the use of instructional technology in classroom
DESCRIPTION
The usage of technology has become increasingly prominent in education these days, evident by the infrastructure and facilities in schools ranging from tablets to high speed internet connectivity. This book is written to complement the effort of promoting the integration of technology with education, focusing on the basic knowledge of technology which an educator should know.TRANSCRIPT
The Use of Instructional Technology in Classroom
Johan Eddy Luaran
Faculty of Education
Universiti Teknologi MARA
2014
First Published 2013
Second Publication 2014
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he usage of technology has become increasingly prominent in education these
days, evident by the infrastructure and facilities in schools ranging from tablets to
high speed internet connectivity. This book is written to complement the effort of
promoting the integration of technology with education, focusing on the basic
knowledge of technology which an educator should know.
I started this book with a brief history of computers to illustrate the rapid development
of technology and how lives are affected and dependent on it. The later chapters help
novice learners in understanding the use of technology for educational purposes while
guiding readers on the terms commonly used in instructional technology. This book also
comprised chapters guiding teachers in utilizing resources available in the internet, with
a hope to alleviate teachers’ burden by working efficiently through collaboration and
idea sharing.
With the integration of technology, there is a need for a different classroom management
compared to the traditional ones. Hence, this book also covers on the skills needed by
teachers in order to manage an IT classroom promoting more effective classroom
management. Realising that integrating technology in education is not all beneficial
without a single flaw, I also touched on few issues related to instructional technology
such as piracy, unequal access and internet security within the essence of education.
Other than that, readers will appreciate the myriad diagrams and screenshots included
in this book to help readers navigate themselves in making the most out of the content of
this book. With the topics written covered most of the necessary, this book ends with
anticipations for instructional technology in the future.
I certainly hope that this book will provide a resource to advocate for the best possible
ways of how learning can be carried out effectively with technology. My goal is that the
ideas in this book will help support educators in deriving effective lessons through
instructional technology, while also nurturing their sense of joy in learning alongside
their teaching.
“Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them,
the teacher is most important.”
- Bill Gates
T
Table of Contents CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER ..................................................................1
1.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................1
1.2 Early History of Computer .............................................................................................1
1.3 The Five Generations of New Computer .......................................................................3
1.4 Introduction to Computer ...............................................................................................5
1.5 Computer System ...........................................................................................................6
1.5.1 Input ................................................................................................................6
1.5.2 Output ...........................................................................................................12
1.5.3 Storage ..........................................................................................................14
1.5.4 System Unit ...................................................................................................17
1.6 Operating and Application Software ...........................................................................19
1.6.1 Operating Software ......................................................................................19
1.6.2 Application Software ....................................................................................20
1.7 Exercises ......................................................................................................................23
CHAPTER 2 INTRODUCTION TO WINDOWS ..................................................................28
2.1 Introduction to Windows .............................................................................................28
2.2 The Desktop .................................................................................................................28
2.3 The Taskbar .................................................................................................................29
2.4 Windows and Icons ......................................................................................................35
2.4.1 Windows .......................................................................................................35
2.4.2 Icons ..............................................................................................................36
2.5 Desktop Properties .......................................................................................................39
2.6 The Mouse and Keyboard ............................................................................................41
2.6.1 The Mouse ....................................................................................................41
2.6.2 Menus ............................................................................................................45
2.6.3 Keyboard…………………………………………………………………...46
2.7 My Computer ...............................................................................................................54
2.8 The Recycle Bin ...........................................................................................................57
2.8.1Recover Files from the Recycle Bin ..............................................................57
2.8.2 Permanently Delete Files from The Recycle Bin .........................................58
2.9 The Start Menu ............................................................................................................59
2.10 Running Program .......................................................................................................63
CHAPTER 3 WORD PROCESSING .......................................................................................64
3.1 Introduction to Word Processing Software ..................................................................64
3.2 Editing Features ...........................................................................................................66
3.3 Formatting Function.....................................................................................................69
3.4 Creating Tables ............................................................................................................71
3.5 Exercises ......................................................................................................................74
CHAPTER 4 POWERPOINT FOR EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION .................................79
4.1 Introduction to Presentation Software .........................................................................79
4.2 Creating Presentation with a Wizard ...........................................................................80
4.3 Quick Presentation on Wizard with a Blank Publication.............................................81
4.4 Create a New Presentation Based on a template ..........................................................83
4.5 Classroom Lesson Plans ..............................................................................................83
4.6 Creating Simple Courseware .......................................................................................85
4.7 Exercises ......................................................................................................................87
CHAPTER 5 DESKTOP PUBLISHING AND WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT ....................90
5.1 Introduction to Desktop Publishing and Website Development ..................................90
5.1.1 Introduction to Desktop Publishing ..............................................................90
5.1.2 Introduction to Website Development ..........................................................91
5.2 Creating a Publication ..................................................................................................92
5.3 Developing Website .....................................................................................................96
CHAPTER 6 USING SPREADSHEET IN CLASSROOM ..................................................104
6.1 Introduction to Spreadsheet .......................................................................................105
6.2 Creating a New Workbook/Worksheet ......................................................................105
6.3 Entering Data .............................................................................................................106
6.4 Editing Data ...............................................................................................................107
6.5 Working with Worksheets .........................................................................................108
6.6 The Formulas .............................................................................................................113
6.7 Integrating Basic Functions of Excel .........................................................................121
6.8 Working With Charts .................................................................................................133
6.9 Create Database and Data Analysis ...........................................................................141
6.9.1 Create a Database ........................................................................................141
6.9.2 Data Analysis ..............................................................................................142
6.10 Protecting Workbook/Worksheet.............................................................................154
6.11Integrating Microsoft Excel into The Classroom......................................................159
6.12Exercises ...................................................................................................................162
CHAPTER 7 NETWORKS AND THE INTERNET ............................................................165
7.1 Telecommunications ..................................................................................................165
7.2 Networking System ....................................................................................................166
7.3 The Development of the Internet ...............................................................................170
CHAPTER 8 WORLD WIDE WEB & EDUCATIONAL WEB PORTALS ......................172
8.1 World Wide Web (WWW) ........................................................................................172
8.2 Web Portals ................................................................................................................173
8.3 Educational Portals ....................................................................................................176
8.3.1Malaysian Educational Portals ..........................................................................177
8.3.2Benefits of Educational Portals .........................................................................179
8.4 Evaluating a Portal .....................................................................................................179
CHAPTER 9 e-LEARNING ....................................................................................................181
9.1 Introduction to e-Learning .........................................................................................181
9.2 e-Learning Features ...................................................................................................184
9.3 Types of e-Learning ...................................................................................................185
9.4 Benefits of e-Learning ...............................................................................................187
9.5 Drawbacks of e-Learning ...........................................................................................190
CHAPTER 10 MANAGING AN IT CLASSROOM ............................................................197
10.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................197
10.2 Educational Hardware and Software .......................................................................197
10.3 Effective Classroom Management ...........................................................................200
10.4 Managing an IT Classroom ......................................................................................201
10.5 Managing IT Skills in the Classroom ......................................................................203
10.6 IT Classroom Problems and Ways of Overcoming .................................................209
CHAPTER 11 WEB 2.0 IN CLASSROOM ...........................................................................193
11.1 Introduction to Web 2.0 ...........................................................................................193
11.2 Examples of Web 2.0 ...............................................................................................193
11.3 Advantages of Web 2.0 ............................................................................................193
11.4 Impact on Education…………………………………………………………...….195
11.5 Issues and Implications…………………………………………………………....195
CHAPTER 12 ISSUES RELATED TO COMPUTERS IN EDUCATION ........................211
12.1 Unequal Access ........................................................................................................211
12.2 Security ....................................................................................................................215
12.3 Software Piracy ........................................................................................................221
12.4 Health Risks using Computers .................................................................................224
CHAPTER 13 FUTURE TRENDS .........................................................................................230
13.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................230
13.2 Future Trends of Computer Hardware .....................................................................231
13.3 Electronic Books ......................................................................................................232
13.4 Wireless Networks in the School .............................................................................233
13.5 Artificial Intelligence ...............................................................................................234
13.6 Virtual Reality ..........................................................................................................238
13.7 Technology Classroom ............................................................................................240
13.8 Implication of Copyrights on Education ..................................................................246
COMPUTER ACRONYMS…………………………………………………………………..234
TERMS USE IN INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY……………………………………236
ANSWER SCHEME…………………………………………………………………………. 254
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1.1 INTRODUCTION
With the rise of the digital age, computer is an indispensable and important tools in human life. Most of
the office tasks or assignments are completed using the computers. Those who are lacking of such
knowledge find it challenging even to distinguish parts of the computer and do not know what are
softwares or hardwares. It is important to have the knowledge about computer so that we can take charge
of ourselves if anything happen to our computer.
1.2 EARLY HISTORY OF COMPUTER
The first device that is considered as computer was invented solely for calculating purpose. The first so-
called calculator better known as abacus was introduced in Asia about 5000 years ago. However, the use
of pencil and paper in later development gradually made people forget about abacus. 12 centuries later,
Blaise Pascal invented a numerical wheel calculator called Pascaline in order to help his father, a tax
collector in French. This device can only calculate using ‘addition’ using gears and dials. In 1694, a
German mathematician and philosopher, Gottfried Wilhem von Leibniz improved Pascaline so it can also
carry out multiplications. Just like before, this creation used the concept of gear and dial. 200 years later,
a Frenchman, Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar invented Arithometer, a calculator which can operate
the four basic mathematical operations- the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Pascaline Arithometer
In 1812, an English mathematics professor, Charles Babbage became the first person to successfully
combined machine and mathematics. Aspired by frustrations during his time in Royal Astronomical
Society in 1822, Babbage invention called the “Different Engine” which handles differential equation. This
locomotive-sized machine powered by steam was able to store programs, do calculations, and printing.
INTRODUCTION TO
COMPUTER
CHAPTER
1
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10 years later, Babbage and his assistant, Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace designed the
“Analytical Engine”. Ada, who was the first female programmer helped to improve the plan, which led to
the creation of instruction routines for computer. This engine was a breakthough as it has never been
constructed, introducing the modern computer concept. This device consisted of 50 000 components
which can store up to 100 numbers with 50 decimal points.
Different engine Analytical engine
With the rapid growth of the population in the United States of America at that time, the responsible
bureau faced difficulties as it usually takes up 7 years to calculate 1880 census. Herman Hollerith who
copied Babbage’s punch card idea, used it to store data and compiled the results mechanically. With this
machine, the time was saved to six weeks. This method had save lot of time, stored overwhelming data
and reduced errors. He then started to sell his machine and founded Tabulating Machine Company
(1896), later known as International Business Machine (IBM) in 1924.
In 1931, Vannever Bush developed a calculator that can solve complex differential equation. However,
the machine was regarded as too slow in carrying out such operation. In order to overcome this problem,
John V. Atanasoff (A professor at Iowa State College) together with Clifford Berry improvised Bush’s idea
where they invented an all-electronic computer, adopting Boolean algebra to be applied to its computer
circuitry.
1.3 THE FIVE GENERATIONS OF COMPUTERS
1.3.1 FIRST GENERATION OF COMPUTERS (1945-1956)
The first computers were enormous, often taking up entire rooms. They were powered by thousands of
vacuum tubes - glass tubes that look similar to large, cylindrical light bulbs – which need replacing
constantly, required a great deal of electricity and generated a lot of heat. This type of computer could
solve only one problem at a time since they needed to be physically rewired with cables to be
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reprogrammed, which typical ly took several days (sometime even weeks) to complete and several more
days to sheck before the computer can be used. Usually paper punch cards and paper tape were used for
input and output was printed on paper.
Vacuum Tubes
The purpose of computer during this era was focused on war. During the Second World War, Germany
had developed Z3 in 1941 to design missiles and planes. However, British army had developed the
Collossus in 1943, a computer built to decode German masseges. In the America on the other hand, an
electronic calculator was successfully developed by an IBM engineer in 1944. The Harvard-IBM
Automatic Sequence Controlled calculator or Mark I, was invented to create ballistic charts for U.S Navy.
However, it was lamented as too slow, inflexible and only does basic and complex arithmetic.
Following that, John Presper Eckert and John W. Mauchly created ENIAC (Electronic Numerical
Integrator and Computer). This general-purpose computer worked at the speeds of 1000 times faster that
Mark I. In 1945, John von Neumann invented the EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic
Computer) which had memory to store programs and data. The central processing unit of this computer
can control the machine which allowed it to be more versatile in programming. UNIVAC I (universal
Automatic Computer), developed by Remington Rand in 1951 later on used von Neumann’s idea.
What is vacuum tubes? It is is a device controlling electric current
through a vacuum in a sealed container. The
container is often thin transparent glass in a
roughly cylindrical shape. The simplest vacuum
tube, the diode, is similar to an incandescent
light bulb with an added electrode inside.
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The first generation of computers, such as ENIAC shown here, were large and bulky, used vacuum tubes and had to be physically wired and reset to run programs.
1.3.2 SECOND GENERATION OF COMPUTERS (1056-1963)
The second generation of computers began with the transistor – a small device made of semiconductor
material that act like a switch open ofr close electronic circuits which started to replace the vacuum tubes.
Transistor
The existence of transistor has upgraded computers to the second generation; smaller, faster, more
reliable and saves more energy. In 1956, Sperry Rand (IBM and LARC) used transistor in the invention of
the early supercomputer. It was too expensive and too powerful for business. In this era, they abandoned
the use of binary code as they were using abbreviated programming code. During this time, computer was
furnished with components that are easily available today, such as printer, disk storage, memory and
operating systems.
The impetus of computers in this generation is the programs used. Languages such as COBOL (Common
Business-Oriented Language) and FORTRAN (Formula Translator) made programming became easier. In
other words, it marks the beginning of the software industry era.
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1.3.3 THIRD GENERATION OF COMPUTERS (1964-1971)
The replacement of the transistor with integrated circuit (ICs) marked the beginning of the third generation
of computers. Integrated circuits incorporate many transistors and electronic circuits on a single tiny
silicon chips, allowing third generation computers to be even smaller and more reliable than computers in
the earlier computer generations.
The new operating system; which allowed the computer to run more programs at once had made them
better than before. In 1958, IC (Integrated Circuit) made from quartz was invented by Jack Kilby (Texas
Instrumant engineer). It is a combination of 3 electronic components. Later on, more components can be
fit into a single chip, known as a semiconductor. As a result from the inventions in this era, computer
became smaller and lighter. Keyboards and monitors were introduced for input and output; magnetic hard
drives were typically used for storage.
1.3.4 FOURTH GENERATION OF COMPUTERS (1971 – 2006)
What distinguished this generation from before is the used of LSI or large scale integration. This chip fits
hundreds of components. In the year of 1980, VLSI (very large scale integration) and ULSI (ultra large
scale integration) were invented and this had decrease the size and price of computer. The computer was
also introduced to general consumer, no longer belong to the business industry alone.
IBM introduces personal computer (PC) for home, office and schools; which what we can see today, as it
is way cheaper now. The size of computer continued to decrease, from PC to laptop to even palmtop
(PDA). Other that IBM, Apple’s Macintosh is another famous manufacturer for computer. Computer can
be connected to Internet via LAN or WiFi allowing consumers to use applications such as e-mail and
search engines. Such facilities connect people from different places with ease.
Large Scale Integration (LSI)
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Fourth generation computers, such as the original IBM PC shown here, are based on microprocessors. Most of today’s computers fall into this category.
1.3.5 FIFTH GENERATION OF COMPUTERS: 2006 - PRESENT
Fifth generation of computers have no precise classification, since experts tend to disagree about the
definitionfor this generation of computers. However, one common opinion is that fifth-generation
computers will be based on artificial intelligence, allowing them to think, reason and learn. Voice and
touch are expected to be a primarily means of input.The size of computers also will continue to decrease.
New incredible software is created. Computers today understand voice commands. Smart phones like
Blackberry are invented. Apple has introduced iPad, its first fully touch screen computer, leading to even
competitive inventions by other manufacturers like Samsung and Research in Motion. What will come
next is beyond anticipation.
1.4 INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER
COMPUTER SYSTEM
A computer system is defined as combination of components designed to process data and store files. It
consists of four major hardware components which are input devices, output devices, processor and
storage devices. A computer system requires hardware, software and a user to fully function.
According to Shelly and Cashman (2012), computer is define as
“ An electronic device, operating under the control of instructions stored in its on memory units,
that can accept data (input), process data arithmetically and logically, produce output from the
processing, and store the result for future use”
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Software
Software refers to a set of instructions that tell the hardware what to do. Software can also have several of
other functions such as performing computation, communication with other software and human
interaction. User refers to a person who uses the computer for any purposes such as work, business and
entertainment.
Computer use two basic types of software: system software and application software. The differences
between these types of software are discussed next.
System Software
The program that allow a computer to operate are collectively referred to system software. The main
system software is the operating system, which starts up the computer and controls its operation.
Common operating system task include setting up new hardware, allowing user to run other software and
allowing users to manage the document stored on their computer. Common operating systems for
personal computers are Windows, Mac OS, Linux and Android.
Application Software
Application software consists of programs designed to allow people to perform specific tasks using a
computer, such as creating letters, preparing budgets, managing inventory and costumer databases,
playing games, watching vieos, listening to music, scheduling appointments, editing digital photographs,
designing homes and etc.
COMPUTER HARDWARE
Computer hardware consists of:
input devices
processor
output devices
storage devices
Computer Hardware Block Diagram
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An input device gives raw data to the processor and the processor processes raw data and turns it into
useful information. A storage device keeps or stores both process and unprocessed data for later usage.
An output device shows or displays the processed data.
1.5 COMPUTER SYSTEM
1.5.1 INPUT
Anything being told to the computer by user is regarded as Input. Input refers to any data or instructions
that are used by a computer. Data refers to the raw facts, including numbers, words, images and sounds
given to a computer during the input operation.
Any hardware device that sends data to the computer, without any input devices, a computer would only
be a display device and not allow users to interact with it, much like a TV.
Types of Input
Data is the raw facts given to the computer.
Programs are the sets of instructions that direct the computer.
Commands are special codes or key words that the user inputs to perform a task, like RUN
"ACCOUNTS". These can be selected from a menu of commands like "Open" on the File menu.
They may also be chosen by clicking on a command button.
User response is the user's answer to the computer's question, such as choosing OK, YES, or
NO or by typing in text, for example the name of a file.
Examples of Input Devices
Keyboard
One of the main input devices used on a computer, a PC's keyboard looks very similar to the keyboards
of electric typewriters, with some additional keys. Below is a graphic of the Saitek Gamers' keyboard with
indicators pointing to each of the major portions of the keyboard.
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Finally, today most users use the QWERTY style keyboards. Below is a graphic illustration of a QWERTY
style keyboard.
Barcode readers and scanners
A barcode reader or scanner, also known as a point of sale (POS) scanner is a hardware
device capable of reading a barcode and printing out the details of the product or logging that
product into a database. A perfect example of a barcode reader is a super market barcode scanner
that reads and logs the price of a product.
Bar Code Bar Code Reader Scanner
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Pointing devices
A variety of pointing devices are used to move the cursor on the screen.
The most commonly used ones have two or three buttons to click and for special functions. Others are
elaborated in the table below.
Mouse
A ball underneath rolls as the mouse moves across the mouse pad. The cursor on the screen follows the motion of the mouse. Buttons on the mouse can be clicked or double-clicked to perform tasks, e.g. to select an icon on the screen or to open the selected document.
There are new mice that do not have a ball. They use a laser to sense the motion of the mouse instead.
Advantage:
Moves cursor around the screen faster than using keystrokes.
Disadvantage: Requires moving hand from keyboard to mouse and back.Repeated motion may lead to carpal tunnel syndrome
Trackball
Instead of moving the whole mouse around, the user rolls the trackball only, which is on the top or side.
Advantage: Does not need as much desk space as a mouse. Is not as tiring since less motion is needed.
Disadvantage: Requires fine control of the ball with just one finger or thumb. Repeated motions of the same muscles are tiring and can cause Carpal Tunnel syndrome.
Glidepad
Uses a touch sensitive pad for controlling cursor. The user slides finger across the pad and the cursor follows the finger movement. For clicking there are buttons, or you can tap on the pad with a finger. The glidepad is a popular alternate pointing device for laptops.
Advantage: Does not need as much desk space as a mouse. Can readily be built into the keyboard. Has finer resolution. That is, to achieve the same cursor movement onscreen takes less movement of the finger on the glidepad than it does mouse movement. Can use either buttons or taps of the pad for clicking.
Disadvantage: The hand tires faster than with a mouse since there is no support. Some people do not find the motion as natural as a mouse.
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Game Devices
Cursor motion controlled by vertical stick (joystick) or arrow buttons (gamepad)
Advantage:
A joystick gives a more natural-feeling control for motion in games, especially those where you are flying a plane or spaceship. Both have more buttons for special functions than a mouse and can combine buttons for even more actions.
Disadvantage:
More expensive, bulky. Better ones require an additional peripheral card for best performance.
Pen Input
Used especially in Personal Digital Assistants (PDA). Pen Input is used for:
Data Input: By writing. PDA recognizes your handwriting.
Pointing Device: Functions like a mouse in moving a cursor around the screen and clicking by tapping the screen.
Command Gestures: Issue commands by moving pen in patterns. A certain kind of swirl would mean to save the file and a different kind of swirl could mean to open a new file.
Advantage: Can use handwriting instead of typing. Can use gestures instead of typing commands. Small size.
Disadvantage: Must train device to recognize handwriting. Must learn gestures or train device to recognize the ones you create Can lose the pen which is not usually attached to the device
Touchscreen
Make selection by just touching the screen.
Advantage:
Disadvantage:
It is natural to do - reach out and touch something.
It is tiring if many choices must be made. It takes a lot of screen space for each choice since fingers are bigger than cursors.
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Digitizers and Graphics Tablets
Converts drawings, photos, etc. to digital signal.
The tablets have special commands
Advantage:
Disadvantage:
Do not have to redraw graphics already created
Expensive
1.5.2 OUTPUT What is output? Output is data that has been processed into useful form, now called Information.
What is an output device? Output devices are things we use to get information OUT of a computer.
There are two types of output:
1. Hard copy – printed on papers or permanent media
2. Soft copy - displayed on screen or by other non-permanent means
Categories Of Output:
1. Text documents - including reports, letters and type-written assignments.
2. Graphics – in the form of charts, graphs, pictures
3. Multimedia - combination of text, graphics, video, audio.
However, the most used means of Output are printers, monitors and audio-output devices.
Here are some examples of output devices.
Monitor - A monitor is the screen on which
words, numbers, and graphics can be seen.
The monitor is the most common output device.
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Compact Disk - Some compact disks can be
used to put information on. This is called
burning information to a CD.
NOTE: A CD can also be an input device.
Printer - A printer prints whatever is on the
monitor onto paper. Printers can print words,
numbers, or pictures.
Speaker - A speaker gives you sound output
from your computer. Some speakers are built
into the computer and some are separate.
Disk Drives - A disk drive is used to record
information from the computer onto a floppy
disk or CD.
Floppy Disk - A floppy disk is used to record
information on. The information is stored on the
floppy disk and can be used later or used on
another computer.
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Headphones - Headphones give sound output
from the computer. They are similar to
speakers, except they are worn on the ears so
only one person can hear the output at a time.
1.5.3 STORAGE
Before describing what storage is, it is useful to understand what is memory.
In today’s computer, the two typical memories holding data are Random Access Memory (RAM) and
Read Only Memory (ROM).
Random Access Memory (RAM) & Read Only Memory (ROM)
When you are working on something, that current work is stored inside RAM which is simply known as
‘memory’. The advantage of using RAM is that you can store the stuffs you’re working at the moment
faster. Apparently, there are a lot of things in stored within the hard disk, but eventually, only so little of
them will be used. Hence, those stuffs that you are using would be stored in RAM.
Then, why do we need hard disk, when RAM could be so simple and a lot faster? The answer is because
RAM is volatile, which means that all of data which in stored within RAM would be lost the moment the
computer is switched off either intentionally or accidentally. That is why ROM is needed, as it can store
everything without losing them even if the computer is powered off.
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RAM ROM
Definition
Random Access Memory or RAM is a form of data storage that can be accessed randomly at any time, in any order and from any physical location., allowing quick access and manipulation.
Read-only memory or ROM is also a form of data storage that can not be easily altered or reprogrammed.Stores instuctions that are not nescesary for re-booting up to make the computer operate when it is switched off.They are hardwired.
Stands for Random Access Memory Read-only Memory
Use RAM allows the computer to read data quickly to run applications. It allows reading and writing.
ROM stores the program required to initially boot the computer. It only allows reading.
Volatility RAM is volatile i.e. its contents are lost when the device is powered off.
It is non-volatile i.e. its contents are retained even when the device is powered off.
Types The two main types of RAM are static RAM and dynamic RAM.
The types of ROM include PROM, EPROM and EEPROM.
In computer terms, storage is a technology consisting of components and recording media used to retain
digital data. There are two types of storage, known as primary and secondary storage.
a. Primary Storage
Primary storage is also known as main storage or main memory. It is the main area for data
storage in a computer where data can be accessed quickly by computer’s processor.The capacity
for primary storage is usually limited as it is driven by RAM.
b. Secondary Storage
Secondary storage extends the capacity of primary storage in holding data which are usually
limited. It refers to storage which are usually and conveniently portable, ranging from external
hard disks to cloud storage. The following describes storage devices like hard disks and
removable disks.
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Storage Devices: Removable Disk
Alternatively referred to as removable storage and removable media, a removable disk is a media
that enables a user to easily move data between computers without having to open their computer. Below
is a listing of removable disks that are commonly used:
Floppy Drive
CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW
DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, Blu-Ray Disc
External Hard Disk
Pen Drive, Thumb Drive, Zip Drive
Floppy disk used to be one of the most commonly used removable media but now it has become
obsolete. Most modern personal computers no longer have the floppy drive built in, thus, showing the end
of diskette’s era. This may resulted from the impracticality of floppy disk that can only contain 1.44
megabytes compared to other removable media that can cater until terrabytes.
Zip drive is a medium-capacity removable disk storage system that was introduced by Iomega in late
1994. Originally, Zip disks launched with capacities of 100 MB, but later versions increased this to first
250 MB and then 750 MB. Unfortunately, it failed to stay in the market during 2000s as it is not
competitive enough to beat other removable devices such as pen drive and thumb drives that are more
practical and have much larger storage amount.
Floppy Disk
CD-ROM Zip Drive
Pen Drive
Floppy Drive
External Hard Disk
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A CD-ROM or compact disc-read only memory is also one kind of removable storage but, it may only
provide information and cannot store new information. A CD-R or compact disc-recordable on the other
hand is a type of CD-ROM that can record data however, the data stored cannot be altered once saved in
the CD-R. Compact disc-rewritable or better known as CD-RW is a step ahead of CD-R where it enables
users to record as well as change the stored data.
Nowadays, most computers are built with a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) drive which can read DVDs,
CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs and musical CDs, making it the most versatile hardware currently available
for optical (laser–technology) media just like its name suggested. The DVD Video format was first
introduced by Toshiba in Japan in November 1996, in the United States in March 1997, in Europe in
October 1998, and in Australia in February 1999. And in 2006, two new formats called High Definition
DVD and Blu-ray Disc were released as the successor to DVD. HD DVD competed successfully with Blu-
ray Disc in the format war of 2006–2008. A dual layer HD DVD can store up to 30GB and a dual layer Blu-
ray disc can hold up to 50GB.
1.5.4 SYSTEM UNIT
Software is the programs installed in your computer, for example, Windows 7 and others. As for
hardware, it would be the components of your computers which could be seen and touch, and eventually
breaks if thrown out of the window. But, not all of the things that can be seen are considered hardware;
hardware are parts which make up the PC. In this case, if one of it is missing, then a PC might not work
properly or even would not work.
Based from the picture, the components mentioned are called hardware. As for notebook
computers, they do not resemble as those of desktop computers. Notebook computers shared the same
hardware as desktop computers but they are integrated into a single book-sized portable unit.
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Not all the components that can be seen in the above diagram is included as computer. The
actual computer is known as the system unit. This is the one which operates and carry out the processes
within the computer. All of the other hardware that is connected with the system unit is called the
peripheral devices. These peripheral devices enable the user to use the computer.
Within the system unit, there is a component which is called the hard disk. It is a disk drive apart
from the floppy disk drive and the CD or DVD drive in your system unit. The floppy disk drive is used to
play the floppy disks, whereas the CD drive is used to play CDs. However, the hard disk is in stored within
the system unit. We cannot see it but it is embedded inside it. Everything which is in your computer is
actually stored inside the hard disk.
Both of the floppy disk drive and CD drive are used as drives with removable media, in which you
can always remove and replace the disks with other disks. But you can store anything without the need to
replace by storing them inside the hard disk.
Removable storage: Hard disk
Computers are built with hard disk which is the most commonly used mass storage device for a computer.
The hard disk drive, also known as a secondary storage in a computer system is the "data centre" of the
PC. It is here that all of the programmes and data are stored between the occasions that you use the
computer. The hard disk differs from the others primarily in three ways: size (usually larger), speed
(usually faster) and permanence (usually fixed in the PC and not removable). Inside the hard disk drive
are a series of stacked metal platters (hard disks) on which data ranging from the operating system,
application programmes and most personal data are stored.
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Hard disk drives are almost as amazing as microprocessors in terms of the technology they use and how
much progress they have made in terms of capacity, speed, and price for last 20 years. The first PC hard
disks had a capacity of 10 megabytes and a cost of over RM350 per MB. Modern hard disks have
capacities approaching 100 gigabytes and a cost of less than 5 cent per MB! This represents an
improvement of 1,000,000% in just fewer than 20 years, or around 67% cumulative improvement per
year. At the same time, the speed of the hard disk and its interfaces has increased dramatically as well.
The table below illustrates the relative sizes of stored data in a computer.
Size Character equivalent Example
1 byte 1 alphanumeric character The letter of C or number 3
1 kilobyte Approximately 1,000 characters Slightly less than 1 page of typed, double-spaced text
1 megabyte Approximately 1 million characters 1,000 pages of typed, double-spaced text
1 gigabyte Approximately 1 billion characters 1 million pages of typed, double-spaced text
1.6 OPERATING AND APPLICATION SOFTWARE
1.6.1 OPERATING SOFTWARE
For a computer to be able to operate a computer programme (sometimes known as application or
software), the machine must be able to perform a certain number of preparatory operations to ensure
exchange between the processor, the memory and the physical resources (peripherals).
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The operating system (sometimes referred to by its abbreviation OS), is responsible for creating the link
between the material resources, the user and the applications (word processor, video game, etc.). When
a programme wants to access a material resource, it does not need to send specific information to the
peripheral device but it simply sends the information to the operating system, which conveys it to the
relevant peripheral via its driver. If there are no drivers, each programme has to recognise and take into
account the communication with each type of peripheral.
The operating system thus allows the "dissociation" of programmes and hardware, mainly to simplify
resource management and offer the user a simplified Man-machine interface (MMI) to overcome the
complexity of the actual machine.
Roles of the operating system
The operating system has various roles:
Management of the processor: the operating system is responsible for managing allocation of
the processor between the different programmes using a scheduling algorithm. The type of
scheduler is totally dependent on the operating system, according to the desired objective.
Management of the random access memory: the operating system is responsible for managing
the memory space allocated to each application and, where relevant, to each user. If there is
insufficient physical memory, the operating system can create a memory zone on the hard drive,
known as "virtual memory". The virtual memory lets you run applications requiring more memory
than there is available RAM on the system. However, this memory is a great deal slower.
Management of input/output: the operating system allows unification and control of access of
programmes to material resources via drivers (also known as peripheral administrators or
input/output administrators).
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Management of execution of applications: the operating system is responsible for smooth
execution of applications by allocating the resources required for them to operate. This means an
application that is not responding correctly can be "killed".
Management of authorizations: the operating system is responsible for security relating to
execution of programmes by guaranteeing that the resources are used only by programmes and
users with the relevent authorizations.
File management: the operating system manages reading and writing in the file system and the
user and application file access authorizations.
Information management: the operating system provides a certain number of indicators that can
be used to diagnose the correct operation of the machine.
1.6.2 APPLICATION SOFTWARE
Application software is a set of instruction that tells the computer how to complete a unique task.
Basically, it can be divided into two, namely general-purpose and specific-purpose.
1. General-purpose simply means basic applications. It covers browsers, word processor,
spreadsheets, database management systems and presentation graphics.
Browser is used to connect to the web, open and transfer files and display text and images. It also
presents a simple interface to the Net and Web. Image above is the compilation of today’s
popular web browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and so on.
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A word processor (more formally known as document preparation system) is a computer
application used for the production (including composition, editing, formatting, and possibly
printing) of any sort of printable material. Examples of word processors are OpenOffice Writer that
can be used by all kind of operating systems and Microsoft Word which is commonly used by
Windows.
Spreadsheets were one of the first commercial uses of the computer, using financial data.
Spreadsheet programs such as Microsoft Excel or Open Office enable the user to enter data (text,
numbers or symbols) into rows and columns. Not to mention, spreadsheet programmes is used to
organize, analyze and graph numeric data. It can manipulate, format and calculate those
numerical data and arrange them in a display called a worksheet.
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Database management systems (DBMS) or the data managers are used to create and use
databases.The DBMS manages user requests (and requests from other programs) so that users
and other programs are free from having to understand where the data is physically located on
storage media and, in a multi-user system, which may also be accessing the data. Basically, they
provide an environment in which large quantities of data can be entered, stored, manipulated,
queried and reported.
Other than that, presentation graphics is also one of the most commonly used general-purpose
software. This software combines a variety of visual objects to create attractive, interesting
presentation or slide shows which can be included with special effects such as sound and
animation. Example of presentation software is Microsoft Office’s Power Point.
2. Specific-purpose is also known as advanced applications, which include multimedia, Web
authoring, graphics, virtual reality, artificial intelligence and many more. Engineering programs
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often fall under this category - there is a program that does slope stability analysis and nothing
else, for instance.
In general, special purpose software is intended to perform a very specific function, while general purpose
software is intended to perform a broader class of functions. However, both applications have similar
features such as windows, menus, help and toolbars.
1.7 EXERCISE
1. Define hardware and software. Then with your own words, describe the differences between
hardware and software.
2. With your own understanding describe what are Hard Disk, Mouse and Monitor.
3. Online (cloud) storage is widely use by people all over the world. From your opinion, does this
service beneficial or not? Why do you feel that way?
4. Define and give at least five (5) examples for input devices.
5. There are two types of storage devices. Explain briefly on the two types of storage devices.
6. Based on your reading, discuss the difference between the primary and secondary storage.
7. Monitor is a crucial output device where without it, it is impossible for a computer to operate.
Since the first time it was invented until now, there are many transformations had been done to
the monitor. It change from Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) to Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) then to
plasma monitor. By using your knowledge, explain the major differences between the three of
them.
8. Basically, there are four (4) types of output. List them four together with the examples that you
can find in daily lives.
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2.1 INTRODUCTION TO WINDOWS
The history of Microsoft Windows dates back to 1985, when Microsoft released Microsoft Windows
Version 1.01. Microsoft’s aim was to provide a friendly user-interface known as a GUI (graphical user
interface) which allowed for easier navigation of the system features. Windows 1.01 never really caught
on. In 1987 Microsoft revamped the operating system and released Windows 2.03. The GUI was slightly
improved but still looked too similar to Windows 1.01. The operating system again failed to capture a wide
audience.
In 1993 Microsoft divided the operating system into two categories; Business and Home user. In 1995
Windows went through a major revamp and Microsoft Windows 95 was released. This provided greatly
improved multimedia and a much more polished user interface. The now familiar desktop and Start Menu
appeared with internet and networking support built in. Breaking with its own naming conventions,
Microsoft released Windows 2000 (initially called NT 5.0) for the business market. Although Windows
2000 had a greatly improved user interface, the best of the enhancements appeared on the server side.
Active Directory was introduced which allowed much greater control of security and organization.
2.2 THE DESKTOP
INTRODUCTION TO
WINDOWS
CHAPTER
2
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The desktop is the main working space on your computer screen. It is where the icons for the files
and folders on the hard drive is displayed. Most operating systems allow user to choose their desktop
background, which can either be a picture or a pattern.
The desktop can be customized by right-clickimg anywhere on the desktop background and
select "Properties..." from the pop-up menu. From there, the background or entire themes for the
computer's interface can be choosen.
2.3 THE TASKBAR
The taskbar is the long horizontal bar at the bottom of the screen. Unlike the desktop, which can get
obscured by the windows on top of it, the taskbar is visible almost all the time. It has four main sections:
The Start button , which opens the Start menu.
The Quick Launch toolbar, which lets you start programs with one click.
The middle section, which shows you which programs and documents you have open and allows
you to quickly switch between them.
The notification area, which includes a clock and icons (small pictures) that communicate the
status of certain programs and computer settings.
The taskbar is located at the bottom of the screen
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Keeping track on Windows
If more than one program or documents are open at a time, they pile up as windows on the desktop.
Because windows often cover each other or take up the whole screen, it is difficult to see what else is
underneath or remember what have already been opened.
That is where the taskbar comes in handy. Whenever a program, folder, or document is
opened, Windows creates a button on the taskbar corresponding to that item. The button shows the icon
and name of the item. In the picture below, two programs are open—Calculator and Minesweeper—and
each has its own button on the taskbar.
Each program has its own button on the taskbar
Notice how the taskbar button for Minesweeper appears pressed in. That indicates that Minesweeper is
the active window, meaning that it is in front of any other open windows and is ready for user to interact
with.
To switch to another window, click its taskbar button. In the example provided, clicking the taskbar button
for Calculator brings its window to the front:
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Click a window's taskbar button to switch to that window
Note: Clicking taskbar buttons is only one of several ways to switch between windows.
Minimize and restore windows
When a window is active (its taskbar button appears pressed down), clicking its taskbar
button minimizes the window. That means that the window disappears from the desktop. Minimizing a
window does not close it or delete its contents—it merely removes it from the desktop temporarily.
In the picture below, Calculator has been minimized, but not closed because it has a button on the
taskbar.
How the taskbar groups similar items
As more windows are opened, the existing taskbar buttons shrink in width to let new buttons squeeze in.
However, if the taskbar becomes too crowded with buttons, then the buttons for the same program will be
grouped into a single button.
Minimizing Calculator leaves only its taskbar
button visible
It can also be minimized by clicking the
Minimize button, in the upper-right corner of
the window:
Minimize button (left)
To restore a minimized window (make it
show up again on the desktop), click its
taskbar button.
