COMPUTER

ESSENTIALS
COMPUTERS AND
DEVICES
ICT
DEFINE THE TERM INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)
 ICT - Using digital technology to access, store and process information into an
organized and understandable form
 ICT – it refers to all aspects of managing, communicating and processing
information.
ICDL QUESTION
ICDL QUESTION
IDENTIFY DIFFERENT TYPES OF ICT SERVICES
AND
USES LIKE:
 Internet services - Examples include online banking, online shopping, e-mail ,
data transfer, video conferencing and e-learning.
 Mobile technology - Examples include using the internet on smartphones,
laptops by using mobile communication services (e.g., wireless internet
connections and Bluetooth connectivity).
 Office productivity applications - Examples include word processing,
spreadsheets, presentation software that improve saving time and effort,
make task easier and enable multiple people to work on the same file at the
same time.
IDENTIFY HOW COMPUTER HELPS PEOPLE
PERFORM THEIR JOBS:
 Computer helps people perform their
jobs:
 Businesses: to manage their employee's
records.
 Hospitals: to diagnose, monitor and treat
patients.
 Schools & Universities: to keep track of
student registration and academic records.
ICDL QUESTION
ICDL QUESTION
HARDWARE
DEFINE THE TERM HARDWARE
 Hardware - Physical, tangible items that form parts of a computer system.

 Hardware – all physical parts of a computer that can be seen and touched
either inside or outside the computer case.
IDENTIFY THE MAIN TYPES OF COMPUTERS
LIKE:

Types of Computer

A personal computer (PC) or networked computer.

Desktop
Functions that desktop computer is used for is
Computer
shown on page 3.
A small (lightweight), portable computer designed
Laptop / for mobile, flexible use.
Notebook It can be used for the same functions as a desktop
computer.

A small, mobile, hand-held, slate-shaped computer

Tablet that combines computing and Internet access.
 IDENTIFY THE MAIN TYPES OF DEVICES LIKE:
Types of Devices
• Is a mobile phone offering advanced computing and connectivity capabilities.
• Used for phone calls, e-mail, browsing photos, viewing video clips, Internet
Smart Phone browsing, and working with mobile applications (MS Office and GPS)
• Smartphone operating systems: Google Android, Apple iOS, and Microsoft
Windows.
• Is a portable electronic device
Used to store, organize, download and play audio, image, video and document
Media Player • files.
• Examples: MP3, MP4, and iPod.
Digital • Used to take photographs in digital format
Camera • Information (images and videos) can be transferred from the memory card in the
camera to a computer via a cable or wirelessly via Wi-Fi.
ICDL QUESTION
ICDL QUESTION
 DEFINE THE TERMS PROCESSOR, RANDOM ACCESS
MEMORY (RAM), STORAGE. UNDERSTAND THEIR IMPACT
ON PERFORMANCE WHEN USING COMPUTERS AND
DEVICES.
Main Parts of a Computer
• An important component for processing information.
• It is referred to as Central Processing Unit (CPU), Micro Processes, Processes.
Processor • It is Located in the motherboard.
• It is the control unit, decision-making, calculating and processing brain of the computer.
• It is measured in Megahertz (MHz) or Gigahertz (GHz).
Random
Access • Working temporary memory that loses its data when the computer is shut down (Volatile
Memory memory).
(RAM) • It is measured in MB or GB.

Storage • Internal or external devices that retain (store) digital data for future use.
• Data can be retrieved, changed and re-stored.

The type and speed of the processor, the amount of RAM used, and the amount of available
* storage space (capacity), can have an impact (influence) on the computer’s overall performance.
 DEFINE THE TERMS PROCESSOR, RANDOM ACCESS
MEMORY (RAM), STORAGE. UNDERSTAND THEIR IMPACT
ON PERFORMANCE WHEN USING COMPUTERS AND
DEVICES.

