A backquote is a symbol ` as used as the endquote indicator in a quotation.
The symbol below the tilde (~) on a standard keyboard is typically the backquote or grave accent (`). It is often used in programming and markup languages, such as for denoting code snippets in Markdown or as part of syntax in various programming languages.
As Mac OS X is a true windowing system where the window allows you to interact with the running application you can select a window which will bring the appropriate application to the fore - note the change in the menu bar at the top. If you have closed a window because you no longer need to interact with the application, for example while listening to music with iTunes, you can click on the applications icon in the Dock to open a window for that application. Pressing the Command (cmd) key and Tab key will open an application switcher pane across the screen from which you can select, with the mouse or the arrow keys, a running application to work with. if you have several applications/windows open then Exposé (usually found by pressing the F9 key) will create small images of each window which allows you to select which one you want to work with. Exposé settings can be configured in the 'Exposé & Spaces' section of System Preferences.