Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 1
Computer Basics
Learning objectives
◽
Understand the purpose and elements of information systems
Understanding
Information Systems
◽
Recognize the different types of computers
◽
Distinguish the main software types
Identifying Computer
Types
◽
Identify the components of a computer system
Understanding Software
Types
◽
Understand how computers communicate
Computer System
Components
How Computers
Communicate
Welcome to
Computing Fundamentals: Digital Literacy Edition!
This topic
helps prepare you for success in a world that is filled with computers. At work, at
school, at home, in stores, and as you travel, computers help make things run more
smoothly.
Think about the average day in your life—all the places you go and all the things
you do. How many of them involve a computer of some type? Probably quite a
few. For example, you might wake up in the morning to the sound of a digital
alarm clock. As you eat breakfast, you might browse the day's news on your home
computer or a tablet PC. The vehicle you ride in to work or school probably has
at least one computerized component in it, and perhaps as you travel you talk to
a friend on your cell phone. When you get to work or school, your supervisor or
teacher might use a computer to assign work to you, or to teach a lesson. On the
way home, you might stop at a restaurant where a cashier inputs your order into
a computer-based ordering system that then relays your order to the kitchen staff.
Before you go to bed, you might watch a DVD movie using a DVD player and a
digital TV, both with computers in them.