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To see how this works, suppose three Paint pictures are opened on the desktop. If the taskbar has
enough room, it displays the three Paint windows as separate buttons:
Three Paint windows displayed as separate taskbar buttons
But if many programs and documents are opened, the taskbar collapses these three buttons into a single
button that shows the name of the group (Paint) and the number of items in the group (3). Clicking the
button displays a menu listing the files in the group:
Three Paint windows grouped into one taskbar button
Clicking one of the items in the menu activates its window so you can see it.
Tip: To close all of the items in the group, right-click the group's taskbar button, and then
click Close Group.
The Quick Launch toolbar
To the immediate right of the Start button is the Quick Launch toolbar. As its name implies, it lets user
launch (start) programs with a single click. For example, Internet Explorer icon can be clicked to start
Internet Explorer.
The Quick Launch toolbar sits to the right of the Start button
The Quick Launch toolbar can be customized by adding user’s favorite programs to it. The program can
be located in the Start menu, right-click it, and then click Add to Quick Launch. The program's icon now
appears in the toolbar. To remove an icon from the Quick Launch toolbar, right-click it, click Delete, and
then click Yes.
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By default, the Quick Launch toolbar also contains two special buttons. Click the Show
Desktop button to temporarily hide all open windows and show the desktop; click the button again to
show all windows again. Click the Switch between windows button to switch between open windows
using Windows Flip 3D (for computers running Windows Aero).
Notes
If the double chevrons instead of the icon added to the Quick Lunch toolbar appeared, it
means the icons cannot fit into the toolbar. The double chevrons can be clicked to access the hidden
toolbar programs, but it is better to resize the toolbar to preserve one-click access to them.
The notification area
The notification area, on the far right side of the taskbar, includes a clock and a group of icons. It looks
like this:
The notification area
These icons communicate the status of something on the computer or provide access to certain settings.
The set of icons seen depends on which programs or services installed and how the computer
manufacturer set up your computer.
When the pointer is moved to a particular icon, the icon's name or the status of a setting can be seen. For
example, pointing to the volume icon shows the current volume level of the computer. Pointing to the
network icon displays information about whether the computer is connected to a network, the
connection speed, and the signal strength.
Double-clicking an icon in the notification area usually opens the program or setting associated with it. For
example, double-clicking the volume icon opens the volume controls. Double-clicking the network icon
opens Network and Sharing Center.
Occasionally, an icon in the notification area will display a small pop-up window (called a notification) to
notify users about something. For example, after adding a new hardware device to the computer, the
following can be seen.
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The notification area displays a message after new hardware is installed
Click the Close button in the upper-right corner of the notification to dismiss it. If nothing is done, the
notification will fade away on its own after a few seconds.
To reduce clutter, icons which have not been used in awhile will be hidden in the notification area when
you haven't used them in a while. If icons become hidden, click the Show hidden icons button to
temporarily display the hidden icons.
Click the Show hidden icons button to display all icons in the notification area
2.4 WINDOWS AND ICONS
2.4.1 WINDOWS
To interact with the computer, rectangular objects called windows are used. A window itself is simply one
entity that is part of an ensemble called a computer program (program), a computer application (application).
All these four words or groups of words mean exactly the same thing.
Programs are created by human beings. A person who creates a program is called a programmer, or a
program developer, or a developer, or an application developer. After a program has been written, it is made
available to people. Some programs are made freely available. Some programs must be purchased.
Regardless, the program must be installed in the computer in order to use it. There are various ways the
programs get into a computer. However when a program gets in there, it is said to be installed.
The Operating System
The first and most important program of a computer is called an operating system. All the other
programs depend on it. Everything that works in a computer is in accordance with the operating system.
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Since the current chapter focuses on the popular "personal computer", the operating system used here
is called Microsoft Windows.
There are various types of Microsoft Windows. A type of Microsoft Windows is referred to as a version.
Examples of versions are
Microsoft Windows 3.3
Microsoft Windows 95
Microsoft Windows NT
Workstation
Microsoft Windows NT
Server
Microsoft Windows 98
Microsoft Windows 98
Second Edition
Microsoft Windows
Millennium
Microsoft Windows 2000
Professional
Microsoft Windows 2000
Server
Microsoft Windows XP
Home Edition
Microsoft Windows XP
Professional
Microsoft Windows Vista
Home Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista
Home Premium
Microsoft Windows Vista
Business
Microsoft Windows Vista
Ultimate
Microsoft Windows
Server 2003
Microsoft Windows
Server 2008
2.4.2 ICONS Working with desktop icons
Icons are small pictures that represent files, folders, programs, and other items. When Windows starts, at
least one icon on the desktop is available: The Recycle Bin (more on that later). The computer
manufacturer might have added other icons to the desktop. Some examples of desktop icons are shown
below.
Examples of desktop icons
Note: Double-clicking a desktop icon starts or opens the item it represents.
Adding and removing icons from the desktop
Users can choose which icons appear on the desktop—they can add or remove an icon at any time.
Some people like a clean, uncluttered desktop with few or no icons. Others place dozens of icons on their
desktop to give them quick access to frequently used programs, files, and folders.
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Shortcuts can be created to allow user access easily to their files and programs from their desktop. A
shortcut is an icon that represents a link to an item, rather than the item itself. When a shortcut is double-
clicked, the item opens. If its deleted, only the shortcut is removed, not the original item. Shortcuts can be
identified by the arrow on their icon.
A file icon (left) and a shortcut icon (right)
To add a shortcut to the desktop
1. Locate the item to create a shortcut for. (For help with finding a file or folder, see Find a file or
folder. For help with finding a program, see the Start menu.)
2. Right-click the item, click Send to, and then click Desktop (create shortcut). The shortcut icon
appears on your desktop.
To add or remove common desktop icons
Common desktop icons include Computer, personal folders, the Recycle Bin, and Control Panel.
1. Right-click an empty area of the desktop, and then click Personalize.
2. In the left pane, click Change desktop icons.
3. Under Desktop icons, select the check box for each icon intended to be added to the desktop, or
clear the check box for each icon that intended to be removed from the desktop, and then click OK.
To move a file from a folder to the desktop
1. Open the folder that contains the file.
2. Drag the file to the desktop.
To remove an icon from the desktop
Right-click the icon, and then click Delete. If the icon is a shortcut, only the shortcut is removed; the
original item is not deleted.
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Moving icons around
Windows stacks icons in columns on the left side of the desktop but an icon can be moved by dragging it
to a new place on the desktop.
Windows can also automatically arrange the icons. Right-click an empty area of the desktop, click View,
and then click Auto arrange icons. Windows stacks the icons in the upper-left corner and locks them in
place. To unlock the icons so that they are movable again, click Auto arrange icons again, clearing the
check mark next to it.
Note:
By default, Windows spaces icons evenly on an invisible grid. To place icons closer together or with
more precision, turn off the grid. Right-click an empty area of the desktop, point to View, and then
click Align icons to grid to clear the check mark. Repeat these steps to turn the grid back on.
Selecting multiple icons
To move or delete a bunch of icons at once, they must be all selected. Click an empty area of the desktop
and drag the mouse. Surround the icons that intended to be selected with the rectangle that appears, then
release the mouse button. Now the icons can be dragged or deleted as a group.
Select multiple desktop icons by dragging a rectangle around them
Hiding desktop icons
All the desktop icons can be temporarily hidden without actually removing them. Right-click an empty part
of the desktop, click View, and then click Show desktop icons to clear the check mark from that option.
Now no icons are displayed on the desktop. They can be made visible again by clicking Show desktop
icons again.
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2.5 DESKTOP PROPERTIES
To use a picture as a desktop background
1. Open My Pictures
2. Click the picture you want to use as a desktop background.
3. Under Picture Tasks, click Set as desktop background.
Note
• To open My Pictures, click Start, and then click My Pictures
OR
• Right-click the picture, and then click Set as Desktop Background.
• The way the picture is displayed on the desktop can be changed by right-clicking the desktop, and then
click Properties. On the Desktop tab, in the Position box, select a display option.
To set or change a screen saver
1. Open Display in Control Panel.
2. On the Screen Saver tab, under Screen saver, click a screen saver in the list.
Note
• To open Display, click Start, click Control Panel, click Appearance and Themes, and then
click Display.
• After a screen saver is selected, it will automatically start when the computer is idle for the number of
minutes specified in Wait.
• To clear the screen saver after it has started, move the mouse or press any key.
• To view possible setting options for a particular screen saver, click Settings on the Screen Saver tab.
• Click Preview to see how the selected screen saver will appear on the monitor. Move the mouse or
press any key to end the preview.
• Click Related Topics for information about having Windows turn off the monitor when it have been left
idle for a period of time.
To change the look of Window elements
1. Open Display in Control Panel.
2. On the Appearance tab, click Advanced.
3. In the Item list, click the element wanted to be changed, such as Window, Menu,
or Scrollbar, and then adjust the appropriate settings, such as color, font, or font size.
4. Click OK or Apply to save the changes.
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Note
• To open Display, click Start, click Control Panel, click Appearance and Themes, and then
click Display.
• The changes are saved until further changes or a different theme is choosen.
• The Font area will be unavailable for elements in the Item list that do not display text.
To change the elapsed time before your monitor automatically turns off
A user must be logged on as an administrator or a member of either the Administrators or Power
Users group in order to complete this procedure. If the computer is connected to a network,
network policy settings might also prevent the user from completing this procedure.
1. Open Power Options in Control Panel.
2. In Turn off monitor, click the arrow, and select the time wanted.
.
Note
• To open Power Options, click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and
Maintenance, and then click Power Options.
• If Turn off monitor is not available, it means the monitor does not support this feature.
• Using Power Options in Control Panel, any power management option that is supported by the
computer's unique hardware configuration can be adjusted. However, these options may vary
widely from computer to computer.
2.6 THE MOUSE, MENUS AND KEYBOARD 2.6.1 THE MOUSE
Using your mouse
Just as hands are used to interact with objects in the physical world, moice can be used to interact with
items on the computer screen. Users can move objects, open them, change them, throw them away, and
perform other actions, all by pointing and clicking with a mouse.
Basic parts
A mouse typically has two buttons: a primary button (usually the left button) and a secondary
button (usually the right button). The primary button is the one which is used most often. Most mice also
include a scroll wheel between the buttons to help users scroll through documents and webpages more
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easily. On some mice, the scroll wheel can be pressed to act as a third button. Advanced mice might have
additional buttons that can perform other functions.
Parts of a mouse
Holding and moving the mouse
Type of pointers
The mouse should be placed beside the keyboard on a clean, smooth surface, such as a mouse pad.
Hold the mouse gently with the index finger resting on the primary button and the thumb resting on the
side. To move the mouse, slide it slowly in any direction. As the user moves the mouse, a pointer (see
picture) on the screen moves in the same direction. Simply pick up the mouse and bring it back closer
when there is a limited space to move the mouse on the mousepad or desk.
Hold the mouse lightly, keeping your wrist straight
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Pointing, clicking, and dragging
Pointing to an item on the screen means moving the mouse so the pointer appears to be touching the
item. When something is pointed, a small box often appears that describes the item. For example, when
the Recycle Bin on the desktop is pointed, a box appears with this information: "Contains the files and
folders that you have deleted."
Pointing to an object often reveals a descriptive message about it
The pointer can change depending on what is being pointed to. For example, when a link in aweb browser
is pointed, the pointer changes from an arrow to a hand with a pointing finger .
Most mouse actions combine pointing with pressing one of the mouse buttons. There are four basic ways
to use the mouse buttons: clicking, double-clicking, right-clicking, and dragging.
Clicking (single-clicking)
To click an item, point to the item on the screen, and then press and release the primary button (usually
the left button).
Clicking is most often used to select (mark) an item or open a menu. This is sometimes called single-
clicking or left-clicking.
Double-clicking
To double-click an item, point to the item on the screen, and then click twice quickly. If the two clicks are
spaced too far apart, they might be interpreted as two individual clicks rather than as one double-click.
Double-clicking is most often used to open items on your desktop. For example, a program or a folder can
be started or opened by double-clicking its icon on the desktop.
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Tip
User who have trouble double-clicking can adjust the double-click speed (the amount of time
acceptable between clicks) by following the folowing steps:
1. Open Mouse by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking Hardware, and then
clicking Mouse.
2. Click the Buttons tab, and then, under Double-click speed, move the slider to increase or decrease
the speed.
Right-clicking
To right-click an item, point to the item on the screen, and then press and release the secondary button
(usually the right button).
Right-clicking an item usually displays a list of things user can do with the item. For example, right-clicking
the Recycle Bin on the desktop displays a menu allowing user to open it, empty it, delete it, or see its
properties.
Right-clicking the Recycle Bin opens a menu of related commands
Dragging
Items can be moved around the screen by dragging them. To drag an object, point to the object on the
screen, press and hold the primary button, move the object to a new location, and then release the
primary button.
Dragging (sometimes called dragging and dropping) is most often used to move files and folders to a
different location and to move windows and icons around on the screen.
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Using the scroll wheel
Documents and webpages can be scrolled through with a mouse that has a scroll wheel. To scroll down,
roll the wheel backward (toward the user). To scroll up, roll the wheel forward (away from the user).
Customizing your mouse
The mouse settings can be changed to suit personal preferences. For example, the speed of the pointer
moving around the screen, or change the pointer's appearance. If the user is left-handed, the primary
button can be switched to be the right button by adjusting the setting under Change mouse settings.
2.6.2 MENUS Using menus
Most programs contain dozens or even hundreds of commands (actions) that are used to work the
program. Many of these commands are organized under menus. Like a restaurant menu, a program
menu shows a list of choices. To keep the screen uncluttered, menus are hidden until you click their titles
in the menu bar, located just underneath the title bar.
To choose one of the commands listed in a menu, click it. Sometimes a dialog box appears, in which
further options can be selected. If a command is unavailable and cannot be clicked, it is shown in
gray.Some menu items are not commands at all. Instead, they open other menus. In the following picture,
pointing to "New" opens a submenu.
Some menu commands open submenus
If the command wanted is not available, try looking at another menu. Move the mouse pointer along the
menu bar will open its menus automatically; there is no need to click the menu bar again. To close a
menu without selecting any commands, click the menu bar or any other part of the window.
Recognizing menus is not always easy, because not all menu controls look alike or even appear on a
menu bar. When an arrow is seen next to a word or picture, it is most probably a menu control. Here are
some examples:
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Examples of menu controls
Tips
If a keyboard shortcut is available for a command, it is shown next to the command.
Menus can be operated using your keyboard instead of your mouse.
2.6.3 KEYBOARD
Using keyboard
Keyboard is the main way to enter information into the computer and also another way to control a
computer. Learning a few simple keyboard commands (instructions to the computer) can help users work
more efficiently. The current topic covers the basics of keyboard operation.
How the keys are organized
The keys on the keyboard can be divided into several groups based on function:
Typing (alphanumeric) keys. These keys include the same letter, number, punctuation, and
symbol keys found on a traditional typewriter.
Control keys. These keys are used alone or in combination with other keys to perform certain
actions. The most frequently used control keys are Ctrl, Alt, the Windows logo key , and Esc.
Function keys. The function keys are used to perform specific tasks. They are labeled as F1, F2,
F3, and so on, up to F12. The functionality of these keys differs from program to program.
Navigation keys. These keys are used for moving around in documents or webpages and editing
text. They include the arrow keys, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, Delete, and Insert.
Numeric keypad. The numeric keypad is handy for entering numbers quickly. The keys are
grouped together in a block like a conventional calculator or adding machine.
The following illustration shows how these keys are arranged on a typical keyboard.
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How the keys are arranged on a keyboard
Typing text
The cursor, also called the insertion point can be seen as a blinking vertical line ( ) whenever
something is typed in a program, e-mail message, or text box. It indicated where the text which will be
typed will begin. The cursor can be moved by clicking in the desired location with the mouse, or by using
the navigation keys (see the "Using navigation keys" section of this topic).
In addition to letters, numerals, punctuation marks, and symbols, the typing keys also include Shift, Caps
Lock, Tab, Enter, the Spacebar, and Backspace.
Key name How to use it
Shift Press Shift in combination with a letter to type an uppercase letter. Press Shift in combination with another key to type the symbol shown on the upper part of that key.
Caps Lock Press Caps Lock once to type all letters as uppercase. Press Caps Lock again to turn this function off. The keyboard might have a light indicating whether Caps Lock is on.
Tab Press Tab to move the cursor several spaces forward.
Enter Press Enter to move the cursor to the beginning of the next line. In a dialog box, press Enter to select the highlighted button.
Spacebar Press the Spacebar to move the cursor one space forward.
Backspace Press Backspace to delete the character before the cursor, or the selected text.
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Using keyboard shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts are ways to perform actions by using the keyboard. They are called shortcuts
because they help users to work faster. In fact, almost any action or command which can be performed
with a mouse can be performed faster using one or more keys on the keyboard.
In Help topics, a plus sign (+) between two or more keys indicates that those keys should be pressed in
combination. For example, Ctrl+A means to press and hold Ctrl and then press A. Ctrl+Shift+A means to
press and hold Ctrl and Shift and then press A.
Find program shortcuts
Things in most programs can be done by using the keyboard. To see which commands have keyboard
shortcuts, open a menu. The shortcuts (if available) are shown next to the menu items.
Keyboard shortcuts appear next to menu items.
Choose menus, commands, and options
Menus can be opened and commands can be choosen by using keyboards. In a program that has menus
with underlined letters, press Alt and an underlined letter to open the corresponding menu. Press the
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underlined letter in a menu item to choose that command. For programs that use the ribbon, such as
Paint and WordPad, pressing Alt overlays (rather than underlines) a letter that can be pressed.
Press Alt+F to open the File menu, then press P to choose the Print command.
This trick works in dialog boxes too. An underlined letter attached to an option in a dialog box indicated
that the opton can be carried out by pressing Alt plus that letter simultaneosly.
Useful shortcuts
The following table lists some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts.
Press this To do this
Windows logo key Open the Start menu
Alt+Tab Switch between open programs or windows
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Alt+F4 Close the active item, or exit the active program
Ctrl+S Save the current file or document (works in most programs)
Ctrl+C Copy the selected item
Ctrl+X Cut the selected item
Ctrl+V Paste the selected item
Ctrl+Z Undo an action
Ctrl+A Select all items in a document or window
F1 Display Help for a program or Windows
Windows logo
key +F1
Display Windows Help and Support
Esc Cancel the current task
Application key Open a menu of commands related to a selection in a program. Equivalent to right-clicking the selection.
Using navigation keys
The navigation keys allow you to move the cursor, move around in documents and webpages, and edit
text. The following table lists some common functions of these keys.
Press this To do this
Left Arrow, Right Arrow, Up Arrow, or Down Arrow
Move the cursor or selection one space or line in the direction of the arrow, or scroll a webpage in the direction of the arrow
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Home Move the cursor to the beginning of a line or move to the top of a webpage
End Move the cursor to the end of a line or move to the bottom of a webpage
Ctrl+Home Move to the top of a document
Ctrl+End Move to the bottom of a document
Page Up Move the cursor or page up one screen
Page Down Move the cursor or page down one screen
Delete Delete the character after the cursor, or the selected text; inWindows, delete the selected item and move it to the Recycle Bin
Insert Turn Insert mode off or on. When Insert mode is on, text that you type is inserted at the cursor. When Insert mode is off, text that you type replaces existing characters.
Using the numeric keypad
The numeric keypad arranges the numerals 0 though 9, the arithmetic operators + (addition), -
(subtraction), * (multiplication), and / (division), and the decimal point as they would appear on a
calculator or adding machine. These characters are duplicated elsewhere on the keyboard, of course, but
the keypad arrangement allows rapid numerical data or mathematical operations entry with one hand.
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Numeric keypad
To use the numeric keypad to enter numbers, press Num Lock. Most keyboards have a light that indicates
whether Num Lock is on or off. When Num Lock is off, the numeric keypad functions as a second set of
navigation keys (these functions are printed on the keys next to the numerals or symbols).
Three odd keys
This section explains the three odd keys on the keyboard: PrtScn, Scroll Lock, and Pause/Break.
PrtScn (or Print Screen)
A long time ago, this key actually did what it says—it sent the current screen of text to the printer.
Nowadays, pressing PrtScn captures an image of an entire screen (a "screen shot") and copies it to the
Clipboard in the computer's memory. From there it can be pasted (Ctrl+V) into Microsoft Paint or another
program and print it from that program when preferred.
More obscure is SYS RQ, which shares the key with PrtScn on some keyboards. Historically, SYS RQ
was designed to be a "system request," but this command is not enabled in Windows.
Tip
Press Alt+PrtScn to capture an image of just the active window, instead of the entire screen.
ScrLk (or Scroll Lock)
In most programs, pressing Scroll Lock has no effect. In a few programs, pressing Scroll Lock changes
the behavior of the arrow keys and the Page Up and Page Down keys; pressing these keys causes the
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document to scroll without changing the position of the cursor or selection. Your keyboard might have a
light indicating whether Scroll Lock is on.
Pause/Break
This key is rarely used. In some older programs, pressing this key pauses the program or, in combination
with Ctrl, stops it from running.
2.7 MY COMPUTER
A section of Microsoft Windows that was introduced with the release of Microsoft Windows 95 and
included with all versions of Windows after that. My Computer allows the user to explore the contents of
their computer drives as well as manage their computer files. In the pictures to the right, are examples of
the My Computer icon in Microsoft Windows XP and just Computer, which was introduced with Windows
Vista. Although the name has changed, this icon still acts the same as My Computer.
How to open My computer
1. Get to the Windows Desktop.
2. Double-click the My Computer icon, this icon is almost always located on the top-left portion of the
desktop and should look similar to the icon shown earlier. Below are two examples of what should
appear when My Computer is open.
Drive listing in My Computer
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Browsing My Computer in Windows 2000
My Computer or Computer can also be accessed through the start menu, as shown in the following figure.
Using My Computer
Once My Computer is opened, all available drives on the computer can be seen. Most users will only be
concerned with the Local Disc (C:) drive, which is the hard drive and what stores all the files. Double-click
this drive icon to open it and view of its contents.
Tip: A document such as a word processor file, music file, picture, or other personal file are likely
contained in the documents folder. This folder is displayed in My computer as a folder and usually
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contains the user’s name. For example, if the username was John, this folder would be named John's
Documents.
Finding files in My Computer
The Windows can be used to find a file which is hard to be located. To do this from within My Computer;
either click on File and then Search or right-click on the C drive or other folder which are intended to
search and click Search.
In the Search window, type the name or part of the name of the file.
Adjust system settings with your computer
If you wish to manage your computer or view other settings and information about your computer instead
of double-clicking the My Computer icon to open it, right-click on the My Computer icon and click
Properties. Performing these steps will open the System Properties (the same window accessible through
the Control Panel).
2.8 THE RECYCLE BIN
The Recycle Bin when empty (left) and full (right)
2.8.1 RECOVER FILES FROM THE RECYCLE BIN When you delete a file or folder, it does not actually get deleted right away—it goes to the Recycle Bin.
That's a good thing, because in case the user decided that he need the deleted file, it can be retrieved
again.
To recover files from the Recycle Bin
1. Open the Recycle Bin by double-clicking the Recycle Bin on the desktop.
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2. Do one of the following:
To restore a file, click it, and then, on the toolbar, click Restore this item.
To restore all of the files, make sure that no files are selected, and then, on the toolbar,
click Restore all items.
The files will be restored to their original locations on the computer.
Recovering an item from the Recycle Bin
Notes
If a file is deleted from a location and not on My Computer (such as a network folder), the file might
be permanently deleted rather than stored in the Recycle Bin.
2.8.2 PERMANENTLY DELETE FILES FROM THE RECYCLE BIN
The Recycle Bin can be emptied when the users are sure that the files are no longer needed. Doing that
will permanently delete the items and reclaim any disk space the files were using.
The files can be deleted individually from the Recycle Bin or empty the entire Recycle Bin at once.
1. Open the Recycle Bin by double-clicking the Recycle Bin on the desktop.
2. Do one of the following:
To permanently delete one file, click it, press Delete, and then click Yes.
To delete all of the files, on the toolbar, click Empty the Recycle Bin, and then click Yes.
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Tips
The Recycle Bin can be emptied without opening it by right-clicking the Recycle Bin and then
clicking Empty Recycle Bin.
A file can be permanently deleteed from the computer without sending it to the Recycle Bin by clicking the
file and then pressing Shift+Delete.
2.9 THE START MENU The Start menu is the main gateway to your computer's programs, folders, and settings. It is called
a menu because it provides a list of choices, just as a restaurant menu does. And as "start" implies, it's
often the place that you'll go to start or open things.
Start menu
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Use the Start menu to do these common activities:
Start programs
Open commonly used folders
Search for files, folders, and programs
Adjust computer settings
Get help with the Windows operating system
Turn off the computer
Log off from Windows or switch to a different user account
Getting started with the Start menu
To open the Start menu, click the Start button in the lower-left corner of the screen or press
the Windows logo key on the keyboard. The Start menu has three basic parts:
The large left pane shows a short list of programs on the computer. Computer manufacturer can
customize this list, so its exact appearance will vary. Clicking All Programs displays a complete list
of programs (more on this later).
At the bottom of the left pane is the search box, which allows user to look for programs and files on
the computer by typing in search terms.
The right pane provides access to commonly used folders, files, settings, and features. It is also
where user log off from Windows or turn off the computer.
Opening programs from the Start menu
One of the most common uses of the Start menu is opening programs installed on the computer. To open
a program shown in the left pane of the Start menu, click it. The program opens and the Start menu
closes.
If program wanted is not seen, click All Programs at the bottom of the left pane. The left pane displays a
long list of programs in alphabetical order, followed by a list of folders.
Clicking one of the program icons starts the program, and the Start menu closes. The folder itself contains
more programs. Click Accessories, for example, and a list of programs that are stored in that folder
appears. Click any program to open it. To get back to the programs seen previously when the Start
menuwas first opened, click Back near the bottom of the menu.
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Move the pointer over its icon or name when unsure of what certain program does. A box appears that
often contains a description of the program. For example, pointing to Calculator displays this message:
"Performs basic arithmetic tasks with an on-screen calculator." This trick works for items in the right pane
of the Start menu, too.
Over time, the lists of programs in your Start menu change. This happens for two reasons. First, when
new programs are installed, they get added to the All Programs list. Second, the Start menu detects which
programs are used most, and places them in the left pane for quick access.
The search box
The search box is one of the most convenient ways to find things on the computer. The exact location of
the items doesn't matter—the search box will scour your programs and all of the folders in your personal
folder (which includes Documents, Pictures, Music, Desktop, and other common locations). It will also
search e-mail messages, saved instant messages, appointments, and contacts.
The Start menu search box
To use the search box, open the Start menu and start typing. The search results appear above the search
box in the left pane of the Start menu as typed.
A program, file, or folder will appear as a search result if:
Any word in its title matches or begins with the search term.
Any text in the actual contents of the file—such as the text in a word-processing document—
matches or begins with the search term.
Any word in a property of the file, such as the author, matches or begins with the search term.
Click any search result to open it. Or, click the Clear button to clear the search results and return to the
main programs list. You can also click See more results to search the entire computer.
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Besides searching programs, files and folders, and communications, the search box also looks through
usersInternet favorites and the history of websites visited. If any of these webpages include the search
term, they appear under a heading called "Files."
What is in the right pane?
The right pane of the Start menu contains links to parts of Windows that the user use frequently. Here
they are, from top to bottom:
Personal folder. Opens the personal folder, which is named for whoever is currently logged on
to Windows. For example, if the current user is Molly Clark, the folder will be named Molly Clark.
This folder, in turn, contains user-specific files, including the My Documents, My Music, My
Pictures, and My Videos folders.
Documents. Opens the Documents library, to access and open text files, spreadsheets,
presentations, and other kinds of documents.
Pictures. Opens the Pictures library, to access and view digital pictures and graphics files.
Music. Opens the Music library, to access and play music and other audio files.
Games. Opens the Games folder, to access all of the games on your computer.
Computer. Opens a window where you can access disk drives, cameras, printers, scanners, and
other hardware connected to the computer.
Control Panel. Opens Control Panel, where the appearance and functionality of the computercan
be customized, install or uninstall programs, set up network connections, and manage user
accounts.
Devices and Printers. Opens a window where information about the printer, mouse, and other
devices installed on your computer can be viewed.
Default Programs. Opens a window to choose programs preferred to be used by windows for
activities such as web browsing.
Help and Support. Opens Windows Help and Support, to browse and search Help topics about
using Windows and the computer.
At the bottom of the right pane is the Shut down button. Click the Shut down button to turn off the
computer.
Clicking the arrow next to the Shut down button displays a menu with additional options for switching
users, logging off, restarting, or shutting down.
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Click the Shutdown button to shut down your computer or click the arrow for more options.
2.10 RUNNING PROGRAM If the same programs such as a web browser or an e-mail program are frequentlu used, it might be
convenient to have them start automatically when Windows starts. Programs or shortcuts placed in the
Startup folder will run whenever Windows starts.
1. Click the Start button , click All Programs, right-click the Startup folder, and then click Open.
2. Open the location that contains the item to create a shortcut to it.
3. Right-click the item, and then click Create Shortcut. The new shortcut appears in the same
location as the original item.
4. Drag the shortcut into the Startup folder.
The next time Windows starts, the program will run automatically.
Note
An individual file, such as a word-processing document, can also be made to open automatically by
dragging a shortcut of the file into the Startup folder.
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3.1 INTRODUCTION TO WORD PROCCESSING SOFTWARE
MICROSOFT WORD BASICS
Typing Text
To enter text, type just as you would if you were using a typewriter.
To capitalize a letter, hold down the SHIFT key while typing the letter or press the CAPS LOCK key on the
left-hand side of your keyboard. You will have to press the CAPS LOCK key again—once you are done
capitalizing—to remove the lock.
You do not need to press ENTER to start a new line—Microsoft Word will automatically
wrap your sentence at the end of the line.
To move the cursor from its position at the end of your sentence to anywhere else on the
page, use the mouse or the arrow keys to move the cursor where you want the letters or
spaces to be (left-click the mouse to place the cursor) and then type what you want to
add—the text will automatically adjust to include it.
Press ENTER to start a new paragraph (this is sometimes called a “carriage return”).
Deleting Text
While typing a document, sometimes you will make a mistake. Unlike a typewriter, MS
Word can delete text on the screen and leave no trace—it is as if you never typed on the
page in the first place.
There are two different buttons on the keyboard that will allow you to erase text. They
are the “Delete” key and the “Backspace” key. The “Backspace” key deletes words to the LEFT of the
cursor, and the “Delete” key deletes words to the RIGHT of the cursor.
This is my crea | tive sentence.
WORD
PROCESSING
CHAPTER
3
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BACKSPACE ↔ DELETE
Let’s assume that the vertical line dissecting the word “creative” in the example above is
our cursor. Pressing the “Backspace” key will erase “a,” “e,” “r,” “c,” and so on, moving
LEFT. The “Delete” key will erase “t,” “i,” “v,” “e,” and so on, moving RIGHT.
To delete a whole chunk of text at once, left-click with your mouse and drag to highlight
a section of text. Then simply press “Backspace” or “Delete” and all of the highlighted
text will disappear.
Undoing and Redoing
The UNDO and REDO features of Microsoft Windows applications are great tools to
rely on (especially in MS Word). The program will keep a list of the last 25 commands
that you have performed, and it allows for taking “one step” backwards in order to erase
what you have just done.
Click on the UNDO button in the Quick Access Toolbar to go back one step (up
to 25).
Click on the REDO button in the Quick Access Toolbar to go forward one step
(up to 25).
Formatting Text
Changing the look of what you’ve written is called “formatting.” This can include
changing the text style, size, color, and more.
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From the Home Tab, the “B” will make your text BOLD, the “ I ” will put it in italics, and the “U” will add an
underline to your text. These features do not have to be used independently of each other- in other words,
you can bold, underline, and italicize a single piece of text.
The alignment of the text can be altered using the buttons with the horizontal lines on them. You can align
text
To the LEFT,
To the CENTER,
And to the RIGHT.
In order to apply certain stylistic or formatting changes to text, you must first HIGHLIGHT the text. This is
a common procedure in Microsoft Windowsapplications, and because it is so useful, it is a skill worth
practising.
3.2 EDITING FEATURES Cutting, Copying and Pasting Text
In MS Word, you can CUT or COPY text from one area of the document and save that text to be PASTED
elsewhere (these commands are found on the Home Tab).
When you CUT text, you actually delete it from where you took it, as opposed to COPYING it, which
makes a copy of your selection.
When you CUT or COPY text, it is stored on the CLIPBOARD. The Clipboard is
a tool in MS Word that stores cuts and copies of your work, to be pasted in other
places in the document. Once your selection is on the CLIPBOARD, you can
PASTE it as many times as you want.
CUTTING a selection will place it on the clipboard, just in case you want to
PASTE it elsewhere.
To cut a selection, first, HIGHLIGHT it. Then click on the CUT icon from the
Home tab.
The highlighted text will disappear, as you would have just cut it out but a copy now is available on your
clipboard, and MS Word is waiting for you to paste it somewhere else.
To PASTE this cut selection, place you cursor where you want the selection to go. Click on the PASTE
icon from the Home Tab toolbar, and it will pop the text into place, right where you have your cursor.
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To COPY, simply follow those same steps, replacing the CUT command
with COPY. The COPY command will not alter your original selection at all,
as it simply makes a copy of the selection without changing or deleting it in
any way.
Inserting Images and Clip Art
With Microsoft Word, you can insert pictures in your document using the Insert Tab toolbar. You can
insert pictures from the “Clip Art” album that comes with the program, or you can insert pictures from a file
that you have previously saved on a disk or elsewhere on the compuer (e.g. the My Pictures folder).
Clip Art is a collection of cartoon and computer-generated images that cover a broad array of commonly
needed icons and pictures. These include business, holiday, nature, entertainment, academic and other
themes, along with standard bullets and symbols.
To insert a clip art picture into a Microsoft Word document,
you will first need to place your cursor (left-click) where you
wish to insert your picture in your document. Then, from the
Insert tab on the Ribbon, click on the “Clip Art”. A Clip Art
search box will appear on the right side of your screen. From
here, you can enter a search word for the picture you would
like to find. Then click “Go.” This will show all the options of
pictures you can insert. When you see a piece of clip art you like, click on it, and it will automatically insert
into your document, in the exact place where you left the cursor.
Modify Line Spacing
Line spacing in Word refers to the amount of space between lines of text. The default in Word 2010 is
1.15 spacing, which leaves a little bit more space than single-spacing or normal book. Single spacing is
generally easy for the eye to read. There may be times, however, when you want to change this spacing.
One common option is to double-space text.
To change the line spacing:
1. Select text you want to format by highlighting it.
2. On the Home Tab, click on the Line Spacing button in the
Paragraph group.
3. Choose the spacing you want from the menu that appears.
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For more options, select Line Spacing Options. In the dialog box that appears, you can choose other
spacing options, including spacing between paragraphs, This can be done by changing the values in the
Before and After boxes.
Spelling and Grammar Check
One benefit os using a computerized word processor is its ability to recognize, change, and give advice
about your writing. MSWord has utilities that can chack your speclling and grammar against a master
database, and can offer advice on a variety of different grammatical styles.
MS Word automatically underlines any words that it does not recognize in red, assuming that they are not
spelled correctly, and underlines in green if it does not recognize the grammatical pattern, assuming that
the sentence does not make sense. For example:
In this case, “jumping” should read “jump” and “laziy” should be “lazy”. If you right-click on the word, a
menu will pop up with options, including “Ignore” if you do not want help on this specific phrase or agree
with the suggestions.
You can also choose to add words to the MS Word spelling database, if you are going to use
them often and do not want then to be flagged as misspelled everytime- this is especially
useful for names, as MS Word often interprets these as misspellings. The spelling and
grammar tools can be found in the Review Tab.
3.3 FORMATTING FUNCTION
The Formatting toolbar
This entire toolbar could become a floating window by double-clicking on the control bar at the far left end
of this toolbar. That gives the following window, which can be placed anywhere on the screen:
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This toolbar can be restored to its original position by clicking in the gray bar at the top and dragging it
back to the top of the screen. Push the top of the window up to the bottom of the menu bar.
Function of commonly used buttons
Select the style to apply to paragraphs
Changes the font of the selected text
Changes the size of selected text and
numbers
Makes selected text and numbers bold
Makes selected text and numbers italic
Underlines selected text and numbers
Aligns to the left with a ragged right
margin
Centers the selected text
Aligns to the right with a ragged left
margin
Aligns the selected text to both the left
and right margins
Makes a numbered list or reverts back
to normal
Add, or remove, bullets in a selected
paragraph
Decreases the indent to the previous
tab stop
Indents the selected paragraph to the
next tab stop
Adds or removes a border around
selected text or objects
Marks text so that it is highlighted and
stands out
Formats the selected text with the
color you click
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Carefully review the function of each of the buttons above. When you think that you are familiar with each
of the buttons, take the short quiz as follows. (The Formatting toolbar has been included as a reference).
Quiz A
A B C D
1
You wish to call attention to a statement in your document by making the text bold. Which button do you select?
2
A flyer is to be prepared inviting parents to a performance. You want the headline to be centered on the page. Which button do you select?
3
You want to make sure that your instructions are clear and plan to place them in a bulleted list. Which button do you select?
4
To call attention to a block of text, you want place a block of color behind the text to highlight it. Which button do you select?
5
Another way to call attention to a block of text is to place a border around it. Which button do you select?
6
A quoted block of text has been indented. You wish to continue the document but you need to undo the indent. Which button do you select?
7
You have made a birthday certificate and you want the student's name to be displayed in color. Which button do you select?
3.4 CREATING TABLES
The best way to create a table
The most consistent way to make a table in Word is to use the grid on the Table button’s menu. Follow
these steps:
1. Move the insertion pointer to the location where you want the table in your document.
Tables dwell in your document like paragraphs, existing on a line by themselves.
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2. Click the Insert tab.
3. Click the Table button.
4. Drag the mouse through the grid to create in your document a table that has the number of
rows and columns you need for the table.
As you drag the mouse pointer on the menu, the table's grid appears in your document.
Release the mouse button to begin working on the table.
The right-brain approach to creating a table
When dialog boxes make more sense than using menus and graphical goobers, choose the Insert Table
command from the Table menu. Use the Insert Table dialog box to manually enter the number of rows
and columns you need. Click the OK button to plop down your table.
The completely left-brain approach to creating a table
Free your mind from the constraints of conventionalism, clutch a crystal, and use the mouse to draw a
table inside your document: From the Table menu on the Insert tab, choose Draw Table. The insertion
pointer changes to a pencil, as shown in the margin. Drag the mouse to “draw” the table’s outline in your
document.
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Start in the upper-left corner of where you envision your table and drag to the lower-right corner, which
tells Word where to insert the table. You see an outline of the table as you drag down and to the right.
