Information and Communication Technology ICT

 Hard disk drives are pieces of computer hardware which are used to store data.. For example, data initially entered into the computer's RAM memory which disappears when the computer i

Module 1 – Concepts of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

This module of the Computer Driving Licence syllabus focuses on the major

concepts of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the various parts of

the computer Candidates for the licence will be expected to:

 Understand what hardware is, including peripheral devices, and know the factors which affect computer performance.

 Know what software is, including operating system software, and give examples of common software applications.

 Understand how computer information networks are used and what different options exist to connect to the Internet.

 Know what Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is and provide

examples of its application in society

 Be aware of the environmental and health and safety issues related to the use of

computers

 Recognize important security issues associated with using computers.

 Be aware of important legal issues related to copyright and data protection

1 1 HARDWARE

1.1.1 Concepts

1.1.1.1 Computer hardware is the physical material related to a computer such

as monitors, printers, keyboards and other parts If you can touch it, it's hardware

1.1.1.2 A personal computer is a general-use computer designed to be used

by one person at a time Various types of personal computers include:

 Desktops are non-mobile computers designed to be used in one

location They work with externally attached monitors and keyboards Desktops are used in home and workplace offices and other locations While they vary in size a desktop computer can be the size of a suitcase

or a small box

 Laptops, also known as notebooks, are portable personal computers

which include their own built-in monitors, keyboards and pointing devices such as a mouse or touchpad They are used by people who need to transport their computer to various locations Modern laptop computers are about the size of a notebook and normally weigh between two and five pounds However the computer industry is constantly learning how to

produce smaller and lighter laptops so other categories, such as

sub-laptops, are being produced

 Tablets are mobile computers which, instead of using a keyboard or

mouse, use a touchscreen (which can be activated by a finger tip) or a screen which allows the use of a stylus or digital pen They are often used by delivery people or warehouse stock-takers who would find even

a laptop too heavy for their work

1.1.1.3 Personal digital devices (PDAs), sometimes known as palmtops, are

handheld computers which use touchscreens or small keyboards Some PDAs can access the Internet for emailing and browsing the World Wide Web PDAs which can act as mobile phones and text messagers plus use the Internet are known as

smartphones PDAs which can use many different media such as the Internet, music

files and act as radios or Global Positioning Systems are known as multimedia PDAs.

1.1.1.4 Knowing the major parts of a personal computer is essential to

purchasing one and using it efficiently and safely The major components are:

 The central processing unit (CPU) executes and controls the operation

of the computer's programs It is a microprocessor which operates the

arithmetic, logic and control operations of the computer In personal or laptop computers it usually consists of a semiconductor chip made of silicon

 Computer Memory consists of two types: volatile and non-volatile

Volatile memory such as random access memory (RAM) needs a power

supply in order to maintain the information stored in it Non-volatile

memory such as Read Only Memory does not Turning off the computer

will remove all the information that has been temporarily held in RAM, which is why it is important to periodically save the information to the computer's hard disk

 Hard disk drives are pieces of computer hardware which are used to

store data For example, data initially entered into the computer's RAM memory (which disappears when the computer is turned off) would be put

on to the hard disk for more permanent storage Hard disks are typically referred to by their size which currently may range from 120 gigabytes to

1 terabyte (both of which are measurements of lots of computer space which will be explained below) Another characteristic of hard disks

referred to is their transfer rate which refers to how fast data can be

transferred from the disk to RAM memory and back Normally the hard disks of laptop computers are smaller and slower than those used in the larger desk top computers The purchase price of computers varies according to how much memory and hard disk space are installed in the computers: more RAM and bigger hard disks cost more

