At home

Operating System: Software that performs the basic functions needed for you to use the computer. It
controls such items as display, keyboard, mouse and printer. The OS also allows you to run applications
such as word processors or email.

Modem: A device which connects your computer to your Internet Service Provider. Depending on your
type of service (i.e. cable , DSL, dial‐up, etc.) the modem may be connected to your telephone or cable
jacks.

Internet/Web Browser: An application that lets you request and send information on the Internet. The
browser is how you will access your online course materials.

Website URL/Address: Each website has a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) they specifies where the web
pages are located o n the Internet. The web browser's address field can be used to enter a specific web
address.

Browser Plug‐in: A small application that works within your browser to display the certain types of
content. If a plug‐in is required your browser will usually prompt you to go to a specific website to
download and install the application.

Browser Version: At times your browser may be eligible for updates or upgrades . Typically you are given
a choice on whether to permit this update. It is helpful to know which version of the browser you are
using, particularly if you are experiencing problems accessing your course materials.

Pop‐ups: Pop‐up windows are sometimes used for online advertisements. Most people prefer to
prevent them by using a browser feature known as the Pop‐Up Blocker. However, some content in your
online course may use pop‐up windows to share important information.
Cookies & Temporary Files: Some websites temporarily download small files when you access the site.
These files, called Cookies, can be used to open a secure session between your computer and another
system such as Moodle or Cambro. They also can be used to recall certain information about your recent
activity. In some cases it may be necessary to delete these temporary files.

For Internet Access

Internet Service Provider: When you access the Internet from your home computer, data passes
between your system and your modem. The modem also passes information through a cable or
telephone line to your Internet Service Provider (ISP). The ISP is the company that you pay for your
internet access. Your ISP acts as the connection between your home and the Internet.

Connection Speeds: The connection speed the will determine how fast you will be able to pass
information between your home and the Internet. Connection speeds may vary for the same service.
Many online courses have materials which can only be viewed easily when what are known as
broadband services (such as DSL, Fiber or Cable). Slower connections are usually use a dial ‐up service
through your telephone line.

Internet: A global system of computers connected together to share information between systems.
When you use a web browser to access a website, the request may travel through many different
computers and paths before the response, for example the web page's content, returns to your home.

World‐ Wide Web (WWW): While the Internet is the actual network, the WWW can be thought of as the
most common use for the Internet. The WWW uses a specific data transfer method called Hypertext
Transfer Protocol (HTTP).That is why most websites have a Uniform Resource Locator stating with the
characters "http://".

Technology Terms for Your Online Course

Learning Management System: Most online courses use a Learning Management System (LMS) to hold
your course materials and other information. In order to access your online course you will use a unique
username and password. These will be provided to you in a letter after you have registered for the
course.
PDF: Many online instructors share course materials using files that can be viewed online or transferred
into your computer. One of the most common file types used is the Portable Document Files (PDF). You
can open these files with an application called Adobe Reader® which is free from Adobe.com.

Media Players: Some courses include content such as video or other interactive exercises. This type of
material usually requires web browser plug‐ins or media players. These media materials are often in
your course and are delivered to you using the LMS. Common media players are: RealPlayer, Quicktime,
VLC

Streaming Video: Some online courses deliver video content using a service that resides outside the
LMS. To access these videos at home you will need to have a valid username and password.

File Transfers: When you move a file from the LMS onto your computer it is called Downloading the file.
You may also need to send files to your instructor as attachments to an email or a Drop‐box. This is
known as Uploading the file to the LMS.

Copy and Paste: When you need to add text to a message in your online course , you may find it easier
to first create the text using on your computer instead of typing the text directly in your course. This can
be done easily by perform the sequence know as Copy and Paste.

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Bandwidth, Broadband

Bandwidth is an indication of how quickly data travels along a connection. The greater the bandwidth,
the faster data will be sent and received. Broadband is a rather vague term that refers to bandwidth
somewhere above that of an old dial-up modem, although there is no precise definition of the term.
Broadband connections are generally “always on”, unlike modem connections. There are various
technologies which provide “broadband” speeds – such as ADSL, cable, satellite etc.