Continue to create the table by drawing rows and columns. As long as the mouse pointer looks like a
pencil, you can use it to draw the rows and columns in your table.
Press the Esc key to end table-creation mode.
The “I can’t do anything — please help” approach to creating a table
Word comes with an assortment of predefined, formatted tables. Plopping one down in your document is
as easy as using the Quick Tables submenu, chosen from the Table menu on the Insert tab. Keep
scrolling that menu; you’ll discover more tables available than just the calendars.
After inserting a Quick Table, all you need to do is add or edit the existing text. You can even use the
Table Tools Design tab to instantly reformat the table. Or just succumb to the desire to manually format
your table.
3.5 EXERCISE
Exercise 3.5.1
1. What is the definition of FONT?
A. word formatting
B. designs of type
C. italicize
D. typesetting
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2. To change the font on a Word document, you would need to click on the _____________ toolbar.
A. Tools
B. View
C. Formatting
D. Edit
3. Emphasizes text with color.
A. Formatting
B. Viewing
C. Selecting
D. Highlighting
4. Predefined set of formatting options that have been named and saved.
A. Style
B. Format
C. View
D. Toolbar
5. Controls the amount of space between each letter.
A. toolbar
B. character spacing
C. drawing toolbar
D. options spacing
6. Font size is measure in ______________________.
A. Height
B. Width
C. Points
D. Numbers
7. Pictures that illustrate the meaning of the text and make the document more attractice.
A. Diagrams
B. Clip Art
C. Graphics
D. Charts
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8. Single, double, or thick dotted lines that appear around words or paragraphs.
A. Text Box
B. Drawing
C. Toolbar
D. Border
9. adding color, grays, or patterns to lines or paragraphs to emphasize text.
A. Borders
B. Shading
C. Highlighting
D. Selecting
10. Highlighting a block of text.
A. Text Box
B. Highlighting
C. Selecting
D. Drawing
11. Allows you to display hidden formatting characters.
A. Show/Hide
B. Display
C. Formatting Characters
D. Display Characters
Exercise 3.5.2 Question Number 1
How do you insert a picture?
A. copy and paste
B. insert/picture/from file or clipart
C. drag and drop
Question Number 2
How do you print a document?
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A. file print
B. exit
C. press F1
Question Number 3
How do you start a new document?
A. exit out and restart
B. file new document
C. press refresh
Question Number 4
How do you insert wordart?
A. press the WordArt tab on your drawing toolbar
B. file word art
C. hit a color A
Question Number 5
How do you view what the document looks like before you print it?
A. file print
B. insert zoom
C. file/print preview
Question Number 6
How do you undo something?
A. file undo
B. press undo on formating toolbar
C. exit out but do not save changes
Question Number 7
How do you change you margins?
A. file/page setup/margins
B. file/margins
C. insert/margins
Question Number 8
How do you bold your font?
A. file/bold
B. the bold B on the formating toolbar
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C. insert/bold lettering
Question Number 9
How do you change font type?
A. hit the down arrow on the font type on the formating toolbar
B. file/change font
C. insert/font type
Question Number 10
How do you change the font color?
A. file/change font color
B. insert/different font color
C. hit the big A on the formating toolbar
Question Number 11
How do you make your word iTalic?
A. file/text to italic
B. insert/italic words
C. None of the above
Question Number 12
How do you close a document correctly?
A. hit the exit button
B. power the computer off
C. leave it open
Question Number 13
How do you save a document?
A. file/save as
B. file new document
C. the save icon on the formating toolbar
D. both A and C
Question Number 14
How do you delete text?
A. highlight and hit delete
B. highlight and hit backspace
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C. just highlight and type delete
D. both A and B
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4.1 INTRODUCTION TO PRESENTATION SOFTWARE
Presentation software is a tool used to create visual presentations. These presentations are
usually delivered in a slide show format, and can be created with a variety of programs. The programs
make it possible to combine text and graphic elements to convey important information to a group of
people all at once. Common uses for presentation software include teaching a new or complex concept to
a group of students, announcing the launch a new product or service campaign to employees, training
employees on key concepts or new policies, or presenting a proposal to a group.
Slide show presentation software is available for both the PC and Mac platforms. Options include
Microsoft Office PowerPoint®, Apple Keynote®, and Google Docs™ presentation. A popular open
source option for those who need the ability to create slide shows without the high cost of
commercial presentation software is Open Office Impress. Google Docs presentation is also free as it is
part of the Google Docs™ line of services.
Each presentation software allows users to develop a slide show presentation; however, the
methods for viewing the presentation may vary from program to program. Both the PowerPoint
presentation software and the Impress programs allow for the presentation to be viewed full screen on a
computer monitor, where the presenter can either have slide changes timed, or click through them.
The presentation can be moved to a larger screen by connecting the monitor to another screen.
There are many different types of presentation software besides Powerpoint, Some of the others
are Zoho Show 2.0, SlideRocket, and PresentationEngine.
4.2 CREATING A PRESENTATION WITH A WIZARD
The PowerPoint dialog box presents three ways to create a presentation:
AutoContent Wizard. Creates a slide set within the theme you select.
Design Template. Creates slides from pre-designed slide sets for standard presentations.
Blank Presentation. Creates slides that you design from scratch.
POWERPOINT FOR EFFECTIVE
PRESENTATION
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You can also open an existing presentation. If the PowerPoint dialog box has been disabled, you can start
a new presentation in any of the ways listed above from the File menu. You can create a new
presentation at any time even if you have others open. Using a wizard or template when you create a new
presentation can save you time.
Using the AutoContent Wizard
The AutoContent Wizard helps you create a presentation by leading you through some basic questions.
You respond to questions asked by the Wizard, and the Wizard uses your answers to automatically lay
out and format the presentation. PowerPoint 2000 then selects the best style and built-in outline to suit the
presentation.
To create a presentation using the AutoContent Wizard
1. Open PowerPoint 2000.
2. Select the AutoContent Wizard option and then click OK.
3. Read about the AutoContent Wizard and then click Next.
4. Select Generic and then click Next.
5. Select the On-screen Presentation option and then click Next.
6. Click in the Presentation title box and then type Class Overview as a title for the presentation.
7. Click in the Footer box, type the class title and then click Next.
This includes the class title at the bottom of each slide.
8. Click Finish to exit the AutoContent Wizard. The first slide appears in Normal view.
9. On the File menu, clickSave.
10. Select a folder, name the presentation and then click OK.
Viewing presentations
There are three ways to view your presentations in PowerPoint. The views are accessed from the
View menu, or from the buttons in the lower-left corner of the PowerPoint 2000 screen.
Normal view is the view to use when you are designing a presentation slide by slide. In Normal
view, you see the Outline in the left pane, the slide in the upper-right pane, and the notes in the
lower-right pane. The Normal view makes it easy to organize a presentation in outline format and
add notes to each slide.
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Slide Sorter view shows the entire set of slides on the screen, so that you can check the order
and consistency of the slides.
Slide Show view puts the presentation together as a slide show, so you can view the finished
presentation, complete with sound and animation.
4.3 QUICK PRESENTATION ON WIZARD WITH A BLANK PUBLICATION
Creating a Blank Presentation
When PowerPoint 2010 is launched, a new blank presentation is displayed automatically. To create a new
blank presentation at any time:
Click on the File tab and choose New from the left-hand side of the screen
Ensure Blank Presentation is selected, then click on the Create button
Adding content
PowerPoint 2000 provides master slide styles or default slide formats to make it easy to create a
professional-looking presentation. The formats include bullets, two columns, tables, charts, clip art, and
blank slides. These formats make it easy to quickly make slides that support your classroom instruction.
Creating slides
Editing and creating slides in PowerPoint 2000 is easy. PowerPoint 2000 identifies the slide areas that
you can fill by placing sample text in them. You have already created a group of slides using the
AutoContent Wizard. Each slide in the presentation has a common look.
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To add text to a slide
1. Open the presentation you created. The first slide already contains the title and your name. Also,
note that the footer text that you chose is on the slide.
2. In the Outline pane, select the text "State the purpose of the discussion" and then type Classroom
procedures, attendance, and grades .
3. Select the text "Identify yourself" and then type Instructor and student introductions .
4. Continue by replacing text in each of the slides. You can edit slides at any time by clicking the text
you want to change. Then you can delete, add, or change text.
Adding notes
The Notes pane is used to add speaking notes to a presentation. After you have completed a
presentation, you can print the presentation with notes so that you can keep track of what is coming up
next in the presentation.
To add notes to a slide
1. Use the scroll bar in the Slide pane to move to the first slide in the presentation.
2. Click in the Notes pane.
3. Type Explain that the presentation will give all class participants an overview of what to expect for
the coming semester .
4. Continue to add notes to each slide by selecting the slide with the scroll bar, clicking in the Notes
pane, and then typing the notes.
5. Save your work.
4.4 CREATE A NEW PRESENTATION BASED ON A TEMPLATE
One way of creating a presentation is to start from scratch. However, you can save time and effort if you
base your new presentation on a template. A template defines the background, font styles, colours and
sizes for your placeholders, as well as selected bullets that match the template. Using a template means
that you do not need to worry about defining those aspects yourself. PowerPoint comes with a number of
stylish templates built in that you can use immediately, and you can download additional ones from
office.com.
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To create a PowerPoint presentation using a template, click the File tab > New, and the following panel
will be displayed.
Clicking on a template category will display thumbnail
images of all the templates within that category. When you
find a template you like the look of, click on its thumbnail
to select it and you will see a preview of it on the right of
the panel. You can then click Create to create your
PowerPoint presentation based on this template.
Sometimes you just cannot find a template that precisely
matches what you need, and in these circumstances,
what many people do is use a template that is the closest
fit and then modify it.
4.5 CLASSROOM LESSON PLANS
PowerPoint allows you to add sound to your presentation, which opens up a lot of possibilities.
Perhaps you want to add background music to one slide, a sound effect to another, and maybe even
add some narration or commentary to a few slides. You can either add an audio file from your
computer, or you can browse PowerPoint's collection of Clip Art Audio. You can then edit the sounds
within PowerPoint so that they are tailored to your presentation.
The following descriptions show how sounds can be inserted and edited into a PowerPoint slides.
To Insert Audio from a File on Your Computer:
1. From the Insert tab, click the Audio drop-down arrow and select Audio from File.
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Inserting an audio file
2. Locate and select the desired audio file and then click Insert.
The Insert Audio dialog box
3. The audio file will be added to the slide.
The inserted audio
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4.6 CREATING SIMPLE COURSEWARE
Steps to create simple courseware
1. Set your goals. Before starting any PowerPoint courseware, ask yourself a question, “What is
the goal of this lesson?” Goal is the key. You cannot well organize your class without figuring out the goal
of a lesson. Many educators suggest using an outline to list clearly what skill or knowledge is being
assessed. Brainstorm in mind, and then outline your ideas in PowerPoint. And, the most important thing,
be sure to weigh content heavily in the assessment tool, do not let style to take precedence over content.
2. Remember that style matters. Avoid using too many animations, clip art, backgrounds and so
on but keep in mind that a judicious use of those tools can be effective. Below is a research on under
which set of conditions people learn best.
Hearing spoken text and looking at graphics – 91% more learning,
Looking at graphics alone – 63% more,
Reading printed text plus looking at graphics – 56% more,
Listening to spoken text, reading text, and looking at graphics – 46% more,
Hearing spoken text plus reading printed text – 32% more,
Reading printed text alone – 12% more,
Hearing spoken text alone – 7% more.
3. Keep in mind some other things when creating teaching presentations. These include:
o Include only 3-7 points per slide and 3-7 words per bullet;
o One theme or background;
o One font set;
o One text animation effect;
o Avoid using complete sentences, using clause instead;
o Don’t show all points on a slide at once, otherwise, students will read ahead and stop listening to the presentation;
o Challenge students to use pictures in stead of text, initiate talking with students and among students.
Tips
o After creating PowerPoint courseware, you may sometimes receive appeals from your students and
colleagues to share it, or you want to make your PowerPoint courseware be available online. The next
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and more important thing is to present and distribute it in a proper way so that more people can benefit
from it. Here are some ways to help you distribute your PowerPoint courseware well:
Directly e-mail your PowerPoint courseware to others: It is a way that many people could think. And it is
also easy to operate, just attach the PPT file and then send it to others via e-mail. But in this way, the
people who receive it should have a MS PowerPoint installed computer. Besides, the PPT file sent to
others could be modified by others.
o Burn your PowerPoint courseware to DVD/CD: As DVD discs are convenient for sharing. Burning
your PowerPoint to DVD/CD will be ideal for distributing your courseware. You no longer need to worry if
others have PowerPoint installed or not because DVD discs are supported by most computers and
players.
o Convert your PowerPoint to video/flash, then upload it to website or blog: You may have your own
website or blog, upload your PowerPoint courseware to it can make your students and others see your
PowerPoint courseware as long as they visit your web page. In order to do this, you will need to convert
your PowerPoint to video or flash first.
o Convert your PowerPoint courseware to PDF: PDF is accepted by many people as it is easy to open
and can be printed easily. Convert your PowerPoint courseware to PDF is also a good idea to distribute
your PowerPoint.
Note:
Microsoft PowerPoint is a powerful teaching tool. It can greatly improve the efficiency of teaching.
So take the advantages of PowerPoint courseware, make your class more interesting and let more people
get your teaching ideas.
4.7 EXERCISE
1. A symbol such as a heavy dot or other character that precedes text in a presentation is
called a(n) ____.
A. asterisk
B. bullet
C. list
D. text slide
2. A slide that consists of more than one level of bulleted text is called a ____ bulleted list
slide.
A. extra-level
B. many-level
C. multi-level
D. super-level
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3. The ____ rule states that each slide should have ample space to rest the eyes.
A. Rule of Thirds
B. Rule of Thumb
C. Rule of Thunder
D. Rule of Thor
4. To print a presentation using shortcut keys, press ____.
A. ALT+TAB
B. CTRL+P
C. ALT+P
D. TAB+P
5. To start PowerPoint, click the Start button on the Windows taskbar, point to Programs, and
then select ____.
A. accessories
B. Microsoft Office Tools
C. Microsoft PowerPoint
D. start PowerPoint
6. A ____ ends all slide shows unless the option setting is deselected.
A. blue slide
B. black slide
C. blank slide
D. closing slide
7. A separate window within the application that provides a list of commonly used commands
is called a ____.
A. common commands pane
B. move handle
C. task pane
D. viewer
8. When you drag the scroll box, the ____ displays the number and title of the slide you are
about to display.
A. next slide button
B. status bar
C. slide indicator
D. Zoom box arrow
9. To maintain balance and simplicity in your presentation, designers recommend using a
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maximum of ____ fonts and two font styles or effects.
A. two
B. four
C. five
D. seven
10. You will use ____ when making a presentation.
A. PowerPoint viewer
B. scroll bars
C. slide show view
D. voice commands
11. To access the PowerPoint Help system using the keyboard, press ____.
A. ALT+TAB
B. CTRL+H
C. ESC
D. F1
12. A(n) ____ is the basic unit of a PowerPoint presentation.
A. object
B. placeholder
C. slide
D. task pane
13. To start a slide show using the keyboard, press ____.
A. CTRL+S
B. CTRL+ENTER
C. F4
D. F5
14. Underline, shadow, emboss, superscript, and subscript are all examples of text ____.
A. colors
B. effects
C. fonts
D. styles
15. It is a collection of data and information that is to be delivered to a specific audience.
A. A presentation
B. Effective presentation
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C. PowerPoint presentation
D. Slideshow presentation
16. It is a collection of electronic slides that can have text, pictures, graphics, tables, sound and
video. This collection can run automatically or can be controlled by a presenter.
A. Controlled presentation
B. Effective presentation
C. Oral Presentation
D. PowerPoint presentation
17. This button allows you to create a new presentation, Open an existing presentation, save
and save as, print, send, or close
A. Microsoft Office button
B. New button
C. Open button
D. PowerPoint button
18. These are design templates that can be applied to an entire presentation that allows for
consistency throughout the presentation.
A. designs
B. styles
C. themes
D. templates
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5.1 INTRODUCTION TO DESKTOP PUBLISHING AND WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT 5.1.1 INTRODUCTION TO DESKTOP PUBLISHING
When documents and images are printed, they are "published." Before computers became
common, the publishing process required large print presses that copy and duplicate pages. In order to
print images and words on the same page, the text and graphics would have to be printed separately, cut
out, placed on a single sheet, taped in place, then copied and printed. Fortunately, computers
with graphical user interfaces have enabled desktop publishing, which allows this process to be done
electronically.
Any time you use a computer to create a printable document, it can be considered desktop
publishing. However, the term is most commonly used to refer to professional computer-based publishing.
Desktop publishers use programs like Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress to create page layouts for
documents they want to print. These desktop publishing programs can be used to create books,
magazines, newspapers, flyers, pamphlets, and many other kinds of printed documents. Publishers may
also use programs like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to create printable images. Even word processing
programs like Microsoft Word can be used for basic desktop publishing purposes.
Complete desktop publishing involves the combination of typesetting (choosing fonts and the text
layout), graphic design, page layout (how it all fits on the page), and printing the document. However, as
mentioned before, desktop publishing can also be as simple as typing and printing a school paper. In
order to desktop publish; all you need is a computer, monitor, printer, and software that can create a
printable document. While that might cost more than a pen and paper, it certainly is cheaper than a
printing press!
Things to Do With Desktop Publishing
Desktop publishing is or can be:
designing print communications such as brochures, fliers, advertisements, and posters
designing print communications such as catalogs, directories, and annual reports
designing logos, business cards, and letterhead
designing and publishing newsletters, magazines, and newspapers
DESKTOP PUBLISHING AND
WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
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designing books and booklets
converting print communications to formats for the Web and smartdevices such as tablets and
phones
creating resumes and business forms (including invoices, inventory sheets, memos, and labels)
self-publishing (books, newsletters, ebooks, etc.)
designing and publishing blogs and Web sites
designing slides shows, presentations, and printing handouts
creating and printing greeting cards, banners, postcards, candy wrappers, and iron-on transfers
making digital scrapbooks and print or digital photo albums
creating decorative labels, envelopes, trading cards, calendars, and charts
designing packaging for retail merchandise from wrappers for bars of soap to software boxes
designing store signs, highway signs, and billboards
taking work designed by others and putting into the correct format for digital or offset printing or for
publishing online
Pre-designed publications in Publisher
PRINT PUBLICATIONS
Quick publications, advertisements, award certificates, banners, brochures, business cards, business forms, calendars, catalogs, envelopes, flyers, gift certificates, greeting cards, invitation cards, labels, letterhead, menus, newsletters, paper folding projects, postcards, programs, resumes, signs, with compliments cards
Web publications
Easy Web Site Builder (creates a custom Web site), 3-Page Web Site, Product Sales, Professional Services
E-mail Newsletter, Letter, Event/Speaker, Event/Activity, Product List, Featured Product
5.1.2 INTRODUCTION TO WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
The term Web development is used for several different activities which are linked to the developing of a
website especially for the WWW which is the World Wide Web or also called as an intranet.The Web
development strategies include the business of the e-commerce, the web designing, the web content
development, the client and server-side coding and also the configuration of the web server.There is a
different meaning to the term web development, amongst the experts and professionals of the web; they
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refer web development as only to those aspects of the making of the websites which do not involve the
coding and writing markup.
Web development ranges from the simplest tasks to the highly professional and complex applications.
This can include the very simple plain-text page to the complicated applications of the web-based internet,
or social networking.
Business firms and companies organize a team of several hundreds of people who are related with the
job of the web development. However, such a large set up is only required for the established
organizations to maintain their complex system of web site viewed worldwide. For a simple group of
working units, a single webmaster or an assistant to manage the web graphics and system techniques is
needed. The web development of any company is a joint effort between different departments than just
the domain of a designated department.
5.2 CREATING A PUBLICATION
A. Create a publication by using one of the pre-designed publications
1. On the File menu, click New.
2. In the New Publication task pane, under New from a design, do one of the following:
To create a publication that you will print, click Publications for Print and then,
under Publications for Print, click the type of publication that you want.
To create a Web site, or a publication that you will send as an e-mail message, click Web Sites
and e-mail, click either Web Sites or e-mail, and then click the type of publication that you want.
3. In the Preview Gallery on the right, click the design that you want.
NOTE If you click Easy Web Site Builder under Web Sites, select the check boxes for the options that
you want in the Easy Web Site Builder dialog box before continuing.
4. Do any of the following:
To change the publication's overall design, click Publication Designs in the task pane, and then
click the publication design that you want.
To change the publication's color scheme, click Color Schemes in the task pane, and then click
the color scheme that you want.
To change the publication's font scheme, click Font Schemes in the task pane, and then click the
font scheme that you want.
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If you are creating a Web page, newsletter, or catalog, and you want to change the page content
options, click Page Content, and then click the options that you want.
Change or select any additional options in the task pane.
5. In your publication, replace the placeholder text and pictures with your own text and pictures, or
with other objects.
6. On the File menu, click Save As.
7. In the Save in box, select the folder where you want to save the new publication.
8. In the File name box, type a name for your publication.
9. In the Save as type box, select Publisher Files.
10. Click Save.
B. Start with a blank publication
1. On the File menu, click New.
2. In the New Publication task pane, under New from a design, click Blank Publications.
3. In the Preview Gallery on the right, click the blank publication that you want.
4. In your publication, add text, pictures, and any other objects you want.
5. On the File menu, click Save As.
6. In the Save in box, select the folder where you want to save the new publication.
7. In the File name box, type a name for your publication.
8. In the Save as type box, select Publisher Files.
9. Click Save.
NOTE: If you create a postcard or a business card by starting with one of these blank publications, your
publication will be a Quick Publication, and you will not be able to use any of the task pane options that
are available for the Postcard Wizard or the Business Card Wizard.
C. Create a publication by using a template from Microsoft Office Online
You can find additional Publisher templates on the Templates on Microsoft Office Online Web site. If you
are connected to the Internet, you can link to Templates on Office Online directly from Publisher.
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1. On the Help menu in Publisher, click Microsoft Office Publisher Help. The Publisher Help task
pane opens.
2. Under Search for, type templates and then click the green arrow.
3. Click the link at the top of the list, Microsoft Office Templates: Download templates for
calendars, business plans, resumes, and more.
4. On Templates on Office Online, search for the publication type that you want.
D. Create a publication from a template that you saved
This procedure works only if you have already created and saved a template in Publisher (by choosing
Publisher Template in the Save as type list when you saved the publication), and then exited Publisher
and started it again.
1. On the File menu, click New.
2. In the New Publication task pane, under New from a design, click Templates.
3. In the Preview Gallery to the right, click the template that you want.
4. Make the changes that you want to create a new publication.
5. On the File menu, click Save As.
6. In the Save in box, select the folder where you want to save the new publication.
7. In the File name box, type a name for your publication.
8. In the Save as type box, select Publisher Files.
9. Click Save.
E. Create a publication from a design set
If you want to create a range of different publications that all share a single consistent design, you can
select a publication from a design set.
1. On the File menu, click New.
2. In the New Publication task pane, under New from a design, click Design Sets.
3. In the task pane, click the design set that you want.
4. In the Preview Gallery to the right, click the type of publication that you want.
5. Do any of the following:
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To change the publication's overall design, click Publication Designs in the task pane, and then
click the publication design that you want.
To change the publication's color scheme, click Color Schemes in the task pane, and then click
the color scheme that you want.
To change the publication's font scheme, click Font Schemes in the task pane, and then click the
font scheme that you want.
If you are creating a Web page, newsletter, or catalog, and you want to change page content
options, click Page Content, and then click the options that you want.
Change or select any additional options in the task pane.
6. In your publication, replace the placeholder text and pictures with your own text and pictures, or
with other objects.
7. On the File menu, click Save As.
8. In the Save in box, select the folder where you want to save the new publication.
9. In the File name box, type a name for your publication.
10. In the Save as type box, select Publisher Files.
11. Click Save.
Create a new publication based on an existing one
You can create a new publication from an existing publication without modifying the original file.
1. On the File menu, click New.
2. In the New Publication task pane, under New, click From existing publication.
3. In the Create New From Existing Publication dialog box, locate and click the publication that
you want to use as the basis for your new publication.
4. Click Create New.
5. Make the changes that you want in your new publication.
6. On the File menu, click Save As.
7. In the Save in box, select the folder where you want to save the new publication.
8. In the File name box, type a new name for your publication.
9. In the Save as type box, select Publisher Files.
10. Click Save.
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5.3 DEVELOPING WEBSITE
A. Design and Build Your Website
Choose a theme. If you already have a fairly good idea about what your website will focus on, skip this
step. If not, here are some things to help you figure that out. First, understand that there are billions of
people on the Internet, and a healthy percentage have websites. If you limit yourself to something that has
not been done, you will never get started.
o The best advice from the start would be, "Do what interests you." Take a topic you're familiar with, and
focus on it. Your website will reflect all the care you put into it.
o When you think, "Internet," what is the first thing that comes to your mind? e-commerce? Music? News?
Socializing? Blogging? Those are all good places to start. You could create a website that is dedicated to
your favorite band, and have a chat area where people can talk about it. If you are a news junkie, or want
something less filtered than traditional media, build a website and get publicly available feeds from news
providers such as Reuters, BBC, and others. Build your own customized news aggregator (what used to
go by the quaint name of "newspaper"), then see and show all the news that's fit to digitize.
o Create a site about your family, life, friends and times. Granted, the world may not beat a path to your
website with that topic, but your friends and family will! You can have a page for you, your spouse, your
kids—even crazy old Uncle Ernie and his trained iguana. Or maybe a section that explores your family
tree. Instead of sending out that yearly "family update" during the holidays, you can post it on your site.
1. Make a plan.
Building your website is going to take a commitment of time and money, so set a limit on both, and then
dig in. The first thing you want to do after you have your idea and are ready to build a website is to plan it
out. This does not have to be a big, complicated spreadsheet, or a fancy graphic presentation, but at the
very least, you will want to know what goes where.
Draw a flow chart. For most people, the website starts on the home page. This is the page that everybody
sees when they first go to www.yourSite.com. But where do they go from there? If you spend some time
thinking about how people might interact with your site, you will have a much easier time down the line
when you are making navigation buttons and links.
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2. Make it happen.
When you have the basic idea down and have a plan for how it will be laid out, the next thing you'll want
to think about is how you're going to build it. The options seem mind-boggling, and people will try to sell
you this, and that, and every other thing that you "absolutely must have" on your site. When you get right
down to it, though, there are only a few basic choices to make. Here are the pros and cons:
o Build it yourself. If you have a website-building application like Adobe Dreamweaver, it is not very
difficult to create a website from scratch.
Pros: website design software simplifies the process of building sites by letting you drag-and-drop
images, text, buttons, movies, and anything else you can think of, all without ever having to dig
into HTML. Many web design applications will even let you create sites specifically for your smart
phone or pad. If you are building a basic, personal website, this is really a great way to go.
Cons: there is a learning curve, and though you do not have to dig into HTML, it's not totally geek-
free. If you are in a hurry, this might not be the best solution. Perhaps the biggest con, though, is
that if you are not a graphic designer, youcould end up with a page that hurts the eyes. To mollify
this somewhat, there are a number of free templates in the applications, and on the internet, but
be aware of your limitations—if you have any.
o Use a hosting site. Wordpress is a great option for building websites. Wordpress features almost 200
themes that you can start using immediately. There are some options for customization, and you can
manage your site from anywhere that has an Internet connection.
Pros: Very easy to use, quick to get started, and lots of options for the beginner (with enough
depth for more experienced users).
Cons: Some themes are limiting, and not all are free.
3. Learn HTML and build a website from scratch.
o HTML looks complicated, but it's like listening to Shakespeare—it's hard at first, but once you get the feel
of it, it's not that difficult.
Pros: You will be able to tweak your website any way you want, and not have to pay anybody else
to do it.
Cons: Programming is not for everybody. Your brain may be wired for art, or business, not for a
new language and syntax that seems totally foreign (but be aware that it's consistently methodical
rather than difficult). There is also a learning curve, so as with using a site building application,
time considerations play a factor here, too.
4. Extend your knowledge base.
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o If you decide to go the programming route, there are ways to extend your HTML skills, and add more
features and more depth to your website. If you are developing a professional website, these tools
will help you get that edge that is needed in any business venture.
CSS, which stands for "Cascading Style Sheets". CSS gives more flexibility for styling the HTML,
and makes it much easier to make basic changes—fonts, headers, color schemes—in one place,
and have those changes ripple through the site.
XHTML is a web language set by W3C's standards. Almost identical to HTML, it follows a stricter
set of rules for marking up information. What this means, for the most part, is minor changes to
the way you write code.
Look into HTML5. It's the fifth revision of the core HTML standard, and will eventually subsume
the current version of HTML (HTML4), and XHTML as well.
Learn a client-side scripting language, such as JavaScript. This will increase your ability to add
interactive elements to your site, such as charts, maps, etc.
Learn a server-side scripting language. (PHP, ASP with JavaScript or VB Script or Python) can be
used to change the way web pages appear to different people, and lets you edit or create forums.
They can also help store information about people who visit your site, like their username,
settings, and even temporary "shopping carts" for commercial sites.
AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is a technique of using a browser sided language and
a server sided language to make the page get new information from the server without refreshing
the page, often greatly reducing user wait time and vastly improving the user's experience but
increasing bandwidth usage. For a website that will see a lot of traffic, or an e-Commerce site, this
is an excellent solution.
5. Hire a professional.
o If you are not up to designing, or learning languages and protocols—especially for more advanced
sites—hiring a professional may be your best option. Before you hire, ask to see a portfolio of their
work, and check their references carefully.
B. Register your domain name.
If you are on a budget, there are strategies for buying a cheap domain name. Find a domain name that is
easy to remember and easy spell. If you use domains ending with .com, you will end up with more traffic,
but most of the easy ones are taken, so be creative!
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o Look to Network Solutions, GoDaddy, or Register.com to research and find the ideal domain name for
your website. Wordpress also includes a feature whereby you can use a name that's tagged with their
site, for example, mywebsite.wordpress.com. But if the name you choose is also available as a .com, they
will notify you when you sign up.
o You can purchase domain names but it has been "parked" or is for sale online through business sales
sites. It's a good idea to get legal and financial advice before purchasing an expensive domain name.
C. Inspect your website.
Before you post your site, check it out. Most web design software has a way to test your site without
taking it online. Look for missing tags, broken links, search engine optimization, and website design flaws.
These are all factors which may affect your website's traffic and revenues. You may also generate a free
full-functioning site map to submit to search engines like Google, in a matter of minutes.
D. Test Driving Your Website and Going Live
o Test drive your website. When you finish your website, do usability testing. You can do this by asking a
few friends or family members to try it out. Give them a specific task like "edit your profile" or "buy an
alpaca sweater from the bargains page." Sit behind them and watch them navigate—do not help them.
You will likely find areas where you need to improve navigation or clarify some instructions.
o Keep a list of things you notice that seem difficult or non-intuitive for the user.
E. Post it!
Choose a web host and upload your website. Your web host may have an FTP feature, or you can
download your own FTP program like FileZilla or CyberDuck. If you hired a professional to design the
website, they should be able to take care of this for you (but it still pays to ask questions so that you
understand what is happening).
Note that there are ways to host your own website for free.
F. Website Considerations
1. Define your goals.
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The website you create may be for fun, it may be for profit, or some combination of the two. Knowing your
expectations makes it much easier both to design your website, and to track and make sense of the
results. Here are some things to consider:
Content sites require less investment. But they also face more competition, since anyone can
start a content site. To make money from this kind of site, you provide information and generate
income from the traffic you receive through advertising, such as through Google AdSense. In
order to optimize AdSense, you will have to write your content purposefully and make it
interesting so that people come to your site. Use specific keywords directed at people searching
for specific terms too; just do not get carried away with this aspect or the content may suffer and
readers won't like it.
eCommerce sites, which sell products, will need more maintenance and attention. You will need
to think about shipping, sales, taxes, SSL, inventory updates, and everything that a person with a
brick-and-mortar storefront would have to manage. A system for prompt answering of questions
and dealing with complaints is essential when selling products online; many companies also offer
phone help, which you can outsource offshore if need be.
If the goal is just to add a stream of income, you can also sell other people's products
through affiliate programs, letting you earn money without investing in product or worrying about
shipping.
2. Know the audience or market you want to reach.
Which kinds of people will your website serve? Conduct market research to figure out more about your
audience. Things to know or find out include: What do they do? How old are they? What are their other
interests? All of this information can help make your website much more useful. However, be careful of
assuming that your site is only targeting one group––always watch for trends that show other types of
people becoming interested, so that you can cater for their interests too and make the most of new
opportunities.
3. Narrow down your concept.
If you're doing this for money, which ideas stand to make the most profit? Which ideas require the most
commitment? Which ideas look like they'd be fun to pursue? You will be spending time working on your
website, so choose the idea you are most passionate about (that is also profitable and practical for you).
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4. Do keyword research.
This is necessary to determine whether people are searching for topics that are relevant to your site and
can be useful for learning more about your potential clients. Making a conscious effort to incorporate in-
demand keywords into the site can also help you get a better search engine ranking. There are tools
available from Google (ex. google.com/trends/ and google.com/insights/search/#), Overture, and
third-party software developers that can make the keyword research process easier.
Sprinkle the keywords you've chosen throughout your text, but not insofar as it hurts the quality of
your content.
Creating pages that are optimized for the search engines will help you get your site found which is
really more important than design. What good is a site that no one sees?
5. Advertise. Now that it's out there, you want people to come, so let them know!
Submit your site to major search engines. There are sites that will do this for you, or you can do it
yourself.
Tell your friends. Tweet about it—constantly! Add it to your Facebook status updates, post
pictures of it on Flickr, add it to your LinkedIn account—anywhere and everywhere is the key
here. The more people coming to your site, the better.
Use an e-mail address with your domain. Visit other websites that complement (not compete with)
yours, and offer to exchange links or guest blog/write. Post constructively on blogs and forums,
and put your URL in your signature.
Use article marketing. Creating SEO-optimized articles and posting them to other sites is a
sometimes a useful way to create back-links to your website. This might help you to boost your
website’s search engine ranking but always keep abreast of search engine updates that often
impact SEO strategies and can render them less helpful or even downgrade your site's ranking.
6. Provide quality content and service.
Most of all, listen to your readers and customers and learn from what their experience of your website.
Take constructive comments seriously. Other band members, fans, and friends may all have
easier navigation ideas.
Think about your target market or audience: their needs, their frustrations, their circumstances. As
much as possible, seek to make their lives easier or more informed.
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Tips
Find popular websites, even if they do not have much to do with yours, and use them as models. What
are they doing right? What is interesting about their layout, their content, the way you maneuver through
the website? Incorporate relevant aspects of what you learn from viewing these sites into your own
website, tailoring it to fit your requirements.
People are often in a hurry. On average, you have about 3-7 seconds to capture people's eyeballs, so be
smart about what people see first when they get to your page. To minimize your load time, do not
overload with huge graphics. Compress them where possible. Use flashy technology JavaScript, Flash,
Streaming Audio/Video, etc., sparingly and only if it is important to your presentation.
Begin with simple things, practice them, and then find ways to improve – even if what you create is not
very impressive the first few times time. Do not attempt to rush through the process.
NOTE
Remember, never delete the details (username, password, etc.) of your account. If you do not have
the details when you forget them, you will not be able to work on your website again. More importantly,
never give out your details (except for your website address).
If you use content from another website, be it a picture, a JavaScript, or whatever, get permission and
give them credit for it. If you do not, they might sue you.
Never violate your visitors' trust. Respect their privacy. Spam, annoying pop-ups, and irrelevant ads
will hurt your credibility. A clear privacy statement is one way to build your credibility. Provide a prominent
link to your privacy statement from every page on the site as well as from any location that you are asking
your visitors for personal information. Provide legitimate contact information online. If you need to use
advertisements on your website, explain to your visitors why, and show them that you are doing your best
to accommodate their visit.
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6.1 INTRODUCTION TO SPREADSHEET
Alternatively referred to as a worksheet, a spreadsheet is a data file made up of rows and columns that
are used to sort data and allow a user to manipulate and arrange data easily, commonly numerical data.
What makes a spreadsheet software program most unique is its ability to calculate values using
mathematical formulae and the data in the cells. A good example of how a spreadsheet may be used is
creating an overview of your bank's balance. Below is a basic example of what
a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet looks like as well as all the major portions of a spreadsheet highlighted.
USING SPREADSHEET IN
CLASSROOM
CHAPTER
6
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6.2 CREATING A NEW WORKBOOK OR WORKSHEET
A Microsoft Excel workbook is a file that contains one or more worksheets, which you can use to organize
various kinds of related information. To create a new workbook, you can open a blank workbook. You can
also base a new workbook on an existing workbook, the default workbook template, or any
other template.
Open a new, blank workbook
1. On the File menu, click New.
2. In the New Workbook task pane, under New, click Blank workbook.
Base a new workbook on an existing workbook
1. On the File menu, click New.
2. In the New Workbook task pane, under New, click From existing workbook.
3. In the New from Existing Workbook dialog box, browse to the drive, folder, or Internet location
that contains the workbook that you want to open.
4. Click the workbook, and then click Create New.
Base a new workbook on the default workbook template
When you use this method to start a new workbook, it will automatically be based on the default
workbook template, which is usually located in the XLStart folder (C:\Program Files\Microsoft
Office\Office11\XLStart).
On the Standard toolbar, click New .
Tip You can also press CTRL+N.
Base a new workbook on another template
1. On the File menu, click New.
2. In the New Workbook task pane, under Templates, click On my computer.
3. On the Spreadsheet Solutions tab in the Templates dialog box, double-click the
template for the type of workbook that you want to create.
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NOTE The Spreadsheet Solutions tab lists the templates installed on your computer. If you do not
see the template that you want to use, make sure it is installed and located in the correct folder. For
more information, click Create templates in the See Also section of this topic.
6.3 ENTERING DATA Entering your data into a spreadsheet is always a three step process. These steps are:
1. Click on the cell where you want the data to go.
2. Type your data into the cell.
3. Press the ENTER key on the keyboard or click on another cell with the mouse.
Speeding up data entry
Many people use the mouse when moving around their spreadsheet. Using the mouse, though, is the
slow way of doing anything on a computer. It's fine if you have only a small amount of data to enter or if
you're not in a hurry.
To speed up your data entry use the keyboard. Below is a list of keys that you can use when you want to
quickly enter your data.
Enter key: enters the data and moves the active cell highlight down to the next cell in the current
column.
Tab key: enters the data and moves the active cell highlight to the next cell in the current row.
Arrow keys: enters the data and moves the active cell highlight to the next cell in the direction of the
specific arrow key pressed. For example, if the up arrow is pressed, the active cell highlight moves up
to the next cell in the current column.
