new to cmm...basic help

new to cmm...basic help

I will go ahead and apologize in advance. I am brand new to EVERYTHING CMM.
I took the 3 day basic training but it was just to much information for someome who has never seen a CMM. Apart from turning on the machine and homing it, I know nothing.
i just want to put a part on the table and measure from the top of the part to the first step without cad, because i am new to that as well, but i  just to understand how to do it. Step by Step... any help is greatly appreciated. if anyone has alot of time on their hands, i will be needing alot of help in the near future, or tell me where i can go to find the step by step.