Modem

The word modem was originally coined in the days when computers communicated by converting
numbers into sounds that could then be transmitted over a regular telephone line. At each end you
needed a “modulator” to generate the sounds to transmit and a “demodulator” to convert received
sounds back into numbers. From “MOdulator/DEModulator” came the word modem.

With modern digital communication, no conversion to and from audible sounds is required, but even so
it’s common to hear people talking about “broadband modems” or “ADSL modems” when referring to
devices providing broadband connectivity. Strictly speaking, such devices are not modems at all as they
communicate digitally but the word has stuck; its meaning has shifted to refer to digital devices as well.

Memory, Disk Space

Another very common source of confusion. In computing, “memory” generally refers to the temporary
storage used by a computer whilst it is switched on. A computer loads programs and data into its
memory in order to carry out tasks. This is more accurately called RAM or “random-access memory”.
Disk space (or “hard disk space”), on the other hand, is a more permanent store that holds files even
when the computer is switched off. It’s from here that the computer loads things into its memory.
Strictly speaking you don’t store things in the computer’s memory as that vanishes when you turn the
machine off.

Virus, Spyware, Trojan, Worm, Malware

These terms are often confused, although they have distinct meanings.

A virus is a piece of software that can copy itself and which attaches itself to some other program in
order to survive and replicate. It may have some malicious intent or it may exist simply to reproduce. A
worm is similar but it can exist independently; it doesn’t need to attach to a separate program. A Trojan
– or Trojan Horse – is a piece of software that gains access to a computer by pretending to be benign or
by hiding within some innocent-looking application. The name is obviously derived from the wooden
horse employed by the Greek army during the Trojan Wars. Spyware is software that secretly monitors
computer activity, attempting to gain private information without the computer user knowing.

By and large, all of the above will have some malicious intent – to harm data, spy on computer activity
and so forth. Malware is a general term for all such programs – it simply means any software, of
whatever sort, written with a malicious intent. Viruses are generally malware but there is more to
malware than just viruses.
Bits, Bytes

At a basic level, all computer data is just a series of 0s and 1s. Each of these is referred to as a “binary
digit”, for which “bit” is just an abbreviation. A byte is (generally) a collection of eight bits, so called
because of the pun with bit and bite. Similarly a collection of four bits – half a byte – is sometimes called
a “nybble”.

In order to refer to large numbers of bits and bytes, various prefixes are used, as in :

1 kilobyte = 1024 (or 1000) bytes

1 megabayte = 1024 (or 1000) kilobytes

1 gigabyte = 1024 (or 1000) megabytes

1 terabyte = 1024 (or 1000) gigabytes

1 petabyte = 1024 (or 1000) terabytes

Reboot

To switch a computer off and on again, allowing its operating system and programs to be reloaded. Note
that this is not the same as placing a computer into standby/hibernate and then resuming. A reboot
requires that all software is completely reloaded.

The term derives from “bootstrap”, as in the phrase “to pull oneself up by one’s bootstraps”, because of
the similarity to that seemingly impossible act (as a computer can’t run without first loading some
software but must be running before any software can be loaded).

Cookie

A small text file sent to your computer by a web site you have visited. These can be very useful in that
they can allow the web site to recognize who you are when you return. Cookies cannot store viruses or
other threats, although they can be used to track your activity across different web sites in order to
provide, for example, “targeted” advertisements.
Firewall

A firewall is a piece of computer software or hardware that restricts the data that is allowed to flow
through. Firewalls block traffic that is undesirable in some way, the intention being to prevent infection
by malware and so on without restricting the user from carrying out legitimate activity.

Spam

Unsolicited email messages sent out in bulk and generally commercial in nature. In fact the term is used
more widely these days to refer to such messages in a variety of places, not just on email – for example
comments on blogs.

The origin of this sense of the word spam is unclear.

CAPTCHA

CAPTCHA checks are the strings of letters and numbers that have to be typed in on some web pages
before something can be saved. They exist because, although humans find interpreting these strings
relatively easy, computers do not. Setting up these checks therefore blocks an automated process – such
as one generating spam – from using the page, whereas a human is still able to.

The acronym CAPTCHA actually stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers
and Humans Apart” – a rather contrived way of arriving at an acronym that sounds like the word
“capture”.

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