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ECDL Module One

The European Computer Driving Licence

Concepts of Information Technology (IT) 

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1. GENERAL CONCEPTS

HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

• Hardware
• Software
• Information Technology (IT)

TYPES OF COMPUTER

• What is a mainframe computer?
• What is a PC?
• What is a Mac?
• What is a networked computer?
• What are laptop & palmtop computers?
• What is a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)?
• Types of computer - Mainframe
• Types of computer - PC
• Types of computer - Networked PC
• Types of computer - Laptop
• Types of computer - Palmtop
• Types of computer - PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)

MAIN PARTS OF A PERSONAL COMPUTER

• The System Unit
• The System (Mother) Board
• The CPU
• Memory (RAM)
• ROM-BIOS
• Serial Port
• Parallel Port
• Universal Serial Bus (USB)
• What are input devices?
• What are output devices?
• What is a peripheral device?
• The Keyboard
• The Mouse
• CD
• DVD Drives
• Floppy disk
• Zip Disc
• Hard (Fixed) Disk
• The Monitor
• Additional items or cards
• Sound cards and speakers
• Modems
• Printers
• Scanners
• Recordable CDs
• Tape backup
• What is PCMCIA?

COMPUTER PERFORMANCE

• Factors affecting performance

2. HARDWARE

CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT

• The CPU (Central Processing Unit)
• MEMORY
• What is computer memory?
• What is RAM?
• What is ROM?
• What is the ROM-BIOS?
• What is flash BIOS?
• What is video (graphics) memory?

INPUT DEVICES

• The Mouse
• The Keyboard
• Tracker Balls
• Scanners
• Touch Pads
• Light Pens
• Joysticks
• Voice input for PCs (microphones)
• Web Cams
• Digital Cameras

OUTPUT DEVICES

• The VDU (computer monitor or screen)
• Flat screen monitors
• Screen size
• Graphics for games
• Computer presentation projection devices
• Different types of printer
• Laser printers
• Colour laser printers
• Inkjet printers
• Dot Matrix printers
• Printer Memory
• Cost of running a printer
• Plotters
• Speakers
• Speech synthesizers

INPUT/OUTPUT DEVICES

• Input/Output devices

STORAGE DEVICES

• Internal hard disks
• External hard disks
• Zip drives
• Jaz drives
• Diskettes (floppy disks)
• CD Disks
• DVD Drives
• What is the difference between internal and external hard disks?
• Why format a disk?

3. SOFTWARE

TYPES OF SOFTWARE

• What is an Operating System?
• What is an Application Program?
• Why are new versions of software released year after year?

OPERATING SYSTEM SOFTWARE

• What is an Operating System?

APPLICATIONS SOFTWARE

• What is an application program?
• Word processing
• Spreadsheets
• Databases
• Presentation
• Accounts / Payroll
• Web browsing
• Web authoring

GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE (GUI)

• What is a Graphical User Interface?
• The advantages of using a GUI (Graphical User Interface)

SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

• What is systems development?
• What is a systems development cycle?

4. INFORMATION NETWORKS

LAN AND WAN

• What is a LAN (local Area Network)?
• What is a WAN?
• What does client/server mean?
• What is workgroup computing?
• Advantages of workgroup computing
• Disadvantages of workgroup computing

INTRANET, EXTRANET

• What is the difference between the Internet and an Intranet?
• What is the difference between an Intranet and an Extranet?

THE INTERNET

• What is the Internet?
• What is the Internet and how is it useful?
• What is the difference between the World Wide Web (WWW) and the Internet?

THE TELEPHONE NETWORK IN COMPUTING

• How is the telephone line used in computing?
• Where to get help about technical terms
• What is PSTN?
• What is PSDN?
• What is ISDN?
• What is ADSL?
• What is DSL?
• Digital vs. analogue
• Modem
• Baud rate

5. THE USE OF IT IN EVERYDAY LIFE

COMPUTERS AT WORK

• Where computers might be more appropriate than people
• Where people might be more appropriate than computers
• Examples of large scale computer applications in business
• Uses of large scale computers applications within government
• Uses of computer applications within hospitals and the health care system
• Uses of computer applications in education
• What is tele-working?
• Some of the advantages of tele-working
• Some of the disadvantages of tele-working

ELECTRONIC WORLD

• What is email?
• What is E-commerce?
• What is E-banking?
• The process of shopping online
• The advantages of e-commerce
• The disadvantages of e-commerce

6. HEALTH AND SAFETY, ENVIRONMENT

ERGONOMICS

• Good working practices

HEALTH ISSUES

• Using a computer incorrectly can damage your health
• Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
• Glare from screens
• Bad posture

PRECAUTIONS

• Make sure that cables are safely secured
• Make sure that power points are not overloaded

THE ENVIRONMENT

• Computers and the environment
• Don't Waste Paper

7. SECURITY

INFORMATION SECURITY

• What is information security?
• Advantages of proactive information security
• Passwords
• The Importance of shutting down your computer
• What is a UPS?
• Electrical surge protection
• Things computers like
• Things to avoid
• What to do if the computer breaks down
• Dealing with security problems
• Responsibilities for dealing with security problems
• Security rights and obligations
• User IDs and passwords?
• Choosing a secure password
• How secure is your software?
• How do your manage data securely?
• How do you dispose of data securely?
• What is visitor control?
• Why do you need to back up your computer?
• Organising your computer for more efficient backups
• Complete vs. incremental backups
• Why you should use 'off-site' storage?
• Beware of 'open files'
• What if your laptop is stolen?
• What if your mobile phone is stolen?

COMPUTER VIRUSES

• What are computer viruses?
• How do viruses infect PCs?
• How to prevent virus damage
• To make a diskette read-only
• To password protect your computer
• How do your protect computers from attack?
• What to do if you discover a virus on your computer
• The limitations of anti virus software
• What is virus disinfecting?
• Anti-virus Precautions

8. COPYRIGHT AND THE LAW

COPYRIGHT

• Software Copyright Issues
• What are site licences?
• Copyright Issues
• How to check a software Product ID
• What is freeware?
• What is shareware?
• What about software which you find on the Internet
• What is an end-user licence agreement?

DATA PROTECTION LEGISLATION

• Data Protection Legislation

9. ABBREVIATIONS & TERMINOLOGY