Unit 3: Basic ICT Skills

SESSION 1: Information and Communication Skills

Exercise
1. How do we use information in various ways?
Information is dealt with by us in following ways:
1. Accessing the information: Various means like computers, communication networks, smart phones help us access
information through world wide web.
2. Creation of information: Computers, digital cameras, digital recorders, smart phones, scanners etc. help us create
information in various forms like text, audio-video and image.
3. Sharing and distributing information: The internet, communication networks and tools like video conferencing, video
chat platforms, smart phones and computers are the tools to disseminate information.
4. Storing and managing information: Databases, computers, storage devices like disks, pen drives, online drives are the
means to store and manage information.
2. How are computers useful in our daily life?
Computers help us in almost all aspects of life be it education, entertainment, travel, our profession, using various services,
communication, using social media, health care, doing our business, doing financial transactions etc.
3. How computers help in running various businesses and industries?
All kinds of business operations are carried out very easily and accurately by computers. Database of all the business details
is maintained by computers. Small shops, supermarkets, big companies, restaurants, small offices use computers for
efficient service. People access the services and buy products from businesses online. New technologies like big data and
cloud computing provide enormous capabilities to the computers for bright future of industries.
4. Why ICT skills are necessary for us in today’s world?
World around us is impossible to believe without the presence of computers. To survive in our trade and profession, we
must have necessary ICT skills. Information and communication technology skills make our lives easier by easing our tasks
up to greater extent. Availing a domestic service, booking travel tickets, hotel room and flights, ordering food, finding a
location using GPS, interacting with people, instant communication are the part of our daily life. It also helps us remain
competitive in our career.

SESSION 2: Computer System

Exercise
1. What is the role of input and output devices in a computer system?
Input devices are used to feed input to the computer in different forms like clicking on command with the mouse, typing
data through keyboard, scanning image using scanner, feeding video through a web camera and recording audio with
microphone.
Output devices generate result of processing in various forms like text, image and video on monitor, hard copy print by
printer, maps by plotter, and audio through speaker.
2. List differences between primary and secondary memory.
Primary memory is usually not permanent. It loses data once power is switched off while secondary memory is permanent
storage. Storage capacity of primary memory is very less as compared to permanent memory which can store data in bulk
form. Primary memory is less expensive than permanent memory.
3. How is RAM different from ROM?
RAM is main working memory of the computer. It stores the working data of the user as long as computer is powered on
while ROM contains permanent instructions. RAM is Read/Write memory as data can be read and written on it while ROM
is Read Only memory. Storage capacity of RAM is higher than that of ROM. RAM is upgradable.
4. What do you mean by peripheral devices?
In addition to standard devices that form the actual computer system for standard input, output and processing operations
there are additional devices which extend the functionality of a computer system such as printing out the content (printer),
transmitting messages over network (modem), scanning images (scanner), recording voice and video (microphone and web
camera).
5. Describe any 5 peripheral devices.

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 1. Printer: It prints out the hard copy of the documents and images over variety of medium like paper, plastic sheets etc.
Ranging from a simple desk jet printer to industry line printer used to print banners and posters, printers come in a
wide variety to cater to various printing needs of various industries.
2. Scanners: This device is used to scan documents and store them in the computer for later use. A flatbed scanner can
scan whole sheets of documents while handheld scanners are useful for quick scanning of a part of a document like a
few lines or an image.
3. Speakers: Speakers are used to generate sound. They convert analog electric signals into air vibrations. Speakers are
used to listen to music and sounds on the computer.
4. Web camera: It captures live video stream and still images. It is used in live chats, video conferencing and online
classrooms.
5. Plotters: They draw maps and deigns. They are used for computer aided designing by architects and designers.

6. Describe the functioning of processing unit.

A CPU consists of Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) and Control Unit (CU).
1. Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU): The ALU performs all arithmetic operations and logic operations. Logic operations test
various logical conditions encountered during processing and different actions to be taken.
2. Control Unit (CU): It coordinates the components of a computer system. The control unit manages the execution of
program instructions by fetching instructions from memory, parsing those instructions as necessary and then
scheduling the appropriate hardware components to act on those instructions.

