2.

Computer is considered powerful because of the

MODULE 1: OVERVIEW: IT AND COMPUTER
following:

1. Speed
LESSON 1: INFOR MATION TECHNOLOGY AND
 Circuits
BUS INESS
 Billions of operations in a single second
2. Reliability and C onsistency
INFOR MATION TECHNOLOGY
 Low failure rate
Macmillan Dictionary of Information Technology  Consistent results
defines IT as "the acquisition, processing, storage and 3. Accuracy
dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical  Depends on input
information by a micro-electronics-based combination 4. Storage
of computing and telecommunications".  Transfer data quickly
 Store enormous amounts of data
 The new information technology is seen as
5. Communications
involving the formulating, recording and
 Computers can share information
processing and not just transmitting of,
information.
 Modem information technology deals with a
COMPUTER USAGE
wide variety of ways of representing
information. It covers not only the textual, but What are five categories of computer users?
also numerical, visual, and auditory
representations.  Home
 Small Office/Home Office (SOHO)
 Mobile
LESSON 2: DATA AND INFOR MATION  Large Business
 Power
DATA
What are the computer available for a home user?
Data is a raw and unorganized fact that required to be
processed to make it meaningful. Data can be simple at At home, you can find Desktop C omputer, PDA, mobile
the same time unorganized unless it is organized. phones

 data comprises facts, observations, perceptions Uses:

numbers, characters, symbols, image, etc. Data  Web access / Internet
is always interpreted, by a human or machine,  Educational
to derive meaning.
 Entertainment
 Communications
 Word Process
INFOR MATION
 Personal finance management
Information is a set of data which is processed in a
What software is available for a small office/home
meaningful way according to the given requirement.
office (SOHO) user?
Information is processed, structured, or presented in a
given context to make it meaningful and useful. It is In office, Desktop C omputers and Local area network
processed data which includes data that possess (LAN) are always available in order accomplish task
context, relevance, and purpose. It also involves
Uses:
manipulation of raw data.
 Spreadsheets
 Information also refers to the knowledge
 E-mail
obtained from reading, investigation, study or
research.  Internet use
 Manage finances
LESSON 3: COMPUTER AND ITS USES  Productivity software
 Specialty software

COMPUTER What is available for a mobile user?

A computer is an electronic device, operating under the Hardware and S oftware are available
control of instructions stored in its own memory. These Uses:
instructions tell the machine what to do. It can perform
activities that involve Mathematical, Logical and  Productivity
graphical manipulations.  Presentation
 Personal information manager
What are the needs of the large business user? CLASSIFICATION ON THE BAS IS OF APPLICATIONS

 Web access On the basis of different applications or purpose,

 Public kiosk computers can be classified into the following
 Telecommuting categories:
 Network
1. General purpose computers
 Productivity software - designed in such a manner that they can work
 Scheduling in all environments
What are the needs of a power user? - versatile and can store a number of programs
meant for performing distinct tasks.
Speed and large amounts of storage. - not efficient and consume a large amount of
Types of power users time in generating the results.
2. Special purpose computers
 Engineers - designed in such a manner that they can
 Architects perform only a specified task.
 Desktop publishers - not versatile and their speed and memory size
 Graphic artists depend on the task that is to be performed.
- efficient and consume less amount of time in
generating the results.
MODULE 2: COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS

CLASSIFICATION ON THE BAS IS OF S IZE

LESSON 4: CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS On the basis of size, shape the computers can be
classified into the following categories.

The computer systems can be classified on the following

basis: Microcomputers
1. Based on operating principles
- small and cheap digital computer that is
2. Based on applications/purpose
designed to be used by individuals.
3. Based on size and capability
- built around a microprocessor, a storage unit,
and an I/o channel.
- generally, in the form of PCs, workstations and
CLASSIFICATION ON THE BAS IS OF OPERATING notebook computers.
PRINCIPLES
Desktop Computer
Analog Computers
- a personal or micro-mini computer sufficient to
represent data in the form of continuous fit on a desk.
electrical signals having a specific magnitude. These
computers are very fast in their operations to be carried Laptop Computer
out at the same time. They are a powerful tool to solve
- a portable computer complete with an
differential equations.
integrated screen and keyboard.
Digital Computers - smaller in size than a desktop computer and
larger than a notebook computer.
known as the digital information processing
system, is a type of computer that stores and processes Palmtop Computer/Digital Diary /Notebook /PDAs
data in the digital form. Therefore, each type of data is
- hand sized computer.
usually stored in these computers in terms of 0s and 1s.
- have no keyboard but the screen serves both as
The output produced by these computers is also in the
an input and output device.
digital form.
Workstations
Hybrid Computers
- terminal or desktop computer in a network.
a combination of analog computer and digital
- a generic term for a user's machine (client
computer because it encompasses the best features of
machine) in contrast to a "server" or
both these computers. The hybrid computer is also less
"mainframe."
expensive than the digital computers.
Mini computers

