Ict Skills
Ict Skills
Information Technology means creating, managing, storing and exchanging information. It includes all
technologies that can be used to deal with information.
Information Technology has become a part of everyday life. ICT applications are found in every field –
education, health, business, design, manufacturing, science, environment. You can create a project
report, do office work, send messages, read books, manage daily planner, play games, listen to music,
watch movies, pay bills, book tickets, buy products, and the list in endless.
A computer can be used at home to play games, search information, listen to music, watch movies,
send or receive email, maintain household accounts. A device with internet connection can be used
to do online shopping, pay bills, do e-banking etc.
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1.2.2 ICT in education
Students are also using their own smart phones or other devices for learning during class time. Online
assessment is also helpful for students.
The concept of “flipped classroom” is becoming popular in many countries where students watch
lectures at home on the computer and use classroom time for more interactive exercises.
• Complex topics can be easily explained to the students with the help of pictures, videos,
presentations, etc.
• Images and videos used for teaching improves the retention memory of the students.
• Presentations can make the lessons interesting.
• Practical demonstration can be given to the students.
• If the teaching process in the class is interactive, it will make the lesson more enjoyable.
• An e-learning program allows students to learn at their own pace, at any convenient time,
and from any place.
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condition. The Doctor can also interact with patient, recommend to take medical
examination and prescribe medicine.
• Using the ICT tool or a suitable communication system, government can make efforts to
create awareness among the public about the communicable diseases, prevention measures
and various current diagnostic & etc.
• ICT in healthcare research helps to find the possible prevention measures to eradicate and
reduce the spread of diseases.
• Through ICT, the traditional healthcare systems can be eliminated and new models can be
formed for effective quality care.
• Hospitals can use different electronic media to store medical data. This helps to retrieve the
information easily. This data can be transferred to the patient or to the Doctors for
consultation.
• Computer based machines are used for MRI, CT-scan, ultrasound are done in hospitals,
diagnostic centres, to diagnose the diseases.
• Life support systems are provided to the patients
• You can search information on any disease, medicines, etc. on the internet.
1.2.4 ICT in Governance
ICT in governance means using Internet, other electronic media buy the central and state
governments, by local administrative bodies to improve the efficiency, transparency, efficiency
of the government. Many government services are available online. Electronic voting for
elections has replaced the traditional voting slip.
ICT has affected the society in both positive and negative way. We have already discussed the use of
ICT in various fields.
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ICT has divided the society into two groups:
1. Persons who can do their personal and professional work efficiently. They are efficient in using
services like, e-banking, e-learning, e-governance sites, etc.
2. People who do not have access to a computer and internet. They also do not have knowledge to
use facilities available on the internet.
This has resulted in digital divide, which refers to the gap between people who have access to
latest information technologies, like, computer, smart phones, internet, ipad, etc. and have
knowledge to use them and people who do not have access to use these devices.
ICT has a great impact in our daily life. Some of the uses of ICT in our daily life are given below:
Lets Try It
Worksheet
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1.4 ICT Tools
ICT tools are devices that are used in Information and communication technology. For example,
computer, smart phone, radio, television, iPad, tablets, etc.
1.4.1 Mobile
Mobile phones are the easiest and simplest way of communication. It is small in
size, lightweight and portable. You can stay in touch with your friends, relatives,
anytime and anywhere.
Mobile phones are useful in studies. Students can access the internet on their
mobile phones and get knowledge on any topic.
You can even create documents, make presentations, etc on your smart phones
as you do on your computer.
1.4.2 Tablets
1.4.3 Radio
1.4.4 TV
1.4.5 Newspaper
Newspaper is another most important ICT tool. News related to all the
issues , national, international, sports, space, etc, are printed in
newspapers.
1.4.6 Email
Email is the most common way of communication in today’s world. It is the official way of
communication. Some of the advantages of using email are:
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• You don’t have to pay anything extra for sending or receiving email. You just pay for the
internet connection.
• You can send bulk mails
• The receiver may not be online when you send the email.
• You can send documents, presentations, images, videos, etc. as an attachment to email.
• When you send an email, it reaches, the receiver at any part of the world in few seconds.
1.4.7 Interactive White Boards (Smart Boards)
1.4.8 E-readers
Lets try it
1. Discuss the role and importance of ICT in personal life and at workplace.
2. Discuss use of various ICT tools.
Worksheet
Session
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Unit 2. Identify the Various Components of Computer System
A computer is an electronic device that has devices to enter data, store data and process raw facts
and figures according to the given instructions and give the desired result on an output device.