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6.4 EDITING DATA
Editing Options
When it comes to editing the contents of a cell in Excel you have a number of different options depending
upon whether you wish to completely replace or just modify the current contents.
Replace the Current Cell Contents with New Data
1. Click on the cell to make it the active cell
2. Enter the new data
3. Press the Enter key on the keyboard to complete the change and move to the next cell
Change Part of the Cell Contents
Method 1
1. Click on the cell to make it the active cell
2. Press the F2 key on the keyboard
3. Excel enters edit mode and the insertion point is placed at the end of the cell's current contents
4. Edit the data in the cell
5. Press the Enter key on the keyboard to complete the change and to leave edit mode
Method 2
1. Double click on the desired cell to enter edit mode
2. Edit the data in the cell
3. Press the Enter key on the keyboard to complete the change and to leave edit mode
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Method 3
1. Click on the cell to make it the active cell
2. Click in the formula bar above the worksheet to enter edit mode
3. Click with the mouse pointer to position the insertion point
4. Edit the data in the formula bar
5. Press the Enter key on the keyboard to complete the change and to leave edit mode
6.5 WORKING WITH WORKSHEETS
A. Naming Worksheets
When you open an Excel workbook, there are three sheets by default and the default names on the
tabs are Sheet1, Sheet2 and Sheet3. These are not very informative names. Excel 2007 allows you to
define a meaningful name for each worksheet in a workbook so you can quickly locate information.
To Name a Worksheet:
Right-click the sheet tab to select it.
Choose Rename from the menu that appears. The text is highlighted by a black box.
Type a new name for the worksheet.
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Click off the tab. The worksheet now assumes the descriptive name defined.
OR
Click the Format command in the Cells group on the Home tab.
Select Rename Sheet. The text is highlighted by a black box.
Type a new name for the worksheet.
Click off the tab. The worksheet now assumes the descriptive name defined.
B. To Insert a New Worksheet:
Left-click the Insert Worksheet icon. A new sheet will appear. It will be named Sheet4, Sheet5 or
whatever the next sequential sheet number may be in the workbook.
OR
Press the Shift and the F11 keys on your keyboard.
C. Deleting Worksheets
Any worksheet can be deleted from a workbook, including those that have data in it. Remember, a
workbook must contain at least one worksheet.
To Delete One or More Worksheets:
Click on the sheet(s) you want to delete.
Right-click the sheet(s) and a menu appears.
Select Delete.
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OR
Select the sheet you want to remove.
Click the drop-down arrow next to Delete in the Cells group on the Home tab.
From the menu that appears, select Delete Sheet.
D. Grouping and Ungrouping Worksheets
A workbook is a multi-page Excel document that contains multiple worksheets. Sometimes you will
want to work with the worksheets one at a time as if each is a single unit. Other times, the same
information or formatting may need to be added to every worksheet.
Worksheets can be combined together into a group. Grouping worksheets allows you to apply
identical formulas and/or formatting across all the worksheets in the group. When you group
worksheets, any changes made to one worksheet will also be changed in any other worksheets in
the group.
To Group Contiguous Worksheets:
Select the first sheet you want to group.
Press and hold the Shift key on your keyboard.
Click the last sheet you want to group.
Release the Shift key.
The sheets are now grouped. All the sheets between the first sheet and last sheet selected are
part of the group. The sheet tabs will appear white for the grouped sheets.
Make any changes to one sheet and the changes will appear in all the grouped sheets.
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To Group Non-Contiguous Sheets:
Select the first sheet you want to group.
Press and hold the Ctrl key on your keyboard.
Click the next sheet you want to group.
Continuing clicking the sheets you want to group.
Release the Control key.
The sheets are now grouped. The sheet tabs will appear white for the grouped sheets. Only the
sheets selected are part of the group.
Make any changes to one sheet and the changes will appear in all the grouped sheets.
To Ungroup Worksheets:
Right-click one of the sheets.
Select Ungroup from the list.
E. Freezing Worksheet Panes
The ability to freeze, or lock, specific rows or columns in your spreadsheet is a really useful feature in
Excel. It is called freezing panes. When you freeze panes, you select rows or columns that will remain
visible all the time, even as you are scrolling. This is particularly useful when working with large
spreadsheets.
To Freeze a Row:
Select the row below the one that you want frozen. For example, if you want row 1 & 2 to appear
at the top even as you scroll, then select row 3.
Click the View tab.
Click the Freeze Pane command in the Window group.
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Choose Freeze Panes. A thin, black line appears below everything that is frozen in place.
Scroll down in the worksheet to see the pinned rows.
To Unfreeze a Pane:
Click the Freeze Pane command.
Select the Unfreeze command.
To Freeze a Column:
Select the column to the right of the column(s) you want frozen. For example, if you want
columns A & B to always appear on the left, just select column C.
Click the View tab.
Click the Freeze Pane command in the Window group.
Choose Freeze Pane. A thin, black line appears to the right of the frozen area.
Scroll across in the worksheet to see the pinned columns.
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Challenge!
Use the Inventory workbook or any workbook you choose to complete this challenge.
Rename Sheet1 to January, Sheet2 to February and Sheet3 to March.
Insert two worksheets and name them April and May.
If necessary, move the April and May worksheets so they are immediately following the March
sheet.
Use the Grouping feature so that all the sheets contain the same information as the January
sheet.
Delete the May sheet.
Freeze rows 1 and 2 on the January sheet.
6.6 THE FORMULAS
1. Writing the Formula
Writing Excel formulas is a little different than the way it is done in math class.
Excel formulas starts with the equal sign ( = ) rather than ending with it.
The equal sign always goes in the cell where you want the formula answer to appear.
The equal sign informs Excel that what follows is part of a formula, and not just a name or a number.
Excel formulas look like this: =3 + 2 rather than: 3 + 2 =
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2. Mathematical Operators
Creating formulas in Microsoft Excel is not difficult. Just combine the cell references of your data with the
correct mathematical operator.
The mathematical operators used in Excel formulas are similar to the ones used in math class.
Subtraction - minus sign ( - )
Addition - plus sign ( + )
Division - forward slash ( / )
Multiplication - asterisk (* )
Exponentiation - caret (^ )
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Order of Operations
If more than one operator is used in a formula, there is a specific order that Excel will follow to perform
these mathematical operations. This order of operations can be changed by adding brackets to the
equation. An easy way to remember the order of operations is to use the acronym:
BEDMAS
The Order of Operations is:
Brackets
Exponents
Division
Multiplication
Addition
Subtraction
How the Order of Operations Works
Any operation(s) contained in brackets will be carried out first followed by any exponents.
After that, Excel considers division or multiplication operations to be of equal importance, and carries out
these operations in the order they occur left to right in the equation.
The same goes for the next two operations – addition and subtraction. They are considered equal in the
order of operations. Whichever one appears first in an equation, either addition or subtraction, is the
operation carried out first.
3. Creating Simple Formulas
Excel uses standard operators for equations, such as a plus sign for addition (+), a minus sign for
subtraction (-), an asterisk for multiplication (*), a forward slash for division (/), and a caret (^) for
exponents.
The key thing to remember when writing formulas for Excel is that all formulas must begin with
an equal sign (=). This is because the cell contains, or is equal to, the formula and its value.
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To Create a Simple Formula in Excel:
1. Select the cell where the answer will appear (B4, for example).
Selecting cell B4
2. Type the equal sign (=).
3. Type in the formula you want Excel to calculate. For example, "75/250".
Entering formula in B4
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4. Press Enter. The formula will be calculated and the value will be displayed in the cell.
Result in B4
4. Creating Formulas with Cell References
When a formula contains a cell address, it is called a cell reference. Creating a formula with cell
references is useful because you can update data in your worksheet without having to rewrite the
values in the formula.
To Create a Formula Using Cell References:
1. Select the cell where the answer will appear (B3, for example).
Selecting cell B3
2. Type the equal sign (=).
3. Type the cell address that contains the first number in the equation (B1, for example).
Entering a formula in B3
4. Type the operator you need for your formula. For example, type the addition sign (+).
5. Type the cell address that contains the second number in the equation (B2, for example).
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Entering a formula in B3
6. Press Enter. The formula will be calculated and the value will be displayed in the cell.
Result in B3
If you change a value in either B1 or B2, the total will automatically recalculate.
Result in B3
5. To Create a Formula using the Point and Click Method:
1. Select the cell where the answer will appear (B4, for example).
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Selecting cell B4
2. Type the equal sign (=).
3. Click on the first cell to be included in the formula (A3, for example).
Clicking cell A3
4. Type the operator you need for your formula. For example, type the multiplication sign (*).
5. Click on the next cell in the formula (B3, for example).
Clicking cell B3
6. Press Enter. The formula will be calculated and the value will be displayed in the cell.
Result in B4
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6. To Edit a Formula:
1. Click on the cell you want to edit.
2. Insert the cursor in the formula bar and edit the formula as desired. You can also double-click
the cell to view and edit the formula directly from the cell.
3. When finished, press Enter or select the Enter command.
Edit a formula
4. The new value will be displayed in the cell.
Result
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6.7 INTEGRATING BASIC FUNCTIONS OF EXCEL Basic Functions
A function is a predefined formula that performs calculations using specific values in a particular
order. One of the key benefits of functions is that they can save you time since you do not have to write
the formula yourself. Excel has hundreds of different functions to assist with your calculations.In order
to use these functions correctly, you need to understand the different parts of a function and how to
create argumentsin functions to calculate values and cell references.
The Parts of a Function
The order in which you insert a function is important. Each function has a specific order, called syntax,
which must be followed for the function to work correctly. The basic syntax to create a formula with a
function is to insert anequal sign (=), a function name (SUM, for example, is the function name for
addition), and an argument. Arguments contain the information you want the formula to calculate, such
as a range of cell references.
Syntax of a basic function
Working with Arguments
Arguments must be enclosed in parentheses. Individual values or cell references inside the
parentheses are separated by either colons or commas.
Colons create a reference to a range of cells.
For example, =AVERAGE(E19:E23) would calculate the average of the cell range E19 through
E23.
Commas separate individual values, cell references, and cell ranges in the parentheses. If there
is more than one argument, you must separate each argument by a comma.
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For example, =COUNT(C6:C14,C19:C23,C28) will count all the cells in the three arguments that
are included in parentheses.
To Create a Basic Function in Excel:
1. Select the cell where the answer will appear (F15, for example)
2. Type the equal sign (=) and enter the function name (SUM, for example).
Creating a SUM function
3. Enter the cells for the argument inside the parenthesis.
Adding cells to the function argument
4. Press Enter and the result will appear.
Result
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Excel will not always tell you if your function contains an error, so it's up to you to check all of your
functions.
Using AutoSum to select Common Functions:
The AutoSum command allows you to automatically return the results for a range of cells for common
functions like SUM and AVERAGE.
1. Select the cell where the answer will appear (E24, for example).
2. Click on the Home tab.
3. In the Editing group, click on the AutoSum drop-down arrow and select the function you desire
(Average, for example).
AutoSum command
4. A formula will appear in the selected cell E24. If logically placed, AutoSum will select your cells for
you. Otherwise, you will need to click on the cells to choose the argument you desire.
AutoSum selects and displays cell range
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5. Press Enter and the result will appear.
Result
The AutoSum command can also be accessed from the Formulas tab.
Function Library
There are hundreds of functions in Excel, but only some will be useful for the kind of data you are
working with. There is no need to learn every single function, but you may want to explore some of the
different kinds to get ideas about which ones might be helpful to you as you create new spreadsheets.
A great place to explore functions is in the Function Library on the Formulas tab. Here you may
search and select Excel functions based on categories such as Financial, Logical, Text, Date &
Time, and more. Click the buttons in the interactive below to learn more.
To Insert a Function from the Function Library:
1. Select the cell where the answer will appear (I6, for example)
2. Click on the Formulas tab.
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3. From the Function Library group, select the function category you desire. In this example, we
will choose Date & Time.
4. Select the desired function from the Date & Time drop-down menu. We will choose the
NETWORKDAYS function to count the days between the order date and receive date in our
worksheet.
Function Library Date & Time category
5. The Function Arguments dialog box will appear. Insert the cursor in the first field and then
enter or select the cell(s) you desire (G6, for example).
Selecting cell for the Start-date field
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6. Insert the cursor in the next field and then enter or select the cell(s) you desire (H6, for example).
Selecting cell for the End date field
7. Click OK and the result will appear. Our results show that it took 5 days to receive the order.
Result
Insert Function Command
The Insert Function command is convenient because it allows you to search for a function by typing a
description of what you are looking for or by selecting a category to peruse. The Insert Function
command can also be used to easily enter or select more than one argument for a function.
Using the Insert Function command:
In this example, we want to find a function that will count the total number of supplies listed in the Office
Supply Order Log. The basic COUNT function only counts cells with numbers; we want to count the
cells in the Office Supply column, which uses text. Therefore, we will need to find a formula that counts
cells with text.
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1. Select the cell where the answer will appear (A27, for example)
2. Click on the Formulas tab and select the Insert Function command.
Insert
Function command
3. The Insert Function dialog box will appear.
4. Type a description of the function you are searching for and click Go. For our example, we will
type: Count cells with text. (You may also search by selecting a category.)
Searching for a function
5. Review the results to find the function you desire. We will use COUNTA. Then click OK.
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Reviewing function search results
6. The Function Arguments dialog box will appear. Insert the cursor in the first field and then
enter or select the cell(s) you desire (A6:A14, for example).
Selecting cell range for Value1 field
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7. Insert the cursor in the next field and then enter or select the cell(s) you desire (A19:A23, for
example). (You may continue to add additional arguments if needed.)
Selecting cell range for Value2 field
8. Click OK and the result will appear. Our results show that 14 Total Supplies were ordered from
our log.
Result
If you're comfortable with basic functions, you may want to try a more advanced one like VLOOKUP.
WHAT IS VLOOKUP?
Basically, VLOOKUP lets you search for specific information in your spreadsheet. For example, if you
have a list of products with prices, you could search for the price of a specific item.We’re going to use
VLOOKUP to find the price of the Photo frame. You can probably already see that the price is $9.99, but
that’s because this is a simple example. Once you learn how to use VLOOKUP, you’ll be able to use it
with larger, more complex spreadsheets, and that’s when it will become truly useful.
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We’ll add our formula to cell E2, but you can add it to any blank cell. As with any formula, you’ll start with
an equal sign (=). Then, type the formula name. Our arguments will need to be in parentheses, so type an
open parenthesis. So far, it should look like this:
=VLOOKUP(
Adding the arguments
Now, we’ll add our arguments. The arguments will tell VLOOKUP what to search for and where to search.
The first argument is the name of the item you are searching for, which in this case is Photo frame.
Since the argument is text, we’ll need to put it in double quotes:
=VLOOKUP(“Photo frame”
The second argument is the cell range that contains the data. In this example, our data is in A2:B16. As
with any function, you’ll need to use a comma to separate each argument:
=VLOOKUP(“Photo frame”, A2:B16
NOTE: It’s important to know that VLOOKUP will always search the first column in this range. In this
example, it will search column A for “Photo frame”. In some cases, you may need to move the columns
around so that the first column contains the correct data.
The third argument is the column index number. It’s simpler than it sounds: The first column in the range
is 1, the second column is 2, etc. In this case, we are trying to find the price of the item, and the prices
are contained in the second column. That means our third argument will be:
=VLOOKUP(“Photo frame”, A2:B16, 2
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The fourth argument tells VLOOKUP whether to look for approximate matches, and it can be either
TRUE or FALSE. If it is TRUE, it will look for approximate matches. Generally, this is only useful if the first
column has numerical values that have been sorted. Since we’re only looking for exact matches, the
fourth argument should be FALSE. This is our last argument, so go ahead and close the parentheses:
=VLOOKUP(“Photo frame”, A2:B16, 2, FALSE)
And that’s it! When you press enter, it should give you the answer, which is 9.99.
How it works
Let’s take a look at how this formula works. It first searches vertically down the first column (VLOOKUP
is short for “vertical lookup”). When it finds “Photo frame”, it moves to the second column to find the
price.
If we want to find the price of a different item, we can just change the first argument:
=VLOOKUP(“T-shirt”, A2:B16, 2, FALSE)
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OR
=VLOOKUP(“Gift basket”, A2:B16, 2, FALSE)
Another example which is more complicated is as follows.
Let’s say we have a third column that has the category for each item. This time, instead of finding the
price, we will find the category.
To find the category, we will need to change the second and third arguments in our formula. First, we
will change the range to A2:C16 so that it includes the third column. Next, we will change the column
index number to 3, since our categories are in the third column:
=VLOOKUP(“Gift basket”, A2:C16, 3, FALSE)
When you press Enter, you’ll see that the Gift basket is in the Gifts category.
Try it!
If you’d like more practice, see if you can find the following:
• The price of the coffee mug
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• The category of the landscape painting
• The price of the serving bowl
• The category of the scarf
Now you know the basics of using VLOOKUP. Although advanced users sometimes use VLOOKUP in
different ways, you can do a lot with the techniques that we’ve covered. For example, if you have a
contact list, you could search for someone’s name to find their phone number. If your contact list has
columns for the email address or company name, you could search for those by simply changing the
second and third arguments, as we did in our example.
6.8 WORKING WITH CHARTS Introduction
Charts
Excel workbooks can contain a lot of data, and that data can often be difficult to interpret. For
example, where are the highest and lowest values? Are the numbers increasing or decreasing?
A chart is a tool you can use in Excel to communicate your
data graphically. Charts allow your audience to see
the meaning behind the numbers, and they make
showing comparisons and trends a lot easier. In this lesson,
you will learn how to insert charts and modify them so that
they communicate information effectively.
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Types of Charts
Column charts use vertical bars to
represent data. They can work with many
different types of data, but they are most
frequently used for comparing information.
Line charts are ideal for showing trends.
The data points are connected with lines,
making it easy to see whether values are
increasing or decreasing over time.
Pie charts make it easy to compare
proportions. Each value is shown as a slice
of the pie, so it is easy to see which values
make up the percentage of a whole.
Bar charts work just like Column
charts, but they use horizontal
bars instead of vertical bars.
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To Create a Chart:
1. Select the cells that you want to chart, including the column titles and the row labels. These
cells will be the source data for the chart.
Selecting cells
2. Click the Insert tab.
3. In the Charts group, select the desired chart category (Column, for example).
Area charts are very similar to line
charts, except that the areas
under the lines are filled in.
Surface charts allows you to display data
across three dimensional landscape. They
work best with large data sets, allowing you
to see a variety of information at the same
time.
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Selecting the Column category
4. Select the desired chart type from the drop-down menu (Clustered Column, for example).
Selecting a chart type
5. The chart will appear in the worksheet.
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The new chart
Chart Tools
Once you insert a chart, a set of Chart Tools, arranged into three tabs, will appear on the Ribbon.
These are only visible when the chart is selected. You can use these three tabs to modify your chart.
The Design, Layout and Format tabs
To Change the Chart Type:
1. From the Design tab, click the Change Chart Type command. A dialog box appears.
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The Change Chart Type command
2. Select the desired chart type and click OK.
Selecting a chart type
To Switch Row and Column Data:
Sometimes when you create a chart, the data may not be grouped the way you want it to be. In
the clustered column chart below, the Book Sales statistics are grouped by Fiction/Non-Fiction,
with a column for each year. However, you can also switch the row and column data so that the
chart will group the statistics by year, with columns for Fiction and Non-Fiction. In both cases, the chart
contains the same data; it's just organized differently.
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Book Sales, grouped by Fiction/Non-Fiction
1. Select the chart.
2. From the Design tab, select the Switch Row/Column command.
The Switch Row/Column command
3. The chart will then readjust.
Book sales, grouped by year
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To Change the Chart Layout:
1. Select the Design tab.
2. Click the More drop-down arrow in the Chart Layouts group to see all of the available layouts.
Viewing all of the chart layouts
3. Select the desired layout.
Selecting a chart layout
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4. The chart will update to reflect the new layout.
The updated layout
Some layouts include chart titles, axes, or legend labels. To change them, just place the insertion
point in the text and begin typing.
6.9 CREATE A DATABASE AND DATA ANALYSIS
6.9.1 CREATE A DATABASE
Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program that allows you to list and categorize information across several
sheets within a document called a workbook. In addition to creating lists, you can also make charts and
graphs from the data in the sheet. However, for more advanced data functions you need to import the
Excel spreadsheet into Access or into a third-party database program.
Creating the Structure
To create the structure of an internal database table, one must use MS Excel following these steps:
1. The names of each of the cells in the top row of the Excel sheet will become the names for the
database fields.
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2. Each row below the top is a place for data to be entered. Enter the proper information under the
proper columns.
3. Each sheet acts as a different table in the database. Each table can have different field names
and different data.
One note – the default name of “Sheets” in Excel are “Sheet1”, “Sheet2”, and “Sheet3”. Process
Director will not upload sheets called “Sheet#”. You must put a more descriptive name as the
table name to be used inside PD.
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Creating a Data Source
The database created as an Excel file will be stored on the server in an object called a Data Source. You
must create a data source before you upload the Excel sheet so that you have something to store the
database in.
Once you’re in the folder you want to create the data source in, go to the “Create New” dropdown menu
and select “Data Source.”
Once you select the data source, name the data source and click “OK.”
After clicking “OK”, configuration options will appear for the data source. Make sure the “Database Type”
dropdown menu is set to “Internal Database”, and then click “OK.”
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The data source is now created.
Importing Database from Excel File
Now that the Data Source is created, you need to import data into it from the Excel file you made. Go to
the Content List. Under the “Create New” dropdown menu, select “Document / File”
On the next page, click the “Browse” button and locate your Excel file. Double click it, and then click
“Upload” to upload the file to your partition.
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The final step is to take the data from the uploaded Excel file and put it into the data source. After the
Excel file is uploaded, you should be presented with another page. Click on the “Import Database” tab.
Click the Pick List […] button to select the data source you created earlier. Click “Import Tables Now.”
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Destination
Table Prefix
This is the text string that will be pre-pended to your existing Excel sheet names in the
database. So if your sheet name was “February_Users” in Excel, when you looked for
it in the database, it would be named “Excel_February_Users”
Drop database
tables before
import
To “DROP” a table is to delete it completely. The difference between “dropping” a table
and the “Clear database rows” checkbox is that if you only clear the rows, the format of
the information in existing fields (columns) is kept. In other words, in Excel, if you had a
date field called “Married” and imported it to the database with date information,
Process Director expects date formatted information to be entered in that field. If you
opened Excel and altered the “Married” column to be a Boolean (True/False) value,
and did not drop the tables when you imported, you would generated an error.
Clear
database rows
in tables
before
inserting
This is the difference between recreating a table’s information, and appending the
information in Excel to the existing table in Process Director. Appending of tables is
usually only done by database administrators when building or editing informational
databases. If you want the table in PD to look just like what you saw in Excel, select
this checkbox.
Automatically
import this
Excel file after
every check-in
After you have added an Excel spreadsheet to your Process Director instance, you will
need to “check out and edit” the file in order to open it and make changes. After your
changes are made, you select “upload and check in” and this checkbox will
automatically recreate or append the information in your PD database without you
having to re-import the file.
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6.9.2 DATA ANALYSIS
Data analysis can be very helpful for analyzing large amounts of data and making forecasts and
predictions. To run regression analysis in Microsoft Excel, follow these instructions.
1. If your version of Excel displays the ribbon (Home, Insert, Page Layout, Formulas…)
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Click on the Office Button at the top left of the page and go to Excel Options.
Click on Add-Ins on the left side of the page.
Find Analysis tool pack. If it’s on your list of active add-ins, you’re set.
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o If it’s on your list of inactive add-ins, look at the bottom of the window for the drop-down list next
to Manage, make sure Excel Add-Ins is selected, and hit Go. In the next window that pops up, make
sure Analysis tool pack is checked and hit OK to activate. Allow it to install if necessary.
2. If your version of Excel displays the traditional toolbar (File, Edit, View, Insert…)
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o Go to Tools > Add-Ins.
o Find Analysis tool pack. (If you do not see it, look for it using the Browse function.)
If it’s in the Add-Ins Available box, make sure Analysis tool pack is checked and hit OK to activate.
Allow it to install if necessary.
Run Regression Analysis
3. Enter the data into the spreadsheet that you are evaluating. You should have at least two
columns of numbers that will be representing your Input Y Range and your Input X Range. Input Y
represents the dependent variable while Input X is your independent variable.
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4. Open the Regression Analysis tool.
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If your version of Excel displays the ribbon, go to Data, find the Analysis section, hitData
Analysis, and choose Regression from the list of tools.
If your version of Excel displays the traditional toolbar, go to Tools > Data
Analysisandchoose Regression from the list of tools.
5. Define your Input Y Range. In the Regression Analysis box, click inside the Input Y Range box.
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Then, click and drag your cursor in the Input Y Range field to select all the numbers you want to
analyze. You will see a formula that has been entered into the Input Y Range spot.
6. Repeat the previous step for the Input X Range.
7. Modify your settings if desired. Choose whether or not to display labels, residuals, residual plots, etc.
by checking the desired boxes.
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8. Designate where the output will appear. You can either select a particular output range or send the
data to a new workbook or worksheet.
9. Click OK. The summary of your regression output will appear where designated.
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6.10 PROTECTING WORKBOOK / WORKSHEET Overview of worksheet or workbook element protection
When you share a workbook with other users, you may want to protect data in specific worksheet or
workbook elements to help prevent it from being changed. You can also specify a password that users
must enter to modify specific, protected worksheet and workbook elements. In addition, you can prevent
users from changing the structure of a worksheet.
Protecting worksheet elements
By default, when you protect a worksheet, all the cells on the worksheet are locked, and users cannot
make any changes to a locked cell. For example, they cannot insert, modify, delete, or format data in a
locked cell. However, you can specify which elements users will be able to change when you protect the
worksheet.
Hiding, locking, and protecting workbook and worksheet elements is not intended to help secure or
protect any confidential information that you keep in a workbook. It only helps obscure data or formulas
that might confuse other users and prevents them from viewing or making changes to that data.
Excel does not encrypt data that is hidden or locked in a workbook. To help keep confidential data
confidential, you may want to limit access to workbooks that contain such information by storing them in a
location that is available only to authorized users.
Before you protect a worksheet, you can unlock the ranges that you want users to be able to change or
enter data in. You can unlock cells for all users or for specific users.
Using a password to control access to protected elements
When you protect a worksheet or workbook by locking its elements, adding a password to edit the
unlocked elements is optional. In this context, the password is only intended to allow access to certain
users while helping to prevent changes by other users. This level of password protection does not
guarantee that all sensitive data in your workbook is secure. For optimal security, you should secure a
workbook itself with a password to help safeguard it from unauthorized access.
When you protect worksheet or workbook elements by using a password, it is very important that you
remember that password. Without it, you cannot unprotect the workbook or worksheet.
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IMPORTANT Use strong passwords that combine uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers,
and symbols. Weak passwords do not mix these elements. Strong password: Y6dh!et5. Weak
password: House27. Passwords should be 8 or more characters in length. A pass phrase that
uses 14 or more characters is better. It is critical that you remember your password. If you forget
your password, Microsoft cannot retrieve it. Store the passwords that you write down in a secure
place away from the information that they help protect.
Protecting the structure and windows of a workbook
You can lock the structure of a workbook, which prevents users from adding or deleting worksheets or
from displaying hidden worksheets. You can also prevent users from changing the size or position of
worksheet windows. Workbook structure and window protection applies to the whole workbook.
Protect worksheet elements
A. Select the worksheet that you want to protect.
B. To unlock any cells or ranges that you want other users to be able to change, do the following:
1. Select each cell or range that you want to unlock.
2. On the Home tab, in the Cells group, click Format, and then click Format Cells.
3. On the Protection tab, clear the Locked check box, and then click OK.
C. To hide any formulas that you do not want to be visible, do the following:
1. In the worksheet, select the cells that contain the formulas that you want to hide.
2. On the Home tab, in the Cells group, click Format, and then click Format Cells.
3. On the Protection tab, select the Hidden check box, and then click OK.
D. To unlock any graphic objects (such as pictures, clip art, shapes, or Smart Art graphics) that you
want users to be able to change, do the following:
1. Hold down CTRL and then click each graphic object that you want to unlock.
This displays the Picture Tools or Drawing Tools, adding the Format tab.
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TIP You can also use the Go To command to quickly select all the graphic objects in a
worksheet. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Find & Select, and then
click Go To. Click Special, and then click Objects.
2. On the Format tab, in the Size group, click the Dialog Box Launcher next to Size.
3. On the Properties tab, clear the Locked check box, and if present, clear the Lock
text check box.
NOTE You do not need to unlock buttons or controls for users to be able to click and use them. You can
unlock embedded charts, text boxes, and other objects created with the drawing tools that you want users
to be able to modify.
E. On the Review tab, in the Changes group, click Protect Sheet.
F. In the Allow all users of this worksheet to list, select the elements that you want users to be
able to change.
More information about the elements that you can select
G. In the Password to unprotect sheet box, type a password for the sheet, click OK, and then
retype the password to confirm it.
NOTE The password is optional. If you do not supply a password, then any
user can unprotect the sheet and change the protected elements. Make sure
that you choose a password that is easy to remember, because if you lose the
password, you cannot gain access to the protected elements on the worksheet.
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Protect workbook elements
1. On the Review tab, in the Changes group, click Protect Workbook.
2. Under Protect workbook for, do one or more of the following:
To protect the structure of a workbook, select the Structure check box.
To keep workbook windows in the same size and position every time the workbook is opened,
select the Windows check box.
More information about the elements that you can select
3. To prevent other users from removing workbook protection, in the Password (optional) box, type a
password, click OK, and then retype the password to confirm it.
NOTE The password is optional. If you do not supply a password, then any user can
unprotect the workbook and change the protected elements. Make sure that you choose
a password that you can remember, because if you lose the password, you cannot gain
access to the protected elements in the workbook.
Protect elements in a shared workbook
1. If the workbook is already shared, and you want to assign a password to protect the sharing, you
must unshare the workbook by doing the following:
Have all other users save and close the shared workbook to avoid losing their work.
To keep a copy of the change history information that is lost when you unshare a workbook,
do the following:
2. On the Review tab, in the Changes group, click Track Changes, and then click Highlight
Changes.
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1. In the When list, select All.
2. Clear the Who and Where check boxes.
3. Select the List changes on a new sheet check box, and then click OK.
4. Do one or both of the following:
To print the History worksheet, click Print .
To copy the history to another workbook, select the cells that you want to copy, click Copy on
theHome tab in the Clipboard group, switch to another workbook, click where you want to place
the copied data, and then click Paste on the Home tab in the Clipboard group.
NOTE You may also want to save or print the current version of the workbook, because
this history data might not apply to later versions of the workbook. For example, cell
locations, including row numbers, in the copied history may no longer be current.
5. In the shared workbook, on the Review tab, in the Changes group, click Share
Workbook.
6. On the Editing tab, make sure that you are the only person listed in the Who has this
workbook open now list.
7. Clear the Allow changes by more than one user at the same time. This also allows
workbook merging check box.
NOTE If this check box is not available, then you must unprotect the workbook
before clearing the check box. Do the following:
8. Click OK to close the Share Workbook dialog box.
9. On the Review tab, in the Changes group, click Unprotect Shared Workbook.
10. If you are prompted, enter the password, and then click OK.
11. On the Review tab, in the Changes group, click Share Workbook.
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12. On the Editing tab, clear the Allow changes by more than one user at the same
time. This also allows workbook merging check box.
13. When you are prompted about the effects on other users, click Yes.
14. If needed, give specific users access to ranges, protect worksheets, protect workbook
elements, and set passwords for viewing and editing..
Remove protection from a worksheet
1. On the Review tab, in the Changes group, click Unprotect Sheet.
NOTE The Protect Sheet option changes to Unprotect Sheet when a worksheet is protected.
6.11 INTEGRATING MICROSOFT EXCEL INTO THE CLASSROOM
Ideas for Using Excel in Class
The following is a list of ideas of ways teachers can incorporate Excel spreadsheets in lesson plans in the
classroom, with regard to subjects:
General
Create flashcards that students can use for test practice and take home with them as homework.
Teachers can use Excel for the purpose of grading rubric sheets for class grades.
Make an interactive map that can be sent to students in electronic fashion.
Build a virtual timeline which is an ideal way to show significant events to students.
Create posters that can be used in classrooms as visual aids when teaching a lesson.
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Create take home folder covers so that students can take home their teachers’ evaluations in
style.
Teachers can use Excel to establish a seating chart for all the students in the classroom.
Make a classroom schedule for each day, each semester, and even the whole year.
Create small note-cards that students can use in reports that require bibliographical information.
Plan a to-do list of all the day’s classroom activities and lessons that are in store for the students.
Language Arts
Compose reading lists for summer reading or for weekly reading exercises.
Create spelling tests for surprise quizzes or for weekly spelling practice activities.
Fashion a daily journal writing activity that encourages students to practice writing and creativity.
Make various phonics lessons that teach students about correct pronunciation.
Create MadLibs templates that students can fill out for creative writing exercises.
Mathemathics
Make multiplication tables that students can use for in-class practice purposes or homework
assignments.
Teachers can use Excel for graphing purposes, to have their students draw linear functions.
Create money games that teach their students about counting the correct change in a transaction.
Teachers can use Excel to have students practice their addition skills.
Create graph exercises that help to teach their students about counting by twos, fives and tens.
Science
Compose exercises that help to educate students about the phases of the moon.
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Show their students what the Periodic Table is all about by re-creating the table on a spreadsheet
with additional side-notes.
Establish a graph that easily demonstrates the statistical results of experiments like flipping coins.
Create charts and graphs that display already obtained information, like earthquake data, to
analyze in a more orderly fashion.
Display a list of relatively small changes in temperature for climate change activities.
Social Studies
Create timelines of important events in history for the students to analyze.
Make a list of all the presidents of the United States or of all the state capitals for students to
memorize.
Teachers can use Excel to create a stock tracker for the stock market.
Teachers can use Excel to create a timeline of the important dates in history to remember.
Formulate a spreadsheet of places to go on vacation, along with the costs associated with each
location.
Others
Create a nutritional worksheet that keeps track of what students eat and drink every day.
Create music sheets for students to compose their own songs.
Teachers can use Excel for athletic purposes, to record entries for events like track.
Make a safety checklist for things like bike inspections that students can use inside and outside of
school.
Games
Create a grid on which students can play battleship by guessing the position of their opponents
ship.
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Teachers can use Excel to make a hangman diagram and grid for already guessed letters.
Create a Jeopardy grid so students can keep track of how much money they have accumulated in
the game.
Allow students a grid on which to play word scramble.
Make and print out a word search as a fun activity during free time or indoor recess.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.12 EXERCISES
Question 1) The advantage of using a spreadsheet is
a) calculations can be done automatically. b) changing data automatically updates calculations (as long as Excel is not set to calculate manually).
c) more flexibility d) all of the above
The intersection of a row and a column is called:
a) data. b) a field.
c) a cell. d) an equation.
When you are typing an equation into a cell the first thing that must be entered is
a) the first cell referenced b) parenthesis
c) quotation marks d) an equal sign
Labels are used in a spreadsheet to:
a) tell the computer what we are doing. b) help us identify the information.
c) do the calculations. d) set up the equations.
Question 5) The cell labeled F5 refers to
a) row F column 5 b) column F row 5
c) functions available in cells d) Function key F4
Question 2)
Question 3)
Question 4)
Question 6)
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There are three types of data found in a spreadsheet.
a) data, words, numbers b) equations, data, numbers
c) words, numbers, labels d) numbers, formulas, labels
The formula =B2+A3 is located in cell b3. If this was copied and pasted into cell D4 the resulting formula would be:
A B C D
1 2 4 5 5
2 3 3 4 6
3 5 =B2+A3 3 8
4 4 3 4 ????????
a) =C2+C3 b) =D3+C3
c) =D3+C4 d) none of the above
Question 8)
The formula =$c$3*D3 is located in cell B1. If this was copied and pasted into cell C1, what would the resulting formula be:
A B C D
1 =$C$3*D3 ?????????
2 3 3 4 6
3 5 4 3 8
4 4 3 4 9
a) =$c$3*e3 b) =c3*e3
c) =$c$3*d3 d) 24
Question 7)
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7.1 TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Telecommunications, also called telecommunication, is the exchange of information over significant
distances by electronic means. A complete, single telecommunications circuit consists of two stations,
each equipped with a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter and receiver at any station may be
combined into a single device called a transceiver. The medium of signal transmission can be electrical
wire or cable (also known as "copper"), optical fiber or electromagnetic fields. The free-space
transmission and reception of data by means of electromagnetic fields is called wireless.
The simplest form of telecommunications takes place between two stations. However, it is common for
multiple transmitting and receiving stations to exchange data among themselves. Such an arrangement is
called a telecommunications network. The Internet is the largest example. On a smaller scale, examples
include:
Corporate and academic wide-area networks (WANs)
Telephone networks
Police and fire communications systems
Taxicab dispatch networks
Groups of amateur radio operators
Data is conveyed in a telecommunications circuit by means of an electrical signal called the carrier or
carrier wave. In order for a carrier to convey information, some form of modulation is required. The mode
of modulation can be broadly categorized as either analog or digital. In analog modulation, some aspect
of the carrier is varied in a continuous fashion. The oldest form of analog modulation is amplitude
modulation (AM), still used in radio broadcasting at some frequencies. Digital modulation actually
predates analog modulation; the earliest form was Morse code. During the 1900s, dozens of new forms of
modulation were developed and deployed, particularly during the so-called "digital revolution" when the
use of computers among ordinary citizens became widespread.
In some contexts, a broadcast network, consisting of a single transmitting station and multiple receive-
only stations, is considered a form of telecommunications. Radio and television broadcasting are the most
common examples.
NETWORKS AND
THE INTERNET
CHAPTER
7
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Telecommunications and broadcasting worldwide are overseen by the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU), an agency of the United Nations (UN) with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Most
countries have their own agencies that enforce telecommunications regulations formulated by their
governments. In the United States, that agency is the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
7.2 NETWORKING SYSTEMS Networking is required to make accessible communication between computers possible by a network
connection. Networking allows for many possibilities, such as accessing the internet, file sharing, file
transferring, networks attacks and system communication. Let’s look at the different types of networking
ways in detail.
Types of networks
There are various types of networks but only the following are discussed in detail.
Types of Networks:
LAN(Local Area Networking)
WLAN(Wireless Local Area Networks)
WAN(Wide Area Networks)
MAN(Metropolitan Area Networks)
CAN(Campus Area Networks)
SAN(Storage or Sytem Area Network)
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LAN(Local Area Networking)
Local Area Networking is used primarily in small areas such as schools, hospitals and office buildings.