SESSION 3: Basic Computer Operations

Exercise
1. List the steps to switch on and shutdown a computer system.
Switching a Computer System On
1. Switch on the UPS by a long press on its power button.
2. Press the power button on the CPU cabinet or system unit and switch on the monitor.
Shutting down the Computer
1. Click on Start button.
2. In the Start menu, click on Shutdown.
3. Switch off the monitor and then UPS.
2. What is the use of operating system?
Operating system controls entire functionality of the computer system. It allows the user to interface with the computer
hardware and make use of other software applications on the computer. Common functions are managing hardware devices,
managing software and scheduling programs, files and storage management and system security.
3. What is the GUI?
Graphical User Interface of any operating system or any application is composed of graphical components such as buttons,
menus, windows, toolbars and dialog boxes etc. In GUI, the commands need not to be remembered and it is very easy to
work with the help of mouse.
4. What is the use of a file and folder?
A file is a collection of related information. In other words, a file is a collection of data stored on a storage device. There are
different types of files depending on the types of information they contain, like document, image file, music file, movie file,
etc.
Folder contains files and other folders. Folders help us organise our data.
5. List the main components of a GUI desktop.
Desktop, icons, Start menu, Taskbar, Program Windows, Dialog boxes and Toolbars etc.
Questions 6 to 8 are practical oriented.

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 SESSION 4: Performing Basic File Operations
Exercise
A. Choose the correct answer.
1. D 2. A 3. C 4. B

B. Fill in the blanks.

1. Secondary 2. Ctrl+Shift+N 3. Recycle Bin 4. Ctrl+X 5. Delete

C. Answer the following questions.

1. What is a file?
Ans: File stores the data and information on various formats such as text, image or audio-video. Every file has a unique
name and a secondary name which informs about the type file.
2. What is a folder?
Ans: A folder contains files and other folders. Folder is used to organize our data on the computer. A folder that is found
inside another folder is called sub-folder.
3. Write the shortcut key to open Computer window.
Ans: Windows key + E.
4. What is the use of the F2 function key?
Ans: F2 key is used to rename a file or folder.
D. Tick the correct statement and cross out the wrong one.
1. False 2. True 3. False 4. True 5. True

SESSION 5: Internet and Its Applications

Exercise
1. What do you mean by the terms Homepage and Web page?
A web page generally consists of text, images, audios, videos, links, animations, etc. The homepage is the first web page of a
website. It provides introductory information and the links to the other pages of the website.
2. What is the role of browser in accessing internet?
A web browser is an application software that is used to access the information (websites) on the web. Mozilla Firefox,
Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari, Opera are some commonly used browsers.
3. What is electronic mail? What are its advantages over traditional mail?
The term e-mail refers to Electronic Mail. E-mail is a communication system that sends and receives messages through the
internet by using specific e-mail addresses or e-mail IDs.

Advantages of e-mail
E-mail offers many advantages over traditional mailing system listed below:
1. Sending and receiving e-mail is very fast. It is received and delivered within seconds across the world.
2. E-mail is an affordable means of communication as compared to other systems.
3. Sending and receiving e-mail is very easy and convenient. Any type of files can be sent as an attachment through e-mail.
4. Write the steps to compose and send a simple mail without any attachment.
Compose Mail
The steps to compose or create a new mail and send are:
1. Click on Compose button located on the left side pane. A Compose mail frame appears.
2. Type the e-mail address in the To box.
3. Type the subject name in the Subject box to send it with message.
4. Type your message in the message box.
5. Click on Send button.

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 5. What is the difference between replying a mail and forwarding a mail?
When we reply a mail, the message goes back to the original sender of the email. Forwarding means sending the mail
received from someone to other recipients.

Exercise
1. What is the difference between a blog and a standard website?
Blog, earlier known as Weblog, is an online platform which allows a person to post his/ her views on a particular topic or
issue in the form of an online article for other people to visit and go through. Readers can post their comments on the article
and this way threads of interaction and dialogues begin. Blog is maintained by blogger or blog writer. Blogs may be the part
of a web site.
Website is a huge collection of web pages linked together and identified by a web url. They are maintained by team of
professionals and showcase products and services of an organisation.
2. How a Facebook post different from a Tweet?
Facebook post has no word limit. Tweet is 280 characters max. Posts can be shared. Tweets are forwarded as retweets.
3. Describe the features of Twitter and WhatsApp.
Twitter is social media website where users can post short messages including videos, links and text called Tweets. It needs
user account name called Twitter handle. Username is preceded by @ sign.
People can be followed on Twitter timeline displays all the Tweets which are updating amongst your connections. This is
called Twitter feed.
WhatsApp is a messaging application that you can download to your smartphone and use to easily send messages to other
people's mobile phones freely. It also allows video calls freely by using your phone's data connection. WhatsApp allows
creating groups of your contacts. WhatsApp allows video calling too for all Android versions 4.1 and above.
4. Go to a blogging website and create a simple blog telling about yourself.
Practical assignment.
5. List salient features of Facebook and YouTube.
Facebook
Timeline or wall, Page, Events, Photo Albums, News Feeds, Privacy Settings, Profile picture and Cover Picture etc.
YouTube
It is an online platform dedicated to video sharing. People can shoot videos and upload them on YouTube. It lists the most
trending or popular videos. You can search videos or click on the video thumbnails to watch them. YouTube Channel, video
playlist, restricted viewing by applying parental control and safety mode.
6. What do you mean by a YouTube channel?
YouTube Channel: People who are regular users of YouTube and upload videos on it are recommended to create a channel.
Channel is simple a series or collection of related vidoes. The advantage of having a channel for creator is that popularity of
multiple videos can analysed as one channel. It is easier to manage a channel as compared to individual videos. For users, it
is easier to subscribe the channel so that they get reminder about any new video updated by the channel owner.
7. What is Digital India campaign? List its 4 main initiatives.
To ensure that government services and government schemes’ information reaches to masses online easily, government of
India (GoI) launched Digital India campaign in July 2015.
Connecting rural areas over high speed internet connection to bring the remote areas of the country into mainstream and
improve digital literacy is the ambitious objective of the campaign.
Its 4 main initiatives are:
1. Access to mygov.in portal that lists details of all the government services and schemes.
2. Multi-channel, multi-lingual, multi-service mobile app Unified Mobile Application for New Age Governance (UMANG) to
access all government services over handheld devices.
3. Adhaar number has enable to access digital signature service eSign.
4. People can keep digital copies of their important documents over DigiLocker.

