Unit 3: ICT Skills
Introduction to ICT
To store Data we use many methods like writing on paper, recording or we
can type the content in digital format. All these are used to store data. Some
data are stored in digital format in mobiles, computers or any other digital
devices, these devices are called ICT (Information and Communication
Technology) devices.
ICT at Workplace
ICT is a very important part of the workplace. Almost all the sectors of the
economy use ICT to store information and for the transaction of money.
Nowadays all the information is being digitalised as it is very easy to send to
many people in a very little time.
At the workplace, we use different programs to complete our tasks like in
banking we use ICT for maintaining records of people and for the transaction
of money. In the same manner, we use computers for editing videos,
booking tickets, animating, recording, storing data etc.
ICT at Home
ICT has also become a part of our home appliances. These days Television is
very common in every house for entertainment and Mobile for calling. Now
mobile is also used for online classes. Smartphones with internet connections
are very helpful to stay connected with our friends, family through Facebook,
Instagram etc.
ICT in our daily life
1. ICT in Business: - In the world of business, transactions happen
through internet and hence called e-commerce. ICT helps in
marketing, product browsing, tax and shopping, receipt and process
order.
2. ICT in financial services: - Transferring money from one account to
other, running the day to day transactions of the bank are provided
through internet.
3. ICT in entertainment: - Internet is a package if movies, games,
books and social networking.
4. ICT in public service: - E-governance practice is encouraged by both
Central and State Government actively. Like, booking an LPG cylinder
through the website of the gas supplier, pay electricity bills online
through an online bill desk.
5. ICT in education: - ICT has also become integral to the teaching-
learning process. ICT, to some extent, has replaced traditional
chalkboards with interactive digital whiteboards.
ICT Tools:
Smartphone: Once the mobile phone was only used for talking but
nowadays smartphones came into existence. With smartphones we can
purchase things online, play games, watch movies, make a video call, book a
ticket and many more things. Android, IOS and Windows are some common
operating systems of smartphones.
Tablet: Tablet is also like a smartphone. It has a wider screen. Some
activities like reading and watching movies need a wider screen so we use
tablets. It can do almost all the things that a computer does.
TV and Radio: TV and Radio are used as ICT tools for a long time. Radio is
used to broadcast only sound. TV is used to broadcast both sound and video.
It is the easiest way to reach a large number of people at a time.
PDA: PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) is a handheld computer without a
keyboard but with a screen to use a pen-like stylus to type or draw the text.
They can write notes, read charts, link, upload & access to the internet.
Various Components of Computer System
Computer hardware: The physical part of a computer which we can touch
like monitor, CPU, UPS, keyboard, Mouse etc. are the hardware of the
computer.
Software: The part that we cannot see or touch like programmes on a
computer. The software makes hardware work or interacts with humans.
Software can be of different types
1. Application Software: - An application or a program, or group of
programs that is designed for the end user is called an application
software. Example: - database programs, word processors, web
browsers, spreadsheets, email applications etc.
2. System Software: - System software is a kind of computer program
that is designed to run computer’s hardware and application
programs. If we think of the computer system as a layer model, the
system software is the interface between the hardware and user
applications.
3. Operating Systems: - The most important software is OS (Operating
System). It starts working as soon as we start the computer. OS is a
system software that manages computer hardware and software
resources and provide common services for computer programs.
Example: Windows, Ubuntu, Linux etc.
Primary and Secondary Memory
Computer Memory
It is a storage area where all the data is stored.
ROM: Read Only Memory stores all the data. It is non Volatile that means
once data is saved it remains there until you delete it.
RAM: Random Access Memory is an internal memory that is volatile means
data is deleted from RAM once power supply is off. It takes data from
secondary storage devices for processing.
Secondary Memory: It is an external device to store data. Example: Pen
drives, CDs, External Hard Disk Drive, Memory Card etc.
