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ECDL Syllabus 5 - Module One
The European Computer Driving Licence

HARDWARE 

• Hardware
• What is a personal computer?
• Apple computers
• Laptop & palmtop computers
• Features of handheld portable digital devices
• Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
• Mobile phones (cell phones)
• Media players
• Smartphones
• Parts of a computer
• The CPU
• Memory (RAM)
• ROM-BIOS
• Disks
• The Hard (Fixed) Disk

INPUT/OUTPUT PORTS

• Universal Serial Bus (USB) Port
• Serial Port
• Parallel Port
• Network Port
• FireWire Port

COMPUTER PERFORMANCE

• Factors affecting computer performance
• CPU Clock speed
• RAM size
• Hard disk speed and storage
• Hard disk space
• De-fragmenting files
• Multitasking considerations
• CPU speeds

MEMORY AND STORAGE

• What is computer memory?
• RAM
• ROM
• ROM-BIOS
• Video (graphics) memory
• Measurement of storage capacity
• Types of storage media
• Internal hard disks
• External hard disks
• CDs
• DVDs
• Recordable CD & DVD drives
• USB flash drives (memory sticks)
• Memory cards
• Network drives and on-line file storage
• Floppy disks (diskettes)

INPUT DEVICES

• Input devices.
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• Scanners
• Tracker balls
• Touch pads
• Joysticks
• Web cams
• Digital cameras
• Microphones

OUTPUT DEVICES

• Output devices
• Traditional computer monitor
• Flat screen computer screens
• Projection devices
• Speakers and headphones
• Speech synthesizers
• Printers
• Different types of printer
• Laser printers
• Colour laser printers
• Inkjet printers
• Dot Matrix printers

INPUT AND OUTPUT DEVICES

SOFTWARE CONCEPTS

• What is software?
• What is an operating system?
• Examples of software applications
• Word processing applications
• Spreadsheets applications
• Database applications
• Presentation applications
• E-mailing applications
• Web browsing applications
• Photo editing applications
• Computer games
• Difference between the operating system and application programs
• Accessibility options
• Voice recognition software
• Screen reader software
• Screen magnifier software
• On-screen keyboard

NETWORK TYPES

• LAN (Local Area Network)
• WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network)
• WAN (Wide Area Network)
• Client/server networks
• Internet
• World Wide Web (WWW) vs. the Internet
• Intranets
• Extranets

DATA TRANSFER

• Downloading from & uploading to a network
• Data transfer rate measurement
• Broadband vs. dial-up Internet connection services
• Internet connection options
• Features of a broadband Internet connection

ICT IN EVERYDAY LIFE

ELECTRONIC WORLD

• What does ‘Information and Communication Technology’ (ICT) mean?
• Internet services for consumers
• E-commerce
• E-commerce
• Advantages of e-commerce
• Disadvantages of e-commerce
• E-banking
• E-government
• E-learning
• Uses of computer applications in education
• Teleworking
• Some of the advantages of tele-working
• Some of the disadvantages of tele-working

COMMUNICATION

• Electronic mail (e-mail)
• Instant messaging (IM)
• Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
• Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds
• Blogging (web logos)
• Podcasts

VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES

• Online (virtual) communities
• Social networking websites
• Internet forums (message boards / discussion boards)
• Chat rooms
• Online computer games
• Publishing and sharing content online.
• Sharing photos, video and audio clips.
• Precautions when accessing online communities

HEALTH

• What is ergonomics?
• Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
• Lighting issues when using a computer
• Screen and keyboard positioning
• Seating issues when using a computer
• Wellbeing when using a computer
• Make sure that cables are safely secured
• Make sure that power points are not overloaded

ENVIRONMENT

• Computer recycling options
• Computer energy saving options

SECURITY

IDENTITY/AUTHENTICATION

• Computer logon user name (ID) and password.
• Password policies

DATA SECURITY

• Off-site backups
• Why do you need to back up your computer?
• Organising your computer for more efficient backups
• Complete vs. incremental backups
• What is a firewall?
• Data theft issues

VIRUSES

• Computer viruses
• Computer virus infection issues
• Protecting against computer virus infection
• What to do if you discover a virus on your computer
• The limitations of anti virus software

LEGAL ISSUES

COPYRIGHT

• What is copyright?
• Copyright Issues when copying files

SITE LICENSES

• Checking software licence status
• What is an ‘end-user license agreement’?
• Examining the ‘end-user license agreement’ within Office 2007 software
• Types of licence agreement
• What is shareware?
• What is freeware?
• Open source software

DATA PROTECTION

• Data Protection and Privacy Issues
• Data Protection Legislation