Changes

<br> Did you think only human beings can fish?  When it was first discovered in the 1920s that chimpanzees can make tools, all over the scientific community, people were amazed.  This was because human beings were defined as the species which makes tools for use.  Dr Louis Leakey, a famous [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primatology primatologist] said " We have to define what is a tool, or we have to define what is a human being or we have to accept that chimpanzees are human beings!".  

<br> Did you think only human beings can fish?  When it was first discovered in the 1920s that chimpanzees can make tools, all over the scientific community, people were amazed.  This was because human beings were defined as the species which makes tools for use.  Dr Louis Leakey, a famous [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primatology primatologist] said " We have to define what is a tool, or we have to define what is a human being or we have to accept that chimpanzees are human beings!".  

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| style="width: 20%;" |[[File:Google self-driving Lexus SUV rear view.jpg|left|thumb|Google self-driving Lexus SUV rear view]]

| style="width: 20%;" |[[File:Google self-driving Lexus SUV rear view.jpg|left|thumb|Google self-driving car]]

| style="width: 80%;" |What is special about this car?  Did you guess?  Yes, it has no driver.   

| style="width: 80%;" |What is special about this car?  Did you guess?  Yes, it has no driver.   

<br>When you drive, you gather information about the road, other vehicles, people, animals and weather and you operate the controls.  Gathering information, processing, analyzing and acting, has been a defining characteristic of the human species. If a car can now do this, does it make the car a human being?  What makes a human being special?  

<br>When you drive, you gather information about the road, other vehicles, people, animals and weather and you operate the controls.  Gathering information, processing, analyzing and acting, has been a defining characteristic of the human species. If a car can now do this, does it make the car a human being?  What makes a human being special?  

Today's society is called the [[wikipedia:Information_society|information society]]. To see why, let us do a small activity.   

Today's society is called the [[wikipedia:Information_society|information society]]. To see why, let us do a small activity.   

Let us say you are withdrawing money from a nearby ATM.  Can you make a list of all the information requirements for doing that activity?  That is correct, you need your account number, your PIN and you need to enter the amount of money.  When you put your card in the machine, it collects information about your bank account, the bank and the balance amount.  The ATM machine verfies your PIN with the bank and allows you to withdraw the money.   

Let us say you are withdrawing money from a nearby ATM.  Can you make a list of all the information requirements for doing that activity?  That is correct, you need your account number, your PIN and you need to enter the amount of money.  When you put your card in the machine, it collects information about your bank account, the bank and the balance amount.  The ATM machine verifies your PIN with the bank and allows you to withdraw the money.   

So many things we do now are based on information.  How we collect information, how we analyze it, how we communicate the information and how we use the information to make decisions are all very important. Many devices - mobile phones, television, computers, tablets, cameras, scanners, collectively called ICT, have made this possible.  ICT and broadly digital technologies are changing the way we talk, we learn and we work.  ICT can help us create, draw, compose music,communicate and do so much more.  You may be familiar with the computer but now ICT have moved far beyond the mere computer. As students you have to learn ICT to build your skills for functioning in the society.

So many things we do now are based on information.  How we collect information, how we analyze it, how we communicate the information and how we use the information to make decisions are all very important. Many devices - mobile phones, television, computers, tablets, cameras, scanners, collectively called ICTs, have made this possible.  ICT and broadly digital technologies are changing the way we talk, we learn and we work.  ICT can help us create, draw, compose music,communicate and do so much more.  You may be familiar with the computer but now ICT have moved far beyond the mere computer. As students you have to learn ICT to build your skills for functioning in the [[wikipedia:Information_society|information society]].

===What can you expect to learn===

===What can you expect to learn===

As a part of this subject, through different hands-on activities and projects you will learn to:

As a part of this subject, through different hands-on activities and projects you will learn to:

#Use ICT to express your ideas, using available resources (using images, audio, text, videos)

#Use ICT to express your ideas, using available resources (using images, audio, text, videos)

#Use ICT to learn school subjects and general knowledge

#Use ICT to learn school subjects and improve your general knowledge

#Use ICT to talk to your friends, to work together and to play together

#Use ICT to talk to your friends, to work together and to play together

#Use ICT to help in the development of the local community, socio cultural activities and development.

#Use ICT to help in the development of the local community, socio cultural activities and development.

* Each unit has a brief introduction followed by hands-on activities and lessons for each unit. Each of the units will present ideas and activities at three different levels to address the classes 6-8 and your teacher will determine the appropriate level of activity. We will be required to work on projects, individually or in groups, to explore a particular idea or a problem. Different ICT devices, tools and methods will be used in this.   

* Each unit has a brief introduction followed by hands-on activities and lessons for each unit. Each of the units will present ideas and activities at three different levels to address the classes 6-8 and your teacher will determine the appropriate level of activity. We will be required to work on projects, individually or in groups, to explore a particular idea or a problem. Different ICT devices, tools and methods will be used in this.   

* Your teacher will introduce a new unit or an idea with a unit with an activity in class.  As part of this activity, you will be working with an ICT device or an application; your teacher will show you how to use the ICT device or application.  Instructions for learning an application are available [[Explore an application|here]].     

* Your teacher will introduce a new unit or an idea with a unit with an activity in class.  As part of this activity, you will be working with an ICT device or an application; your teacher will show you how to use the ICT device or application.  Instructions for learning an application are available [[Explore an application|here]].     

* There will be hands-on projects for working with different applications.  You will do the projects with your friends, read the textbook and discuss in the classroom.  Different groups in the class will work on different examples for a given theme and share their analysis, findings and creations.  You will learn together and teach the other!!   

* There will be hands-on projects for working with different applications.  You will do the projects with your friends, read the textbook and discuss in the classroom.  Different groups in the class will work on different examples for a given theme and share their analysis, findings and creations.  You will learn together and teach one another!   

==== Online and offline distribution ====

==== Online and offline distribution ====

* Online :  The entire textbook is available on the Internet [[ICT student textbook|here]].  You can access the chapters, resources, activities and practise on your computer.  All resources - whether open content or proprietary content - will be accessible. However, you need continuous Internet connectivity for this.

* On-line :  The entire textbook is available on the Internet [[ICT student textbook|here]].  You can access the chapters, resources, activities and practise on your computer.  All resources - whether open content or proprietary content - will be accessible. However, you need continuous Internet connectivity for accessing the on-line version of the book.

* Offline :  The entire textbook is available offline in your school.  You can access the chapters, resources, activities and practise on your computer with one limitation.  Only open content will be available for you to access offline in your school.  However the textbook will show the internet links for the proprietary content and this can be accessed whenever there is Internet.   

* Off-line :  The entire textbook is available off-line in your school.  You can access the chapters, resources, activities and practise on your computer with one limitation.  Only open content will be available for you to access offline in your school.  However the textbook will show the internet links for the proprietary content and this can be accessed whenever there is internet connectivity.   

* Print edition : The print edition is a limited edition of the book which will give the textual version of the textbook.  The text version is only meant for introductory/ classroom discussions on a unit and will have to refer to the offline textbook for the actual ICT resources used for a activity.  All resources used in the textbook will be listed in the print version under references.

* Print edition : The print edition is a limited edition of the book which will give the textual version of the textbook.  The text version is only meant for introductory/ classroom discussions on a unit and will have to refer to the off-line textbook for the actual ICT resources used for a activity.  All resources used in the textbook will be listed in the print version under the references section.