Local Area Networking, is one of the older types of networks. TCP/IP is used as the method of
communication between computers in Local Area Networking. Due to its small size, it is possible for one
person to administrate a Local Area Network. Local Area Networks are viable to quick change, using
a bus network topology that allows for easy access to the Local Area Network.
WLAN(Wireless Local Area Networks)
Wireless Local Area Networks
Wireless Local Area Networks are much like LAN networks, except they do not require network cables to
connect each other. Radio and infrared signals are used to communicate between machines whilst using
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a wireless local area network. Wireless Local Area Networks allow for small amounts of mobility whilst
being connected to the internet. Wireless Local Area Networks work according to the IEEE 802.11
standards. Wireless Area Networks are commonly seen being used by a WiFi internet connection.
Wireless LAN connections offer a surprising amount of mobility for users with laptops and smart phones
while being able to stay connected to the internet by different networking topology.
WAN(Wide Area Networks)
Wide Area Networks
Wide Area Networks are used to connect server machines and computers across continents are countries
for constant information updates. Wide Area Networks, are used across the globe, many networks
connect with one another across continents to create one giant Wide Area Network. Wide Area Networks
use optic fibre as their communication medium. The largest example of a Wide Area Network is the
internet itself, which connects all users to the information and data that is available on the the internet.
MAN(Metropolitan Area Networks)
Metropolitan Area Networks
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Metropolitan Area Networks are not commonly used these days, they are used to create communication
between systems in an entire city. Hence a Metropolitan Area Network area falls between the sizes Local
Area Networks, and Wide Area Networks. Metropolitan Area Networks are used by city specific
businesses such as the New York Times in the state of New York.
CAN(Campus Area Networks)
Campus Area Networks
Campus Area Networks are usually a connection of many small LAN networks which are often used on
university campuses and office buildings. Campus Area Networks allow for easy file sharing between
different departments as all the files are usually shared on the server machines of each LAN network.
This type of network offers a lot of simplicity in the transfer and downloading of files.
SAN(Storage Area Network)
Storage Area Network
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Storage Area Networks are primarily used as information databases. They are not usually used by large
organizations or similar entities. They are specifically used for the storage of information, and easy
retrieval of specific pieces of data whenever required. Storage Area Networks are usually used by
websites which offer downloading services.
SAN (System Area Network)
System Area Network
System Area Networks are speed oriented networks which provide high speed internet connections to a
cluster of computers. These are primarily used for server purposes, and allow other computers to connect
to these System Area Networks. Permission to different access points are given according to what status
a system is on the System Area Network, such as administrators or simple users.
7.3 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTERNET
The Internet was invented because military was searching for the research network that could survive
nuclear attack and can decentralize the entire network at any location. The first person who proposes for
the global network in 1962 is J.C.R. Licklider. After that, the research change to the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to continue develop the Internet in the late 1962.
Leonard Kleinrock of MIT developed the basic connection of the Internet and then continued by
UCLA. In 1965, Lawrence Roberts tried to connect computer in Massachusetts with the computer in
California using the telephone’s line. In 1966, Robert moved to DARPA to develop his plan for ARPAnet.
In 1968, late Senator Ted Kennedy sent congratulatory telegram to BBN for contract with ARPAnet. In
1969, ARPAnet was starting to online by connected four major universities computer in southwestern US
which are UCLA, Stanford Research Institute, UCSB, and the University of Utah. By June 1970, more
major universities computer were added into the network.
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E-mail was created by Ray Tomlinson of BBN in 1972. He used the symbol @ to link the
username and address. In 1972, the telnet protocol was introduced. It was published as a Request for
Comments (RFC). Other than that, the ftp protocol enabling files transfer between Internet sites. Later, the
commands for E-mail, ftp and telnet were standardized. It made the used of internet easier for non
technical people. In 1991, University of Minnesota developed the first friendly interface to the Internet for
the simple easy access menu system for the campus. It can access files and information on the campus
through their local network. The demonstration system was called a gopher after the University of
Minnesota mascot, the golden gopher. In few years, there were over 10,000 gophers around the world.
Next, the University of Nevada at Reno developed the VERONICA (Very Easy Rodent-Oriented
Netwide Index to Computerized Archives). It is a spider which is “a software robot that serves a search
engine by exploring the net, collecting web page addresses and page contents, and following links from
them to other addresses to collect still more web information.” (walthowe). The spider collects the
information from the gopher menus. The concept of VERONICA is like the basic search engine when the
internet still new. Soon, more applications or software will be developing.
In 1989 until 1991, another impetus to the Internet development is visible when Tim Berners-Lee,
the man behind the development of the World Wide Web, created HTML (hypertext markup language)
used to create web pages, HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) and URLs (Universal Resource Locators).
His invention made the used of internet in easier ways. In 1993, a graphical browser, Mosaic was
developed by Marc Andreessen and his team at the National Center For Supercomputing Applications
(NCSA). Later, Microsoft developed another graphical browser called Microsoft Internet Explorer.
The Internet is funded by government. Therefore, government made a policy that the uses of
Internet only for government purposes such as research, education and government business. In early
90’s, independent commercial networks started to grow. Many applications and services started to be
offered to the people. Rapid growth of email, chatting room, message boards and so on occurred. People
now can also buy music, books and many more from the Internet.
Nowadays, connectivity to the internet via telephone line is scarce due to the development of
wireless internet. Places with such convenient connectivity are called ‘hotspots’, making online business,
education, entertainment and so on possible anywhere.
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8.1 WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW)
WWW stands for World Wide Web or may also be referred as Web. Web is a worldwide information
medium in which users can read and write via internet-connected computers. It was first developed by
Tim Berners-Lee for European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). At first Berners-Lee and his
collaborator, Robert Cailliau faced many disappointments and rejections of the project’s idea and proposal
of connecting hypertext with the internet. Late 1990s, Berners-Lee built the tools needed for the Web
(HTTP, HTML, Web Browser, HTTP server software, web server and Web page). This was then
encouraged to be used within the CERN which was then captivated the interest of Paul Kunz from the
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center who visited CERN in 1991. From there, Paul Kunz brought the
software back to SLAC and it was used by the librarian, Louise Addis. Addis adapted the operating
system on the IBM mainframes a way to display SLAC’s catalog of online documents.
Now, the www is also a collection of computers containing documents accessed with particular software
that allow users to view text, graphics, video and photos. These could be linked together or to other
documents on the web. To access the web resources, we use browsers. Some browsers provide extra
internet services. Two of the commonly used browser programmes are Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and
Mozilla Firefox.
WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW) AND
EDUCATIONAL WEB PORTALS
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SEARCH ENGINES
Help people find what they are looking for in a more efficient ways.
There are two types of search engines
1. Regular search engines
2. Meta-search engines (use more than one other search engines at the same time to locate
things)
8.2 WEB PORTALS
A web portal is an organized gateways or site that provides a variety of services and resources including
searching, emails, sport updates and links to other websites. Web portals are designed to attract bigger
and larger audience which they encourage people to visit them every time the users are on the web. Used
to serve as search engines, web portals services are more than a search engine where they can serve
much more than the ability to search the internet.
There are two types of web portals which are:
1) Horizontal portals
2) Vertical portals
Horizontal portals are different from vertical portals as horizontal portals are designed to cover a larger
number of areas while vertical portals are focusing more on one specific area or group of interest.
Yahoo!, Google, AltaVista, HotBot
DogPile, WebCrawler, MetaCrawler, AllTheWeb
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Below are the top ten lists of popular portals based on Alexa as an index to the website’s popularity, taken
from About.com, an article by Daniel Nations on July 20, 2009.
1. Google
2. Yahoo
3. Youtube
4. Facebook
5. Windows Live
6. MSN
7. Blogger
8. Wikipedia
9. Baidu
10. Myspace
6.2.1 Types of Web Portals
Personal Portal
A personal portal is a webpage which consists various media including videos, audios, graphics, and links
to other WebPages. It can be accessed by anyone who may found it and is able to be used without
restrictions and obstacles. This portal shows the resources of where the links and authors that have been
contributing to the portal itself. Gadgets are paramount in this type of portal because it makes the usage
goes smoothly and interesting to the users.
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News Portal
Like personal portal, News Portal is a type of portal that consists various links to other web pages which
are under its own objectives. Users can view carious pages consist of different issues and stories, games,
or general information which are updated and up-to-date to the time being. This type of portal has
graphics, audios and images which are used a lot in entertaining the surfers of the internet so they will not
be bored by just reading the words.
Government Web Portal
This type of portal have images, audios and graphics, but they are restricted and controlled by the
administrator so that it would be much more appropriate to the surfers since the surfers whom use this
type of webpage are people who have importance and own objectives. Certain links are restricted to only
members of the portal or organization and may not be accessed by lay person easily.
Corporate Web Portal
Corporate Web Portal is a type of portal that contain many buttons and links for users to navigate
themselves throughout the pages in order to make their usage goes easier. This portal is accessed by
people who have the ID and PASSWORD for the login and extra access to the portal’s usage.
Stock Portal
This portal contain lots of images,audios,videos, and graphics fur users to view the stock exchange.
Administrator of this portal restricts the navigation and access for the users because the information
viewed is fixed and cannot be changed by irresponsible people.
Tender’s Portal
Similar to Stock Portal, this type of portal contains texts, buttons and links for users to navigate
themselves throughout the webpages. But, in this portal, the users can change their own profile and
account so that they can negotiate the business easier.
Hosted Web Portal
Hosted web portal is a portal which contains less images,audios and graphics but there are still of their
existence with specific purposes. Hosted web portal is a portal which could be accessed by certain
people who have the mission and own objectives.
Domain Specific Portal
Links and buttons for navigations are paramount in this portal because Domain Specific Portal is only
accessible by people who have relations with it. Like Solicitor’s Webpage, only lawyers and Law workers
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are permitted to access the webpage. Media part is also controlled to keep and maintain their
professionalism.
8.3 EDUCATIONAL PORTALS Besides those portals stated before, there are also numerous educational portals exist on the web that
can be helpful and useful for both students and teachers.The web portals for education provide numerous
links to sites which contains vast amount of educational materials. All these information and resources
are in ‘One Stop Spot’ format. Below are some examples of educational portal available on the Web:
8.3.1 MALAYSIAN EDUCATIONAL PORTAL
Education portal provides a gateway for people in an institution—for example, in an university—to
effectively share on information or working on projects. A close example is UiTM Student Portal, which
enables user to:
Check for examination grades electronically.
Create online communities for students, faculties, alumni, and administrators to
collaborate.
Access the institution’s resources, anytime.
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In addition to UiTM Student Portal, other portals had also been established in order to promote and
sustain e-learning among the targeted communities.
In Malaysia, Portal Pendidikan Utusan and Cikgu Net are two examples of Malaysian educational portals
available on the internet.
1) Portal Pendidikan Utusan:
This portal can be divided in three different categories which are:
a) Students’ websites
Students ‘websites consist of e-tuition, item bank, calendar, students’ forum and virtual
chat in which it can be fully utilized by the students to enhance their learning.
b) Teachers’ websites
Teachers’ website comprises lesson plans, math and science teaching transcript,
teaching and learning materials, ETeMS (Teaching Mathematics and Science in English),
ICT teaching and learning, information on Ministry of Education and teachers’ forum.
c) Latest Educational Materials
For the latest materials provided in the Portal PendidikanUtusan, students can make their
own revision based on the past years’ exam papers uploaded in the portal including
UPSR, SPM, STPM and also MUET examinations.
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2) Cikgu Net
- It is an educational portal developed by a local telecommunication company called Jaring
(www.jaring.my).
- This educational provides support to the educators in their teaching through the additional
guide available online.
- It also allows people to send in their materials which are related to education in the form of
articles, essays, and lesson plans that can be used as a guideline to the teachers.
- Some of the examples of links that are provided by Cikgu Net are:
a) Teachers’ Community or KomunitiCikgu which links this portal to the departments of
Ministry of Education.
b) Games such as Hangman and Si Kodok
c) Forums
d) Comments on the Malay Language, Mathematics and Science
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8.3.2 BENEFITS OF EDUCATIONAL PORTALS
Classrooms in schools will definitely gain numerous benefits from the educational portals available on the
web. Some of the benefits are:
1) Enable students to vary their resources in finding the information that is needed in their learning
2) Portals promote students and teachers to have discussion outside the classroom setting
3) Forums available allow users to give opinions and suggestions on the topic appointed
4) Producing more creative teachers based on the information provided to guide teachers in their
teaching.
5) Allowing parents to get involved in the learning process of their children.
8.4 EVALUATING A PORTAL Web portals are widely being known by people throughout the world. Although they have been used by
various people from different societies, still the purpose and efficiency of the portals should be taken into
account. A web portal should be analysed in great details in order to make sure the users are secured
and safe from information that is being given.
The characteristics for evaluation to take place in portals are as follows:
1) The effectiveness of achieving the objectives stated by the portals
2) The standards that should be followed in designing the portals
3) The ongoing process of improving and updating the sources available in the portals
Aspects that should be considered in evaluating portals and websites
1) Download time
- The time taken to load the portal to keep the visitors’ attention from losing their focus.
2) Navigation ease
- The ability to provide users to easily navigate from one link to another.
3) Appearance
- The designs should be appropriate to all level of age including the choice of color, pictures,
videos, links, ads, and fonts.
4) Content
- The content must follow the objectives stated for the portals that can be clearly understood by
the visitors.
5) Contact person
- A contact person must be available to answer questions from the visitors regarding the
information loaded on the portals.
6) Currency
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- The site must be regularly updated with new information and resources to keep the interest of
the visitors.
Integrating Educational Portals into the Classroom
Collaborative learning is a style of learning where students work together in a way to aid their learning
process. Such websites provides a platform for teachers, students and other community; all working
together to find ways to aid and improve learning and teaching. All of the listed links below are the
websites that promote collaborative learning for both teachers and students.
- Learning Through Collaborative Visualization (CoVis) (http://www.covis.nwu..edu/)
- European Schools Project (http://www.esp.uva.nl/)
- SchoolWorld Internet Education (http://www.schoolworld.asn.au/welcome.html/)
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9.1 INTRODUCTION TO e-LEARNING Education in the largest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on
the mind, character or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense, education is the process by
which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to
another.
Tomorrow’s learners will need guides who take on fundamentally different roles. Hence, e-learning does
not mean that the future requires better school or better teachers, but it calls for an entirely new kinds of
learning environment. As every dimension of our world evolves so rapidly, the education challenges of
tomorrow will require solutions that go far beyond today’s answers. This means that the future holds great
potential for education as education will continue to grow and shape the world.
Much of today’s learning happens inside a social context. When a classmate asks a question, the whole
class learns. When one student laughs at a teachers joke, then all the rest of the students perk up. As
now, we are looking at the innovation and revolution of education which is the online education, which
can help students in much more way. Online educations or better known as e-learning can benefits
students in many ways. It is pointed out as follows.
e-learning is previously referred to as distance learning.
e-learning is a medium that is used to provide instructional programmes to students who are
separated by space and from the instructor
.
Due to the rise of e-learning in the educational sector, the way teaching and learning take place in the
educational institutions has been transformed. There are various impetuses that are already visible
marking such transformation. Among them are elaborated as follow.
Texbooks become available as textbooks
e -LEARNING CHAPTER
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- Many bookstores, physical shops and online shops habe produced dedicated e-book for
readers like Nook and Kindle.
- Microsoft, Samsung, Apple and many others have release tablet computers packed with high
technology and easier to carry.
- It is relatively low cost to produce e-book, no environmental impact and more convenient for
the tech-savy learners.
Easier connectivity
- Advances in internet technology (for example, greatly extended bandwidth and wireless
internet connections) increase the use of multimedia and interactive simulations or games in
online learning.
- Internet technology enhances video conferencing or international collaborations, offering
greater chances to interact with field experts or practitioners.
- Emphasis on knowledge transmission approach to education, one rich in peer
feedback,online mentoring or cognitive apprenticeship.
Social networking
- Teachers keep tabs on their students via Facebook. With so many students and teachers
online, social networking sites play a bigger role in education-especially online education.
- Students and teachers use these tools to connect for educational purposes-and they will be
intergrated into the classroom for traditional schools as well.
9.2 e-LEARNING FEATURES
Now the word e-learning has transcended the traditional definition of “education through internet
only”. The e-learning process is like an umbrella, under which lots of things are arranged to make the
global educational system more uniform, cost-effective and quality-rich. Broadly speaking e-learning is a
process of training for all types of learner in their required fields through IT Techniques. The e- learning
process includes courses from technology to art of living, known now as the Massive Open Online
Courses (MOOC). There are a number of e-learning companies working around the world, one example
is Coursera. The scope and objective of e-learning for all theses companies vary and it largely depends
upon the types of service offered by the e-learning company. However, to get a clear knowledge about
the scope and objective of the e-learning process we are going to discuss about some features of this
process.
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1-Cost effectiveness
The e-learning process does not need more investment. This process is beneficial both for personal and
group learning. In corporate sectors, companies need to invest lots of money to train their staffs with new
technologies. Likely in big institutions the cost of investment also increased in hiring professionals of
international repute. In this situation by following the e-learning process these institutions can save their
money significantly.
People who want to take a technical degree have to invest a large amount of money. However, by joining
an online course he/she can get a degree with a very small investment.
2-Time saving
The E-learning process saves the time of learner. Through e-learning process a number of students can
be learnt at the same time, what is not possible in face to face learning process. There are lots of short
term courses offered from the e-learning companies. The learner has also the flexibility to design the
required course according own requirement. However, there are a number of experts are working with
these companies to develop user-friendly content.
3-Rich media support
The e-learning websites offers advance media support to their e learners. These media applications are
easy to operate and also come with full instructions. Flexibility of using these applications in different
context is another key feature of e-learning modules. One of the media applications is Web Object feature
of Presenter which can help the user to incorporate different types of rich media web content.
4-Test engine
These e-learning websites not only offer different courses but also offer test engines to test the learner’s
knowledge. These test engines are full with all types of questions, which can help the learner to assess
his/her own ability.
5- Accessibility
The e-learning process is highly accessible in nature. One can take the benefit of these courses from any
where. Once you get entry in an e-learning site then you can access your courses content from any place
and at any time. The place may be your office, your home or the near by cyber cafe.
Besides all these common features there are a number of other features attached with this e-learning
process. All most all e-learning sites and providers come with novice friendly formats. The user can
complete his/her course through online study or through the CDs available from the websites.
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9.3 TYPES OF e-LEARNING
e-learning is nothing but the use of technology to connect teachers and students who are
physically miles apart. The training can be delivered by a number of means. In the past, these have
included the use of mainframe computers, floppy diskettes, multimedia CD-ROMs, and interactive
videodisks. Most recently, web technology (both Internet and Intranet delivery) are being used.
Future trends are looking at training delivered on tablet computers and cell phones. This new, form of
education is called, m-Learning or mobile learning.
It is especially useful for organizations that operate from multiple offices and require a training
solution that connects people at all locations, at any time and provides a standardized set of instructions
and e-Learning to foster ‘enterprise transformation’ and enhance return on investment (ROI). This could
mean helping executives in gaining new competencies, launching new products or services or enhancing
skill sets. The additional revenue generated or the ROI is used as the metric to measure the success of e-
Learning in such organizations.
Different types of e-learning
There are fundamentally two types of e-learning:
1. Synchronous training
2. Asynchronous training
1. Synchronous, means “at the same time,” involves interaction of participants with an instructor via the
web in real time. For example – VCRs or Virtual class rooms that are nothing else but real classrooms
online. Participants interact with each other and instructors through instant messaging, chat, audio and
video conferencing. That allows all the sessions to be recorded and played back. Its benefits are:
Ability to log or track learning activities.
Continuous monitoring and correction is possible
Possibilities of global connectivity and collaboration opportunities among learners.
Ability to personalize the training for each learner.
2. Asynchronous, which means “not at the same time,” allows the participants to complete the Web-
based training (WBT) at their own pace, without live interaction with the instructor. Basically, it is
information that is accessible on a self-help basis, available anytime. The advantage is that this kind of e-
learning offers the learners the information they need whenever they need it. It also has interaction
amongst participants through message boards, bulletin boards and discussion forums. These include
computer based training (CBTs) modules on CD-ROMs, WBTs accessed through intranet or through well
written articles and other write ups. Its advantages are:
Available ‘just in time’ for instant learning and reference.
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Flexibility of access from anywhere at anytime.
Ability to simultaneously reach an unlimited number of employees.
Uniformity of content and one time cost of production.
A new form of learning known as blended learning is emerging. As the name suggests it is an
amalgamation of synchronous and asynchronous learning methods. Using both online training through
virtual classrooms and also giving CD’s and study material for self-study is now being increasingly
preferred over any single type of training.
9.4 BENEFITS OF e-LEARNING e-learning is beneficial in many ways. If done right, it can produce great
results by decreasing costs and improving performance. Unlike a one time
classroom session, the e-learning course is also available for others. This
includes the static e-learning course as well as any ongoing conversations in
networked communities. Understanding e-learning’s value helps you make the
best decisions about when and why to use it.
e-learning supports the Organization’s Goals
Improved training costs. Producing learning content is time consuming whether it’s online or not. With
eLearning, each time the course is accessed your return on investment improves because you are
dividing the fixed production costs by number of uses. You also have savings through decreased travel,
reduced material, and hopefully improved (and more efficient) performance.
Decreased material costs. If you had to use the real environment, it would be costly. Even setting up a
fake environment has material costs and labor. By creating the environment online and letting the learner
practice, you never have to worry about the costs associated with set up, use, and clean up.
Increased productivity. Because e-learning is not bound by geography or time, you can control
training’s impact on production by training people during down times. In addition, with the current
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economy, it better for less people to do more work. So e-learning is a great way to give them the tools
and skills needed to enhance their performance.
Standardization. You may have a great facilitator, but that is no guarantee that the courses are
presented the same way across sessions. e-learning creates a standardized process and consistency in
the delivery of content. It also compresses delivery time.
e-learning supports the Learner’s Development
Real-time access. Live learning events require that those who participate align their schedules to the
training calendar. E-learning eliminates this because the course can be accessed anytime, anywhere.
This can also happen without Internet access.
Freedom to fail. Real learning requires some failure. But no one likes to fail in a classroom full of other
people. e-learning allows failing without fear. This encourages exploration and testing of ideas. With the
right feedback you create a great learning environment. Worst case, you can always start over.
Something you cannot always do in class.
Improved retention. The combination of multimedia and instructional design can produce a very rich
learning experience that is repeatable. Throw in some good practice activities with feedback and you
have a learning environment that’s going to help your learners retain the course content which will
produce results.
Personalized learning. Look out the window at your parking lot. My guess is that you will see a dozen
or more different cars. They all do the same thing, yet we have personal opinions about what we want to
drive. The same for learning. Learners want control. E-learning allows you to offer control to the
learners in a way that classroom learning does not.
.
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E-learning Nurtures a Learning Organization & Community
Ongoing access to resources. If you take a class in the real world and need a refresher, you better
hope that you took good notes or otherwise, you are out of luck. That is not the case with e-learning.
Ideally, you continue to have access to the online content and resources to brush up on what you
learned.
Knowledge management. Many people see e-learning as only the authored courses. But e-learning
includes all sort of online technologies. If you incorporate some of the tools that allow collaboration and
conversation, you can capture organizational knowledge that is available for future learners.
Encourage sharing. The foundation of a learning community is built on sharing what you know with
others. This is where incorporating a forum or wiki really adds value to your e-learning. Depending on
how the course is structured, you can encourage sharing of resources and insight gained from the
course.
Employer of choice. People want opportunities to grow. A cafeteria with high fat foods is one way.
Another is a catalog with all sorts of e-learning courses. This allows them to explore other opportunities
in the organization. During downtime, it would be great to spend fifteen minutes learning to better
manage meetings or improve working with peers. Offering these opportunities to learn makes you a
place people want to stay.
E-learning is also good for the environment. Britain’s Open
University’s “study found that producing and providing distance
learning courses consumes an average of 90% less energy and
produces 85% fewer CO2 emissions per student than conventional
face-to-face courses.”
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9.5 DRAWBACKS OF e-LEARNING
The most relevant disadvantages of online learning are directly tied to the specificities of the web
environment itself that bring people to choose this method of education. The nonexistence of a physical
classroom, flexible schedules and reduced personal interaction are all factors that attract people, but
have their own negative aspects that should be highlighted.
Most of these disadvantages of online learning are connected to the one overarching
characteristic of e-learning, which is the reduced personal interaction inherent in an online learning
system. The shortcomings of e-learning are further discussed as follow.
Communication/Less Interaction - Most, if not all, of your communication and interaction with your
instructor and fellow students will be through electronic medium including email, chat rooms, discussion
boards, or perhaps Skype or online meeting technology. The lack of non-visual cues may bring delays or
misunderstandings when information is transmitted, as well as depriving the user from practicing his
interpersonal skills and self-confidence in work presentations, advantages that can be decisive in the
workforce. Lastly, the relayed nature of communication between teacher and student dampens a timely
exchange of questions which, according to a study in the American Economic Review, may result in
poorer test scores when analytical thought is required of the student.
Working Alone - Working alone can isolate a student, making it easy to put off or neglect course work or
drop out of an online class completely. Participants can only receive information from one source – the
professor or the media content, and usually have limited opportunities to exchange ideas and information
with other students or even learn from their mistakes and experiences. It also takes a certain amount of
Disadvantages of e-learning
Communication/ Less interaction
Working alone
Physical facilities
Technology
Course Availability
Networking opportunities
Employment
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internal motivation to continue when pressed for time and do not have fellow students to talk with and
help to motivate along the way.
Physical Facilities - The characteristic that makes online classes what they are and appealing in so
many ways (the ability to attend from anywhere in the world) also presents an obvious hindrance – there
are no facilities. Most colleges and schools offer their students physical resources to enhance
achievement like libraries, study rooms and research material, like labs and field study opportunities.
Fields like scientific research or interpersonal relations may be extremely hard or near impossible to
assemble in an entirely virtual environment without a loss of quality. Consequentially, the students also
may want to ensure the place from where they attend classes provide adequate conditions to focus on
their course of study. Not every single student has the possibility of ensuring a time and place to attend
an online class without any interruptions as they struggle to make family and roommates understand the
concentration required to properly benefit from the online program. As this type of education is still in an
evolving stage, many people do not quite understand it yet as something as meritorious and important as
classes that require a physical classroom presence. Here, the learner may have to manage both physical
interruptions and often quite a bit of negativity in his life "outside of the virtual classroom."
Course Availability- Not all courses of study are available online. Users may find it difficult to find a
suitable source for an online education if they are interested in an unusual field or one that requires lab
work.
Technology - While technology tools and the Internet infrastructure are becoming more and more stable,
there are still instances when technology fails. Servers may be down, or you may experience periods
when your connection to the Internet is interrupted. Hard drives fail, and email may get caught in spam
filters and never be delivered. It's important to backup important class information and make certain that
you have alternative ways to communicate.
Networking opportunities - The globalization of student access may bring a subtle negative aspect to
the professional life of the graduate – the loss of networking opportunities. With users logging in from
various parts of the country and even the world, the contacts gained may be of little practical application.
Also, it is frequently by interacting with professors, teachers, and professionals in the field that a student
opens the gateway for post-graduate jobs, something that may be lacking in the limited interaction of
online learning management systems.
Employment - Student may find that employers as well as institutions of higher learning are less willing to
accept degrees, transcripts, and certifications from online programs as they are for their more traditional
accredited programs in a face-to-face environment. While the acceptance of the quality of online learning
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is growing, there may still be some who think the quality of an online education is not the same as one
gained in a physical building.
In conclusion, all these disadvantages of online learning can be to a certain degree mollified by
the user himself, but require a high degree of self-awareness and motivation. The main drawbacks to
online learning can therefore be overcome with a sincere effort in interpersonal interaction within the web
environment and by fostering contacts in real life that relate to the field of study, an effort that is clearly
strenuous and demanding in terms of willpower and time expended.
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10.1 INTRODUCTION
Our country, Malaysia has thus far leveled up to a par where IT is no longer a stranger. Almost
everyone knows about this splendid technology and almost everyone is using it. IT has become a part of
our everyday live and without it, we feel something might be missing. The unexpected growth of IT can
also be well seen in different field, for example the online service used by all the government systems,
and the ease of online banking and businesses are now provided through the use of internet. More
recently, the focus of technology has been shed into the local education system endeavoured to make
computer labs available in all schools. Government has invested generously to cater for ample computers
for students’ use and improved internet connections in schools. Such efforts simply inferred an
understanding pinpointing the role of ICT as an critical enabler for effective and interesting instructions to
be carried out in school.
In line with the mission of the nation to produce technology literate learners, it is crucial that
technologies are used and implemented at schools level. The exposure of technologies and sophisticated
gadgets to the students, especially the rural schools students will foster students who are familiar with
such technologies, and apt enough to manipulate and use them for educational purposes. ICT also poses
myriad advantages in the teaching and learning process when used in the right way for instructional
purposes. In this perspective, it is imperative to raise an issue of using, managing and maintaining ICT
effectively in the classrooms. What should be taught, what should they learn? How to manage an IT
classroom and how to integrate IT in teaching and learning? In this chapter, the topics in regard to
educational tools, the educational software and hardware, IT classroom management and the integration
of IT in teaching and learning process will be looked deeper.
10.2 EDUCATIONAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE
Educational software can be defined as a general term for the various kinds of programs used to operate
computers and related devices in the educational settings. Therefore, educational software can be
simplified as computer software that has been used in proposes to teach people as well as self learning.
There are many examples of educational software. They are Microsoft Word, Microsoft Power Point,
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Microsoft Excel, and so on. Chapter 3, 4 and 6 of this book provided guidelines, especially helpful for
beginners in using Microsoft productivity tools. They are briefly highlighted here again, referring to their
usage in educational settings.
o Microsoft Word
Many schools have begun to teach typing and word processing to their students, starting as early
as elementary school. Typically these skills are developed throughout secondary school in
preparation for the business world. Undergraduate students typically spend many hours writing
essays. Graduate and doctoral students continue this trend, as well as creating works for
research and publication. Microsoft Word contains a word processing, a program or software that
enables users to create documents, store it electronically on a disk, display it on a screen, and so
much more. To perform this task, user needs an educational hardware which is a lap top or a
computer. When the users are using Microsoft Word programme, they can see the special
features on that. For example, they can insert some pictures or graphics, editing the documents,
check their spellings, selecting fonts and so on.
o Microsoft Excel.
This software can be defined as software that allows users to organize, format and calculate data
using a spreadsheet system broken up by rows and columns. It can be used to perform
calculations, sort data and create graphs and charts. The basic features of a spreadsheet are
protected and hidden cells, copying command, graphing, and editing and sorting. Teachers will
able to produce charts and graph based on their students’ performance in the examination.
Therefore, teacher can analyze it easily when they using a spreadsheet. There are some
advantages for the users who are using as Electronic Spreadsheet. In education, teachers will
use it because it is faster and more flexible. Teachers do not have to calculate students’ marks
manually anymore. The second one is it has ability to recalculate especially when we add another
number in the columns. Another feature of Excel which can help teachers is it can create a grade
book. This grade book will help teachers work systematically because Excel can help them to
rearrange and calculate various data.
o Microsoft Power Point
This software allows users to create anything from basic slide shows to the complex presentation.
Powerpoint is often used in business, as well as in education or informal purposes. The
presentations comprise of slides, which may contain texts, images or other media, such as audio
clips and movies. Sound effect and animated transition can also be included to add extra appeal
to the presentation. Usually, teacher will use a slide show in order to teach the students. They do
not have to waste their time by writing on the white board. All they have to do is to prepare the
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slide before the lessons. Teacher will use template to create the presentation. The template
consists of background color or image, variety of fonts, and a choice of several slide shows.
Other than that, when the teacher is presenting the slide show, teacher may choose to have the
slides change at preset intervals or may decide to control the flow manually. This can be done
using the mouse, keyboard, or a remote control. The flow of the presentation can be further
customized by having slides load completely or one bullet at a time. For example, if teacher has
several bullets points on a page, she/he might have individual points appear when she/he clicks
the mouse. This allows interactively with the students and brings greater focus to each point. In
addition, teacher should put some GIF animations in the slides in order to make the presentation
more interesting and attractive.
o Other educational software
There are many games which are originally developed for learning implications. For the most
part, these games provide simulations of different kinds of human activities, allowing players to
learn about other society, historical and so on. Other than that, it also makes them built their own
strategies, the way of thinking and so much more. The example of educational software is city-
building games such as The Sims. It invites players to explore the social, practical, and economic
processes in city management. Another good example of such software is Bookworm, which
develops children vocabulary. They can learn new words by playing this game.
The educational game’s software
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Microsoft Excel’s software Microsoft Powerpoint’s software Educational hardware refers to a physical piece of a computer used for educational purposes. This could
be a hard drive, monitor, memory chip, or CPU. The key is that the item is something touchable. Lap top
and computers are the examples of educational hardware. Both teachers and students need this
hardware to do their task. Teachers need to use computers or their lap top in order to enhance students’
meaningful learning. For example, in Terengganu, government provided e-books for standard five’s
students. They do not have to bring their text books to school anymore. The e-book is complete with
syllabus and other education programmes. In addition to that, teachers also get a lap top each in helping
them to teach the students in the class. This is one of the educational hardware that has been introduced
in school field. Teachers who use laptops have a greater sense of control over their responsibilities for
instruction and managing student learning. They also have greater confidence in using technology tools in
eight measurable categories, such as word processors, e-mail and the Internet, than their peers who do
not use lap top.
10.3 EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
Many researchers have characterized the features of effective classrooms management, but
classroom management strategies vary depending on the students’ behaviours. Therefore, teachers need
to be well rounded so that teachers can tackle all different types of students. According to Emmer and
Evertson (1981), effective classroom manager is a teacher whose behaviours
encourage high levels of student involvement in classroom activities,
minimal amounts of interference arising from students’ behavior, and
efficient use of instructional time.
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Basically, it means that teachers have to control and facilitate the classroom so that the teaching and
learning process will run smoothly. However, if there is problems, teacher can handle them in a smart
way. Effective classroom management is all about handling and managing classroom efficiently.
Classroom management should be effective as it creates an environment that is conducive to
teaching and learning. A conducive teaching and learning process will benefit the students as well as the
teacher because students will be motivated to learn and teachers will be even more motivated to teach if
the students are eager to learn. Research has shown that effective classroom management is one of the
most important skills to be acquired by the teachers yet it is the most difficult skill to master. That is why
teachers need to be trained well and be prepared in order for them to be ready to handle an IT classroom.
10.4 MANAGING AN IT CLASSROOM An ideal classroom situation would be where every student has access to one computer like in the
computer laboratory. This situation in most classrooms is very rare as it requires high financial expenses.
Fortunately, there are few schools which have the resources to provide a computer for each student, for
example, private and boarding schools but many classrooms are lucky to have one computer for all the
students to share. Therefore, the challenge a teacher face is conducting class effectively using a single
computer in the classroom. Teachers should developed number of inventive strategies to make possible
use of restricted computer resources.
Teachers can use the computer as a tool to keep records, manipulate information and produce
individual letters to parents. This would be easier and faster when conducting the classroom of 25 and
above students. Other than that, teachers can use computer to produce class newsletters containing
students’ activities, development and performance in learning process. Microsoft Word would lead to
easier way for teachers to create customized follow – up work lessons and make personalized certificates
of achievement. Spreadsheet can be used in creating customized graphics organizers and direction
sheets, and create charts, student lists and name tags.
Furthermore, in order to make sure the lesson plans run smoothly, teachers should plan ahead.
Teachers should think about for the activity to be carried out in the lesson and print the information
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needed by students before hand. This ensure that the students can have access to the information
without spending time at the computer to read and print the information individually. This will help in
reduce time consuming and can focus on other matters.
Other than that, a projector or large monitor can be used to present some material from the
computer to the whole students. The advantage of this method is that teachers can control their
classroom’s progress and the content of the lesson. Students also get an overview of what is available
and later get into groups to make better use of limited time at the computer to find information they need.
Many teachers find chalkboards to be almost a thing of the past with the advent of projectors in
the classroom. Rather than writing notes across a board, teachers can make use of PowerPoint
presentations, images and even film as teaching tools through the use of projectors. Consequently,
teachers and students alike find projectors to be useful classroom device. Teachers also could use
projector to display printed notes, quizzes and video clips. As for Science and Mathematics teachers, they
could use this to demonstrate graphs and charts or important notes. With the use of projector, teachers
can now use films, slides and images to teach students a variety of subjects. On the students’ part, it
could be used with oral reports or to show the multimedia projects.
Workstation models are a very useful strategy when students are given a problem to solve and
the computer is only one of the available tools. While the Internet and CD-ROMS are great research
tools, they probably are not the only source of information that students should be encouraged to use in
the classrooms. In the workstation model, students can work in small groups at a number of stations to
gather information and to construct knowledge from it. Students may rotate from one station to another,
depending on the time available. For example, fifteen to twenty minute intervals. At each workstation the
group members’ work together to gather information and develop notes about what they were learnt.
Although there are many positive effects using instructional technology, there also issues arised
in one computer classroom. This is because not all students can afford to buy a computer. Nevertheless,
this does not mean the computers cannot be integrated into their learning. With the above mentioned
suggestions, teachers can perform wonders and students can achieve technologically rich experiences
through the Internet. However, in order for this to happen, there are certain key issues that need to be
addressed. For example, we need to keep an eye on the hardware, software, Internet, and management.
Both teacher and student always have problems when handling the hardware. For instance, they
always asking about the placement, the portability of the hardware and sometimes about the security or
either the display can be seen by all the students or not. They depend on the technician to handle for
them. Sometimes when the technician is not there, the lesson is delayed. This matter should be avoided.
Same goes to handle the software using Word processor, presentation software, spreadsheet and WWW
browser or email programme. For the management issue, one classroom should co-operate with each
other when in groups. Moreover, teacher can team with other teachers to borrow and group computers
together and every student has chance to co-operate with computers.
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10.5 MANAGING IT SKILLS IN THE CLASSROOM
There are ways to effectively manage an IT classroom.
1. Have Plan. Plan the lesson before teaching so that everything will run smoothly without
any problem. Before the lesson, teachers need to book the lab following the procedure in
every school. Next is to select appropriate software for the students to learn and then
teachers need to design the classroom activities so that no time is wasted and all the
important points are not left behind. Then, teachers need to organize materials to be
used in the class. Teachers need to be organized so that students get the meaningful
learning, to avoid chaos and teachers need to be ready for all the unexpected things.
Plus, one period of class is only 40-45 minutes and teachers have to make sure that their
intended lesson outcomes are met in that particular time.