 Input and output devices are pieces of computer hardware which allow

data to be entered into the computer and then taken out Input devices include keyboards, scanners, bar code readers, microphones, fingerprint

scanners, web cameras, joysticks, gamepads and pointing devices such

as a mouse or digital light pen Output devices include printers, monitors and speakers Some devices, such as touchscreens, are both input and output devices All the devices mentioned above are examples of

computer peripherals which is computer equipment that is attached to

the computer

1.1.1.5 Ports are entry and exit points for computer data USB (Universal Serial

Bus) ports were designed to provide a standard single socket to which many peripherals, such as a mouse or a printer, could be connected A common use

for a USB port is to connect flash drives (sometimes referred to as memory sticks) which act almost like hard disks to store information USB ports were partly designed in order to replace serial ports (which were used to attach devices such a modems that communicated with data networks) and parallel

ports (which provided connections to printers) Network ports allow the

computer to be connected to a local area network (which are collections of

computers which share peripherals such as printers and data storage devices)

Firewire ports and cables are computer connection devices which work much

faster than USB They are especially popular in professional audio- visual

setups, but since they are more expensive USB remains dominant

1.1.2 Computer performance

1.1.2.1 A number of factors affect the performance of a personal computer

including the speed of the computer's CPU, the amount of RAM it has, the graphics card installed in it, and the number of applications that it is operating simultaneously

The faster the speed of the CPU the faster the computer can process data And the more RAM it has the faster it can work because it has more memory space to hold data and parts of programs A graphics card has a separate microprocessor and its own memory so it can handle the graphics being worked with thereby freeing up the CPU to focus on other operations Finally, the more programs or other applications the computer has to contend with the slower the computer works A CPU which has to work with just one program such as a word processor will be able to concentrate all its power on that one program If it has to use its capabilities to handle more programs then its overall speed slows down

1.1.2.2 The speed of the computer's CPU is determined by the number of

cycles per second the CPU takes to perform operations, such as adding two numbers Personal computer speeds are measured in units of megahertz and gigahertz A 1 megahertz (MHz) CPU can accomplish one million CPU cycles inone second A 1 gigahertz (GHz) CPU can do one billion cycles in a second

Normally a 2 MHz CPU would be faster than a 1 Mhz CPU but other factors may have to be considered such as the amount of work being performed

by the CPU or the size of its cache (which is an area where recently processed

data is held for quicker retrieval) Bigger cache space can significantly affect thespeed of a computer The price of a personal computer increases with higher CPU speeds and larger caches.

1.1.3 Memory and storage

1.1.3.1 More RAM (Random Access Memory) can significantly improve a

computer's performance RAM is used by the computer to temporarily store

parts of programs and the data they work with Data can be accessed faster from RAM than a hard disk because RAM is electronic memory and does not depend on the movement of physical equipment such as the parts of a hard disk More RAM can allow the computer to handle more data and programs faster Often the way to improve the performance of a computer is to add more RAM With desktop computers this can be accomplished by installing more memory chips – something which is much more difficult to do with a laptop

RAM is used to temporarily store data and parts of programs while the computer is on The computer needs to be plugged in and turned on for the RAM to be accessible In contrast ROM (Read Only Memory) does not need thepower supply of the computer to be on It is used to provide the initial start-up instructions which tell the computer how to begin its operations

1.1.3.2 The storage capacity of computers is measured with the following

units They are used to measure both memory (such as RAM) and storage space such as found on hard disks

 Bits Personal computers are digital computers because they work with

two digits: 0s and 1s A zero or a one is a bit

 Bytes A combination of 8 bits is a byte (pronounced bite) A byte of

memory space can hold one alphanumeric character (a letter or a number)

 Kilobytes (KB) A kilobyte is 1,024 bytes (usually rounded off to simply

1,000) A kilobyte of space will hold about 128 alphanumeric characters – about the size of this whole sentence including the spaces

 Megabytes (MB) A megabyte is 1 thousand kilobytes The now

increasingly obsolete 3.5 inch floppy disks could hold about 1.5 megabytes of information A megabyte of storage space will hold about 1,000 copies of the first two sentences of this paragraph

 Gigabytes (GB) A gigabyte is 1 billion megabytes It is the unit most

often used when considering the memory and hard disk space of current personal computers, for example: 4GB of RAM and a 500 GB hard disk

 Terabytes A terabyte is 1,000 gigabytes – the equivalent of 1 trillion

bytes Hard disks of one terabyte are now available In 2008 Cisco, the

computer network hardware manufacturer, estimated that the Internet transferred about 160 terabytes per second

