The Power Button – Powering Your Device On and Off
Welcome back to “Your Canadian Senior Moment”!
Hi there and welcome to “Connect & Thrive Online”! We’re so happy you’ve decided to join us on this journey to becoming more comfortable and confident with technology. We’ve decided to run this course every Monday, so you’ll know when to expect it. In this course, we’re going to start at the very beginning, with the most important button on any device: the power button.
***NOTE*** I know the majority of readers already know how to turn their devices on and off. However, we would be remiss if we didn’t start with the most basic of lessons for those who are just getting started. Besides, you never know, you just might learn something about the process you weren’t aware of. Bear with us, we get into the real nitty gritty in future lessons.
Because different people learn best via different methods we’re including both a print version and a video version.
The Basics of Powering On
The power button is what brings your device to life. On a laptop, you’ll often find it in the top corner of your keyboard. On a smartphone or tablet, it’s usually on the side or the top edge. It might have a little circle with a line in it—that’s a universal symbol for power.
When you want to turn your device on, you simply press that power button once and let go. You’ll see lights turn on and things begin to happen on the screen.
Sleep Mode vs. Shut Down
It’s important to know the difference between putting your device to sleep and shutting it down completely.
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Sleep Mode: When you close the lid of a laptop or quickly press the power button on a phone, your device takes a nap. It wakes up quickly, but it’s still using a small amount of battery. It’s great for when you’ll be back in a few minutes.
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Shut Down: To turn it off completely—what we call a “shut down”—you need to do a little more. This ensures all the programs close properly and the battery isn’t being used at all. It’s like putting it to bed for the night.
How to Shut Down a Computer:
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Go down to the Start Menu (in the bottom corner of your screen).
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Click the Power icon.
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Select “Shut down.”
How to Shut Down a Phone or Tablet:
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Press and hold the power button for a few seconds.
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A menu will appear on your screen.
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Select “Power off” or “Shut down.”
Your Turn to Practice!
Find the power button on your device. Now, practice turning it on and then properly shutting it down. You can’t break it—and it’s a great habit to get into!
What’s Next? In our next lesson, we’ll dive into another foundational skill: how to connect your device to the internet using Wi-Fi. We’ll show you how to do it safely and easily. We’ll see you then!
(Please remember: Your device and screen may look slightly different from our examples. If you run into any difficulty, please describe your problem in the comments and we’ll do our best to help you individually.)
Warmly,
Bill and Marilyn
Founders of Canadian Senior Moment