2. Know your student. One student varies from another. Everyone is different and that
makes us unique but that is the challenge face by teachers. In one class, there are
approximately 30 to 40 students and each student is different. Usually, in one class, we
have the nerds, the bullies, the clowns, the popular kids, the rebellious one and the loner.
Each has very different style of learning and different pace of study. Some are visual,
some are audio. Some are left brainer and some are right brainer. Some are very
dependent on teachers to learn and some do not need teachers at all. To manage an IT
classroom effectively, it is crucial for teachers to know their students. Knowing the
students entails understanding their developmental progress. There are some areas of
student development that teachers should focus on for an effective and positive learning
environment.
a) Students’ growth and development
This deeply influenced by culture, personality and environment
Students also experience different social, physical development and intelligence.
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b) Students’ behaviour
Students need to feel valued and appreciated therefore teachers should not forget to praise them
and give due recognition to students who perform well.
Learning also need to be practical and applicable so that it becomes meaningful to the students.
c) Students’ cognitive and cultural diversity.
Students learn through different modalities, styles and a variety of multiple intelligence.
Different instructional modes need to be used to cater the differences such as tutorial, stimulation,
drill and practice, problem solving, game and multimedia database.
3. Teacher’s initiatives. Howard Miller, Associate Professor of Education made a few
suggestions that teachers could follow. According to him, teachers should be consistent
throughout the lesson and be patient with the students. Teachers also need to develop a
set of written expectation. He suggests that teachers should not talk too much, use the
first 15 minutes of class for lectures, and then get the kid working. Teachers also should
break the class period into two or three different activities but make sure each activity
runs smoothly. Teachers have to begin the class and end it according to the schedule.
Do not roll call and keep all students actively involved. When addressing students
discipline behaviour, teachers have to do it quietly and privately to maintain student’s
self-esteem. One thing to remember is, to keep sense of humour and perspective on
things.
4. Technology implementation. In order to manage an IT classroom, all the equipment
must be there and this is the responsibility of the government and the administration.
What teachers need are :
a) Support from the top
Success or failure of an IT program depends on the implementers
Hardware, software and networking infrastructure required to conduct IT classes must be
complete and in perfect condition.
b) Teachers must come first
Teachers should be the first to receive hardware and software system and the first to be
trained to use them.
When they have sufficient knowledge and skill, they will feel comfortable to use and
integrate such technology in the classroom
c) Ongoing technology training programmes.
Technology advances so rapidly, thus ongoing training must be put in place to update
and upgrade teachers’ computing skills.
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d) Teachers as Subject Matter Experts
Teachers must be given the freedom to restructure the curriculum around the technology
e) On-site, on-demand and user-friendly technical support
When managing an IT classroom, teachers will face technical problem thus they need
immediate help and assistance.
f) Develop a core of teacher-computerists
Refers to teachers who are committed to using computer technology.
Have achieved a sufficiently high level of expertise to qualify and act as advisors and
troubleshooters in matter related to computer based educational technology.
10.6 INTEGRATING IT IN TEACHING AND LEARNING
Technology must be integrated effectively into the classroom if it is to make a difference in the way
teachers teach and students learn. Here are some examples of how a teacher can integrate IT in their
teaching and students learning process.
1) By using Productivity Tools
Productivity tools refer to programmes such as word processors, spreadsheets, databases and
presentation software. All these programmes are the most common tools we can find in our
computer. Using productivity tools is a skill that all teachers should require and master. Every
teacher should learn to use it well because the software can help students learn. A teacher needs
to be aware of the many common categories of productivity software to be able to select the best
software to achieve his or her objectives. Educators need to be careful in selecting the software to
which they commit themselves and their students. The examples of productivity tools are stated
below.
1.1 Word processing programmes such as Microsoft Word
a) Teachers can integrate the software in their teaching by creating:
i) Lessons plans-A detailed description of the course of instruction for individual lesson
ii) Subject/Course Syllabi-An outline and summary of topics to be covered in a course
iii) Notes and activity handout-A set of pages that can help in the classroom instruction and aid
students learning.
iv) Report books-A record of daily teaching and learning activities complete with illustrations
v) Feedback forms of students and parents-A set of questionnaire that can help manage,
organize and improve teaching and learning and also the school
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vi) Letters and memos-A letter that can be sent to colleagues and parents informing them of
meeting and other events for examples teacher-parents meeting in discussing the students
learning achievement
vii) Brochures/flyers- An advertisement to promote something to the students for examples extra
guidance class and preparatory class
b) Students also can use word processing software in their learning by producing:
i) Outline and notes of the subjects that they are studying
ii) A very professional and quality assignment and projects
iii) Journals-A students record of events and personal daily experiences
iv) Flyers and brochures-An advertisement of events, service or other activities of the school to
the teachers, students and the general public
v) Letters and memos-Reminder of study timetable and quiz
vi) Books and reports-By using charts and tables and other illustrations that can help them in
their learning.
1.2 Desktop Publishing such as Microsoft Publisher
a) Teachers can integrate the software in their teaching by creating:
i) Handouts and worksheets for the students
ii) Posters and other graphical materials to be displayed in the class
b) Students also can use desktop publishing software in their learning by producing:
i) Flyers and brochures to advertise informational activities
ii) School magazines and year books by inserting informational materials
iii) Attractive notes and mind map
1.3 Spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel
a) Teachers can integrate the software in their teaching by :
i) Teaching about mathematical calculations, relationship and formulas
ii) Teaching about statistic, data analysis and probability
iii) Teaching about problem solving
iv) Teaching about numerical data like projected income, cash flow, liabilities, etc
v) Keeping track of students’ performance
vi) Record students’ attendance
vii) Create database of students’ portfolios
viii) Determine budgets for each academic year
ix) Record transactions and do inventory
b) Students also can use software in their learning by :
i) Creating academic calendars
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ii) Generate pie graphs, bar graphs and others based on numerical data
iii) Keep track of test scores
iv) Probes scientific investigations
v) Test hypotheses and do what-if analysis
1.4 Presentation Software such as Microsoft PowerPoint
a) Teachers can integrate the software in their teaching by :
i) Creating slide on a certain chapter
ii) Creating an interactive courseware
iii) Inserting multimedia effects such as sound, music and videos
iv) Incorporate pictures, animation, tables and graphs into slide
b) Students also can use software in their learning by :
i) Creating slide for their presentation assignment
ii) Creating slide on a certain chapter that can be used as notes
iii) Inserting multimedia effects such as sound, music and videos that can help them understand
certain topics better
iv) Incorporate pictures, animation, tables and graphs into slide understand certain topics better
2) By using the Internet
In order to keep up with the students needs, teachers spend a lot of time online looking for multimedia
resources as well as general information material to use for their teaching process. This is essential
to ensure the effective teaching process that capture and sustain students’ interest. The internet has
great potential in teaching and learning. It offers some exciting possibilities for the classroom.
Therefore, it is important to integrate the Internet into the classroom. Here are some suggestions on
how to enhance teacher’s teaching and students’ learning experiences.
a) Teachers can integrate the Internet in their teaching by :
i) Accessing databases of lesson plans, teaching methods and instructional approaches
ii) Find website, which are particularly useful for their students
iii) Find technology resources under Teachers & Tech
iv) Find useful materials such as video and pictures that can be use in their teaching
v) Browse existing online curricula to generate ideas
vi) Search for suitable online resources
b) Students also can use the Internet in their learning by :
i) Creating multimedia projects or reports on the Web
ii) Create lesson plans and activities on the web page
iii) Conduct online research using databases and online resources
iv) Track currents events through online magazines and newspapers
v) Access information on job possibilities, job contacts and resume preparation
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vi) Participate in audio and video conferencing activities
vii) Access electronic libraries-millions of books and journals online
viii) Conduct online discussions/e-forums and exchange ideas
ix) Exchange mail with other students, communicate and broadcast a message or document to
everyone in the group at once
Lesson Plan PowerPoint Lesson Presentation
School Brochures Searching for information
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10.7 IT CLASSROOM PROBLEMS AND WAYS OF OVERCOMING Despite the understanding on benefits IT classrooms can offer, there are existing problems in integrating
IT into the instructions. Listed below are the existing problems and possible solution to overcome them.
Problems Possible approach
Teacher’s Inner Voice.
Sometimes teachers are not confident to manage an IT classroom.
Most of them are scared if they commit mistakes and are constantly pressurized, wanting to be accurate and right all the time.
Implement Clear Procedures and Routines.
So that the teachers know what to do and have a guideline on how to manage an IT classroom
Students’ doubt.
For students that are not used to the technology, they are afraid of doing mistakes and afraid to try to explore the technology.
Written Rules for the Computer Lab.
This will control the students and make them aware of how important to behave in an IT classroom.
IT classroom management.
Unclear instruction given will make the students face trouble beginning their work.
Computer competencies are also differ between groups and members in group.
Lack of cooperation between members of a group.
Use the STAR Approach.
S : students skills and attitudes
T : teachers skills and attitudes
A : access
R : resources.
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10.1 INTRODUCTION TO WEB 2.0
11.1 INTRODUCTION TO WEB 2.0
Web 2.0 is the term given to describe a second generation of the World Wide Web focusing on
the ability for people to collaborate and share information online. Web 2.0 basically refers to the transition
from static HTML web pages to a more dynamic Web that is more organized and is based on providing
web applications to users. Information or social content can be pulled or placed at different places and
further personalizing it to meet up the requirements of an individual user. Whereas Web 1.0 can be
thought of as static, consumptive, and individualistic, Web 2.0 can be thought of as dynamic, participatory
and social. The primary tenet of Web 2.0 is that users add value. Although there is some debate whether
the name Web 2.0 is deserved, there is no denying that change has occurred in the way the Web is used.
Web 2.0 Strategy
11.2 IMPACT OF WEB 2.0 ON EDUCATION
Web 2.0 services and technologies expand the learning options available to educators. For example, Wiki
technology enables collaborative learning as users (e.g., students) collectively create, edit, link, and share
web content. Wikis, Blogs and similar Web 2.0 technologies provide a means for users to easily
participate in the creation of new knowledge rather than consume pre-existing knowledge. These
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technologies also provide alternative assessment options for educators. The result is often a more
engaging and collaborative teaching and learning experience.
Web 2.0 services and technologies foster a more open approach to learning. The ability to easily access
and share educational materials, create derivative works, republish and redistribute these works provides
access to a wide variety of learning materials and enables teachers and learners alike to meet specific
learning needs and focus on specific outcomes. The result is often a more empowering learning
experience. This openness expands beyond content. Web 2.0 services and technologies allow users to
tap into the affordances of social networking. Here learners construct identities and foster wide ranging
relationships resulting in a more community oriented approach to inquiry and practice.
As Web 2.0 services and technologies become more commonplace and become easier to use,
particularly in the educational milieu, educators can shift their attention away from the technology itself to
the pedagogy to find the best value and most appropriate uses of Web 2.0 technology in enhancing
teaching and learning.
Integrating technology into the classroom may be difficult or time-consuming, particularly if
technological resources or funding are limited. Teachers may have limited time, ideas or knowledge on
how to effectively incorporate technology to support and enhance classroom instruction. However, with
computer and Internet access becoming more prevalent in modern schools, teachers have greater
opportunities to use technologies with their students.
Learners are every day more familiar with a diverse spectrum of online environments. Schools
can take this situation to improve and encourage collaborative learning, through flexible environments.
Web 2.0 tools may be used in blended learning environments, which combines different learning
environments such as face-to-face instruction and computer mediated learning, affording collaborative
learning opportunities and further support of classroom instructions. This chapter discusses the pros and
cons of Web 2.0 tools and the possible ways of how learning can be conducted through the integration of
Web 2.0 tools.
11.3 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF WEB 2.0 IN EDUCATION
It is still an interesting debate among the practitioners about to what extend should Web 2.0
technology be integrated into education. The advantages and disadvantages of Web 2.0 in education can
be best discussed from the types of communication channels it offers, namely synchronous and
asynchronous.
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a) Asynchronous Communication
Advantages Disadvantages
Available at any time
Available at any place
Variety of media
Ease of use and rapidity of deployment
Learners can actively be involved in knowledge building
It creates dynamic learning communities
Risk of vandalism and quality issues, because of their free form nature and the lack of control over their content (copyright/authorship)
No immediate feedback
Difficulty to keep track of collaboration
Information must be organized and searchable or it is lost
b) Synchronous Communication
Advantages Disadvantages
Available at any time
Variety of media
Instant sharing and dialogue
Ease of use and rapidity of deployment
Learners can actively be involved in knowledge building
It creates dynamic learning communities
Risk of vandalism and quality issues, because of their free form nature and the lack of control over their content (copyright/authorship)
Time difference cause difficulty for interaction between people from different locations (time zone).
Necessity of compatible systems to enhance immediate interactions.
11.4 EXAMPLES OF INTEGRATING WEB 2.0 IN CLASSROOMS The following are the types Web 2.0 tools that can be intergrated into classrooms.
1. Blog
Blog websites such as Wordpress or Blogger.com can possibly be used as
i) individual paperless student learning journals
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These could replace traditional paper-based journals but could be made visible to other students to create a collaborative learning environment. Students may be given the opportunity to provide each other with constructive comments and feedback.
ii) course websites
Classroom supporting content (course information, assignment criteria, homework tasks) can be delivered to the students. Students may also be given access to post and share information with their classmates.
iii) host project presentation materials and content
Students can host project presentation individually or in group. Textual information and media could be combined into effective web-based presentations. Importantly, these presentations are not singular events, thus may be viewed and reviewed by other students as resource materials at later times.
2. Social Networking Sites
Schools should reflect the world we live in today. And we live in a social world. We need to teach
students how to be effective collaborators in that world, how to interact with people around them,
how to be engaged, informed twenty-first-century citizens. The following are examples of using social
network in classrooms.
Aggregating images and information to share with classmates or with interest groups that cut
across courses and institutions
Gathering and sharing data collected with mobile devices during field work or travel abroad
Creating a public profile to showcase personal research interests and to connect with a broad
audience
Using Twitter in class to keep students engaged and to get a sense of what students are thinking
about during lectures
Forming student study groups with the use of Google+ Hangouts and other social tools
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3. Wikis
A Wiki (hawaian term for ‘quick’, ‘fast’) is a socially oriented software based on editable websites where
users can visit, read, reorganize and update its structure and content. It can be used as a gathering point
for the collaboration of ideas, thoughts, assignments, topics, etc for a collective group. Classes can
collaboratively create wikis on a given subject or topic that may later be used as an information resource.
Wikis could potentially provide a structure supported on social constructivism and a community of practice
model of learning. Through a wiki, individuals are able to develop sharing practices, bringing new
experiences to the group and learning from it. Examples of such wikis are Wikispaces, WikiTravel and
Wikia.
4. Forums
There are many types of online forums available.
A discussion forum may be used to extend class discussions and topics, or as supplemental
enrichment dialogues, outside the classroom environment. They may be designed as spaces for
students to share common interests, problems, or concerns about course materials so that they
may assist each other in the learning process and allowing a greater number of students to
participate.
Chat forums allow for students and teachers to interact and discuss course content outside of
the classroom setting (synchronous conferencing). Students could potentially use chat forums to
collaborate on course activities, assignments and projects without having to meet in the same
physical space.
5. Learning Management Sysytems (LMS)
A Learning Management System (LMS), or Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), is a software application
that automates the administration, tracking, and reporting of training events. Popular LMS platforms
include Moodle, Blackboard Learn Platform, and Desire2Learn Learning Environment, though there are
currently hundreds of commercial and open source solutions available.
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A LMS can potentially be used in a blended learning environment in a variety of ways. Most typically, it
may be used as an interactive course website to which both students and teachers have log-in access.
Ways that LMSs could be used include, but are not limited to:
LMS Affordances and Tools
notes, textual information, pertinent web links, online videos
Content Delivery students can submit assignments online
Online Assignment Collection
students have access to assigned work from class (even when absent)
Course Calendar communicate test dates, deadlines and other important dates
Enhanced Communication
greater communication between teacher-student, student-student, and teacher-parent
Displaying Student Work
digital projects such as multimedia-based presentations could be presented online, thus providing student-created resources that are permanently accessible to others
Parental Access parents can be provided with 'guest' access thus could provide extra support at home and keep students accountable for assigned tasks and deadlines
6. Online Presentation Tools
Online presentational tools are websites that enable users to create presentations in an interactive
and creative manner. These websites has features that promote collaborative knowledge building.
Users can build a presentation and invite other friends to edit it through the web. Also, they can share
presentations and embed them in a blog or a wiki. Usually through these sites users can upload
images, embed videos and insert text. Examples include Prezi, Presentit, and SohoShow.
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7. Online Animation Tools
An animation is a visual display that explicitly depicts movement, changes, and object trajectories. An
animation per se does not necessarily enhance the learning process. These tools could support deep
understanding and problem-solving transfer through the connections between pictoral and verbal
learning.
Through the Web there are lots of sites that enable users to build animations. Through these sites
users are usually able to create characters (or use the ones provided by the site), create a narration,
use different scenes, and add music and noises to support the visual and narrative component of the
animation. Examples of these sites are Xtranormal, GoAnimate and Aniboom.
11.5 Issues and Implications
Web 2.0 technologies allow users to participate and express themselves; however most producers are
individuals and organizations with access to technology, computer skills, and money, resulting in what
has come to be known as a ‘digital divide’ been haves and have-nots with respect to digital technologies.
The great strength of Web 2.0 is its participatory nature, but if one cannot participate then its
effectiveness is lost. In collaborative environments (such as Wikis) questions of credibility, accuracy,
authorship, and vandalism have arisen. Although open content is seen as a panacea for information and
knowledge sharing, lines are being blurred in terms of rightful ownership, authorship, and copyright.
Further, social networking brings to the fore issues of trust, privacy and security. As such, as more and
more of us adopt Web 2.0 technologies, we need to remain informed and aware of the changing nature of
the Web and the benefits and drawbacks made possible by such technologies. These issues are
discussed in the following chapter.
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12.1 UNEQUAL ACCESS The issue of computer access in a country is quite similar to the issue of availability of formal education
for the people. While most urban areas face modernization, most of rural areas are left behind especially
when it comes to formal education, let alone ICT. Some people might not find the need for people from
the rural areas to enjoy formal education and access of computer whereas some people of the rural areas
think that they do not need formal education and development of technology because they believe that
what their ancestors had passed on is ample for a living.
The development of ICT has, however, created digital divide which is actually a gap between the haves
and the have nots. There are several questions that can be presented under the topic of unequal access
to computer; income, ethnicity and location.
First of all, who are they that could not access the computer?
Most of the people who could not reach the availability of computers are from lower Socio-Economic
Status (SES). People in this group are mainly those whose family have lower than RM1000 monthly
income with more than two children. They could probably have the access towards computers but it is
very limited. Other than that, of the same level of SES, people who lives in the rural areas are also among
those who could not reach the access of computer. Ethnicity is quite related to the location of the access
of computers which means certain ethnics or races that live in a tribe far away from the urban areas might
not get the access towards computer.
Why they access the benefit of ICT?
There are several factors that affect the reasons for these people who could not access the benefit of
ICT. For one, it could be the economic status. In order to have continuous access for ICT, one must be
financially stable. This is because the finance required to maintain the accessibility is quite costly. In other
word, one must have the money to own and use the computers, internet etc.
Besides that, the affecting factor also involves the demographic of the people in a country. Here it means,
people from rural area may receive less accessibility towards ICT if compared to people from suburban or
urban areas. In most countries, the government will concentrate on developing the potential cities than
ISSUES RELATED TO
COMPUTERS IN EDUCATION
CHAPTER
12
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rural areas. The developmental projects include embedding the usage of ICT access for people in the
cities. This explains why people who live in rural areas get less computer access.
One other reason on why some ethnics or races do not receive the access of computers is probably
because of ignorance. It happens sometimes when a tribe just want to follow their ancestors life and
reject other ideas of development. This is going to be a problem as they refuse to get computer access
and thus, could face a hard time improving their lives.
What are the effects of unequal access?
More access towards computers as the new tool of creating forwarding learning environment is vital as it
means wider reach of information. The Internet and information technology is the new literacy for students
as a requirement for them in the future. It is actually an important plan to get the students ready with
ample of information about technology literacy skills for today’s and future job market. Unequal access
would actually allow more gaps that may lead to more poverty and alienation. Concentrating in the issue
of unequallacces of computers would eventuall reduce the gaps between urban and rural communities.
Besides that, more jobs today require skills in technology. Therefore, we should learn that Internet and
computer access may improve one’s earnings and lives. People who use computer in working will usually
earn more than those who do not. Since this is the current demands, it is really important for schools
today to be highly-equipped with technology skills in order for the students to be able to contribute for the
society in the future.
Most countries today has made technology literacy as an important issue in their daily lives. As an
approach to lower class of society, most people of less income has been given government benefits.
However, they must not be illiterate in technology as they will have to use Internet to receive government
benefits. They could only be allowed to receive those benefits if only they are qualify through Internet
access.
How to overcome unequal access to computers?
One of the ways to address the problems of unequal access is by broadening its availability. Government
and stakeholders should provide channels for people to access to computers and high speed networks
through internet. This is because computers are gradually becoming a way of living, instead of luxury
machines. Besides that, ample provision of trainings should be given so that people can understand the
wide usage and benefits of technology in promoting new level of economy and social living. Promoting
the use of online contents such as social networking sites and other applications are also helpful to
empower technology literacy among individuals. With such literacy, they can venture into independent
knowledge seeking, collaborations in learning and personalize the way of learning according to their
learning styles.
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What is One Computer Classroom?
As the name suggest, one computer classroom is a classroom equipped with at least a computer to
facilitate the teaching and learning process. With the well informed understanding that technology is a
critical enabler of learning, it is common to find classrooms with at least a computer. As an effective
teacher, it is pertinent to understand how to integrate such facility into the teaching and learning process
to maximize the students’ learning outcome. An effective teacher reflects the following questions.
What is the best way to use the one computer I have in my classroom?
What strategies should I use when doing large group activities with my computer?
What is the most effective way to organize small group activities with only one computer?
A teacher who are well versed in teaching can be frustrated when do not know how to deal with such
limited number of computer in a class.
What are the possibilities in One Computer Classroom?
As you explore the possibilities, think about how the computer can be used. First, brainstorm teacher
uses and student uses. Then consider the range of applications and specific activities. Teachers can use
the computer for administrative tasks, while students can use the computer as part of a center or station.
Both students and teachers can use the computer for assessment, presentation, accessing information,
communication, and production and publishing.
Teacher Use
Administrative applications include professional productivity (i.e., letters, worksheets, puzzles, problem
sets, labs, handouts, bulletin board materials, lesson plans, tests, forms, newsletters, calendars, reports,
certificates, graphic organizers, and seat charts), data collection (i.e., electronic gradebook, attendance,
student information, and mail merge), and information board (i.e., announcements, reminders, class
introductions, slide shows: back to school, open house).
Student Use
Student applications include using the computer as a creation tool (i.e., production and publishing center:
email, word processing, database, spreadsheet, graphics, multimedia) and learning tool including
information center (i.e., Internet, CD-ROM, video, resources) and activity center (i.e., drill & practice,
problem solving, decision making, and simulation software).
Both Teachers and Students
The following activities can be accomplished as a large group with one computer and a large monitor.
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Assess
Teachers can develop and direct pretests, quizzes, post tests, and other kinds of large group
administered assessments. Students can take these assessments as a large group. Teachers
can also check understanding as they work through a unit.
- Present
Teachers can use the computer to direct the class's attention to large group instruction that
previews, motivates, provides context, provides information, illustrates concepts, model san
activity, leads inquiry, demonstrates a concept, stimulates discussion (i.e., debate, role play),
asks questions (i.e., problem solving, involves students (i.e., decision making), and reviews.
Students can share their ideas through presentations (i.e., speeches, oral reports, multimedia
projects, review activities).
- Access Information
Teachers can use Internet based information for professional development, instructional
development, and content area information and resources. Students can access information as a
group including reading and research from a single large screen using Internet and CD-ROM
resources, as well as resources the teacher creates.
- Communicate
Teachers can write and receive professional email including principal to teacher, teacher to
student, teacher to teacher, teacher to parents, and class to class. They can share professional
materials such as lesson ideas and class projects through email, chats, threaded discussions,
web pages, and listservs. Students can write and receive group email as a class. They can
participate in class projects such as ask-an-expert, book buddies, and collaborative data sharing.
- Produce & Publish.
Teachers can lead a group in production and publishing (i.e., brainstorm ideas, prewrite,
compose, edit, revise, build charts and graphs, make concept maps, create web pages, build
presentations, and create timelines). Students can contribute to large group projects (i.e., class
magazine, class book, class presentation, timeline, class journal, creative writing).
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What are the issues in One Computer Classroom?
Using one computer in the classroom can be both frustrating and fun. There are issues related to
using the computer as part of large group activities and small group activities. There are also
some general management concerns.
Large Group Activities
Large group issues include connecting to standards, keeping it simple, modeling concepts,
incorporating PowerQuests, exploring Internet resources, involving students, and facilitating
group activities.
Small Group Activities
Small group issues include exploring center approaches, providing effective support, considering
center activities, encouraging collaboration, exploring scheduling options, building realistic
expectations, and finding help.
Management Considerations
Management issues include considering hardware needs, considering timing of projects, and
thinking about equity so that it is accessible to most population of the class or the school.
12.2 SECURITY
Computer viruses are small software programs that are designed to spread from one computer to
another and to interfere with computer operation. A virus might corrupt or delete data on your computer,
use your email program to spread itself to other computers, or even erase everything on your hard disk.
Computer viruses are often spread by attachments in email messages or instant messaging messages.
That is why it is essential that you never open email attachments unless you know who it's from and you
are expecting it. Viruses can be disguised as attachments of funny images, greeting cards, or audio and
video files. Computer viruses also spread through downloads on the Internet. They can be hidden in illicit
software or other files or programs you might download.
Antivirus or anti-virussoftware is used to prevent, detect, and remove malware, including but not
limited to computer viruses, computer worm, Trojan horses, spyware and adware. This page talks about
the software used for the prevention and removal of such threats, rather than computer security
implemented by software methods. No matter how useful antivirus software can be, it can sometimes
have drawbacks. Antivirus software can impair a computer's performance.
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Since everyone uses an email and nearly everyone downloads executable software from the
Internet, all users should have a good anti – virus programme installed and running on their computers.
Users should update their anti – virus software periodically because new virus patterns are discovered
everyday. The question as to how often a user should update the virus definition file depends on the
computer usage and the type of activity carried out on a daily basis. For example, while receiving email or
downloading software and programmes from the internet. This activity is very risky as it will damage your
computer system. If your computer work entails using Microsoft Windows operating system updating your
virus definition files at least once a week is sufficient.
Virus problems could be addressed by scanning and always checking the computer system with
the latest anti-virus software. For instance, Avira AntiVir Personal and many more. Users must download
any better anti – virus just to make sure there is no virus can enter the system. Nowadays, these anti –
virus may be obtained free of charge.
Next, users are reminded to keep back – ups anything that are important. If something on toward
happened, we have the other copied that could save our day! Furthermore, check your all incoming
emails and delete them if you are curious with it. Do not open or it will harm your computer. Thus, one
should be reminded to update anti –virus from the Internet. It is the easiest way to save your computer
and it is free of charge! For your information, there are many latest virus information can be obtained from
the following websites. For example, http://www.mycert.mimos.com and http://www.antivirus.com.
Email attachments
An email attachment is a computer file sent along with an email message. One or more files can
be attached to any email message, and be sent along with it to the recipient. This is typically used as a
simple method to share documents and images. A paper clip image is the standard image for an
attachment in an email client. Email users are typically warned that unexpected email with attachments
should always be considered suspicious and dangerous, particularly if not known to be sent by a trusted
source.
However, in practice this advice is not enough – "known trusted sources" were the senders of
executable programs creating mischief and mayhem as early as 1987 (with the mainframe-based
Christmas Tree EXEC), so since the ILOVEYOU and Anna Kournikovaworms of 2000 and 2001 email
systems have increasingly added layers of protection to prevent potential malware – and now many block
certain types of attachments.
If email is the frequent mode of communication, a user should follow three rules, a) Do not open
an executable attachment in email without knowing the contents and source of this file. b) Do not open
any attachment from unknown resource. Simply reply to the email and request that the sender send the
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attachment as plain ASCII in the body of the email. If this junk email, delete the email including the
attachment. c) Do not open attachments with a double file extension. Some examples of dangerous
double file extensions include: filename.jpg.vbs and filename.doc.exe.
Firewall
A ‘firewall’ is a programme that is installed between a computer and an external user. Hackers
usually make attempts to gain access to computers via modem, Internet or voice mail. Many hackers run
programmes that randomly search the Internet and probe ports on computers that are connected to the
Internet. If the hacker finds a port that is ‘open’, the hacker will attempt to view, alter, or delete files on the
computer. Therefore, a good security feature in a user’s computer is the Firewall programme. Some
examples of firewall programme are McAfee Firewall, Sygate Pro, Symantec Personal Firewall, and
ZoneAlarm Pro.
Handling harassment
A security feature to handle harassment is to set up a free email account at Yahoo or Hotmail, or
any other email account. If you are harassed all you need to do is to just close that cyberspace account
and open a new account. If you frequently communicate in cyberspace, for example, chat room or bulletin
board, make sure you never give out your personal details or biodata.
Spyware
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Spyware is a type of malware that can be installed on computers, and which collects small pieces
of information about users without their knowledge. The presence of spyware is typically hidden from the
user, and can be difficult to detect. Typically, spyware is secretly installed on the user's personal
computer. Sometimes, however, spywares such as key loggers are installed by the owner of a shared,
corporate, or public computer on purpose in order to secretly monitor other users.
While the term spyware suggests software that secretly monitors the user's computing, the
functions of spyware extend well beyond simple monitoring. Spyware programs can collect various types
of personal information, such as Internet surfing habits and sites that have been visited, but can also
interfere with user control of the computer in other ways, such as installing additional software and
redirecting Web browser activity. Spyware is known to change computer settings, resulting in slow
connection speeds, different home pages, and/or loss of Internet connection or functionality of other
programs. In an attempt to increase the understanding of spyware, a more formal classification of its
included software types is provided by the term privacy-invasive software.
In response to the emergence of spyware, a small industry has sprung up dealing in anti-spyware
software. Running anti-spyware software has become a widely recognized element of computer security
practices for computers, especially those running Microsoft Windows. A number of jurisdictions have
passed anti-spyware laws, which usually target any software that is surreptitiously installed to control a
user's computer.
Today, to secure your computer you can install computer programmes that are designed to
search your computer and remove spyware. Some of the better known anti – spyware programs include
ad – aware (http://www.lavasoft.de), pest patrol (http://www.pestparol.com) and spy sweeper
(http://www.webroot.com).
It is crucial and vital for every user to protect themselves and their computers. There are many softwares,
programmes or safety precautions that you yourself can use and do to protect your computer from this
danger. Among the precautions you as a user can do are:
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1. Create a good password
There is no use of setting up a password if everybody knows what is it.
There are few tips on creating a good password.
Make sure the password is long. This ensures that it will not
be too easily guessed. The longer the better. Besides, you
can combine both lower and upper-case letter and add some
numbers altogether. However, above all, you have to make
sure that it is easy for you to remember too.
Do not choose something that is obvious like your name, birthday etc, because people
will be able to guess.
Besides that, do not write your password anywhere or make it into hardcopy where people could get
it. Do not tell anyone too, even your own family members. Most important, do not share your password
with anyone.
To have better precaution, use different password for different Internet accounts. You might want to
change the password, for example, once in 2 weeks. But again, you have to make sure you can
remember it.
2. Set up a separate e-mail account
When you believe or know that your e-mail account no
longer safe and have been receiving spam and such, just
close down the account and set up a new one. Do not
become too dependent on one e-mail account only. It is good
to have separate account; one for official uses and another
for personal use. The one used for official business is used for office works, assignment, bill payment etc.
on the other hand, the personal account is used for your social networking sites, chatting, etc. this is
important as if anything happened to one of your account it will not affect the other. A separate e-mail
account also will serve as a back up account too.
3. Back up files
The files and information stored in the computer mostly are important and
you would not want them to be deleted without having a copy of them first.
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Thus, backing up the files would be much of a convenient and an advantage to you. Keep the
important files in the removable media like ZIP disk or recordable CD-ROM disks. Store the backup
disks away from the computer.
Alternatively, cloud storage which means the storage of files on the internet are more common these
days as it allows the access to the cloud-stored files on any computer with internet connectivity. The
examples of platform for such storage are Dropbox and Google Drive. These providers allow files to
be saved and sync automatically when the computer worked on is connected to the internet.
4. Be careful with e-mail attachment
Do not open any attachment that you are not sure of the resource. Even if it is sent from a familiar
address, still you have to be careful. What you can do are:
Save the file to your hard disk
Scan the file using your anti-virus software
Disconnect or lock your computer’s network prior opening the file.
5. Do not run programs of unknown origin
Unless it is authorized by a company or a person that you trust,
do not run the program. Plus, do not send the program to other
people too. This is because they might contain a Trojan horse
program which is really dangerous. Trojan allows intruders easy
access to your computer without your knowledge. It changes
your system configurations or infects your computer with a
computer virus.
6. Turn off the computer or disconnect from network
Do this when you are not using the computer because intruders cannot attack your computer when it
is not turned on or if it is not connected to the Internet.Besides the precautions that you can do as
listed above, there are many software and programs available in the market that are useful in
protecting your computer. It includes:
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a) Anti-virus software
Also know as Antivirus. It helps to prevent, detect and remove malware
from your computer. It is a class of program that searches your hard
drive and floppy disks for any known or potential viruses.
b) Firewall
Fire wall is a device or set of devices designed to permit or
deny network transmissions based upon a set of rules and is
frequently used to protect networks from unauthorized access
while permitting legitimate communication to pass.
c) Anti-spyware
Spyware is a type of malware that can be installed on computers and
collects small pieces of information about users without their knowledge.
Thus, anti-spyware is a program designed to prevent and detect this
unwanted program and help remove those programs if installed.
12.3 SOFTWARE PIRACY
Software piracy can be defined as a work of copying and using commercial software purchased
by someone else. Software piracy is an illegal job, which can make one get behind bars if they get
caught. When one buy any software, automatically he or she will become a licensed user. Which also
allow you to make as many copies as you want of the program backup purposes, but it is against the
law to seamlessly give copies to friends or anyone you want.
Software piracy has starting to begin from the early 1960s. It was when the time where computer
programs were freely distributed with mainframe hardware by hardware manufacturers. While software
piracy issue has been fretted by all especially software manufacturers, the piracy has its varied ways
to success through end user piracy, unauthorized resale, internet piracy, counterfeit and cracking.
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TYPES OF SOFTWARE PIRACY
End User Piracy
This type of software piracy occurs when some user make additional copies of certain software
without authorization. Most created software are designed with license for the users when they have
afford one but in some company cases they seamlessly give access to their employees so that they can
make the best out of it. Certain people use the easy way by casually copy softwares between, especially
if the companies do not strictly monitor the number of licenses they have installed. End user piracy
happens when some companies provide their employees with grand access to certain software via a
server, which then allow those employees to download software, but not monitoring the number of copies
made. For some, license is not an obligatory object to have when one has so many software to manage
their work and leisure activities like Adobe Photoshop for an instance. End user piracy can also happen
when the passing of discs happening among friends or others that will then allow them to copy the
product without obtaining a license for them to do so.
Unauthorized Resale
Unauthorized piracy usually occurs when some irresponsible people make some copy of certain
software and distribute the package to different customers, for the sake of having profit. This software
package usually come in really cheap prices, which downrightly low than the normal price one can get in
stores. The cheap price of it surely make customers tempted to buy, with some serious persuasion from
the seller. But, although that one can have it in unbelievably affordable price, this software piracy of
unauthorized resale has its own drawbacks. One can identify the authenticity of software by checking its
serial number. Most bogus software has the same serial number with the other package. Secondly,
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unauthorized resale is lack of original documentation. This means that, it is not a complete set where the
documentation does not match the software version installed.
Internet Piracy
Internet can give you an access to buy authorized versions of its software for sale online, whether
one wants directly through the internet or via authorized distributors or resellers (for instance, Borland).
This is a mannered way to have something in one’s own, but there are also myriad of numerous
unauthorized operations on the internet that can give one access to have software one has desired
illegally. Firstly, there are pirate websites that are specifically made to make software available for free
download or in exchange for uploaded programs. For instance, download.com, torrent and ares. This
websites provides the web viewers to download from any kind of document. Secondly, peer to peer
transfer of software that enable unauthorized transfer of copyrighted programs. Internet piracy give major
detrimental influence to e-commerce whether one realise it or not.
Counterfeit
A type of software piracy that occurs when fake copies of software are produced in such a way that
they appear to be authentic. Counterfeit software would include the illegal copying and distribution
of commercial software on CD or DVD along with any accompanying manuals that the original legitimate
software was sold with. Counterfeit software is commonly produced using a CD burner to copy the
software and photocopies are made of the manual. Counterfeit software is usually sold at prices well
below that of the retail price of the legitimate software.
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12.4 HEALTH RISKS USING COMPUTERS
When we talk about computer, all we could think of what the device could help us with. From
communicating to conducting a business, the computer can do almost anything. But little that we know
that all these ‘tech-y’ lifestyle is actually killing our cells and torturing our body slowly. The man-made
machine is not a wonder after all. Today men are slaves of it. Not only them, teenagers also suffered from
this worrying environment.
Computer Vision Syndrome
Take this for a situation. A man working in an office spends more than half of the day using
computer to do most of his works. Then when he gets back home, he uses his computer for personal
purposes like watching videos or socializing. Roughly, the man eventually spends most of the entire day
in front of the computer. The bright lights from the screen actually contain harmful UV-rays that damage
our eyes and skin. Such symptoms like blurry vision, watery eyes, dry eyes, burning an itchy eyes, double
vision, visual fatigue as the tendency for you to blink is less. Focusing too much on something too long
will create a tunnel-like vision that limits your view and cause blurry vision when you try to look away from
the screen.
Not only that, dark circles will developed eventually around the eyes. To those who have migraine, it is
dangerous to stare at the screen for too long as they cannot stare at bright lights. Moreover, the statics
from the computer also damages our skin.
Why do not you take a few minutes away from the computer and look at things that are green in colour
and focus on distant objects to let you eyes rest. Blink your eyes more and keep a distance from the
screen. Stop using the computer and walk away for ten minutes to rest your tired eyes.