Data: Data refers to raw facts and figures. For example, 123, “English”, etc.
Information: Information refers to processed data. For example, total marks and percentage of a
student.
• Computer hardware – Physical parts of a computer such as Input devices, output devices,
central processing unit and storage devices are called computer hardware.
• Computer software – Software are the programs or applications that run on computer.
For example, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, Operating systems, etc.
The physical components of a computer system are called hardware. A computer basically consists of
following physical components:
• Input unit
• Processing unit
• Storage unit
• Auxiliary storage
• Output unit
<A> Input Devices
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It consists of the following main units:
+ (addition)
- (subtraction)
*(multiplication)
/(Division)
^(Exponent)
The ALU also performs the following logical operations:
< (less than)
<(greater than)
<= (less than or equal to)
>= (greater than or equal to)
<> (not equal to)
<D> Control Unit
The control unit controls the flow of data from the input devices to memory and from memory to
output devices. It does not process the data.
When the processing begins, the first instruction of the program is selected and fed into the control
section of the primary storage area. It is then interpreted there and then the signals are sent to other
components to perform the necessary action.
The next instruction, is then selected, interpreted, and executed. This is continued till all the
instructions are processed.
<E> Registers
2.2.2 Software
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Software
System software is a set of one or more programs designed to control the operation of a computer
system.
Operating systems and language processors come under the category of system software.
Operating System
Operating system is a master control program that runs the computer. When the computer is
switched on, operating system is the first program loaded into the computer’s memory.
Examples of operating system are Windows, UNIX, MS-DOS, Mac OS, Solaris, etc.
Language Processors
A computer understands instructions in the form of machine code, i.e., 0 and 1. The programs are
written in English like high level language called source code. The source code must be converted
into machine language in order to be executed. The translator program that is used to convert
source program written in high level language to machine code is called language processor. The
program translated into machine code is called the object program.
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<C> Application Software
Application software is a computer program that is designed to perform a certain type of work.
This type of software pertains to one specific application. For example, software written to
calculate salary of the school employees cannot be used to prepare school result.
Application softwares can be classified as General purpose software and Specific purpose
application software.
General purpose application software includes word processing software, like, Microsoft Word.,
spreadsheet software, like, Microsoft Excel, etc.
Antivirus software:- This program helps in detecting and removing viruses. For example, Norton
antivirus, McAffee virus scan, etc.
File management tools:-These tools help in storing, searching, and sorting files and folders on the
system. For example, Windows Explorer.
Compression:- This program helps in compression of large files so that they take less storage
space. For example, WinZip.
• Disk Cleaner:-This utility scans for the files that have not been used since long. These files may
be occupying large amount of space. It prompts the user to delete such files to create more
disk space.
• Disk Defragmenter:-It rearranges the files and free space on the computer so that files are
stored in contiguous and free space is consolidated in one contiguous block. This speeds up
the disk access.
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• Backup:- backup means making a duplicate of the files and data stored on the computer. This
program is used to take backup copy of the data. In case the original data is lost, the backed
up data can be used.
Lets Try It
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
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2.3 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY MEMORY
• Primary storage
• Temporary Storage
2.3.1 Primary Storage
The primary storage is also called the primary memory. It is directly accessible by the CPU. It can be:
Units of computer memory are:- Bit (Binary Digit), Byte (Kilobyte, Megabyte, GigaByte, TeraByte,
PetaByte, ExaByte, ZettaByte, YottaByte)
The elementary unit of memory is a bit. A group of 4 bits is called a nibble and a group of 8 bits is
called a byte.
1 Byte = 8 bits
One petabyte (PB) = 1024 TB=1024 x 1024 x 1024 x 1024 x 1024 bytes
One ExaByte (EB)=1024 PB=1024 x 1024 x1024 x 1024 x 1024 x 1024 bytes
One ZettaByte (ZB)=1024 EB)= 1024 x 1024 x 1024 x1024 x 1024 x 1024 x 1024 bytes
RAM is used to hold active information of data and instructions. Information in RAM is stored in
random order, that is why it is known as Random Access Memory.
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It is a temporary memory. When power supply is switched off, the information stored in RAM is lost,
so it is also known as volatile memory.
It is also known as read/write memory as information can be read from RAM and also written onto it.
Information stored in RAM may be erased or written over.
ROM is a part of computer’s main memory. It is used to store the instructions provided by the
manufacturer to check basic hardware and to load operating system from appropriate storage device.