1.1.3.3 Storage media for personal computers include:

 Internal hard disks A hard disk is a rigid magnetic disk fixed

permanently within a computer drive unit A hard disk drive positions a

relatively fixed arm (referred to as a `head`) to read and write data from the disk The hard disk is rather like a collection of stacked phonograph records which have sections on them called ``tracks`` where the data is stored electronically

 External hard disks External hard disks are units which are outside the

main box of the computer They are often used to backup (make a copy)

of the data which is on the internal hard disk of the computer The

connections from the external hard disk to the computer can be made

with either a USB or Firewire port.

 Network drives Local area networks (collections of computers sharing

devices) often have storage areas referred to as network drives These are usually on separate computers which can be organized into many different virtual drives On the list of drives found on the personal

computer the network drive will be designated as a letter such as E: or F: Many of the Driving licence tests require the candidate to save the results

of the test on a particular drive

 CDs A compact disk (CD) is an optical disk which can store the digital

data The data is held as a series of tiny indentations on the disk called

``pits`` A laser beam reads the pits and the spaces between them to determine the Os and 1s which make up the data A standard CD will hold about 700MB of data – approximately 80 minutes of audio Various

types of CD include: CD-ROMS (the disk can be read but not written upon), CD-R (data can be read but also written to the disk once), CD-RW

(data can be written to the disk many times) CDs are sturdier storage media than floppy disks but are still susceptible to damage from daily use – especially scratches - because the pits are so close to the surface

 DVDs – A Digital Video Disc (DVD) is about the same size as a CD but

can hold about six times more data This makes it especially suitable for storing movies, which take up a lot of space As with CDs there are various types of DVDs A DVD-ROM has data that can be read but it cannot be written to DVD-R and DVD+R can record data once DVD-

RW, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM can both record and erase data many times New generation DVDs are being developed, such as the Blu-ray (named after the colour of its laser beam), which can store about 50 gigabytes

 USB flash drives Flash memory is a particular type of non-volatile

memory (which means it doesn`t need a power source) A USB flash drive is a device with a USB port connector and flash memory held on a printed circuit board encased in plastic The name ``drive`` is a hold over from older hard disk drive technology - nothing in the flash drive actually moves Current flash drives weigh less than an ounce and typically store between 64MG and 64 GB of data

 Memory cards Typical memory cards use flash memory and are used

with digital cameras, personal digital assistants, handheld and mobile computers, telephones, music players, video game consoles and other electronic equipment

 Online file storage There are many companies on the Internet which

will store computer data for a fee They allow PC users to back up their files either via the World Wide Web or via a communications system using File Transfer Protocol (FTP) They can be set up to work with a single user or many

1.1.4 Input, output devices

A personal computer is based on three operations: entering the data (inputting), processing it, and presenting the processed data in some way (called outputting)

1.1.4.1 Input devices The inputting devices most often used by personal

computers include:

 Keyboards A keyboard is a set of keys which has numbers and letters

(alphanumeric characters) which can be entered into the memory of the computer The particular keys and their arrangement on the keyboard vary according to the primary language chosen for the computer For example, a popular English-language keyboard is the QWERTY which is named for the first six letters on the first letter row of the keyboard What the keys do and their arrangement can be re-set with the computer`s software

 Mouse A computer mouse is a handheld device which moves a cursor

around the coordinates of the computer`s display Some have balls whichroll under the device to indicate where the cursor should be placed Others use laser light instead of balls

 Trackballs Many laptops use trackballs which are balls built into the

computer's keyboard which, when rolled, move the cursor around the screen

 Scanners A scanner is a device that optically scans images, printed

text, handwriting, or an object, and converts it to a digital image This allows images and text to be brought into the computer`s software and manipulated.

