open a new tab, jump to the address bar, type "kente cloth wikipedia" and press Enter. Open the Wikipedia article. Use Find to highlight the word Bonwire. Close the tab, then bring it back. Refresh the page.

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Race 3: The No-Mouse Challenge. Turn your mouse upside down (or move your hand away from the touchpad). Without it: show the desktop, open File Explorer, then switch back to your document with Alt + Tab. Snap the document to the left half of the screen and the browser to the right. Take a snip of the Kente page with Windows key + Shift + S (on the snipping bar, press Tab to pick Window or Full-screen snip, then Enter) and paste it under your sentences. Save. Finally, lock the PC and unlock it.

Race	My time	Partner's time	Mouse used? (Y/N)
3D lab: Shortcut Race (best)
1. The Editing Race
2. The Browser Race
3. The No-Mouse Challenge

Which shortcut slowed you down the most? Practise it 5 times, then write it here.

💡 STUCK WITHOUT THE MOUSE?

Press Tab to move between buttons and boxes, Enter to press a button, and Esc to close a menu or cancel. Many people who cannot use a mouse work this way every day.

Session 25 Review & Verification

Session 25 • Page 6

1. Which Shortcut Would You Use?

Choose the best shortcut for each situation.

Situation	A	B	C
1. Yaw closed a browser tab by mistake and wants it back.	Ctrl + T	Ctrl + Shift + T	Ctrl + W
2. Akosua needs to go to the toilet and leave her PC safely.	Win + D	Win + E	Win + L
3. Selasi wants a picture of just one part of the screen.	Win + Shift + S	Ctrl + P	Ctrl + A
4. Naa is looking for the word "Volta" in a 20-page document.	Ctrl + V	Ctrl + F	F5
5. Kofi has Word and Chrome open and wants to jump between them.	Alt + Tab	Ctrl + Z	Ctrl + L

2. Written Review Questions

Question 1: Explain how to press a shortcut such as Ctrl + S, step by step, to a friend who has never used one.

Question 2: Fatima wants to read a web page and type notes at the same time. Which shortcuts help her, and what does each one do?

3. Self-Assessment & Mentor Sign-Off

Tick the column that reflects your confidence at the end of Session 25:

Working Faster Competency	With Help	Almost Alone	All By Myself!
1. I can use the editing and formatting shortcuts (copy, paste, undo, save, find, bold).
2. I can switch, snap and lock windows and use browser tab shortcuts.
3. I can take a screenshot of part of the screen and paste it.
4. I can move through and select text using only the keyboard.

Mentor Signature: _____________________________

Date Completed: ____________________