The storage of data and instructions in ROM is permanent until it is written over.
The contents of the ROM are not lost when power supply is switched off. That is why, ROM is called
non-volatile memory.
Since the computer’s main memory stores the data and information temporarily, the secondary
memory is used. Secondary memory is sued to store bulk of information.
The information stored in secondary memory is not lost, so it is also a non-volatile memory. These
devices are non-volatile as data is stored in these devices till it is deleted.
Secondary storage devices include hard disk, CD, DVDs, Pen drive , etc.
Scanners are another important hardware devices that are used to convert a picture or text in a book
or page in a digital form.
The output unit comprises of devices such as Monitor, Printer, speaker, etc. to display information to
the user.
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<C> Storage Devices
Lets Try It
1. Discuss different secondary storage devices, their uses and their storage capacities.
2. Name a few external storage devices.
3. Discuss various output devices and their uses.
Worksheet
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Unit 3. Identify Various Peripheral Devices
A peripheral device is an internal or external device that connects directly to a computer but does not
contribute to the computer's primary function, such as computing. It helps end users access and use
the functionalities of a computer.
<A> Keyboard
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Laptops have inbuilt keyboard but they are very delicate.
A virtual keyboard
is not a physical
keyboard. It is not a
hardware but a
software. You must have used a full touch Smart phone.
The keypad of your Smartphone is an example of a virtual
keyboard. In Windows operating System, there is an On
Screen keyboard, which is an example of a virtual
keyboard. It can be made to appear when required.
• Alphanumeric keys are used to type alphabets, numbers and special symbols like $, %, @, A etc.
• Special keys such as Shift, Ctrl, Alt, etc. are used for special functions.
• Function keys such as Fl, F2, F3 etc. are used to give special commands and these commands may
be different for different softwares.
• Cursor Movement keys. These keys are used to move the cursor in a document. These include the
arrow keys, PAGE UP, PAGE DOWN, etc.
Numeric keypad. The numeric keypad is present to the right of the keyboard and can be used to enter
numbers quickly.
<B> Mouse
A computer mouse may be connected to a computer using wire and connected to PS/2 or USB post.
Some of the computer mouse are wireless.
A mouse usually has two buttons with a scroll wheel in the center.
When you move the mouse, the mouse pointer moves in the same direction on the
screen.
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Nowadays, we have Optical mouse that uses an LED sensor to detect the movement of the mouse on
the tabletop and send the information to the computer.
<C> Joystick
<F> Scanner
A scanner is a device that is sued to convert text or image into a digital file.
<H> Microphone
A microphone is a device used to record your voice and save it in the form of a
digital file in the computer.
Let’s Try
1. Go to a grocery shop/ store. Ask the accountant to demonstrate the use of barcode
reader to read the barcode. Note what happens/appears on the computer screen when
he clicks the barcode.
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Worksheet
_______________________________
_______________________________
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Then came the LCD (liquid Crystal Display) monitors. These were thinner and lighter than
Cathode Ray Tube monitors.
<B> Printer
A printer is a device used to print the files stored on the computer on paper. The output produced
on paper is called the hard copy.
It is the most commonly used character printer, i.e, it prints one character at
a time. Most of the dot matrix printers are bidirectional, i.e., they print one
line of text from left to right and then the next line from right to left.
Inkjet Printer
Inkjet Printer
Laser Printer
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Laser Printer
These printers print one page at a time and are very fast.
Braille Printers
<C> Plotters
<D> Speaker
Lets Try It
Worksheet
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3.2.3 Storage Devices
<A> CDs/DVDs
Compact Disc (CD) and Digital Versatile disc (DVD) are optical media that is used
to record data from computer. Data can then be read from the CD. To read data
from the CD, we need to have a CD Drive in our computer.
• CD-R and
• CD-RW
In CD-R, data once recorded can be read only and cannot be erased.
In CD-RW, previously recorded data can be erased and new data can
be recorded.
Both CD and DVD look same in appearance but DVDs can hold much
more data than CDs.
To read data from the DVD, we need to have a DVD driv e in our
computer system. We can read a CD using DVD drive but we cannot
read a DVD using CD drive.
A CD can store upto 700 MB of data whereas a DVD can store 4.7 GB of data.
A pen drive is a very small and portable device used to store data from a
computer. It can also be used to access and transfer data. Pen drives are
available in various capacities- 1 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB, etc.
Let’s Try It