 Touchpads A touchpad is a pointing device consisting of a specialized

surface which users touch with their fingers in order to move the cursor around the computer`s screen They are a common feature of laptop computers and are often used as a substitute for a mouse when desk space is limited They are commonly found on personal digital assistants (PDAs)

 Microphones A microphone is an instrument that converts sound into

electricity in order to transmit the sound or send it to a recording device (as in radio, TV or tape recording) Microphones are used with personal computers to place telephone calls over the Internet or in combination with web cams

 Web cams A web cam is a camera which takes digital pictures or video

in order to transmit over the Internet Used in combination with a

microphone they allow computer users to communicate using both voice and live video over the World Wide Web

 Digital cameras are cameras which take digitally-encoded images that

can then be displayed and manipulated by the computer's software

 Joystick A joystick is a manual handle which can be moved or angled in

many directions in order to convey information to a computer program They are often used with video games

1.1.4.2 Outputting devices

The main outputting devices used by a personal computer are:

 Monitors/screens A visual display unit (VDU), more commonly known

as a monitor or screen, is a piece of electrical equipment which

temporarily displays images generated by the video output of computers Older computers used bulky cathode ray tubes (CRTs) but more modern computers use LCD displays which are lighter and use less electricity

 Printers A printer is machine which takes documents (text or graphics)

stored in electronic form and produces a hard copy on physical print media such as paper On older computers they were attached to the computer with serial cables More modern computers connect to the printer with a USB port

 Headphones Headphones are small speakers which can be placed on

or in a user's ear in order to hear sound from a computer, radio, CD

player or portable media players such as the iPod Headphones are also known as earphones, earbuds, stereosets or headsets They are

especially popular with computer users who place telephone calls over the Internet or use Web Cams to communicate with both sound and video

1.1.4.3 Combined input/output devices Some computer peripherals can be

used as both input and output equipment A touchscreen, for example, allows the user to input data by touching the screen and then responds by presenting data

1.2 SOFTWARE

1.2.1 Concepts

Candidates for the computing driving licence are expected to understand basic

concepts of personal computers such as software, operating systems, various

applications, and accessibility.

1.2.1.1 Software Computer software is a general term used to describe the

computer programs and their inner coding which tell a computer how to perform

operations It can be divided into three major categories: system software (such as programs called “drivers” which tell the computer how to work with a particular program), programming software such as tools to help programmers create computer programs and application software which perform particular

tasks such wordprocessing or graphics Software often works on top of the computer's operating system

1.2.1.2 Operating systems An operating system (often referred to as an OS or

O/S) is software specialized in coordinating the operations of a computer and the sharing of its resources amongst the programs which run on it It acts as thebase program for programs by defining how they can work with the computer's devices, such as hard disks, printers, monitors and keyboards Almost all computers use operating systems The operating systems available for personalcomputers include Microsoft Windows (in its various versions such as XP and Vista), Solaris, OS 10 for Macintosh computers and the open source OS called Linux (including its distributions such as GNOME and Ubuntu), Windows is predominate on personal computers, though this is changing as laptops and other computers take advantage of the free-of-charge and programming adaptabilty of Linux Larger computers such as network servers generally run Linux or a variation of its predecessor Unix Linux is sometimes referred to as GNU/Linux to recognize the fact that it uses many parts of a previous program called GNU Linux is pronounced in English as lynne-uks not lie-nuks The growth in Linux use has been hampered by the amount of application software

that is available for it However, more software such as the OpenOffice.org

suite of programs is being written for it

1.2.1.3 Application software Software written to perform a specific task is

known as application software Some examples:

 Wordprocessing programs are used to create, edit, format and

print documents of text and sometimes graphics OpenOffice.org

has a wordprocessing component called Writer.

 Spreadsheets are programs which allow the user to manipulate

and display numbers in many ways The spreadsheet module of

OpenOffice.org is called Calc,

 Databases are collections of data which are entered into a

computer program in structured ways and which allow for various

reports on the data Databases are made up of fields (individual units of information such as lastname) and records (collections of

fields) on one entity such as an individual The most common type

of database is relational which ties together a number of records

and produces reports using the data in all the records

OpenOffice.org has database module called Base.