Key Concepts
8 bits (b) 1 Byte (B) 23 bits (b)
4 bits (b) 1 nibble 22 bits (b)
2 nibble 1 Byte (B) 21 nibble
1024 Byte (B) 1 Kilo Byte (KB) 210 Byte (B)
1024 Kilo Byte (KB) 1 Mega Byte (MB) 210 Kilo Byte (KB)
1024 Mega Byte (MB) 1 Giga Byte (GB) 210 Mega Byte (MB)
1024 Giga Byte (GB) 1 Tera Byte (TB) 210 Giga Byte (GB)
1024 Tera Byte (TB) 1 Peta Byte (PB) 210 Tera Byte (TB)
1024 Peta Byte (PB) 1 Exa Byte (EB) 210 Peta Byte (PB)
1024 Exa Byte (EB) 1 Zetta Byte (ZB) 210 Exa Byte (EB)
1024 Zetta Byte (ZB) 1 Yotta Byte (YB) 210 Zetta Byte (ZB)
Input Device:
Device through which we input data in a computer. Like- Mouse, Keyboard
Keyboard
Types of keys on Keyboard
1. Function keys: Keys from F1 to F12 which performs special functions
2. Control Keys: Ctrl, Alt, Tab, Shift are control keys
3. Enter Key: to enter the data
4. Navigation Key: The four arrow keys (Up, Down, Left, Right) are
navigation keys
5. Command Keys: Delete and backspace are command keys.
6. Windows Keys: It opens the start menu
Pointing Devices:
Mouse: It allows to control the pointer of the mouse on the screen and
select icons.
Joystick: It is commonly used for video games
Light pen: used to make graphic designs
Graphic Tablet: It allows you to write on the screen.
Touchscreen: To send touch signals to a computer
Trackball: It is just like a mouse but used for special purpose
Scanner: It scans the document and converts it into digital form
MICR: Magnetic Ink Character Reader used to read Cheques in Banks.
OCR: Optical Character Reader to convert books and prints to electronic form
OMR: Optical Mark Reader used to detect marks on paper of MCQ type
exams
Barcode Reader: It is used to read barcodes on different things like books,
food packets etc.
Microphone (Mic): To Input audio
Web Camera: to input Video
Biometric Sensor: To input Fingerprints
Smart Card Reader: It reads Credit and Debit Cards
Output Devices: Output Devices are used to get the output of the task
done on the computer. First of All, we input some data and then it goes into
processing after all we get the final result.
We get output from these devices: Monitor, Printer, Plotter, Speaker,
Headphone, Projector, Speech Synthesizer, etc.
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
It is the part of the computer which carries out all the tasks. It mainly
processes the input data and gives the output data.
ALU: Arithmetic and Logic Unit carries out all logical and arithmetic tasks like
addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, <,>,= etc.
Control Unit (CU): It mainly coordinates with input and output devices.
Motherboard: A motherboard also referred to as a system board, is the
main circuit board inside a computer. It connects input, processing and
output devices.
Basic Computer Operations
Starting a computer
To start a computer, press the Power button on the CPU. This will start the
Windows operating system and display the Windows desktop on the monitor.
Basic functions performed when a computer starts
When we start the computer, it runs automatically a basic program BIOS
which self-tests. If everything is ok then it runs OS and finally, the computer
starts.
Login and logout
When multiple users use the same computer and want to secure their data
separately then they can create login IDs. each one has a different password
to start the computer and after completing the task logout is done.
Shutting down a computer
It is a process to turn off the computer. To shut down the computer in
Ubuntu by clicking “Systems” at the top right and then click on Shut Down.
In windows, we can click Alt+F4 to shut down the computer.
Files and folders
File: All information are kept in files. Files have names and extensions.
Different files have different extensions to identify the file types. Ex- .txt for
text document, .jpeg for image, .avi for video etc.
Folder: It is a location where a group of files can be stored. We can create a
number of folders inside the folder. A folder within folded is called a
subfolder.
