welcome.
download and open the arduino progrma.
under files there are examples.
pin 13 on many arduions has an LED you can use to help show what is happening.
load Button from the examples/digital section.
read through that and try it out. that will show you how to read those switches
then load blink without delay. that is a bit more of a gradient, but you should be able to follow that as well.
break your code into sections.
section 1 - read the switches
section 2 - turn on /off the outputs
the program will loop and input then output... over and over.
the blink without delay is the place you really need to grasp.
each condition can have it's own counter.
the fast counter would cycle quickly, the slow one would take longer.
this is a great project for an introduction. it will force you to learn the basics and you only need the basics.
getting multiple blink without delay loops going at the same time is the key.
also, you may want to youtube arduino tutorial with jeremy blum. he has a sloppy way of going over some of the information, but the first couple tutorials are good for a beginner.
by bug I have with him is that in one he says, 'use a library'
that's it. that is his entire introduction, explanation and detailing of libraries.
I dropped him an e-mail and asked that he do a tutorial on libraries. how to save, were to find them, how to get them out of a program, how to know when to use them, what they actually do, etc.
he replied. I already covered libraries. ok... beginning to rant.... moving on....
your job is to see a switch and blink without delay.
estimated time to get one switch input and blink without delay. less than 1 hour.
get two blink without delays going at the same time, less than 1 additional hour