 Presentation programs are computer programs which are used

to display information, usually on a wall-screen Users can enter data into them, format the data, add graphics and then run slide shows of the information The presentation program in

OpenOffice.org is called Impress.

 E-mail is a system for transferring electronic messages from one

computer to another, usually via an office network or the Internet

An email refers to one message To email means to send a person

an electronic message The most popular open source email

program is Thunderbird.

 Web browers are programs which enable users to display and

interact with text, images, videos, music, games and other information located on a web page at a web site on the World WideWeb or a local area network Browsers allow users to follow the links which are embedded in some web pages that point to other web pages They interpret files written in a document markup language called HTML which determines how the text, images andother elements are displayed Individual browser may display pages differently The most popular open source web browser is

Firefox.

 Photoediting programs are computer programs which allow

users to manipulate pictures Typical uses include removing unwanted features, changing colours, creating graphics and logos,

or resizing and cropping photos Some programs include options for editing animations or videos A popular open source

photoediting program is GIMP

 Computer games allow users to interact with computer programs

in entertaining ways They often use joysticks as well a mouse and

keyboard

1.2.1.4 Operating systems vs application software

To summarize: operating systems are programs which manage and coordinate the operation of computers and their peripherals Software applications are

programs designed for particular purposes such as word processing or photoediting The open source equivalent to the Windows operating system is Linux While most software available today is written for Windows more and more application programs are being developed for Linux

1.2.1.5 Accessibility in relation to computers refers to the accessibility of the

computer system to all people regardless of any disability they may have

Disabilities may include understanding and learning disabilities, visual impairment such as blindness or colour blindness, deafness and dexterity

impairment such as paralysis and carpal tunnel syndrome Assistive technology

is the use of hardware and software to enable the use of the computer by a person with a disability or impairment Accessibility options include:

 Voice recognition software converts speech into computer

readable input, such as keypresses or digital signals One example is a system which allows users to tell computer programs

to perform operations such opening and saving files Another example is voice dialing (“call the office”) used by many modern cellphones

 Screen readers are computer programs which identify and

interpret what is being or could be displayed on the monitor and then present it in a variety of accessible ways such as text-to-speech or Braille output devices

 Screen magnifiers are programs which magnify all or part of

anything that is displayed on a monitor Some of these programs also provide the option to send an interpretation of what's on the screen to the computer's speakers

 On-screen keyboards display graphics of keys on the monitor

which can then be chosen by a mouse or other input device They are especially useful for people who have a limited degree of movement or motor control in their hands and fingers

1.3 NETWORKS

Computer networks are groups of interconnected computers They may be in close proximity to each other, as in an office, or distributed geographically like the Internet They are used for communication such as file transfer or email and also for sharing resourcessuch as hard disks or printers

1.3.1 Network types

There are many types of computer networks The Driving licence candidate is expected to know the major ones

1.3.1.1 The major types of networks include:

Local Area Networks (LANS) These are designed to operate in

small-to moderate-sized geographic areas such as offices, homes or a group ofbuildings such as a school They allow the computers attached to the network to share devices such as printers, store or recall data from central hard disks, and access programs which can be used by many people at the same time such as databases LANs have in the past normally connected their attached computers via network cables howevermore recently wireless networks have become popular

Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) These are like LANS except

they operate by signals sent through the air, not cables They have become popular because they are easier to install in a house or office because cables do not have to be strung Also, many commercial outlets such as coffee shops or malls have installed WLANs (colloqually called

“hotspots”) for access to the Internet

Wide Area Networks span relatively large geographical areas such as a

city or state They typically consists of two or more LANS connected via atelecommunication system These systems could include the telephone network, satellites or leased lines They provide access to central resources such as databases

1.3.1.2 Client/servers Networks are designed to connect two or more computers with programs that communicate in a client/server relationship In this

relationship the computer running the client program (for example a office desktop computer attached to a LAN) makes a request for a service (such as access to a database) from the server program (which is operating on a central computer) Standard networked functions such as email exchange, access to the Internet and shared computer programs are based on the client-server model