Musculoskeletal problems
"This is the first generation of children who have used computers from early childhood while their muscles and bones are developing. If we do not get knowledge quickly about how to use computers safely, then I think we will see a lot of children disabled from using computers." (Dr. Leon Straker)
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What happen today is that we are actually torturing our body silently as time goes by. Dr. Leon Straker, a
researcher in Australia said that the future is bleak for the children unless we do something to curb the
habit of using too much computer. What normally can be observed when people are using the computers
is that their body posture. Maybe not them, but what about ourselves? Poor alignment of the head, neck,
shoulder and back causes everlasting pain that affects your body from head to toe. Sure we do not
smoke and eat healthily, but leading a ‘tech-y’ lifestyle does not make you healthy at all. Basic health
hazard is not new to those who have computers. Such clerical based job may cause problems which can
be serious like Spondylitis, a common cause of back and neck pain and is essentially the result of an
inflammation of the vertebral joints.
Bad posture is the number one enemy. It often leads to pain in the lumbar region of the back as
we spend too much time blogging, working or simply reading. Besides that poor organization of
equipment on the desk like stretching for the telephone or files may also cause upper limb disorders like
Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), neck and shoulder problems as the shoulders are stiff.
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Make sure your position is perfectly relax and straight up rather than slouch. Use chair that
provide good supports to your back and not that high and low as this will put more pressure on your
hands. Avoid keeping your feet off the ground and do not feel lazy to adjust your chair according to your
needs and position. Your legs should be flat on the ground and parallel to your thighs as it could give
good support to your feet.
e-thrombosis
A newly recognized hazard that affects people who sit still for too long is attacking vigorously today. The
e-thrombosis is actually a disease where blood clots (thrombosis) due to prolonged sitting still in front of
the computer (e-) without moving the legs. It can be life threatening as the blood may can break up and
move up into the lungs, producing deadly results.
As the fatigue is in your limbs and all, all you need to do is just get up and walk around for thirty minutes
to get those legs work again. Do some light exercises like stretches and inhaling slowly through the nose
and exhaling through the mouth.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Long hours of typing and using the mouse can actually cause horrible effects to your wrists. This
can cause pain, numbness and tingling sensation in the arm, mostly in the thumb and index fingers which
by far the most dangerous as it can quickly lead to permanent incapacity. Researchers have found that
things like typing, using mouse and sewing can actually cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, a medical
condition when the nerves are compressed in the wrist. When we put our hands on the table, it is like
we block the main tunnel that connects everything. That is why this disease is serious.
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So what we can do is just simply squeeze tennis ball when you are not doing anything as it will do
wonders to your nerves and joints. Adjust your chair so that the keyboard and mouse are below your
elbows and wrists are leveled. Give your hands a rest or do simple exercises to stretch your joints.
Stress
A man in Korea died after playing Star Craft, a game for twenty hours straight, due to heart
failure. Another case involving a guy in Malaysia died after playing game for three days straight. What
common in both cases is that, both of them used computers too much. Here we could see clearly that
both of them suffered from too much stress as both of them did not stop to eat, drink and take a rest. Too
much bright lights and serious pressure on the brain as they need to think and process straight from the
computers caused the brain to malfunction and resulting death. Perfect examples to other people who like
to play games and spend too much time in front of the computers. High levels of stress can kill you! On
the other hand, some people are prone to eat too much when they are doing something. They just could
not stop eating! That is why obesity is another common problem in the society nowadays. Stress builds
up as we are no confident with ourselves and tend to run away from those who are around us. Eventually
we will feel all the pressure and think about killing ourselves. That is why computers can be considered as
a murder weapon as well.
Do not skip important meals and eat your meals away from the computer and make sure your
snacks are healthy food like fruits or low-fat yoghurt. Go out for a walk or bike with your friends and
socialize. Taking frequent breaks actually help your brain to relax more and get back on track.
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13.1 INTRODUCTION
New technologies are being developed day by day since the last few centuries. Technology is used
to fight diseases, monitor elections, teaching and learning, respond to disasters, transport people from
one place to another, and much more. In today's world, technology is constantly changing from a new
paperclip to an improvement in hospital machinery. Technology lets people improve the way they live.
Technology is significant in everyone's life because it doesn’t not only improve our life, but also makes
half our work done easily. By just reading this few facts and statistics, you would be amazed on how
technology has taken over our human life.
“Do you know, in 1999, only 8% of the world population had mobile phone subscriptions?
By 2007, it increases to 47% of the world population. But by today, more than 80% of the
world population is within mobile coverage!”
“Do you know, 700,000 new members are added to Facebook every day? That is roughly
the population of Guyana!”
“Children and teenagers age 8-18 spend more than 7 hours a day on the computers, smart
phones, television or other electronic device.”
“The internet reached 50 million users in just 5 years. It took TV 13 years and radio 38
years to reach the same number.”
“Over 210 billion emails are sent daily. That’s more than an entire year’s worth of regular
snail mail.”
Technology is defined as “the application of knowledge to extend human capabilities by
equipment or a technique for performing a particular activity”. Human life nowadays are very much
dependant on technology. Many of the items we are using nowadays are the result of technology. The
word technology comes from the Greek words of ”techne” which means “craft”. Therefore, technology
means the “scientific study of craft.”
FUTURE TRENDS CHAPTER
13
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13.2 FUTURE TRENDS OF COMPUTER HARDWARE As we can see, technology has rapidly evolved and improved day by day. New inventions are everyday
occurrences in the computer world.
Check out this new one-kind of a keyboard. It is called Glass
Keyboard designed by Kong Fanwen.This glass “no-key” keyboard is
a waterproof keyboard. The plan is to use a tiny camera with motion
capture technology that will track your fingers as you type. This is
however just an idea and a concept. Somehow, this will definitely
expected to find a market in the
future as the concept itself is
futuristic and amazing!
Here is another type of keyboard that will blow your mind;
the Virtual Laser Keyboard (VKB). It is a laser powered keyboard
and has infrared technology. It projects a full-size keyboard onto any
flat surface. As you type on the laser projection, detection
technology based on optical recognition enables the user to tap the
images of the keys which is connected to the compatible Bluetooth-
enabled devices like smart phones or even computer. It is completed
with realistic tapping sounds. It is smaller and more convenient than
the folding-type keyboards. It has similar responsiveness to regular
keyboards. The light weight device weighs two ounces and is similar
in size to a disposable cigarette lighter.
The third second item that is in the hot market in the future is
this USB Flash Drive Wrist Band. It is a fashionable and stylish mass
storage device. It is shockproof and moisture proof that you can wear
wherever you go and your data and information will be there
whenever you need. Now, you can literally bring your data
everywhere you go. For now, it is designed to have only 512MB flash
memory. But I believe somehow in the future, it will be improved
having a better quality and a bigger memory capacity. The idea and
concept is brilliant for people who always misplace their tiny USB
Pendrive.
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13.3 ELECTRONICS BOOKS
An electronic book (also e-book, ebook, digital book) is a text and image-based publication in
digital form produced on, published by, and readable on computers or other digital devices. Sometimes
the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital. The Oxford Dictionary of
English defines the e-book as "an electronic version of a printed book," but e-books can and do exist
without any printed equivalent. e-books are usually read on dedicated hardware devices known as e-
readers or e-book devices. Personal computers and some cell phones can also be used to read e-books.
Among the earliest general e-books were those in Project Gutenberg, in 1971. One early e-book
implementation was the desktop prototype for a proposed notebook computer, the Dynabook, in the
1970s: a general-purpose portable personal computer capable of displaying books for reading.
Early e-books were generally written for specialty areas and a limited audience, meant to be read
only by small and devoted interest groups. The scope of the subject matter of these e-books included
technical manuals for hardware, manufacturing techniques and other subjects. In the 1990s, the general
availability of the Internet made transferring electronic files much easier, including e-books.
There are over 2 million free books available for download as of August 2009. Mobile availability
of e-books may be provided for users with a mobile data connection, so that these e-books need not be
stored on the device. For students, an e-book can be offered indefinitely, without ever going "out of print".
In the space that a comparably sized print book takes up, an e-reader can potentially contain thousands
of e-books, limited only by its memory capacity. If space is at a premium, such as in a backpack or at
home, it can be an advantage that an e-book collection takes up little room and weight. With little weight,
students can now go to schools without having to burden their shoulders with those heavy bags full of
textbooks.
Besides that, e-book websites can include the ability to translate books into many different
languages, making the works available to students of languages not covered by printed translations.
Depending on the device, an e-book may be readable in low light or even total darkness. Many newer
readers have the ability to display motion, enlarge or change fonts, use Text-to-speech software to read
the text aloud for visually impaired, partially sighted, elderly or dyslectic students, search for key terms,
find definitions, or allow highlighting bookmarking and annotation. Devices that utilize E Ink can imitate
the look and ease of readability of a printed work while consuming very little power, allowing continuous
reading for weeks at time. All these features of e-book will surely help to ease students in difficult learning
situation and will eventually help them to learn better and smarter.
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13.4 WIRELESS NETWORKS IN THE SCHOOLS
Wireless networking is becoming common in many educational establishments across Malaysia
due to the increased flexibility it offers over a wired network with fixed computers. The major difference
between wireless and wired networks is that computer systems can be connected without the use of
cables in a wireless environment. Besides that, they can be moved around the school and used to access
the network in any location where the wireless coverage extends. This could be in any classroom, the
library, canteen, or even on the playing field. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) utilize radio
frequency transmissions to enable computers to communicate with the network and are typically used
with wireless devices such as notebooks and tablet PCs.Wireless access points are installed in the
location that the wireless network is to be used and these transmit the signal to computers accessing the
network. WLANs can be used without any connection to a wired network, but they usually form an
extension to it allowing users to roam freely.
Wireless networks differ from wired LANs in the same way that mobile phones differ from cabled
phones. A wireless network offers greater flexibility as it allows users to access the network in different
parts of the school as opposed to having to gain access from fixed locations. However, variations in
signal strength caused by physical obstructions, such as walls, or radio interference from other wireless
devices, cordless phones for example, can alter the user experience from location to location or at
different points in time. There will typically be only one or two computers sharing bandwidth on a home
based wireless network, whereas there will be many users accessing the network in a school. Where
there are numerous users accessing data at the same time, data transfer speeds will reduce as the
number of users increases. Data transfer speeds will be most affected during peak usage times such as
at the beginning of a lesson when pupils are logging onto the network.
The main advantages of wireless networking are an increased use of information and
communication technology (ICT) due to the flexibility wireless networking offers both in and out of the
classroom and the facilitation of independent learning. By bringing ICT into the classroom instead of
relocating pupils to the computer suite, teachers can ensure that the focus remains on the lesson content
and that the emphasis does not switch to the use of technology. Besides that, by remaining in the usual
classroom for a particular subject, pupils are in familiar surroundings and are able to use the notebooks
alongside their textbooks and other resources. Moreover, the use of a wireless network also enables
pupils to exploit opportunities beyond the classroom including working with computers individually in
places such as the library or the common room, Using mobile devices in areas where computers were not
previously available such as in the sports hall or in drama rooms and using notebooks outside in the
school grounds for science projects or on the sports field.
Implementing a wireless network can improve learning solutions within a school by offering many
efficiency gains such as all teachers can become competent and more confident with ICT as they are less
concerned about working with technology when using it in their own classroom instead of in a computer
suite, implementation of a wireless network can free computer suites for other users. Besides that,
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wireless networks with notebooks save space, which is a valuable commodity in most schools. All
computers owned by a school can be utilised for longer and spread around the school potentially
increasing the use of ICT across the curriculum. Moreover, computers can be taken to areas where
individual pupils need them, such as a special needs room and it Increases flexibility for teachers as they
can take all their learning resources with them on their notebook so that they have access to all their files
and information contained on the network wherever they are in the school. This means they can be more
efficient with their time.
13.5 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
DEFINITION OF AI
Before we go further into ‘artificial intelligence’ term, its meaning will be reviewed first. Basically,
artificial is something fake or non-natural while intelligence refers to brainpower or cleverness of the brain.
For both words, Artificial Intelligence (AI), it refers to a range of computer applications that are designed
to stimulate human intelligence and behavior. In other words, the system can engage on behaviors that
we as humans consider smart and brilliant. And the awesome thing is, researchers are creating systems
that will allow this smart machine to imitate human thought, understand speech and other actions. Thus,
our dream to have smart machines will come true through this AI programming techniques.
HISTORY OF AI
AI research is believed to start since ancient times but for our era, an English mathematician named
Alan Turing is the first person who carries out this research and the one who decides to perform AI
system through programming computers instead of building machines. He gave a lecture on it in 1947
and by the late 1950s, most of the AI researchers were doing their research about this AI system basing
on programming computers.
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In the summer of 1956, campus of Dartmouth College handled a conference of setting up the field of
AI research. By the middle of the 1960s, the Department of Defense completely supported all researches
in the U.S. and established laboratories around the world. One of the founders predicted and said that
within twenty years, it is not impossible to see this AI machines can do any work a man can do.
In the 1990s and early 21st century, AI achieved its greatest successes. It is finally used for logistics,
data mining, medical diagnosis and many other areas throughout the technology industry. The success
was believed due to several factors including the increasing computational power of computers, a greater
emphasis on solving specific sub problems, the creation of new ties between AI and other fields working
on similar problems, and also a new commitment by researchers to solid mathematical methods and
rigorous scientific standards.
BRANCHES OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Most things have their own division and field. Same goes to this AI program. There are several
branches of it. One of them is logical AI which relating specific actions to appropriate situations in order
to achieve great goals of working on it.
The second one is a search. It is done by continually discovering the efficiency of examining
large numbers of possibilities in taking out actions.
The third branch may relate to pattern recognition. Its task is comparing things that have been
observed before with some pattern of different methods of recognition. A vision program for instance, will
try to use a matching method by matching a sample of eyes and nose in a situation given in order to find
and recognize a face.
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Other than that, learning from experience can also be useful in AI system. It is actually based
on connectionism and neural nets specialize in that which means, it can only learn what facts or attitudes
that can be represented.
Next, planning also can be included in the branches of AI. It starts planning with general facts
about the world especially facts about the effects of actions; and also specific facts about particular
situation and a statement of a goal. By planning these programs, they can produce a strategy in order to
achieve the goal.
Epistemology is a study of the origin, nature and limits of human knowledge which are required
in solving problems in the world. Quite similar to epistemology, AI system also includes ontology as its
branch which studies the metaphysics that deals with the nature of existence. It means, it studies the
things that only exist, dealing with objects for instance, it then will find out what the objects are and what
their basic assets are. Actually, there are more branches of this AI system but we only manage to come
out with those branches above.
APPLICATION OF AI
There are several applications of this AI program. The main areas promoted including game
playing, robotics, speech recognition, and understanding natural language.
Currently, no computers are able to display full artificial intelligence which means, not able to
imitate human behavior and for the greatest advance till recent years, computers programs only manage
to be applied in the field of games playing. It is like programming computers to play games such as
chess and checkers. For our information, the best computer chess programs are now capable of beating
humans. In May, 1997, an IBM super-computer called Deep Blue defeated world chess champion Gary
Kasparov in a chess match.
The second application is robotics which focuses on programming computers to see and hear
and react to other sensory stimuli. In the area of robotics, computers are now widely used in assembly
plants, but they are capable only of very limited tasks. Robots have great difficulty identifying objects
based on appearance or feel, and they still move and handle objects clumsily.
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There are also speech recognitionsystems in AI applications. This application is like
programming computers to recognize human languages. They can convert spoken sounds into written
words, but they do not understand what they are writing in which they simply take dictation. Thus, we
must speak slowly and distinctly to them. In the 1990s, computer speech recognition reached a practical
level for limited purposes. Thus United Airlines for instance, has replaced its keyboard tree for flight
information by a system using speech recognition of flight numbers and city names, which are more
convenient.
While for understanding natural-language processing, it offers the greatest potential rewards
because it would allow people to interact with computers without needing any specialized knowledge. We
could simply walk up to a computer and talk to it. Unfortunately, programming computers to understand
natural languages has proved to be more difficult than originally thought. Some rudimentary translation
systems that translate from one human language to another are in existence, but they are not nearly as
good as human translators.
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13.6 VIRTUAL REALITY
What is actually the meaning of ‘Virtual Reality’? It involved several aspects to define it. Virtual Reality
can be define as a stimulation in which computer graphics is used to create a realistic-looking world, in
terms of its functionality. Moreover this world is not static and will function as people did command.there
is another definition given by Hofstetter in his book, Multimedia Literacy. He said that Virtual Reality or
also known as VR refers to the ‘use of a computer to immerse the user into a simulated experience so
authentic it seems real.
Back then, the word ‘virtual’ was really exposed in English language. However, today, we already
have virtual universities, virtual offices, virtual pets and etc. This shows that how quick we advanced
ourselves in developing more and more inventions of technologies. We have almost all the needs to
create the virtual environment. It is all because of this Virtual Reality.
History
Some says that this ‘Virtual Reality’ was started to be used in 1990s. Is it true? By surfing the internet, we
could find that, the actual period of this era began was the late 1950s. At that time, even the computers
were not a usual thing for the ordinary people to own. However, at this time, the words ‘Virtual Reality’
already exist and people already start to invent something that can make others live easily through this
new technology.
The thought of virtual reality has been around when Ivan Sutherland expressed his ideas of
creating virtual or imaginary worlds. He conducted experiments with three dimensional displays. In 1969,
he developed the first system to surround people in three dimensional displays of information. Between
the '70's and late '80's, the concept of virtual reality was mainly used by the United States. The military
used it as flight simulators to train pilots. The other countries in the world did not show any interest in this
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technology until the late 1980's. Since then, virtual reality has developed in many ways to become an
emerging technology of our time.
The Effects of Virtual Reality
Some experts believe that the possibilities of virtual reality make it a good tool for education
because it allows children to learn in a more interactive environment where they are more likely to retain
information. They also believe it is useful for children with autism, because it can help them learn social
cues and transfer learned skills to real world situations. Virtual reality exposure can also help lower
anxiety levels in children undergoing difficult procedures like chemotherapy.
While virtual reality has some benefits, it also has some negative social, psychological and
physical effects. Socially, virtual reality is a good forum for people who have difficulty socializing, but
there is a danger in encountering untrustworthy individuals online. Physically, too much time spent in
virtual environments can lead to obesity, eye strain, seizure activity and increases in electrical activity in
the muscles and sweat glands.
One of the most troubling effects of children spending too much time in virtual environments is the
formation of false memories and the inability to distinguish experiences in virtual reality from reality.
Children believe that they have actually participated in activities that occur in the virtual worlds. This
phenomenon can affect teenagers and adults as well.
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13.7 TECHNOLOGY CLASSROOM
All of us know that technology has certainly changed the way we live. It has impacted the different
facets of life and redefined living. Undoubtedly, technology plays an important role in every sphere of life.
Several mundane manual tasks can be automated, thanks to technology. Also, there are many of the
complexes and critical processes can be carried out with ease and efficiency with the help of modern
technology. The positive effects of technology makes the fields of education and industry have undergone
a major change and sure, they have changed for the better.
Internet technology and the computers have revolutionized the field of education. So, the
importance of technology in schools cannot be ignored. In fact, with the onset of computers in education,
it has become easier for the teachers to render knowledge and for the students to grasp it. The computer
technology is used to add a fun-element to education. And it goes without saying that the Internet has
endowed education with interactivity.
Furthermore, the computers offer many of an interactive audio-visual media. PowerPoint
presentations and animation software are also can be used to render information to the students in an
interactive manner and also do not forget the visual effects provided by the animation and presentation
software can invite greater interest from the students. Moreover, these softwares serve as visual aids to
the teachers. Overhead projectors and screens facilitate a simultaneous viewing of information by a large
number of students. These audio-visual teaching aids have brought about marked improvements in
student attendance and attentiveness. Interactive media have proven to be useful in enhancing the
concentration levels of students. This underlines the importance of computer teaching against textbooks.
The web is a huge information base and the Internet can be used an effective tool for acquiring
knowledge. All a web user needs to do is to key in search queries to search engines, which are prompt to
present him/her with millions of search results. There are several informative websites and web
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directories that offer information on a wide variety of subjects. Students can use the Internet to gain all
additional information they need to enhance their knowledge base.
Today, computer education is a one of school and college curricula. Considering the wide range
of applications of the computer technology, it is necessary for each one of us to befriend computers.
Considering the advantages of the Internet technology, it is important for each of us to gain a basic
knowledge of Internet access and connectivity. We live in a technology-age and hence, it is extremely
important for us to introduce ourselves to the new inventions and discoveries that have made a difference
to our daily life.
Why use technology?
Importance of Technology in the Classroom
The Teacher Can Have Active Participation of Students
When students are learning through technology, they are themselves looking for information on
the Internet. They make their own decisions regarding the information i.e. whether it is relevant or
irrelevant. They have control over how to use or present this information. Thus, one of the main benefits
of using technology for classrooms is that unlike a teacher-led classroom, where students passively
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receive whatever information the teacher is providing, in tech savvy classrooms, students are active
participants.
Students can Acquire In-depth Knowledge
By using the Internet technology, obtaining information on all kinds of subjects has become very
easy. A student sitting in his classroom can learn how people in a small village in Africa live life. Thus,
Internet is a kind of library which is at the disposal of a student with just a click. A student can acquire in-
depth knowledge on any subject using this vast resource.
Can Give The Students Real-life Work Experience
The importance of technology in the classroom can be gauged from the fact that it offers an
experience to students similar to the working environment that one sees in offices. In technology savvy
classrooms, a teacher acts as a facilitator who sets project goals for the students and provides them with
the necessary resources and guidelines to reach those goals. The student himself makes decisions with
regards to the design choices, the information he wants to use and display, the resources that he will use.
You may read more on the importance of science and technology. Moreover, these days, students
themselves are very tech savvy and may sometimes even know more than the teacher himself. So, there
is a constant exchange of information between the students and the teachers. Such an environment
prepares a student to work in business organizations in the future.
Can Increase Motivation
Researches have shown that there is great importance of integrating technology in the
classroom. When students are taught through slide shows or by showing films, it makes the lessons very
easy and interesting for them. It helps in their learning, at the same time motivates them to attend school
everyday. Thus, another importance of technology in schools is that it brings down the drop-out rates.
Can Increase Technical Skills
Using computers on a daily basis can help the students in developing an understanding of the
various computer tools and softwares. This kind of education prepares the students and makes it easier
for them to learn about the various software applications in future.
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Negative Effects of Using Technology in Today's Classroom
Classroom teachers are using technology in the classroom more frequently than ever before.
According to the United States National School Boards Association, students who are exposed to a high
volume of technology perform as well as expected on standardized test, however technology can
potentially do students a disservice if used inappropriately. When teaching using technology, instructors
must be aware of the potential hindrances technology can bring to the learning process. Some negative
effects of technology in today's classroom are that it can take away valuable learning time, it can be
overused, and it can also turn educational experiences into games for students.
Takes Away Learning Time
In today's classroom, teachers are pressed to make every minute count. If the teacher and students are
not experienced with technology in the classroom, valuable time is often wasted on technical troubles. In
addition, the teacher faces the difficulty of having a class full of students who are all at different skill
levels. In many schools, most students will have a computer and Internet access, but schools that are
located in impoverished areas may have a large portion of their student body with little to no computer
experience. While it is important to educate these children in technology, it must be done at a pace that
meets every individual's needs or more learning time will be wasted.
Overuse
In some classrooms technology is overused. This can lead to a variety of problems. Many
students learn best by physically and mentally interacting with what they are studying. If most of the
teaching is done using a computer, these students' needs are not being met. Technology should be used
to supplement the classroom curriculum, but should not be used as the sole source of learning.
Game Mentality
One problem that many classroom teachers face is that students often use computers primarily
for games. Because of this, many students associate computers and technology with game playing.
Though some teachers can use this to their advantage, if this issue is not addressed, some students may
get distracted and off task quickly.
Technology Activities for the Classroom
As everyone knows technology is naturally intriguing to many students. The uncommon
opportunities that readily available technology affords students provide exciting project options. Students
can use technology to do everything from presentations to movies. By allowing students to use
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technology while completing classroom projects, teachers can increase student engagement and add
excitement to their everyday lessons. These are the examples of fun activities that can do in the
technology classroom :
Create Claymation Movie
Claymation movies use stop-action animation to bring a clay figure to life. The teacher can allow
the students to experience the thrill and practice the patience associated with creating a
claymation movie. After that divide students into groups and give each group a digital camera.
Help them position the camera so that it stays stationary during the entire shoot. Then instruct
students to create a simple clay character.
To make their movie, students place the character in the scene and quickly start then stop
recording. Students then move the character a fraction of an inch, then start and stop recording
again. Filming continues in this fashion until the character has successfully been moved from one
position to another across the scene. Teachers can connect the activity to a book or a historical
event, allowing students to make a mini-movie that illustrates their understanding of the
information.
Create Music Video
The teacher can allow students to learn through music. After teaching a lesson, divide students
into groups and instruct them to compose a song that illustrates some of the key concepts of the
lesson. Once students have composed and practiced their songs, provide them with a digital
camera and allow them to create a music video. You may want to caution students to remain
school-appropriate and not imitate some of the risque moves that they see on TV.
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After that, allow students time to capture all of their footage, then help the students download the
film onto a computer and use a movie-making program such as iMovie or Windows Movie Maker
to edit the footage. Have a classroom wrap party, and allow students to screen all of their video
creations.
Create Picture Book
The other activity that can use by the teacher is providing the students with the opportunity to
practice basic writing and publishing skills through the creation of a picture book. The teacher can
equip each student with a digital camera, and allow them to venture out into the grounds that
surround the school. Instruct them to take pictures that tell a story. Tell them that they can
photograph an animal, and then make up a tale about the creature, or get their friends involved
and have them act as characters in their book. This is because once the students have captured
all of their images, download them onto the computer it also can help the students place one
image on each page of a word-processing document, and add accompanying text to produce a
picture book.
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13.8 IMPLICATIONS OF COPYRIGHTS FOR EDUCATION
Copyright refers to the ‘legal right granted to an author, a composer, a playwright, a publisher, or
a distributor to exclusive publication, production, sale or distribution of a literary, musical, dramatic or
artistic work.’ For educational purposes, educators are allowed to use materials as they are protected
under the policy of ‘fair use’. To determine whether a use is fair requires consideration of four factors.
Those factors, codified in Section 107 of the Copyright Act, are
When evaluating a particular use of copyrighted materials in relation to those four factors, you should ask yourself the following questions regarding
1. the purpose and character of the use:
Does the new work transform the original work or offer something beyond the original?
Copyrighted works that are altered significantly are more likely to be considered fair use.
Is the use for nonprofit or educational purposes? Copyrighted works used for nonprofit or
educational purposes are more likely to be considered fair use.
2. the nature of the copyrighted work:
the purpose and character of the use,
including whether such use is of a
commercial nature or is for nonprofit
educational purposes
the amount and substantiality of
the portion used in relation to the
copyrighted work as a whole
the nature of the copyrighted
work
the effect of the use upon the potential
market for or value of the copyrighted
work
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Is the copyrighted work published or unpublished? Published works are more likely to be
considered fair use.
Is the original work out of print? Out of print works are more likely to be considered fair
use.
Is the copyrighted work factual or creative? Factual works are more likely to be
considered fair use.
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole:
Is the amount of the original work used reasonable? The smaller the percentage of the
work used, the more likely it is to qualify as fair use.
Is the section of the original work used the most important part of the work? The less
significant the portion of the work used, the more likely it is to be considered fair use.
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work:
Does the new work appeal to the same audience as the original work? Copyrighted
works that are used for another purpose or designed to appeal to a different audience are
more likely to be considered fair use.
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Computer Acronyms
Acronym Description
ARPA Advanced Research Project Agency
ARPANET Advanced Research Projects Agency network
BD-R Blu-ray Disc Recordable
BD-RE Blu-ray Disc Rewriteable
BD-ROM Blue-ray Disc Read Only Memory
CAD Computer-Aided Design
CD Compact Disc
CD-R Compact Disc – Recordable
CD-ROM Compact Disc Read Only Memory
CD-RW Compact Disc – Rewritable
DDR SDRAM Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
DV Camera Digital Video Camera
DVD Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc
EEPROM Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory
e-mail Electronic Mail
ENIAC Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer
Fyi For your information
GB Gigabytes
GBps Gigabytes per second
GIF Graphic Interchange Format
GUI Graphical User Interface
HTML Hypertext Markup Language
http Hypertext Transfer Protocol
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
IMDb Internet Movie Database
KB Kilobyte
Kbps Kilobytes per second
LAN Local Area Network
Mac OS Macintosh Operating System
MAN Metropolitan Area Network
MB Megabyte
MBps Megabytes per second
MHz Megahertz
MMS Multimedia Message Service
Modem Modulate demodulate
MP3 Moving Pictures Experts Group Audio layer 3 (MPEG-3)
MPEG Moving Pictures Experts Group
netiquette Internet etiquette
OMR Optical Mark Recognition
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OS Operating System
OSP Online Service Provider
PB Petabytes
PC Personal Computer
PDA Personal Digital Assistant
PDF Portable Document Format
PIN Personal Identification number
Pixel Picture Element
RAM Random Access Memory
ROM Read Only Memory
RSS 2.0 Really Simple Syndication
SAN Storage Area Network
SDRAM Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
SMS Short Message Service
SOHO Small Office/Home Office
UPS Uninterruptible Power Supply
URL Uniform Resource Locator
VPN Virtual Private Network
VR Virtual Reality
W3C World Wide Web Consortium
Wi-Fi Wireless Fidelity
WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
WMA Windows Media Audio
WPA Wi-Fi Protected Access
YB YottaByte
ZB Zettabyte
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A Terms Definitions
AC Adapters External power supply, used by some external peripherals, that converts AC
power into DC power that the peripherals required.
Examples:
Accurate information Information that is error free.
ActiveX Set of object-oriented technologies by Microsoft that allows components on a
network to communicate with one another.
Add-On
Program that extends the capability of a browser; often used to enhance
multimedia.
Address Unique number that identifies the location of a byte in memory.
Adware Program that displays on online advertisement in a banner or pop-up window on
web pages, e-mail, or other Internet services
Examples:
Adware Remover Program that detects and deletes adware from a user’s computer.
Air mouse Motion sensing mouse that, in addition to the typical buttons, allows you to
control objects, media players, and slides show by moving the mouse in
predetermined direction through air.
Examples:
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Allocation unit Smallest unit of disc space that stores data and information.
Anti-spam program Program that attempts to remove spam before it reaches a user’s inbox.
Antivirus program Program that protects a computer against viruses by identifiying and removing
any computer viruses found in memory, on storage media or on incoming files.
Examples:
Application generator Program that creates source code or machine code from a specification of the
required functionality
Application software Program designed to make users more productive and/or assist them with
personal tasks.
Examples:
Artificial intelligences (AI) The application of human intelligence to computers
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Examples:
ARPA Advanced Research Project Agency; agency of U.S Department of Defence
that built an early computer network called ARPANET.
Audio Music, speech or any other sound.
Audio editing software Application software that allows a user to modify audio clips, produce studio
quality sound- track and add audio to video clips.
Examples:
Audio input Process of entering any sound, such as speech, music, and sound effect, into
the computer.
Audio output device Component of a computer that produces music, speech, or other sounds such as
beeps.
Examples:
Authentication Access control that verifies an individual is the person he or she claims to be.
Automatic update Operating system feature that automatically provides update to a program.
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B Terms Definitions
Back door Program or set of instructions in a program that allow users to bypass security
control when accessing program, computer, or network.
Back up To make a copy of selected files or an entire hard disc to another storage
medium.
Bandwidth The amout of data, instructions, and information that can travel over a
communication channel.
Bar code Identification code consisting of either vertical lines and spaces of different
width or a two-dimensional pattern of dots, squares, and other images that
represent a manufacturer and an item.
Example:
Bar code reader Optical reader that uses laser beams to read bar codes by using light patterns
that pass through the bar code lines.
Examples:
Binary system Number system used by computers that has just two unique digits, 0 and 1.
Biometric device Device that translates a personal characteristic into a digital code that is
compared with digital code stored in a computer.
Examples:
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Biometric identifier Physiological or behavioral characteristic such as finger-prints, hand geometry,
facial feature, voice, signature and eye patterns.
Bit The smallest unit of data a computer can process. Bit is short for binary digit.
Blog software Software needed by blogger to create/maintain a blog.
Blogosphere Worldwide collection of blog.
Bluetooth Network standard, specifically a protocol, that defines how two Bluetooth
devices use short range radio waves to transmit data.
Blu-ray Disc-ROM Newer, expensive type of DVD with storage capacities of 100GB, with
expectation of exceeding 200GB in the future.
Examples:
Broadband High-speed Internet connection provided through cable, DSL, fiber, radio
signals or satellite.
Broadband modem Digital model that sends and receives digital data over the cable television
network.
Examples:
Browser Application software that allow users to access and view Web pages.
Examples:
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Bugs Program errors
Burning Process of writing on an optical disc
Bus network Type of network topology in which a single central cable connects all computers
and other devices.
Button Graphical element that is activated to course a specific action to occur
Example:
Byte Eight bits that are grouped together as a unit. A byte provides enough
different combinations of 0s and 1s to represent 256 individual characters.
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C Terms Definitions
Cache Area of memory that stores the contents of frequently used data or
instructions.
Camera phone Phone that can send picture messages.
Examples:
Capacity Number of bytes a storage medium can hold.
Card reader/writer Device that reads and writes data, instructions and information stored on
flash memory card.
Examples:
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) Inflammation of the nerve that connects the forearm to the palm of the
wrist.
Examples:
Cathode-ray tube (CRT) Large, sealed glass tube whose front, the screen, is coated with dots of
red, green and blue phosphor materials.
Examples:
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CD-R Multisession optical disc on which users can write but not erase their
items such as text, graphic, audio etc.
CD-ROM Type of optical disc that uses laser technology to store data, instructions,
and information that users can read but not write on or erase.
CD-ROM drive Drive that can read CD-ROM discs and sometimes audio CDs
Examples:
CD-RW Erasable multisession optical disc on which users can write data,
instructions, and information multiple times.
CD-RW drive Drive that can read real audio CDs, standard CD-ROMs, Cd-Rs, CD-RWs
and can write on, or record, Cd-RWs.
Cell Intersection of a column and a row in a worksheet.
Central Processing Unit (CPU) Electronic component on a computer’s motherboard that interprets and
carries out the basic instructions that operates the computer.
Examples:
Character A number, letter, punctuation mark, or other symbol that is represented
by a single byte in the ASCII and EBCDIC coding scheme.
Chat room Location on the Internet server that permits users to chat with each
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other.
Examples:
Chip Small piece of semiconducting material, usually silicon, on which integrated
circuits are etched.
Examples:
Click The act of moving the mouse pointer to a button and then pressing and
releasing a button on the mouse (Usually the left mouse button).
Clip art Collection of electronic drawing, photos, and other images.
Examples:
Clipboard Temporary storage location for document content that is used in cutting
and pasting or copying and pasting operations.
Cloud computing Internet service that provides computing needs to computer users.
Cluster Smallest unit of disc space that stores data and information.
Coaxial cable A single copper wire surrounded by at least three layers: (1) an insulting
material, (2) a woven or braided metal, and (3) a plastic outer coating.
Examples:
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Code Programming term meaning to write.
Code of conduct Written guidelines that help determine whether a specific computer
action is ethical or unethical.
Example:
Collaborate Work online with other users connected to a server.
Collaborative software Software that includes tools that enable user to share documents via
online meetings and communicate with other connected user.
Column Term used by users of relational databases for field.
Communication Process in which two or more computers or devices transfer data,
instructions and information.
Communication device Hardware component that enables a computer to send (transmit) and
receive data, instructions and information to and from one or more
computers.
Computer Electronic device, operating under the control of instructions stored in its
own memory, that can accept data, process the data, produce results, and
store the results for future use.
Examples:
Computer addiction Growing health problem that occurs when the computer consumes
someone’s entire social life.
Computer crime Any illegal act involving a computer.
Examples:
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Computer literacy Having a current knowledge and understanding of computers and their
uses.
Computer vision syndrome Eyestrain due to prolonged computer usage.
Examples:
Computer-aided design (CAD)
software
Sophisticated type of application software that assists a professional
user in creating engineering, architectural, and scientific design.
Examples:
Computer based training (CBT) Type of education in which students learn by using and completing
exercises with instructional software. Also called computer aided
instruction (CAI).
Examples:
Content aggregator Business that gathers and organized Web content and then distributes, or
feeds, the content to subscribers for free or a fee.
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Control unit Component of a processor that directs and coordinates most of the
operations in the computer.
Examples:
Cookie Small text file that a Web server stores on a computer.
Copyright Exclusive right given to authors and artists to duplicate, publish and sell
their materials.
Cordless keyboard Battery powered keyboard that transmits data using wireless technology,
such as radio waves or infrared light waves.
Cordless mouse Battery powered mouse that transmits data using wireless technology,
such as radio waves or infrared light waves.
Cracker Someone who access a computer or network illegal with the intent of
destroying data, stealing information, or other malicious action.
Crimeware Software used by cybercriminals.
Cross-platform Program that runs the same on multiple operating system.
Cursor Symbol on a computer screen, usually a blinking vertical bar, that indicates
where the next character a user type will appear.
Custom sofware Software that perform functions specific to a business or industry,
developed by a user or at a user’.
Cybercafé Coffehouse, restaurant, or other lacation that provides personal
computers with Internet access to its customers.
Examples:
Cybercrime Online or Internet based illegal acts.
Cyberextortionist Someone who uses e-mail as a vehicle for extortion.
Cyberforensics The discovery, collection, and analysis of evidence found on computers and
networks.
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D Data Collection of unprocessed items, which can include text, numbers, images,
audio, and video.
Data processing Term used to refer to the function of computerized transaction
processing system.
Data projector Output device that takes the text and images displaying on a computer
screen and projects them on a larger screen so that an audience can see
the image clearly.
Database Collection of data organized in a manner allows access, retrieval, and use
of that data.
Database management system (DBMS): Program that allows user to create a computerized database;
add, modify, and delete data in database , sort and retrieve data from the
database; and create forms and reports from the data in the database.
Database sofware Application software used to create, access, and manage a database; add,
change, and delete data in the database; sort and retrieve data from the
database; and create forms and report using the data in the database.
Examples:
Dead code Any program instructions that a program never executes.
Debugger Utility that assists programmers with identifying syntax errors and
finding logic errors.
Debugging Process of locating and correcting syntax and logic errors in a program.
Defragmenting Reorganizing a disk so that the files are stored in contiguous sectors, thus
speeding up disk access and the performance of the entire computer.
Denial of service attack Assault on a computer or network whose purpose is to disrupt computer
access to an Internet service such as the Web or e-mail.
Desktop On-screen work area that has a graphical user interface.
Desktop computer Computer designed so the system unit, input devices, output devices, and
any other devices fit entirely on or under a desk or table.