8. Go to www.mygov.in and find out various schemes launched by government.

Practical assignment

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 9. How WhatsApp is different from Twitter? Describe briefly.
Twitter is social media website where users can post short messages including videos, links and text called Tweets. It
needs user account name called Twitter handle. Username is preceded by @ sign.
People can be followed on Twitter timeline displays all the Tweets which are updating amongst your connections. This
is called Twitter feed.
WhatsApp is a messaging application that you can download to your smartphone and use to easily send messages to
other people's mobile phones freely. It also allows video calls freely by using your phone's data connection. WhatsApp
allows creating groups of your contacts. WhatsApp allows video calling too for all Android versions 4.1 and above.

Assessment
1. In what ways do we deal with information. Explain very briefly.
Information is dealt with by us in following ways:
1. Accessing the information: Various means like computers, communication networks, smart phones help us access
information through world wide web.
2. Creation of information: Computers, digital cameras, digital recorders, smart phones, scanners etc. help us create
information in various forms like text, audio-video and image.
3. Sharing and distributing information: The internet, communication networks and tools like video conferencing, video
chat platforms, smart phones and computers are the tools to disseminate information.
4. Storing and managing information: Databases, computers, storage devices like disks, pen drives, online drives are the
means to store and manage information.
2. Explain any 2 roles of ICT in our personal daily life.
Entertainment: Presentation of content today has gained completely a different level. Entertainment, news and field of
journalism are greatly supported by computers. Sports, online games, movies, songs, web series, video interaction with
others have taken the entertainment to a next level.
Social Media: Sharing ideas, information, your personal views, achievements, setbacks or any news with almost anyone and
everyone across the globe in moments over internet is due to the World Wide Web running on networks of computers.
Integrated chat services, photo sharing services, video uploads and video interactions are a routine today. Facebook,
WhatsApp, Snapchat, Skype and YouTube have entirely changed the way we connect with people. Writing, photography,
filmmaking, singing, video editing, video consulting, online coaching, relationship advice are new opportunities today.
3. In which 2 industrial or business areas ICT is playing an important role and how?
Health Care: Online diagnostic services, creatively designed medical equipment, consultancy services, personal doctor on-
call, personal online physical trainer etc. are the examples of ICT intervention in health care.
Banking Industry: Entire financial industry all over the world relies and runs over computers and sophisticated
communication infrastructure. Computers are used by banks to maintain the financial database, customers and day to day
transactional details. Instant online transactions, secured transfer of funds, encrypted communication of data, verifying
authenticity, efficient customer support, reaching out with financial schemes to mass – this all has been greatly
revolutionised using computers.
4. Why is keyboard called standard input device?
Most of the input is given in the form of commands and text to the computer. Since the advent of modern computers,
keyboard has been the device used to give input to the computer hence it is called the standard input device which completes
the computer system.
5. What is swift triple mouse click?
Swift triple mouse click selects the whole paragraph.
6. How do ALU and CU aid in data processing by computer?
The arithmetic-logic unit (ALU) performs all arithmetic operations and logic operations. Logic operations test various logical
conditions encountered during processing.
Control Unit (CU) is the circuitry that issues commands to other hardware components to execute programs. It manages the
execution of program instructions by fetching instructions from memory, parsing those instructions as necessary and then
scheduling the appropriate hardware components to act on those instructions.
7. List any 2 main functions of CPU.
Functions of CPU
1. The CPU accesses and stores the relevant data and instructions during processing.
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