1.3.1.3 The Internet is a publically-accessible global network of computer networks

consisting or many attached local, regional and international networks of

computers It allows computer users to find and use information resources on computers of academic institutions, research institutes, private companies,

government agencies and individuals The Internet uses a communications

protocol called TCP/IP to facilitate data transmission between computers connected

to it by copper wires, fibre-optic cables, wireless networks and other technologies

The Internet makes possible various information resources and services, such

as electronic mail, file transfer and file sharing, online gaming, remote banking, electronic business-to-business communications, shopping online, social networks

(people interacting with other people) and telephoning

A part of the Internet is the World Wide Web which provides access to text,

images, music and video via inter-linked hypertext documents and other resources.People access the Web by using a software browser such as Internet Explorer or its open source equivalent Firefox The Web is being used by businesses (For

example online travel agencies), streaming (transmitting) of video clips or movies,

blogs (web sites or web site sections in which individuals write comments)

Information on the Web can be found by using search engines such as Google or

Yahoo!which allow users to look up information on the Web by entering keywords

or phrases

1.3.1.4 Intranets and Extranets An intranet is a private computer

network on the Internet accessed by an organization's employees Entry is

controlled by usernames and passwords They are used by many businesses to provide communication services such as database access to their employees An

extranet is a private network on the Internet which allows restricted access to the

public (via provided usernames and passwords) They are used by organizations tocommunicate with customers, suppliers or other parties

1.3.2 Data Transfer

The Internet and its sub-set the World Wide Web, are used extensively by individuals, companies and organizations for transferring data in many ways The candidate for the Driving licence should understand the major concepts and terms of data transfer

1.3.2.1 Uploading and downloading data Downloading refers to people

receiving data from a remote computer such as a Web server, email system, or

a computer dedicated to file transfer (using a protocol called FTP – File Transfer Protocol) To download something – such as a new program – means to take a

copy of a file from a remote computer and put in on a local computer (often a user's personal computer)

Uploading means taking a copy of a file on a local computer and sending it

(uploading it ) to a remote computer For example, many people upload

personal information to social networking sites or pictures to online sharing systems

image-1.3.2.2 Transfer rate Transfer rate is the transmission speed of a

communications channel, such as a computer network The transfer rate of the computer's communication system significantly influences the amount of time it takes to upload and download files Another term used for transfer rate, when

referring to higher rates of transmission, is broadband This refers to systems with a large bandwidth which is the amount data which can be transmitted

through the system

The “wider” the bandwidth (referring to the speed of transmission) the faster the

character at a time) Later modems communicated at 28 or 56 kbps (faster, but

still not fast enough for large images or video) Today computers connected to the Internet by cable can communicate at speeds of 58 mbps and higher – enough bandwidth to allow for comfortable watching of video clips and movies Office networks can now communicate at 10 gibabits per second (10 gbps) It is important to remember, however, that many networks (such as office networks) share their bandwidth with multiple users so the actual transfer rate may vary depending on the number of active users and what they are uploading or

on the speed of the modem (e.g 58 kbps), the quality of the telephone line and

the ISP's equipment Faster transmission rates are gained by using broadband

services provided by telephone, cable TV or specialized companies

1.3.2.4 Internet Connection Options There are a number of ways of

connecting a computer to the Internet, including:

 Phone lines Regular telephone lines can be used to access the

Internet, but they require modems, which can transfer data up to only 56 kbps However, technologies such as ADSL and ISDN areused to increase transfer rates over telephone lines and are faster than regular modems

 Mobile phones Cellular phone networks can be used to provide

cell phones and computers with Internet services As the networksmove to third generation (3G) speeds even faster connections to the Internet will be provided

 Cable Coaxial cable, used by TV cable companies, can also be

used to provide Internet connections Increasingly, both TV cable companies and telephone companies are using combinations of coaxial cable and fibre optic cables to provide higher broadband rates

 Wireless Wireless Area Networks (WLANs) are becoming more

widespread for the provision of Internet services They are often used by stores, airports or cafés to provide “hotspots” where computers, usually laptops, can gain access to the Internet In