OPERATING SYSTEMS: - Operating system is an interface between user
and hardware. An Operating system performs all the basic tasks like
managing file, process, and memory.
Commonly used operating systems
DOS: - DOS (Disk Operating System) is an operating system for a personal
computer. Early computers were able to run one program at a time. It had a
command line interface in which a user has to remember the commands to
run the program and do other system tasks. For example, the DOS
command, dir, will display the list of files in the current directory.
Windows: - It is an operating system developed by Microsoft. Some popular
versions of Windows operating system are- Windows 98, Windows, 2000,
Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.
Linux: - It is an operating system designed for personal computers. It is a
free and open-source software, which means it can be modified and
redistributed.
Communication and Networking — Basics of
Internet
Internet is a huge network of computers around the world. World Wide Web
(WWW) is a collection of all websites we visit on the internet.
Uses Of Internet
• Search information
• Shopping
• Online booking
• Entertainment
• E-mail and chatting
• Online learning
• Social networking
• Online banking
Connecting to the Internet
An Internet Service Provider (ISP)─i.e., the telephone company which
provides Internet connectivity using the phone lines or a wireless network.
Types of connections
(a) Wired connections: When the internet is connected through a wired
medium like Ethernet cable.
(b) Wireless connection: When the internet is connected through a
wireless medium like Wi-Fi.
Bandwidth: The amount of data transferred in a certain amount of time. In
analogue devices, the bandwidth is expressed in cycles per second, or Hertz
(Hz). Data transferred digitally is measured by bits per second (bps)
1 Kbps (kilobits per second) = 1000 bits per second
1 Mbps (megabits per second) = 1000 kilo bits per second
1 Gbps (gigabits per second) = 1,000 mega bits per second
Internet browser: The application software is used to visit websites.
Example -Chrome, Firefox
Communication and Networking — Internet Browsing
World Wide Web (WWW)
It is a vast network of files stored in computers all over the world.It is made
up of
1. Web Page: A web page is a document present on a computer that is
connected to the internet each webpage has a unique address like
https://www.crackmycbse.com.
2. Web browser: Application software to use the information available on
the Internet. Ex- Chrome, Opera, Firefox
3. Hyperlinks: Highlighted words on a webpage. If you click on that it will
redirect you to another page.
Important parts of a web browser
(i) Address bar: To type the address of the webpage
(ii) Tabbed browsing (Ctrl+Tab): It is used to view multiple web pages in
the same window
(iii) Back and forward buttons: Used to get back or next page
(iv) Refresh button (F5): To refresh the page
Communication and Networking
Introduction to e-Mail
Electronic Mail (E-mail) is a quick way to send messages to people using the
internet. We can send videos, documents, spreadsheets, etc., along with the
e-mail as attachments.
E-mail ID or Address
The e-mail address is made up of two parts separated by the @ symbol.
Ex- kendriya1405@gmail.com, kendriya1405 is the name given by the user
and gmail.com domain which provides mail service.
Advantages of e-mail
1. Delivery of mail is very fast.
2. Cost of mail is almost free.
3. Multiple copies can be sent at a time
4. Pictures, documents can be attached
Creating an e-Mail Account
Go to gmail.com click on create an account. After filling in all the details set
up a new account.
Writing an e-Mail
To write a new e-mail, connect to the Internet and open Gmail. Sign In with
your login Id. Click on compose and write the message. after entering the
mail address of the receiver set the mail.
Draft Folder: All emails are stored which are written but not sent.
Junk/Spam: The mail which is not useful is stored in it.
Trash: Holds all deleted emails.
Receiving and Replying to e-mails
Receiving an e-mail: All emails received are in Inbox.
Replying to an e-mail: To reply to the email click on the reply button.
Forwarding an e-mail: To send the same message click on forward
Deleting an e-mail: Click on the delete icon to delete emails.