- introduced in the year 1960 by Digital

Equipment C orporations(DEC).
 - general purpose devices without the COMPONENTS OF COMPUTER S YSTE MS
monumental expenses associated with a larger
 Computer hardware - Are physical parts/
system.
intangible parts of a computer. e.g. Input
- processing power is below that of mainframe
devices, output devices, central processing unit
systems but above the capabilities of personal
and storage devices.
computers.
 Computer software - also known as programs
Mainframe computers or applications. They are classified into two
classes namely - system software and
- large sized computer types.
application software.
- equally powerful but fall short in terms of the
 Live ware/People ware - is the computer user.
computation ability in supercomputers.
Also kwon as orgware or the human ware. The
- Also known as big iron, these systems can
user commands the computer system to
handle massive amounts of data going in and
execute on instructions.
out simultaneously.

Super computers
COMPUTER HARDWARE
- the fastest type of computers that can perform
complex operations at a very high speed. Hardware refers to the physical, tangible computer
- first presented in the year 1960s by S eymour equipment and devices, which provide support for
Cray at C ontrol Data C orporation(CDC). major functions.
- more expansive than the other categories of
computers. Input Devices - devices used for entering data or
instructions to the central processing unit. Are classified
according to the method they use to enter data.

LESSON 5: BAS IC OPERATIONS AND a) KEYING DEVICES: Are devices used to enter
COMPONENTS OF COMPUTERS data into the computer using a set of Keys
E.g. Keyboard, key-to- storage and keypad.
b) POINTING DEVICES: Are devices that enter
data and instructions into the computer
using a pointer that appears on the screen.
e.g. mice, joystick, touch sensitive screen,
trackballs
c) SCANNING DEVICES: Are devices that
capture an object or a document directly
from the source. They are classified
OPERATIONS OF COMPUTER S YSTE MS according to the technology used to capture
Input data e.g. S canners and Document readers.

Input is whatever goes into the computer. Input can Output Devices - any piece of computer hardware
take a variety of forms; from commands you enter by equipment used to communicate the results of data
keyboard to data from another computer (via a network processing carried out by an information processing
connection) or device (via direct or network system (such as a computer) which converts the
connection). electronically generated information into human
readable form.
Processing

Computers have the innate ability to process data using

a central processing unit (CPU). Also known as the COMPUTER SOFTWARE
processor, this device is the brain of the PC. Software is a set of programs, which is designed to
Output perform a well-defined function. A program is a
sequence of instructions written to solve a particular
Output is any information (data) that comes out of a problem.
computer. Output devices can be other computers,
display screens, speakers, and printers. There are two types of software

Storage  System S oftware

 Application S oftware
Computer data storage is referred to as storage or
memory, which can save digital data. System Software - a collection of programs designed to
operate, control, and extend the processing capabilities
of the computer itself.
Application Software - designed to satisfy a particular USE OF INTERNET
need of a particular environment. All software
1. Electronic Mail (email)
applications prepared in the computer lab can come
under the category of Application software. The first major use of the internet is Email. People
thronged to Email for sharing information, data files,
Photos, Videos, Business communications, and any
LIVE WARE other files instantaneously with others.

The computer is designed to be used by people. The 2. FTP File Transfer

people who use the computer are referred to as people
This is the second major use case for the internet in the
ware component of the computer system. People ware
early days. FTP is the file transfer protocol that enables
refers to the role of people in the development and use
data exchange between two stakeholders over internet
of computer software and hardware.
media in a secure way.

3. Search Engines
LESSON 6: COMPUTER VIRUSES These engines locate the information one seeks,
available in whichever server across the globe (world
wide web). Google, Yahoo, and MS N are the renowned
A computer virus is a program or piece of code that is
search engines in use today.
loaded onto your computer without your knowledge
and runs against your wishes. Viruses can also replicate 4. E-Commerce
themselves. All computer viruses are man-made. A
The Internet enables the selling of goods and services in
simple virus that can make a copy of itself over and over
online mode. There are many e-commerce platform
again is relatively easy to produce.
vendors like Amazon, Ola who aggregate several
Viruses products/services available in the market and sell them
through their portal to customers.
A virus is a small piece of software that piggybacks on
real programs. 5. Online Banking

