EDU430 Midterm Notes by Mahar Afaq Safdar Muhammadi

EDU430 · ICT in Education · Virtual University of Pakistan, Lahore · Important Notes by Mahar Afaq Safdar Muhammadi · MSc Math, MA Islamic Studies & B.Ed. Scholar · Topic No. 1 · Definition of ICT

ICT is concerned with the storage, retrieval, manipulation, transmission or reception of digital data.

Communication Technology

•  Communication Technology implies the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to exchange information verbally or nonverbally.
•  It is processing of information in terms of accessing information, decoding information and sending it via a medium.
•  Communication Technology is the electronic systems used for communication between individuals or groups.

Topic No. 2

Information and Communication Technology

"ICT is defined, as a diverse set of technological tools and resources used to communicate, and to create, disseminate, store, and manage information" (Mangal, 1997).

Characteristics of ICT

•  ICT is the integration of Hardware and Software Technology.
•  ICT fosters the dissemination of information and knowledge.
•  The nature of ICT is digital and virtual.
•  ICT is global, anywhere, any time.
•  ICT is a key enabler in the creation of networks.

Topic No. 3

Computer Informatics

•  Informatics‟ is the study of information processing
•  Educational Informatics is the study of the application of digital technologies and techniques to the use and communication of information in learning and education.
•  Educational Informatics is the development, use, and evaluation of digital systems that use pedagogical knowledge to engage in or facilitate resource discovery in order to support learning.
•  Studying the techniques and impact of „digital technologies‟ within the context of the „use and communication of information‟ in educational settings.
•  Educational informatics represents the intersection of three disciplines: teaching and learning, information science, and information communication technologies (ICTs).

Computer Network

•  Inter connected collection of autonomous computers.

Topic No. 4

Computer Networking

•  Copper wire
•  Microwaves
•  Fiber optics
•  Communication satellites

Local Area Network and its Characteristics

•  Local area networks are networks with in a single building or campus or up to a few kilometers in size.

Characteristics of LAN

•  Low delay
•  Very few errors
•  Higher speed
•  LANs are restricted in size (Functions within 10 KMs).
•  Transmission time is bounded.
•  Simple network management

Topic No. 5

Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

•  MAN is an extension of LANs.
•  It normally covers the area of a city (are less than 100KMs.
•  Uses a combination of different hardware and transmission media to cover distances efficiently.

Wide Area Network and its Characteristics

•  It is defined as networking in a large geographical area, often a country or continent.

Characteristics of WAN

•  WAN uses telephone lines or satellite links as a medium.
•  LAN may be connected to WAN.
•  It covers different cities or countries.
•  WANs are not owned by anyone organization but are under collective ownership and management.
•  Complex network design
•  Error rate is large.
•  Speed is less compared to LAN

Advantages of ICT in Education

•  Quick access to information
•  Easy availability of updated data
•  Connecting Geographically dispersed regions
•  Catering to the Individual differences
•  Wider range of communication media
•  Wider learning opportunities for pupils

Topic No. 6

Internet

Internet is a huge collection of computer networks that can be communicated with each other. This word is coined from the words „interconnection‟ and „network‟. Through this, each computer user can communicate and share common resources with other users.

Web Server

It is a programme and a computer clubbed into one entity which responds to the requests from web browsers for internet resources. The primary function of a web server is to deliver web pages to clients‟ e.g. Apache HTTP Server, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) and Sun Java System Web Server.

Topic No. 7

Web Browser

It is a programme that allows a user to display and interact with a „hypertext‟ documents e.g. Internet Explorer, Net Scape Navigator, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome.

Difference between Website and Web Page

Website

Website is defined as a collection of related pages on particular information.

Web Page

It is a file of information stored on a web server.

Topic No. 8

Homepage

Home page is the first hypertext document to be shown when a user follows a link to the web server.

Search Engines

Search engines can be defined as special tool to search for information on the net.

•  AltaVista
•  Yahoo
•  Google
•  Bing
•  AOL

Topic No. 9

World Wide Web (WWW)

•  WWW is a vast collection of documents stored on internet computers.
•  It was invented by Tim Berner Lee.
•  It provides easy access to information.
•  It is a system of media rich documents spread across the internet, linked with each other.
•  WWW documents contain texts, pictures, sound, video, etc.

Intranet and its Characteristics

•  Intranet can be defined as collection of private computer networks within an organization. Internal or private network of an organization based on internet technology (such as hypertext and protocols) and accessed over the internet.
•  An intranet is meant for the exclusive use of the organization and its associates (customers, employees, members, suppliers, etc.) and is protected from unauthorized access with security systems such as firewalls.
•  An intranet should be closed off to the general public and require a login for authorized users.

Topic No. 10

Difference between Uploads and Downloads

•  Both upload and download refer to the process of transferring a file.

Uploading

•  Upload means to transfer a file or files from your own computer to another computer.
•  Uploading is the process of copying files from your computer to a remote location. For example, you might transfer a file from your home PC to the Yahoo! Computer that stores your Web Hosting files.

Downloading

•  Download means to transfer a file from another computer to your own computer.
•  Downloading is the process of copying files to your computer from a remote location. For example, you might download a file from your Web Hosting account to your home PC.

Hosting

•  For a website to be viewed by other people it must be stored on a computer (server) that is connected to the internet.
•  A company that provides this service is known as a host; and the service it provides is hosting.