Main Parts of a Computer

• Permanent set of instructions and data when it is manufactured.
For example, it tells the computer how to load the operating system when starting
Read Only •
the computer.
Memory
(ROM) • Data stored in ROM is non-volatile, it does not lose its data when the power is
turned off.
• Data is permanent; it can be read but not changed.
• It is a Random Access Memory that computer processor can access more quickly
than it can access regular RAM.
Cache The CPU stores pieces of data that it will need to access in a cache.
Memory •
• Cache memory is designed to alleviate the bottleneck of data by making the data
used most often by the CPU instantly available.
ICDL QUESTION
ICDL QUESTION
IDENTIFY THE MAIN TYPES OF INTEGRATED
AND EXTERNAL EQUIPMENT LIKE:

Printer Trackpad / Touchpad

Screen Webcam (Web camera)
Scanner Microphone
Keyboard Speakers
Mouse Docking Station
 IDENTIFY THE MAIN TYPES OF INTEGRATED
AND EXTERNAL EQUIPMENT LIKE: PRINTER
Definition • A printer is an output device that produces paper copies
(hard copies) of documents
Printer
specifications See page 9

Types • Impact printers (Dot matrix)

• Non-Impact printers (Laser and Inkjet printers)
Printer Driver • A piece of software to control the printer via a
connection cable or wireless connection.
• It holds or buffers the data while it is being fed to the
Print Spooler printer, which frees up the computer memory to do
other work.
IDENTIFY THE MAIN TYPES OF INTEGRATED
AND EXTERNAL EQUIPMENT LIKE: SCREEN

• Definition
• A computer screen (monitor / display) is the most
used computer output devices.
• The electronic visual display provides instant feedback
by showing you text and graphic images as you work
or play.
 IDENTIFY THE MAIN TYPES OF INTEGRATED
AND EXTERNAL EQUIPMENT LIKE: SCREEN

Types
• Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Screens

• Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Screens

• Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Screens

 IDENTIFY THE MAIN TYPES OF INTEGRATED
AND EXTERNAL EQUIPMENT LIKE: SCREEN

• Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Screens

• Heavy
• Use a lot of desk space and electricity.
• The oldest technology used by screens.
• They generate heat when running.
• The glass envelopes in the screen contain
toxic elements.
 IDENTIFY THE MAIN TYPES OF INTEGRATED
AND EXTERNAL EQUIPMENT LIKE: SCREEN

• Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Screens

• Called a flat-panel display or flat
screen
• Use much less desk space and less
electricity
• Lightweight
• they can produce a very high quality
and stable display of graphic and text.
 IDENTIFY THE MAIN TYPES OF INTEGRATED
AND EXTERNAL EQUIPMENT LIKE: SCREEN
• Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Screens
• based on the same basic technology as LCD for
image display but differ in the kind of
backlighting used.
• very recently introduced technology.
• Softer on the eyes.
• Excellent viewing angles.
• Very light weight.
• 40% less power consumption than LCD.
• Expensive.
IDENTIFY THE MAIN TYPES OF INTEGRATED
AND EXTERNAL EQUIPMENT LIKE: SCREEN

• Screen Resolution
• Refers to the sharpness and clarity of the
images displayed.
• The number of distinct pixels in each dimension
that can be displayed.
• The total number of horizontal and vertical
pixels that the monitor can display.
• Examples of Screen Resolution (See page 12-13)
IDENTIFY THE MAIN TYPES OF INTEGRATED
AND EXTERNAL EQUIPMENT LIKE: SCANNER

Is an input device that able to optically scan images, objects,

Definition text and handwriting and then converts it to a digital image on
the computer.
• Flatbed scanner
Types • Hand-held scanner (3D scanner used in industrial design,
gaming, etc.)
 IDENTIFY THE MAIN TYPES OF INTEGRATED
AND EXTERNAL EQUIPMENT LIKE:

• An input device used to digitally record voice, music or sound into a

computer or device.
Microphone • In computers, microphones are used for recording voice, speech
recognition and VoIP.
• Connected to a computer via USB or wirelessly connected via radio waves
or Bluetooth.
Speaker • An output device that transmit sound from the computer.
• Produces sound waves audible to the human ear
• Connected to the computer via USB or via wireless connection.
 IDENTIFY THE MAIN TYPES OF INTEGRATED
AND EXTERNAL EQUIPMENT LIKE:

Docking • Is a hardware frame and set of electronic connection interfaces that

Station enable a user to connect a portable computer or device to other
devices.
• Is an interface between a computer or device and other devices.
Keyboard • Is an input typing device used to issue commands and enter data.
• For Keyboard keys groups (see page 14)
 IDENTIFY THE MAIN TYPES OF INTEGRATED
AND EXTERNAL EQUIPMENT LIKE:
Mouse • An input device that is used to point, click, drag and select items on
the computer screen.
• It is connected to the computer via cable or it can be cordless.
Trackpad / • Trackpads (Touchpads) are standard equipment in most laptop and
Touchpad notebook computers.
• An input device where a flat surface that is sensitive to pressure and
motion is used to communicate with computer.
Webcam • An input device that feed its images in real time to a computer or
(Web camera) computer network.
• Connected to the computer via USB or via wireless connection.
• Popular uses: video conferencing, placing videos on websites such as
YouTube.
• Inexpensive and easy to use.
 IDENTIFY COMMON INPUT/OUTPUT PORTS
LIKE:
 A port is a place through which information goes into and out of a computer.

 A port is an interface on a computer to which a device can be connected.

UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS (USB) HIGH-DEFINITION MULTIMEDIA INTERFACE (HDMI)

• Designed for personal computers to allow external • It is a compact audio/video interface (input/output
devices to be connected to the computer using a port) for transferring uncompressed digital
single, standardized interface socket. audio/video data from an HDMI-compliant device to
• USB is an input/output port. a compatible digital audio device, computer screen,
• USB port can connect computer peripherals such as: or digital television.
• Mouse • HDMI is used with HDTVs as a connection between
• Keyboard the TV and the source of the HD signal, such as a Blu-
• Smartphone ray player.
• Scanner • HDMI connector allows you to transfer the video to
• Digital camera your computer quickly with some digital cameras
• Printer and camcorders especially those that record full HD
• Media player video.
• Flash device
ICDL QUESTION
ICDL QUESTION
SOFTWARE AND LICENSING
DEFINE THE TERM SOFTWARE AND DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE MAIN
TYPES OF SOFTWARE LIKE: OPERATING SYSTEMS, APPLICATIONS. KNOW
THAT SOFTWARE CAN BE INSTALLED LOCALLY OR AVAILABLE ONLINE

Software - Applications or Software – Set of instructions

programs that perform specific which the computer needs to
tasks, such as word processing operate or function, i.e. to
or graphics editing perform tasks.

Software can be installed on a

Software – all types of
specific computer or device, on
applications loaded on a
a network or accessed via the
computer.
cloud.
DEFINE THE TERM SOFTWARE AND DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE MAIN
TYPES OF SOFTWARE LIKE: OPERATING SYSTEMS, APPLICATIONS. KNOW
THAT SOFTWARE CAN BE INSTALLED LOCALLY OR AVAILABLE ONLINE

 There are two categories of software:

 Operating System Software (System Software)
 Applications software
DEFINE THE TERM OPERATING SYSTEM AND IDENTIFY
SOME COMMON OPERATING SYSTEMS FOR COMPUTERS
AND DEVICES

 Operating System Software (System Software)

 The most fundamental application that runs on the computer.
 The operating system (OS) controls the computer, schedules tasks,
manages storage, and handles communication with other devices.
 Examples of Operating System Software: Windows 10, Ubuntu,
Mac OS X and LINUX.
 A mobile operating system is the operating system that operates a
smartphone, tablet, or other digital mobile devices.
 Examples of mobile OS: Google Android, Apple iOS and Microsoft
Windows.
 Functions of the operating system (See page 20).
ICDL QUESTION
ICDL QUESTION
ICDL QUESTION
ICDL QUESTION
 IDENTIFY COMMON EXAMPLES OF APPLICATIONS LIKE:

 Applications software
 Applications software is task-specific application.
 It is any application designed to perform a specific function directly for the user or for another
application.
 App mean application software written for mobile devices (smaller size and smaller scope of the
software).
 Common examples of application software:
 Office productivity software.
 Communication software
 Social networking software
 Media applications
 Mobile applications
IDENTIFY COMMON EXAMPLES OF APPLICATIONS LIKE:
OFFICE PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE

 Office productivity software

 A productivity suite is a collection of productivity applications, such as
Microsoft office 2016 and OpenOffice.
 A suite normally includes Word processing, spreadsheets, and
presentation applications.
IDENTIFY COMMON EXAMPLES OF APPLICATIONS LIKE:
COMMUNICATION SOFTWARE

 Communication software
 Software to send and receive data over telephone lines through
modems.
 Text, audio and/or video formats are exchanged between different
computers or users.
 Example of communication software are Microsoft Outlook 2016
(email), WhatsApp (instant messaging) and Skype (video conferencing).
IDENTIFY COMMON EXAMPLES OF APPLICATIONS LIKE:
SOCIAL NETWORKING SOFTWARE

 Social networking software

 Employs web- and mobile-based technologies to support interactive
dialogue and introduce considerable and universal changes to
communication between organizations, communities, and individuals.
 Examples of social networking software include Facebook and Twitter.
IDENTIFY COMMON EXAMPLES OF APPLICATIONS LIKE:
MEDIA APPLICATIONS

 Media applications
 Software used for viewing and playing back multimedia files.
 Audio software can be used for playing, recording, converting and
modifying audio files.
 Video software is used to manage and edit videos.
 An example of media software is Windows Media Player.
IDENTIFY COMMON EXAMPLES OF APPLICATIONS LIKE:
MOBILE APPLICATIONS

 Mobile applications
 Software application designed to run on smartphones, tablets and
other mobile devices.
 Available through application distribution platforms such as the Apple
App Store and Google Play Store.
 Examples of mobile applications: email, weather, games, GPS, banking,
Apple Music and Facebook Messenger.
ICDL QUESTION
ICDL QUESTION
DEFINE THE TERM END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (EULA).
RECOGNIZE THAT SOFTWARE MUST BE LICENSED BEFORE USE

 EULA - A legal agreement between the user of software and the software
manufacturer.
 It is the right to install and use the software that has been bought.

 A user must accept the terms and conditions of the EULA by clicking on an
acceptance form that will appear during the installation process.
 Users should ensure all software used is fully licensed before use.
ICDL QUESTION
ICDL QUESTION
 OUTLINE THE TYPES OF SOFTWARE
LICENSES:
 Proprietary License
 Software that must be bought before use
 The end-user must accept the license to use the software
 Example: Microsoft Office

 Open source License

 Free software that makes its source code available for use or modification
 Usually downloaded for free from the internet or bought at a small fee.
 The acceptance of the license is optional.
 Example: OpenOffice
 OUTLINE THE TYPES OF SOFTWARE
LICENSES:
 Shareware / Trial Version License
 Proprietary software that is copyright-protected but may be downloaded by a user to
review and evaluate the software before purchasing it.
 Can either be a fully functional time-limited version of the software or a feature-
limited version of the software.
 Example: Adobe Acrobat Professional

 Freeware License
 Free copyrighted software
 Mostly downloaded from the internet
 Example: Adobe Reader
ICDL QUESTION
ICDL QUESTION
START UP, SHUT DOWN
START A COMPUTER AND LOG ON SECURELY
USING A
USER NAME AND PASSWORD
 Make sure that both the computer and monitor are plugged into a power
source.
 Turn on the computer and the monitor.
 The machine goes through several internal processes before it is ready to use (booting up
the computer – controlled by the computer’s basic input-output system (BIOS)).

 Enter a user name and password when requested.

 Press the Return key.

ICDL QUESTION
ICDL QUESTION
LOG OFF (SIGN OUT) A COMPUTER USING AN APPROPRIATE
ROUTINE

 Method 1:
 Display the Start menu.
 Click your account picture to the
left of the Start menu.
 Select Sign out from the menu.

 Method 2:
 Press the Windows key + L
SHUT DOWN A COMPUTER USING AN APPROPRIATE
ROUTINE

 Method 1:
 Display the Start menu.
 Click the Power button and select
Shut Down from the menu.
 The computer will turn off
automatically.

 Method 2:
 Press Alt + F4
RESTART A COMPUTER USING AN APPROPRIATE
ROUTINE
 Display the Start menu.
 Click the Power button and select
Restart from the menu.
 The computer will reboot
automatically.
THE END