ICT Foundation
Senior 1 · ICT
ICT Foundation
Lesson 3 of 4
18 min
Let's begin
Think about your morning. A phone alarm woke you up. The radio at home was playing the news. Your parent paid the bus fare with a card or mobile money. At school, the teacher showed a video with a projector. Every one of these used ICT. This lesson names the equipment and shows you how to use it properly.
ICT stands for Information and Communication Technology. It is all the equipment and services we use to collect, store, process and send information electronically. It joins two families:
| Equipment | What it does |
|---|---|
| Desktop computer | A computer that stays on a desk: a system unit with a separate monitor, keyboard and mouse. |
| Laptop | A portable computer with a built-in screen, keyboard, touchpad and battery. |
| Tablet | A flat, portable computer controlled mainly by touching the screen. |
| Smartphone | A mobile phone that is also a small computer: calls, SMS, internet, camera, apps and mobile money. |
| Printer | Puts text and pictures from the computer onto paper. |
| Scanner | Copies a paper document or photo into the computer as a digital image. |
| Projector | Shows the computer's screen as a large picture on a wall or screen. |
| Digital camera and webcam | Capture photos and video in digital form. |
| Microphone, speakers, headphones | Take sound in, or play sound out. |
| Radio and television | Receive sound and pictures broadcast by stations. |
| Router | Connects devices to each other and to the internet, by cable or Wi-Fi. |
| Interactive whiteboard | A large touch-sensitive screen that a teacher can write on and control like a computer. |
With a mouse
With a keyboard: type letters and numbers; use Enter to confirm or start a new line, Backspace to delete the character before the cursor, Shift for a capital letter, and the arrow keys to move.
With a touchscreen
With your voice: many phones and computers accept spoken commands and can type what you say.
Pulling out the plug while a computer is running can lose unsaved work and damage files.
Keza's group has drawn a poster on paper. They must show it on the wall to the whole class and email it to their teacher.
Tip
Mouse rhyme: click to choose, double-click to open, right-click for options, drag to move.
Off the right way: Save, Close, Shut down, then switch off the socket.
What do the letters ICT stand for, and which two families of technology does ICT join?
Solution: Information and Communication Technology. It joins information technology (computers that store and process data) and communication technology (phones, networks, radio and TV that carry information).
Which equipment would you use to (a) put a typed letter on paper, (b) show a video to a hall full of parents, (c) copy a birth certificate into the computer?
Solution: (a) a printer; (b) a projector (with speakers); (c) a scanner.
On a touchscreen, how do you make a small photo bigger?
Solution: Put two fingers on the photo and spread them apart.
Ishimwe finishes typing and pulls the computer's plug out of the wall. Give two things that could go wrong.
Solution: Any work he had not saved is lost, and files that were being written when the power went could be damaged. He should save, close programs and use Start > Power > Shut down.
Remember
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
