Computers and Communication Technology Cover 10+1 E-Book

Prelims:

Chapter: 1. EXPERIENCING THE WORLD OF CCT:

THE WORLD IS CHANGING WITH CCT All over the world, there is a movement towards an information ñ based society. Therefore it seems extremely important that the basic nature and overall capabilities of CCT are understood and appreciated by all because computers are information processing tools and communication technologies enable us to share information. Together they affect all of us. It is also important that we are able to apply the technology tools in our work, whatever our field of work may be. The way these technologies affect all of our lives include: ï Educational, in the way we learn and shape the course of our learning according to our own interests. ï Technological, in terms of knowledge creation, publishing and distribution. ï Societal, in our living, working and growing and looking at ourselves in a global context.

Chapter :2. COMPONENTS OF CCT:

In the first chapter we were introduced to a device that has changed the way we work, live and play. Only once in a lifetime does a new invention come about to touch every aspect of our lives in this way. This incredible invention is the computer. The electronic computer has been around for over half a century, but its ancestors have been around for 2000 years. However, only in the last 40 years has it changed society. From the first wooden abacus to the latest high-speed microprocessor, the computer has changed nearly every aspect of our lives for the better

Chapter:3. WORD PROCESSING TOOL.

We have to submit a project as part of our course evaluation. We will perhaps take a chart paper and design the project, write a report and submit it to our teacher. Thatís the way we have done it all along? Have we ever thought of typing the entire project report using a computer and submitting it in a nicely designed printed form? Ever reflected on getting information from the Internet and presenting it neatly for the project? Now thatís the way things are being done! And if we are already thinking of it, itís time to discover some document creation software, i.e., word processing tool to get the job done. Not only a project, we can get lots of other things done through it ñ writing letters and applications, making newsletters, designing posters, and the list goes on and on!

Chapter: 4. ELECTRONIC SPREADSHEET.

In our daily life, we may have come across a list of items in tabular form several times. For example, the shopping bills, the school annual report card, or the cricket match scorecard. These tables with rows and columns are called spreadsheets. If we have to tabulate and analyse the data for the Indian teamís performance in a cricket series and submit a project as part of our course evaluation, we will perhaps take a chart paper and design the project, write a report and submit it. That’s the way we have done it all along. The project may completely cover all aspects of the series but we are not happy with it. This is because the project report is static ñ we cannot make dynamic analysis using this paper report. How do we then get attention of our audience? Welcome to the world of electronic spreadsheets, where we can do all these, and much more. Let us see how.

Chapter: .5. ELECTRONICPRESENTATION TOOL.

For our school exhibition, we want to prepare an exhibit on any current issue ñ global warming, drug abuse or child labour. We could prepare our exhibit in the conventional way, i.e. by using static tools, like charts and posters and maybe some visual images. Imagine the impact if, instead of the charts, we have music, moving objects and graphics displaying the message. The objective of the exhibition is to make our message understood and remembered by others. An average human being has a very short attention span. Audio-visual aids can make presentations more interesting, dynamic and effective. Therefore, we can make it more interesting and attention seeking by making the characters move/dance, use pictures/charts/graphics, play music or show video. Thus we manage to create a much better impression. How can we do this?

Chapter :6. CONVERGENCE OF CCT.

In the earlier chapters, we saw how computer systems have become an important tool for our day– to–day functions. Online applications as ATMs, automatic complaint registration, railway reservation, etc. have improved our productivity and made our job faster and easier. In the next chapter on ‘the Internet’, we will see that most of the current applications are Internet based and depend heavily upon the communication systems. In this chapter we shall see that the communication systems have undergone gradual changes from the telephone system to video–conferencing. Communication systems are converging to provide next generation Applications.  Even before computers were invented, there were various modes of communication like postal services, telegraphs and telephones. In the twentieth century, considerable efforts were made to develop reliable and affordable telecommunication systems.

Chapter:7.The Internet.

Guess how is it possible to see the latest news, cricket, talk to our friend, check availability of railway reservation, timings or status of a particular flight, send or receive mails/messages as and when we wish to. Yes, it is possible through the Internet, where all this happens like magic on few clicks of the mouse. Millions of people across the globe are able to communicate and interact with each other through the Internet. All we need for this is an Internet connection on any computing device like Desktop, Palmtop, Laptop, Mobile Phone, etc. Applications of the Internet have covered almost every field . be it education, research, entertainment, communication, science, commerce, shopping, advertising and many more. The Internet is possible because of the ability to interact and share information between the

Chapter:8. SOFT SKILLS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION.

Having knowledge, i.e itself is not enough, we need to communicate it to others effectively. In fact effective communication is one of the keys to success. By successfully getting our message across, we convey our thoughts and ideas effectively. The message is the information that we want to communicate. It is essential to be technically sound, but we should also have the ability to express and communicate our ideas clearly and effectively to others in the simplest possible manner. Effective communication and soft skills not only improve our relationships with others, but they also improve our efficiency. We have learnt in earlier chapters what communication is and how messages can be communicated through various technical skills (also called hard skills), like electronic word processing/presentation, the Internet, etc., and a few more will be discussed in the next unit on Web Publishing Technologies. In this chapter we discuss what soft skills are and how these could