Examples:
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Desktop publishing (DTP) Application software used by professional designers to create
sophisticated documents that can contain text, graphics, and many colors.
Examples:
Developer Person who writes and modifies computer programs.
Device driver Small program that tells an operating system how to communicate with a
specific device.
Dialog box Special window that provides information , presents available options, or
request a response.
Examples:
Dial-up modem Communications device that can convert digital signals to analog signals
and analog signals to digital signals , so that data can travel along on analog
telephone line.
Examples:
Digital certificate A notice that guarantees a user or a Web site is legitimate.
Example:
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Digital modem Communications device that sends and receives data and information to
and from a digital line.
Examples:
Digital pen Input device that allows users to write or draw on the screen by pressing
the pen and issue instructions to a Tablet PC by tapping on the screen.
Examples:
Digital signature Encrypted code that a person, Web site, or organization attaches to an
electronic message to verify the identity of the message sender.
Example:
Digital versatile disc-read-only Extremely high capacity optical disc on which users can read, but not
write or erase, that is capable of storing 4.7 GB of data.
Examples:
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Digital video (DV) cameras Video camera that records video as digital signals instead of as analog
signals.
Examples:
Disc burning sofware Utility program that writes text graphics, audio, and video files to a
recordadble or rewriteable CD, DVD, or Blu-ray Disc.
disk cache Memory chips on a hard disk that store frequently accessed items such as
data, instruction, and information. Sometime called a buffer.
Disk cleanup Utility that searches for and removes unnescessary files.
Disk defragmenter Utility that reorganizeds the files and unused space on computer’s hard
disk so that the operating system accesses data more quickly and
programs run faster.
Display Output device that visually conveys text, graphics, and video information.
Display device Output device that visually conveys text, graphics, and video information.
Distance Learning (DL) Delivery of education at one lacation while the learning takes place at
other lacations.
Domain name Text version of an IP address.
Dot-matrix printer Type of impact printer that produces printed images when tiny wire pins
on a print head mechanism strike an inked ribbon.
Download Which digital cameras, refers to transferring a copy of images from the
digital camera to the computer’s hard disk.
Downloading Process of a computer receiving information, such as Web page, from a
server on the Internet.
Downtime Any time a computer crashes, needs repairs, or requires installation of
replacement or upgrade parts.
Driver Small program that tells an operating system how to communicate with
specific device.
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E Earphones Audio ouput device that rests inside the ear canal.
Examples:
Educational sofware Application software that teaches a particular skill/topic.
Examples:
E-learning Short for electronic learning; delivery of education via some electronic
method such as the Internet, networks, or optical discs.
Electronic magazine Publication available on the Web.
Examples:
Electronic mail The transmission of message and files via a computer network.
Examples:
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E-mail Short for electronic mail; the transmission of message and files via a
computer network.
Examples:
E-mail address Combination of a user name and a domain name that identifies a user so
that he or she can receive Internet e-mail.
Examples:
E-mail spoofing Spoofing that occurs when the sender’s address or other components of
the e-mail header are altered so that it appear the e-mail originated from
a different sender.
Embedded computer Special purpose computer that functions as a component in a larger
product.
Example:
Emoticons Symbols used on the Internet to express emotion.
Examples:
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Encryption The process of encoding data and information to an unreadable form.
Encryotion key Set of characters that the originator of the encrypted data uses to
encrypt the plaintext and the recipient of the data uses to decrypt the
ciphertext.
End- user license agreement
(EULA)
License agreement included with software purchased by individual users.
ENERGY STAR program Program developed by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and
the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help reduce
the amount of electricity used by computers and related device.
Enhanced keyboard Keyboard that has twelve functions keys along the top; two Control (CTRL)
keys and two Alternate (ALT) keys along the bottom; and a set of keys
between the typing area and the numeric keypad.
Example:
Ergonomic keyboard Keyboard whose design reduce the chance of wrist or hand injuries.
Examples:
Ergonomics The science of incorporating comfort, efficiency, and safety into the
design of the workplace.
Examples:
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Expansion card Circuit board that enhances functions of a component of a system unit
and/or provides connections to peripherals.
Examples:
External bay Drive bay that allows users to access openings in the day bay from outside
the system unit.
Example:
External hard disk Separate free standing hard disk that connects with a cable to a USB
port or FireWire port on the system unit.
Examples:
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F Face recognition system Biometric device that captures a live face image and compares it with
store image to determine if the person is a legitimate user.
Examples:
Feasibility Measure of how suitable the development of a system will be to the
company.
Feasibility study Investigation that determines the exact nature of a problem or
improvement and decides whether it is worth pursuing.
Fiber-optic cable Dozens or hundreds of thin strands of glass or plastic that use light to
transmit signals.
Examples:
File compression utility Utility program that shrinks the size of a file(s), so that the file takes up
less storage space than the original file.
Examples:
File manager Utility that performs function related to file management.
Fingerprint reader Biometric device that captures curves and indentations of a fingerprint
and compares them with those of a stired image.
Firewall Hardware and/or sofawre that protects a network’s resources from
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intrusion by users on another network such as the Internet.
Fixed disk Name sometimes given to the hard disk mounted inside a system unit.
Flash Web page authoring program by Adobe System that enables Web
developers to combine interactive content with text, graphics, audio, and
video.
Flash memory Type of nonvolatile memory that can be erased electronically and
rewritten.
Example:
Flatbed scanner Type of lightsensing input device that scans a document and creates a file
of document in memory instead of a paper copy.
Examples:
Flat-panel display Display device with a shallow depth and flat screen that typically uses LCD
or gas plasma technology.
Example:
Folder Specific named location on a storage medium that contains related
documents.
Font Named assigned to a specific design of characters.
Examples:
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Font size Size of the characters in a particular font.
Examples:
Font style Font design, such as bold, italic, and underline, that can add emphasis to a
font.
Examples:
Footer Text that appears at the bottom of each page of a document.
Formula Expression used to perform calculations on the data in a worksheet and
display the resulting value in a cell.
Examples:
Freeware Copyrighted software provided at no cost to a user by an individual or
company that retains all rights to the software.
Examples:
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FTP File Transfer Protocol; an Internet standart that permits file uploading
and downloading with other computers on the Internet.
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G Gadget Mini-program with limited functionality that connects to another program
or provides information.
Examples:
Game console Mobile computing device designed for single player or multiplayer video
games.
Examples:
Gant chart Bar chart developed by Henry L. Gantt that uses horizontal bars to show
project phases or activities.
Garbage in, garbage out Computing phrase that points out the accuracy of a computer’s output
depends on the accuracy of the input.
GBps Gigabytes per second.
GIF Graphical Interchange Format: Graphics format that uses compression
techniques to reduce file sizes.
Gigabyte (GB) Approximately 1 billion bytes.
Global positioning system (GPS) Navigation system that consist of one or more earthbased receivers that
accept and analyze signals sent by satellites in order to determine the
receiver’s geographic location.
Google android Operating system designed by Google for mobile device.
Graphic Digital representation of non text information such as a drawing, chart, or
photo.
Graphical user interface (GUI) Type of user interface that allows a user to interact with software using
text,graphics, and visual images, such as icons.
Examples:
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Green computing Practices that involve reducing the electricity consumed and
environmental waste generated when using a computer.
Groupware Software that helps groups of people work together on projects and
share information over a network.
Examples:
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H Hacker Someone who accesses a computer or network illegally.
Handheld computer Computer small enough to fit in one hand.
Examples:
Handwriting recognition software Software that translates handwritten letters and symbols into characters
that a computer or device can process.
Examples:
Hard copy Printed information that exist physically and is a more permanent from of
output than that presented on a display device (soft copy).
Hard disk Type of storage device that contains one or more inflexible, circular
platters that use magnetic particles to store data, instructions, and
information.
Examples:
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Hard disk drive Type of storage device that contains one or more inflexible, circular
platters that use magnetic particles to store data, instructions, and
information.
Examples:
Hardware Electric, electronic, and mechanical components contained in a computer.
Examples:
Hardware theft The act of stealing computer equipment.
Examples:
Hardware vandalism The act of defacing or destroying computer equipment
Examples:
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Hibernate Operating system function that saves any open documents and programs
to a hard disk before removing power from the computer.
HTML Hypertext Markup Language; special formatting language that
programmers use to format documents for display on the Web.
Hub The device that provides a common central connection points for nodes on
a network.
Hyperlink Built-in connection to a specific element within a document.
hypermedia Web page content consisting of text-based links combined with graphic,
audio, and video links.
Hypertext Term that refers to link in text-based documents.
Hypertext Markup Language Special formatting language that programmers use to format documents
for display on the Web.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol A set of rules that defines how pages transfer on the Internet.
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I Icon Small image displayed on a computer screen that represents a program, a
document, or some other object.
Examples:
Illustration software Application software that allows users to draw pictures, shapes, and other
graphical images with various on screen tool.
Examples:
Image editing software Application software that provides the capabilities of paint software and
also includes the capability to enhance and modify existing images and
picture.
Examples:
Image viewer Utility that allows users to display, copy, and print the contents of a
graphics file, such as a photo.
Index Search utility feature that stores a variety of information about a file,
including its name, date created, date modified, outhor name, and so on.
Information Processed data that conveys meaning and is useful to people.
Information processing cycle Series of input, process, output, and storage activities performed by a
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computer.
Information system Hardware, software, data, people, and procedures that a computer
requires to generate information.
Information theft Computer security risk that occurs when someone steals personal or
confidential information.
Ink-jet printer Type of nonimpact printer that forms characters and graphics by
sparaying tiny drops of liquid ink on a piece of paper.
Examples:
Input Any data and instructions entered into the memory of a computer.
Input device Any hardware component that allows users to enter data and instruction
into a computer.
Examples:
Insertion point Symbol on a computer screen, usually a blinking vertical bar, that indicates
where the next character a user types will appear.
Installing Process of setting up software to work with the computer, printer, and
other hardware components.
Instant messenger Software used by people to participate in instant messaging.
Instant messaging (IM) Real time Internet communications service that notifies a user when one
or more people are online and then allows the user to exchange messages
or files or join a private that room with those people.
Examples:
Instructions Steps that tell the computer how to perform a particular task.
Integrated circuit Electronic component that contains many microscopic pathways capable of
carrying electrical current.
Intellectual property (IP) Unique and original works such as ideas, inventions, art, writing, processes,
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company and product names, and logos.
Intelectuall property rights Rights to which creators are entitled for their work.
Interactive whiteboard Touch sensitive device, resembling a dry-erase board, that displays the
image on connected computer screen.
Examples:
Internal bay Drive bay that is concealed entirely within the system unit.
Internet Worldwide collection of networks that connects millions of businesses,
government agencies, educational institutions, and individuals.
Internet backup Storage of data, information, and instructions on the web.
Internet Explorer (IE) Web browser included with Windows operating system.
Examples:
Intranet An internet network that uses internet technologies.
IP address A number that uniquely identifies each computer or device connected to
the Internet.
Examples:
iphone OS Operating system developed by Apple for the iphone and ipod touch.
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J Java Object –oriented programming language developed by Sun Microsystems.
JavaScript Interpreted language that allows aa programmer to add dynamic content
and interactive elements to a Web page.
Joystick Handheld vertical lever mounted on a baseused to control actions of a
simulated vehicle or player.
Examples:
JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group; format that compresses graphics to
reduce their file size.
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K Keyboard Input device that contains key users press to enter data and instructions
into a computer.
Example:
Keygen Short for key generator; program that creates software registration
numbers and sometimes activation codes used for software theft.
Example:
Keyguard Metal or plastic plate place over the keyboard that allows users to rest
their hands on the keyboard without accidentally pressing any keys.
Examples:
Knowledge management software
(KMS)
Software that assists in the task of knowledge management and captures
the expertise of knowledge workers, so that their knowledge is not lost
when they leave the company.
Examples:
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L Laser mouse Mouse type that uses a laser sensor.
Example:
Laser printer Type of high-speed, high quality nonimpact printer that creates images
using a laser beam and powdered ink called toner.
Examples:
LCD monitor Destop monitor that uses a liquid crstal display instead of a cathode-ray
tube tp produce images on screen, resulting in a sharp, flicker-free
display.
Examples:
LCD projector Projector that uses liquid crytal display technology that attaches direcly
to a computer and uses its own light source to display the information
shown on the computer screen.
Examples:
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LightScribe technology Technology uses by some optical drives that can catch labels direcly on a
specially coated optical disc, as opposed to placing an adhesive label on the
disc.
Liquid crystal display (LCD) Type of display that uses a liquid compound to present information on a
display device.
Examples:
Local area network (LAN) Network that connects computers and devices in a limited geographical
area such as a home, school computer laboratory, office building, or
closely positioned group of buildings.
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M Macintosh operating system Operating system for Apple’s Macintosh computer.
Magnetic stripe card reader Reading device that reads the magnetic stripe on the back of credit,
entertainment, bank, and other similar cards.
Mainframe Large, expensive, powerful computer that can handle hundreds or
thousands of connected users simultenously, storing tremendous amounts
of data, instructions, and information.
Examples:
Malware Short for malicious software; programs that act without a user’s
knowledge and deliberately alter a computer’s operations.
Examples:
Management information
technology
Curriculum that teaches students technical knowledge and skills and
focuses on how to apply these skills.
Margins The portion of a page outside the main body of text, including the top, the
bottom, and both sides of paper.
Media player Utility program that allows you to view images and animation, listen to
audio, and watch video files.
Examples:
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Media sharing Web site Specific type of online social network that enables members to share
media such as photos, music, and videos.
Megabyte (MB) Approximately 1 million bytes.
Memory Electronic components in a computer that store instructions waiting to be
executed by the processor, the data needed by those instructions, and
the results of processing the data.
Memory cache Cache that helps speed the processes of a computer by storing frequently
used instructions and data.
Memory card Removeable flash memory device, usually no bigger than 1.5” in height or
width, that you insert and remove from a slot in a personal computer,
game console, mobile device, or card reader/writer.
Memory slots Slots on the montherboard that hold memory modules.
Metropolitan area network (MAN) High-speed network that connects local area networks in a metropolitan
area such as a city or town and handles the bulk of communications
activity across that region.
Microblog Blog that allows users to publish short messages, usually between 100 and
200 characters, for others to read.
MicroSD Memory card capable of storing between 1 and 2 GB of data.
Examples:
MicroSDHC Memory card capable of storing between 4 and 16 GB of data.
Examples:
MMS (multimedia message
service)
Multimedia message service; service that allows users to send graphics,
pictures, video clips, and sound files, as well as short text messages to
another smart phone or onother mobile device.
Examples:
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Mobile computer Personal computer that a user can carry from place to place.
Examples:
Mobile device Computing device small enough for a user to hold in his or her hand.
Examples:
Mobile printer Small, light-weight, battery-powered printer used by a mobile user to
print from a notebook computer, smart phone, or other mobile device
while travelling.
Examples:
Mobile TV Service that provides television programs over the cellular network.
Examples:
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Mobile users Users who work on a computer while away from a main office, home office,
or school.
Monitor Display device that is packaged as a separate peripheral.
Examples:
Motherboard Main circuit board of the system unit, which has some electronic
components attached to it and others built into it.
Examples:
Mouse Pointing device that fits comfortably under the palm of a user’s hand.
Examples:
Mouseover Event that occurs when text, a graphic, or other abject changes as the
user moves the mouse pointer over an abject on the screen.
MP3 Format that reduces an audio file to about one-tenth of its ariginal size,
while preserving much of the original quality of the sound.
MP4 Digital multimedia format most commonly used to store video and audio,
but can also be used to store other data such as subtitles and still images.
MPEG Moving Pictures Experts Group.
MPEG-4 Current version of a popular video compression standard.
Multimedia Any application that combines text with animation, audio, video, and/or
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virtual reality.
Multimedia authoring software Software that allows users to combine text, graphics, audio, video, and
animation in an interactive application ang that often is used for
computer-based training and Web-based presentations.
Examples:
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N Netbook A type of notebook computer that is smaller, lighter, and aften not as
powerful as a traditional notebook computer.
Examples:
Netiquette Short for Internet etiquette, the code of acceptable behaviors users
should follow while on the internet.
Network Collection of computers and devices connected together, often wirelessly,
via communication devices and transmission media, allowing computers to
share resources.
Network topology Layout of computers and devices in a communications network.
Node Term used to refer to each computer or device on a network.
Nonvolatile Type of memory that does not lose its contents when a computer’s power
is turned off.
Note taking software Application software that enables users to enter typed text, handwritten
comments, drawings, or sketches anywhere on a pad.
Examples:
Notebook computer Portable, personal computer often designed to fit on your lap.
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O Online Describes the state of a computer when it is connected to a network.
Online community Specific group of people with similar interests or relationships in the web.
Online social network Online community that share their interests, ideas, stories, photos, music,
and videos with other registered users.
Open source software Software provided for use, modification, and redistribution for free.
Operating system Set of programs that coordinates all the activities among computer
hardware devices.
Optical character recognition
(OCR)
Optical reader technology that involves reading typewritten, computer-
printed, or hand-printed characters from ordinary documents and
translating the images to a form that a computer can process.
Optical disc Type of storage medium that consist of a flat, round, portable disc made
of metal, plastic, and lacquer that is written on and read by a laser.
Examples:
Optical mark recognition (OMR) Optical reader technology that reads hand-drawn mark such as small
circles or rectangles.
Optical mouse Mouse that uses devices, such as optical sensors or lasers, that emit and
sense light to detect the mouse’s movement.
Examples:
Optical resolution The actual photographed resolution at which a digital camera can capture a
digital image.
Optical scanner Light-sensing input device that reads printed text and graphics and then
translates the results into a form the computer can process.
Output Data that has been processed into a useful form.
Output device Any hardware component that conveys information to one or more people.
Examples:
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P P2P Type of peer-to-peer network on which users access each other’s hard
discs and exchange files direcly over the internet.
Packaged software Mass-produced, copyrighted retail software that meets the needs of a
wide veriety of users, not just a single user or company.
Examples:
Paint software Application software that allows users to draw pictures, shapes, and other
graphical images with various on-screen tools.
Examples:
Password Private combination of characters associated with a user name that allows
access to certain computer resources.
Payload Destructive event or prank a malicious-ligic program is intended to deliver.
PC Card Thin, credit-card-sized removeable flash memory device that primarily is
used today to enable traditional notebook computers and Tablet PCs to
access the Internet wirelessly.
Examples:
PC Card slot Special type of expansion slot in desktop, notebook, and mobile computers
that holds a PC Card.
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PC video camera Type of digital video camera that enables a home or small business user to
capture video and still images, send e-mail messages vith video
attachments, add live images to instant messages, broadcast live images
over the Internet, and make video telephone calls.
Examples:
PDA Lightweight mobile device that provides personal information management
functions such as a calendar, appointment book, address book, calculator,
and notepad.
PDF Portable Document Format; a popular file format used by document
management software to save converted documents.
Peer Any of the computers on a peer-to-peer network.
Peer-to-Peer network Simple, inexpensive network that typically connects fewer than 10
computers.
Pen input Input method in which you touch a stylus or digital pen on a flat surface
to write, draw, and make selections.
Examples:
Pentium Family of intel processors used by less expensive, basic PCs.
Peripheral Device that connects to a system unit and is controlled by the processor
in the computer.
Permissions Define who can access certain resources and when they can access those
resources.
Personal Computer Computer that can perform all of its input, processing, output, and storage
activities by itself and contains a processor, memory, and one or more
input and output devices, and storage devices.
Examples:
Personal paint/image editing Application software that allows users to edit digital photos by removing
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software red-eye, erasing blemishes, restoring aged photos, adding special effects,
enhancing image quality, or creating electronic photo albums.
Pharming Scam, similar to phishing, where a perpetrator attemps to obtain your
personal and financial information, except they do so via spoofing.
Phishing Scam in which a perpetrator attemps to obtain your personal and/or
financial information.
Phishing filter Program that warns or blocks you from potentially fraudulent or suspicious
Web sites.
Photo management software Application software that allows users to view, organize, sort, catalog,
print, and share digital photos.
Examples:
Photo sharing community Specific type of social networking Web site that allows users to create an
online photo album and store and share their digital photos.
Piracy Unauthorized and illegal duplication of copyrighted material.
Pixel The smallest element in an electronic image. Short for picture element.
Plasma monitor Display device that uses gas plasma technology, which sandwhiches a layer
of gas between two glass plates.
Examples:
Platform Set of programs contraining instructions that coordinate all the activities
among computer hardware resources.
Platter Component of a hard disk that is made of aluminium, glass, or ceramic and
is coated with an alloy material that allows items to be recorded
magnetically on its surface.
Player Software used by a person to listen to an audio file on a computer.
Plug and Play Technology that gives a computer the capability to configure adapter
cards and other peripherals automatically as a user installs them.
Plug-in Program that extends the capability of a browser; often used to enhance
multimedia.
PNG Graphics format that improves upon the GIF format.
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Pocket hard drive
Term that refers to smaller external hard disks because they enable
users easily to transport photos and other files from one computer to
another.
Examples:
Podcast Recorded audio, usually an MP3 file, stored on a Web site that can be
downloaded to a computer or a portable media player such as an iPod.
Examples:
Pointing device Input device that allows a user to control a pointer on the screen.
Examples:
Pop-up ad Internet advertisement that suddently appears in a new window in the
foreground of a Web page displayed in the user’s browser.
Pop-up blocker Filtering program that stops pop-up ads from displaying on Web pages.
Port Point at which peripheral attaches to or communicates with a system unit
so it can send data to or receive information from the computer.
Portable The capability of a storage medium to be removed from one computer and
carried to another computer.
Portal Web site that offers a variety of Internet services from a single,
convient location.
Power supply Component of the system unit that converts wall outlet AC power to the
DC power that is used by a computer.
Examples:
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Power surge Electrical disturbance that occurs when the incoming electrical power
increases significantly above the normal 120 volts.
Power usage effectiveness (PUE) Ratio that measures how much power enters a computer facility or data
center agains the amount of power required to run the computers.
Presentation software Application software that allows a user to creative visual aids for
presentations to communicate ideas, messages, and other information to a
group.
Examples:
Printer Output device that produces text and graphics on a physical medium such
as paper.
Example:
Processor Electronic component on a computer’s, motherboard that interprets and
carries out the basic instructions that operate the computer.
Examples:
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Product activation Technique that some software manufactures use to ensure that software
is not installed on more computers than legally licensed.
Program Series of related instructions that tells a computer what task to perform
and how to perform them.
Project management software Application software that allows a user plan, schedule, track, and analyze
the events, resources, and costs of a project.
Proprietary Term used to describe information systems that are more difficult to
interoperate with other information systems.
Proprietary software Software that is privately owned and limited to a specific vendor or
computer model.
Public-domain software Free software that has been donated for public use and has no copyright
restrictions.
Examples:
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R Random access memory (RAM) Type of memory that can be read from and written to by the processor
and other devices. Programs and data are loaded into RAM from storage
devices such as hard disk and remain in RAM as long as the computer has
continuous power.
Read-only memory (ROM) Type of non volatile memory that is used to store permanent data and
instructions.
Read/write head Mechanism in a disk drive that reads items or writes items as it barely
touches the disk’s recording surface.
Real time Describes users and the people with whom they are conversing being
online at the same time.
Registry Several files that contain the system configuration information.
Removable hard disk Hard disk that can be inserted and removed from a drive.
Examples:
Repetitive strain injury (RSI) Injury or disorder of the muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments, and joints.
Examples:
Retinal scanners Biometric devices that scan patterns of blood vessels in the back of the
retina.
Examples:
Ring network Type of network topology in which a cable forms a closed loops (ring) with
all computers and devices arranged along the ring.
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Rootkit Program that hide in a computer and allows someone from a remote
location to take full control of the computer.
Router Communication device that connect multiple computers or orther routers
together and transmits data to its correct destination on a network.
Examples:
Ruby on the rails Open source framework that provides technologies for developing object
oriented, database-driven Websites.
Run-time error Program error or event that causes the program to stop running.
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S Sans serif font Font that does not have the short decoratives lines at the upper and
lowers ens of the characters.
Examples:
save To transfer a documents from a computer’s memory to a storage medium.
scanner Light-sending input device that reads printed text and graphics and then
translates the results into a form the computer can process.
Examples:
Screen saver Utility program that causes a display device’s screen to show a moving
image or blank screen if no mouse activity occurs for a specified time.
Search engine Program that finds Web sites, Web pages, images, videos, news, maps, and
other information related to a specific topic.
Examples:
Search text Word or phrase entered in a search engine’s text box that describes the
item you want to find.
Search utility Program that attempts to locate a file on your computer based on criteria
you specify.
Secondary storage The physical material on which a computer keeps data, instructions, and
information.
Examples:
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Secure sites Web sites that uses encryption techniques to secure its data.
Security software Software that enables an IT department to limit access to sensitive
information.
Examples:
Server Computer that controls access to hardware, software, and other
resources on a network and provides a centralized storage area for
programs, data, and information.
Examples:
Shareware Copyrighted software that is distributed at no cost for a trial period.
Examples:
Short message services Service that allows users to send and receive short text message on a
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phone or other mobile device or computer.
Shortcut Icon on the desktop that provides a users with immediate access to a
program or file.
Examples:
Slide show Display for a presentation on a large monitor or a projection screen.
Small office/ home office Describes any company with fewer than 50 employees, as well as the self-
employed who work from home.
Smart card Card, similar in size to a credit card or ATM card, that stores data on a
thin microprosessor embedded in the card.
Examples:
Smart phone Internet-enabled telephone that usually also provides personal
information management functions.
Examples:
SMS Short message services; service that allows users to send and receive
short text messages on a phone or other mobile device or computer.
Social network Web site Online community that encourages its members to share their interests,
ideas, stories, photos, music, and videos woth other registered users.
Examples:
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Soft copy Electronic copy of the data.
Software Series of instructions that tells a computer what tasks to perform and
how to perform them.
Sound card Adapter card that enhances the sound generating capabilities of a
personal computer by allowing sound to be input through a microphone and
output through external speakers or headset.
Examples:
Spam Unsolicited e-mail message or newsgroups posting sent to many recipients
or newsgroups at once.
Speakers Audio output devices that generate sound.
Examples:
Speech recognition Computer’s capability of distinguishing spoken words.
Examples:
Spelling checker Feature in some application software that reviews the spelling of
individuals words, sections of a document, or the entire document.
spider Program used to build and maintain lists of words found on Web sites.
spike Electrical disturbance that occurs when an overvoltage lasts for less than
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one millisecond (one thousandth of a second).
spoofing Techniques intruders use to make their network or internet transmission
appear legitimate to a victim computer or network.
Spreadsheet software Application software that allows a users to organize data in rows and
columns and to perform calculations on the data.
Examples:
spyware Program places on a computer without the user’s knowledge that secretly
collects information about the user.
Spyware remover Program that detects and deletes spyware and other similar programs on a
user’s computer.
Examples:
Star network Type of network topology in which all computers and devices on the
network connect to a central devices, thus forming star.
storage Location in which data, insructions, and information are held for future
use.
Storage media The physical material on which a computer keeps data, instructions, and
information.
Examples:
Streaming studio Transfer of audio data in a continuous and even flow, which allows users to
listen to the audio file as it downloads.
Surfing the web Activity of using links to explore the Web.
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Surge protector Device that uses special electrical components to smooth out minor noise,
provide a stable current flow, and keep an overvoltage from reaching the
computer and other electronic equipment.
Examples:
System software Program that controls or maintain the operations of a computer and its
devices.
Examples:
System unit Case that contains the electronic components of a computer that are used
to process data.
Examples:
System failure Prolonged malfunction of a computer.
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T Tablet PC Special type of notebook computer that resembles a letter- sized slate,
which allows a users to write on a screen using a digital pen.
Example:
Tape Magnetically coated ribbon of plastic capable of storing data and
information.
Example:
TCP/IP Short to Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol; network
standard, specifically a protocol, that defines how messages ( data) are
routed from one end of a network to the other, ensuring the data arrives
correctly.
Template Documents that contains the formatting necessary for a specific
documentary type.
Terabyte Approximately one trillion bytes.
Thread Group of articles consisting of the original article and all subsequent
related replies.
Thumb drive Flash memory device that plugs in a USB port on a computer or portable
device as a tool to store data.
Examples:
Thumbnail Small version of a larger graphic.
Examples:
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Toner Type of powdered ink that is used by some laser printers and copy
machines to print the output.
Example:
Touchpad Small, flat, rectangular pointing devices that is sensitive to pressure and
motion.
Trojan horse Malicious programe that hides within or looks like a legitimate program.
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U Unauthorized access The act of using computer or network without permission.
Unauthorized use The act of using computer or its data for unapproved or possibly illegal
activities.
Uniform Resource Locator Unique address for a Web page.
Uninterruptible power supply
(UPS)
Device that contains surge protection circuits and one or more batteries
that can provide power during a temporary or permanent loss of power.
Examples:
Unistaller Utility program that removes a program, as well as any associated entries
in the system files.
Unzip To restore a compressed, or zipped, file to its original form.
Uploading Process of transferring documents, graphics, and other objects from a
computer to a server on the internet.
URL Unique address for a Web page.
Example:
USB flash drive Flash memory storage devices that plugs in a USB port on a computer or
portable device.
Examples:
USB hub Device that plugs in a USB port on the system unit and contains multiple
USB ports in which cables from USB devices can be plugged.
User Anyone who communicates with a computer or utilizes the information it
generates.
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User interface The portion of software that defines how a user interacts with a
computer, including how the computer enters data and instructions and
how informations are displayed on the screen.
Examples:
User name Unique combination of characters, such as letters of the alphabet and/or
numbers, that identifies a specific user.
Utility program Type of system software that allows a user to perform maintenance-type
tasks usually related to managing a computer, its devices, or its programs.
Examples:
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V Validation Process of comparing data with a set of rules or values to find out if the
data is correct.
Video Image displayed in motion.
Video blog Blog that contains video clips.
Video card Adapter card that converts computer output to a video signal that travels
through a cable to a monitor, which displays an image on the screen.
Examples:
Video conference Meeting between or more geographically separated people who use a
network or the Internet to transmit audio and video data.
Examples:
Video editing software Application software that allows a user to modify a segment of video,
called a clip.
Examples:
Video input Process of capturing full-motion images and storing them on a computer’s
storage medium.
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Examples:
Video message Short video clip, usually about 30 seconds, sent to or from a smart phone
or other mobile device.
Virtual memory A portion of a storage medium, usually the hard disk, that the operating
system allocates to functions as additional RAM.
Virtual private network (VPN) Network that provides a mobile user with a secure connection to a
company network server, as if the user has a private line.
Virtual Reality (VR) Computers ased to simulate a real or imagined environment that appears
as a three- dimensional (3-D) space.
Examples:
Virus Potentially damaging computer program that affects, or infects, a
computer negatively by altering the way the computer works without a
user’s knowledge or permission.
Virus signature Known specific pattern of virus code.
Visual programming language Programming language that uses a visual or graphical interface for
creating all source code.
Vlog Video blog
Vlogger Short for vlog author.
Vlogosphere Term used to refer to all vlog worldwide.
Voice input Process of entering data by speaking into a microphone.
Voice over IP Technology that allows users to speak to other users over the Internet
using their desktop computer, mobile computer, or mobile device.
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W W3C Consortium of nearly 400 organizations from around the world that
oversees research and sets standards and guidelines for many areas of
the Internet.
Warm boot Process of using the operating system to restart a computer.
Web Collections of electronic documents called Web pages.
Web 2.0 Term used to refer to Web sites that provide a means for users to share
personal information, allows users to modify web site content, and have
application software built into the site for visitors to use.
Examples:
Web apps. Web site that allows users to access and interact with software through a
Web browser on any computer or device that is connected to the
Internet.
Web browser Application software that allows users to access and view web pages.
Web bug Type of spyware that is hidden on web pages or in e-mail messages.
Web conference Online meeting that takes place on the web.
Web developers Designers of Web pages.
Web page Electronic document on the web, which can contain text, graphics,
animation, audio, and video and often has built-in connections to other
documents, graphics, Web pages, or Web sites.
Example:
Web server Computer that delivers requested Web pages to a computer.
Web site Document on the Web that contain text, graphics, animation, audio and
video.
Examples:
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Webmaster Employee who maintains an organization’s Web site; creaters or helps
users create pages, oversees Web site performance.
Wi-fi Short for wireless fidelity. Type of broadband Internet connection that
uses radio signals to provide high-speed Internet connections to
compatibles or properly equipped wireless computers and devices.
Examples:
Wi-fi protected access ( WPA) Security standard that improves on older security standards by
authenticating network users and providing more advanced encryption
Techniques.
Wiki Collaborative web site that allows users to create, add to, modify, or
delete the Web site content via their Web browser.
WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave access. Newer network
standard developed by IEEE that specifies how wireless devices
communicate over the air in a wide area.
Window Rectangular area of a computer screen that displays data or information.
Windows 7 Microsoft’s fastest, most efficient operating system to date, offering
quicker program start up, built-in diagnostics, automatic recovery,
improved security, enhanced searching and organizing capabilities, and an
easy-to-use interface.
Windows 7 starter Windows 7 edition designed for netbooks and other small notebook
computer that allows user to search for files, connect to printers and
devices, browse the internet, join home networks, and connect to wireless
networks.
Windows 7 Ultimate Windows 7 edition that includes all features of windows 7 Home Premium
and provides additional features designed to keep your files secure and
support for 35 languages.
Windows Aero Interface for computers with more than 1GB of RAM that provides an
enhanced visual look, additional navigation options, and animation.
Windows Firewall Windows built-in personal firewall that protects computers or a network
from hackers.
Examples:
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Wireless access point Central communications device that allows computers and devices to
transfer data wirelessly among themselves or to transfer wirelessly to a
wired network.
Wireless keyboard Battery-powered keyboard that transmits data using wireless technology,
such as radio waves or infrared light waves.
Wireless LAN (WLAN) Local area network that uses no physical wires.
Wireless modem Modem that uses the cell phone network to connect to the Internet
wirelessly from a notebook computer, a smart phone, or other mobile
device.
Examples:
Word processing software One of the more widely used types of application software; allows a user
to create and manipulate documents containing mostly text and sometimes
graphics.
Examples:
Wordwrap Feature of word processing software that allows users to type words in a
paragraph continually without pressing the ENTER key at the end of each
line.
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Z Zipped files Type of compressed files thay usually have a zip extension.
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ANSWER SCHEME
CHAPTER 1: Exercise 1.7
1.
- Software is the program that is being installed in your computer such as windows 7, vista, and
etc.
- In the other hand, hard ware is the physicals components of your computer that can be touch
and seen by you.
- Hard Wares can also being described as the parts of the computer which make up your PC.
- If one of the Hard Ware part is missing such as Mouse, Monitor and System Unit, it might be
hard for your computer to function or it might totally being dysfunctional.
- As for the notebook the Hard Ware are all integrated into a single-sized portable unit.
2. Hard disk
- Hard Disk function as the brain of the computer that stored everything that is inside of the
computer
- The information inside of the Hard Disk can be stored forever without the need to run on the
electricity
- The capacities of the hard disk can reached until ten billion bytes
Mouse
- Mouse is vital for the Desktop PC compare to the notebook that have its own mouse called
touchpad
- The function of the muse is as a pointing device which can direct on your monitor screen with
your palms movements
- The shape is as small as your palms
- The mouse consists of two buttons, the primary mouse buttons which is on the left side and the
secondary mouse buttons which on the right side of the mouse
- The primary mouse button done all the clicking while the secondary mouse button done the less
clicking than the primarymouse button
- A mouse also consist of the wheel that function as the scroll through the documents, text and etc
- The wheels allows you to move up and the bottoms of the pages
- They are difference type of mouse and the function such as, Mechanical Mouse, Optical Mouse,
Cordless Mouse and Trackball Mouse.
Monitor
- The monitor functions as the display system of your computer that looks more like your television.
- The monitor is connected to a video adapter using cable
- The video adapter is the video card that is install in the motherboard
- This system is than interprets the signals into texts and graphics and display them into the
monitor
- They re two type o monitor which are CRT and LCD monitor
- Phosphor gas within the florescent tube is used by the CRT monitor (cathode ray tube)
- While the LCD monitor (Liquid Crystal Display) uses layers of color or monochrome pixels which
are distributed through the liquid crystal layer in order to gain the optical effects
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3. Beneficial – Files can be accessed from any computer with Web access, large files can be
uploaded instantaneously.
Unbeneficial – Need to have internet connection in order to upload files, for certain hosts, users
have to pay in order to upload large files, files can be authorized by other people. (Answers
depend on the students)
4. Input devices are devices that inputs data or instructions into the computer system for
processing. Five examples of input devices are keyboard, mouse, scanner, barcode reader and
digital camera.
5. The two types of storage devices are the primary and secondary storage device.
The Random Access Memory (RAM) is a primary storage device and can only hold data
temporarily. Thus, secondary storage is needed to provide additional storage. Secondary storage
can be magnetic disks and optical disks. Examples of secondary storage are hard disks,
rewritable CDs and DVDs as well as removable disks such as pen drives. The data stored in the
secondary storage is considered permanent until it is deleted or removed.
6. Answers depend on the students.
PRIMARY STORAGE SECONDARY STORAGE
It is known as the main memory of a computer. It is known as the option or alternative memory
of a computer.
Storage capacity is limited. Storage capacity can be expanded.
It is an internal memory (inside CPU) that can
be accessed directly by the processor.
It is not a build-in memory. It refers to the
variety of ways for computer to store its data
and programmes.
The memory is volatile for RAM, while ROM
memory is non – volatile.
It is a non – volatile which means it does not
need any power in order to preserve the data,
information stored in it.
Examples: RAM, ROM. Examples: Floppy Disc, Hard disk, CD Rom,
USB Drive.
7. Depends on students’ knowledge.
Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)
monitor
Liquid Crystal Display
(LCD) monitor
Plasma monitor
Heavy, hard to be moved
around and use a lot of
space.
Lighter than CRT monitor
and able to save some
spaces.
Lighter than CRT monitor
and able to save some
spaces.
Low resolution - Normal
range of sharpness and
clarity of images.
High resolution – Images
produced are sharper and
clear.
High resolution – Sharp and
clarity of images, high quality.
Use more power and
produce more heat.
Use less power and produce
less heat than CRT.
Plasma is power hungry but
produces less heat.
8. – Text
Examples: Printer, Monitor, LCD Projector (Depends on students to elaborate any which)
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- Graphic
Examples: Printer, Monitor, LCD Projector (Depends on students to elaborate any which)
- Audio
Examples: Speakers, Headphones (Depends on students to elaborate any which)
- Video
Examples: Monitor, LCD Projector (Depends on students to elaborate any which)
CHAPTER 3: Quiz A
1. B
2. A
3. D
4. B
5. A
6. D
7. B