E-mail viruses Called as Net banking, it allows doing banking

transactions at ease sitting at home or while on mobile.
An e-mail virus travels as an attachment to e-mail
messages, and usually replicates itself by automatically 6. Cashless Transactions
mailing itself to dozens of people in the victim's e-mail
Bill Payment at merchandise outlets through debit
address book.
cards, credit cards, UPI gateway are on the increase.
Trojan horses
7. Education
A Trojan horse is simply a computer program. The
The Internet offers a wealth of educational material on
program claims to do one thing (it may claim to be a
any subject with structured navigation and search
game) but instead does damage when you run it (it may
facilities.
erase your hard disk). Trojan horses have no way to
replicate automatically. 8. Collaboration
Worms Online chat tools like messenger, S kype, and other
video conferencing tools help people to get connected
A worm is a small piece of software that uses computer
24 x7 and have a hassle-free business and personal
networks and security holes to replicate itself. A copy of
discussion.
the worm scans the network for another machine that
has a specific security hole. 9. Social Networking

Internet connects people online and enables them to

form social groups. Information, Ideas, views, and
MODULE 3: INTERNET BAS ICS opinions on any social/political issues are exchanged.

LESSON 7: WORKING ON INTERNET, USE OF

INTERNET

INTERNET

Internet is a virtual networking medium that can be

connected and used on a variety of devices these days.
It enables the users to send, receive, collect, store,
update, delete, and many other operations of the data
across the world.
 LESSON 8: OVERVIEW OF WORLD WIDE WEB & SEARCH ENGINE
WEB BROWSERS, SEARCH ENGINE It refers to a huge database of internet resources such
as web pages, newsgroups, programs, images etc. It
WORLD WIDE WEB
helps to locate information on World Wide Web.
The abbreviation “www” stands for World Wide Web,
Search Engine Components
the World Wide Web is a way to access the information
on the Internet. Generally, there are three basic components of a search
engine as listed below:
WEB BROWSER
a) Web crawler: It is also known as spider or bots.
This is a software program that allows you to view web
It is a software component that traverses the
pages and navigate the Internet. Microsoft’s Internet
web to gather information.
Explorer is probably the most commonly used web
b) Database: All the information on the web is
browser. It often comes pre-installed when you
stored in database. It consists of huge web
purchase a computer that has a Microsoft Windows
resources.
operating system.
c) Search Interfaces: This component is an
interface between user and the database. It
helps the user to search through the database.

Search Engine Working

Following are the steps that are performed by the

search engine:

 The search engine looks for the keyword in the

index for predefined database instead of going
directly to the web to search for the keyword.
 It then uses software to search for the
information in the database. This software
component is known as web crawler.
SURFING THE WEB  Once web crawler finds the pages, the search
“S urfing the Web” or “Web S urfing” refers to browsing engine then shows the relevant web pages as a
the World Wide Web by going from website to website result. These retrieved web pages generally
in search of something that interests you. include title of page, size of text portion, first
several sentences etc.
- A web page is a single page of information on
the World Wide Web.
- A website refers to a group of web pages
LESSON 9: WORKING WITH E -MAIL
identified by a single domain.
- A homepage is the first or front page of a
website. If you were to type E MAIL
“www.indianhills.edu” into your web browser,
the first web page that came up would be the Email is a service which allows us to send the message
website’s homepage. in electronic mode over the internet. It offers an
- A URL or “Uniform Resource Locator” is the efficient, inexpensive and real time mean of distributing
unique address of each web page. information among people.
- A protocol is a set of rules, used to retrieve a
E-MAIL ADDRESS
specific document. The “http” in our URL refers
to Hypertext Transfer Protocol. The “http” is Each user of email is assigned a unique name for his
followed by a colon and two forward slashes, email account. This name is known as E -mail address.
then “www,” which refers to the World Wide Different users can send and receive messages
Web. according to the e-mail address.
- The domain name consists of two parts. In our
CREATING E MAIL ACCOUNT
example, “indianhills.edu” is the domain name.
where “Indian hills” is the host and “.edu” is the There is various email service provider available such as
top-level domain. This suffix indicates the type Gmail, Hotmail, ymail, rediff mail etc. Here we will learn
of organization to which the host belongs. how to create an account using Gmail.
- Directory/Page, the next part of the URL tells
the web browser where to find the specific web 1. Open gmail.com and click create an account.
page on the website. 2. Now a form will appear. Fill your details here
and click Next S tep.
 3. This step allows you to add your picture. If you
don’t want to upload now, you can do it later.
Click Next S tep.
4. Now a welcome window appears. C lick
Continue to Gmail.

Key Points:

 Gmail manages the mail into three categories

namely Primary, S ocial and Promotions.
 Compose option is given at the right to
compose an email message.
 Inbox, S tarred, sent mail, Drafts options are
available on the left pane which allows you to
keep track of your emails.

COMPOS ING AND SENDING E MAIL

Before sending an email, we need to compose a

message. When we are composing an email message,
we specify the following things:

 Sender’s address in to field: To whom you will

send the mail
 Cc (if required)
 Bcc (if required)
 Subject of email message: Indicate what is your
mail all about
 Text: C ontent of your mail
 Signature