Basic ICT Skills Class 9

(Notes)
Introduction
ICT stands for Information and Communication Technology. ICT
includes computers, the Internet, broadcasting technologies (radio and
television) and telephony.

The various ICT tools that are used include computers, smartphones,
Internet for communication through e-mail and social networks, watching
movies and TV shows, etc.

ICT skills help us to communicate, run our business and stay connected with
our family and friends.

Introduction to ICT
When information is stored and recorded on electronic devices (tablet,
smartphones, laptop), it takes on a ‘digital’ form. The basic ICT skills that
you need are:
1. Knowing how to operate computers; and
2. Knowing how to browse the Internet for collecting, storing and
disseminating information.

ICT at Workplace
At workplace, we use computer software and applications to complete tasks
like making documents, calculations, tables, graphs, etc.

We can also use applications to do every day work, like buying things,
booking train or bus tickets, Internet banking and making online payments.
So employees are expected to possess a sound knowledge of all these to
work independently on various software and computers.

ICT at Home
We use computers and mobile phones for talking to each other, sending
and receiving information, watching videos and news, listening to music
and playing games.
ICT Tools: Smartphones and Tablets
Smartphones and tablets are very important as we use them in daily
activities like sending e-mails and messages, sharing pictures, etc.
Smartphones are now being used to stay connected with social media and
exchange information.

Smartphones
Smartphone can be used to make calls and do things that we normally do
using a computer, such as browsing the web, sending e-mails, making video
calls, playing games, listening to music, watching movies and much more.
Some of the popular operating systems for smartphones are Android OS,
Apple iOS and Windows Mobile.

Tablets
A tablet is a mini computer with input, output and processing functions that
are all combined into one ‘touchscreen’, where you can do various tasks just
by touching its screen. It is bigger than a smartphone.

Difference between Smartphone and Tablet

SMARTPHONE TABLET

Screen size is smaller Screen size is bigger

Watching videos and making changes to a

Watching a movie or making
photo is better and easier due to bigger
changes to a picture is difficult
screen size

You need to charge phones

Usually have a longer battery life
more often

Applications or apps
Apps are software programs that perform different functions. Some of the
apps are already present on the phone or tablet. These are called “default”
apps. Besides, there are hundreds of apps that can be purchased and
downloaded or downloaded free of cost from online stores like Google Play
Store for Android and Apple App Store for Apple.
Parts of a Computer and Peripherals
Computer is an electronic device which takes input, process and gives output. It
consists of three main
units:
1. Input Unit:
2. Central Processing Unit (CPU)
3. Output Unit.

The CPU is further divided into three parts:

1. Control unit (CU): It coordinates between different parts to perform
various operations
2. Arithmetic and logic unit (ALU): It performs all Mathematical and
Logical Operations.
3. Memory unit (MU): It stores the data temporarily (RAM) as well as for
a long time (ROM).

Difference between RAM and ROM

RAM ROM

It stands for Random Access Memory. It stands for Read Only Memory.

It stores the data temporarily It stores the data permanently

It is volatile It is non-volatile

Information is lost when computer is Information cannot be changed

switched off easily

Motherboard
Motherboard, also referred to as a system board, is the main circuit board
inside a computer. It connects input, processing and output devices.

Storage devices
Storage devices are used to store digital information. The commonly used
storage devices are USB flash drive, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc
Input devices:
An input device is used to enter information into the computer. for example
Keyboard, Microphone etc.
Input Device Functions

Keyboard It is used to enter data.

Web Camera It is used to record video.

Microphone It is used to record sound.

Output devices:
Output devices bring information from the computer to the user.
for example Monitor, Printer, Speaker etc.

Output Device Function

Monitor It displays information to the user.

Printer It gives hard copy of the information.

Speaker It gives sound as output.

NOTE: Input and output devices are also called ‘peripherals’. These are
plugged into the computer using connection ports.

Common Peripheral Devices

Name Type(Input/Output) Function

It is used to input data to the

Keyboard Input Device
computer.

It is used to point and move the

Mouse Input Device
objects
 It is used to project images from
Projector Output Device
computer on a screen.

Microphone Input Device It is used to record voice.

It plays back all the sound based

Speaker Output Device
output.

Monitor Output Device It displays all the visual output.

It gives the hard copy of the

Printer Output Device
document.

It convert the information on a

Scanner Input Device paper document into a digital
information document.

It is used for recording the items

Barcode
Input Device purchased in order to create the
scanner.
receipt/bill.

Units of Memory
Data is stored in the form of bits and bytes. Bit (Binary Digit, represented by
0 or 1) is the smallest storage unit.
1. Eight bits combined together form a byte.
2. 1024 bytes make a kilobyte (KB).
3. 1024 KB make 1 megabyte (MB)
4. 1024 megabyte make 1 gigabyte (GB)
5. 1024 gigabyte make 1 terabyte (TB)

Hardware
The physical parts that we can see and touch are called the hardware. for
example Keyboard, Mouse, Printer etc.
Software
It is a set of instructions which tells the computer how to perform a specific
task. The most important software in any computer is the Operating System
(OS). Most commonly used operating systems for computer are
Ubuntu, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS.
Some of the mobile operating systems are Apple iOS and Google Android.

Basic functions performed when a computer starts

A computer automatically runs a basic program called BIOS (Basic
Input/Output System) as soon as it is switched on. The BIOS first does a self-
test. If the self-test shows that the system is fine, the BIOS will load the
Operating System.
Using the keyboard
A keyboard is an input device used to type text, numbers and commands
into the computer. Various types of keys available on keyboard are listed
below.

Function keys
Keys labelled from F1 to F12 are function keys. The function of the F1 key in
most programs is to get help on that program.

Control keys
Keys, such as Control (CTRL), SHIFT, SPACEBAR, ALT, CAPS LOCK, and TAB,
are special control keys.

Using the Mouse

A mouse is a small device that we can use to move, select, and open items
on our computer screen. Actions performed by mouse are listed below
1. Roll over/hover : Moving a mouse over a file in File Explorer, it will show
the details of that file.
2. Point and click: The mouse allows you to select an item on the screen.
When you click a particular file, it gets selected.
3. Drag and drop: To move an item, you need to click it, and then holding
the mouse button down, move the item to a new location. After you move
the item to the new location, you release the mouse button. This is called
drag and drop.
4. Double-click: It means to quickly click the left mouse button twice.
Performing Basic File Operations
Files and Folders
All information stored in a computer is kept in files. Each file is given a file
name and has a file name extension that identifies the file type. For
example, a document created using Notepad will have the extension .txt. An
image file usually has an extension .jpg, while a sound file usually has .mp3
A folder is a location where a group of files can be stored.
Creating a file (using a text editor in Ubuntu)
1. To open a text editor, type ‘editor’ in the search dialog box.
2. Double-click the text editor icon.
3. A blank file open and type the text.
4. To save the file click Save.
5. In Save As dialog box, type the name of file and click Save as.

Keyboard shortcut of common Operations in Windows

OPERATIONS KEYBOARD SHORTCUT

Undo Ctrl + Z

Redo Ctrl + R

Select all Ctrl + A

Cut Ctrl + X

Copy Ctrl + C

Paste Ctrl + V

Print Ctrl + P

Save Ctrl + S

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