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TE year1sourcebook/Topics of Study in the Unit (view source)

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→‎Basic familiarity with ICT devices and applications

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==== What all can a computer do? ====

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[[File:Operating_system_placement.svg|right|Image 1 - ICT Hardware-Software-User]]

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[[File:Operating_system_placement.svg|right|Image 1 - ICT Hardware-Software-User|alt=Image 1 - ICT Hardware-Software-User]]

Have you ever wondered why a computer is different from a fridge? One clue to the difference is the number of things a computer can do. You can read a book, type a book, listen to music, play a video or access the internet. Now your smart phone can also do many of these things. What makes all these things possible is that unlike a fridge which has a specific purpose of cooling, a computer is a 'general purpose digital device'. The computer has an operating system, a software that allows the computer to receive inputs through the keyboard, mouse and other 'input devices', process these inputs and produce an output (which can be a display on a screen, a printout, or a video). The operating system works with different application software for performing different kinds of digital processes. The variety of tasks a computer can do, is due to the variety of the application software installed in it, this is what makes the computer (and the mobile phone or tablet) so powerful. See Image 1 for the hardware-operating system-application-user link. The user provides an input, which can be data like text or picture or an instruction on what to do with the data. This data is accepted by the application being used, and processed (process means to perform a series of operations on a set of data) to produce an output.

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==== The ICT environment ====

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[[File:Partsofcomputerexploded.jpeg|right|Parts of a desktop computer]]

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[[File:Partsofcomputerexploded.jpeg|right|Image 2 - Parts of a desktop computer]]

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Any technology has a skill component and ICT is something all of us can practise for our own use~~. In the next section we will learn how to use a computer and various software applications for our professional activities~~. We will explore the basics of computer hardware and software and learn internet browsing, concept mapping as well as text and number editing applications in the first year. At all times, we will try to see how ICT are relevant to your primary role of teaching-learning. Hence we will approach the learning and use of these applications from a pedagogical perspective.

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Any technology has a skill component and ICT is something all of us can practise for our own use. We will explore the basics of computer hardware and software and learn internet browsing, concept mapping as well as text and number editing applications in the first year. At all times, we will try to see how ICT are relevant to your primary role of teaching-learning. Hence we will approach the learning and use of these applications from a pedagogical perspective.

===== ICT environment - Hardware =====

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ICT refer to an entire range of devices that use digital methods to process represent and communicate information. The desktop computer, laptop, tablet and the smart phone are all ICT devices. ~~Let us explore~~ below ~~the~~ parts of a desktop computer, ~~see diagram shown~~.

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ICT refer to an entire range of devices that use digital methods to process represent and communicate information. The desktop computer, laptop, tablet and the smart phone are all ICT devices. The table below describes different parts of a desktop computer and peripherals, provided in image 2.

{| class="wikitable"

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|1. Scanner (nowadays scanning function is available in the mobile phone, hence a separate scanner is not ~~often used~~)

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|1. Scanner (nowadays scanning function is available in the mobile phone itself, hence a separate scanner is not common)

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|2. CPU ('''C'''entral '''P'''rocessing '''U'''nit): does the processing work of the computer. ~~It contains “chips” which determine~~ the ~~speed of~~ computer~~. For example i5 is a chip manufactured by~~ Intel.

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|2. CPU ('''C'''entral '''P'''rocessing '''U'''nit): does the processing work of the computer. Processors have been rapidly increasing in their power over the years and computer sellers usually indicate the processor in the product description, such as the Intel i7 processor.

|-

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|3. RAM (Random Access Memory): This is the storage space in the computer. ~~Temporally it~~ will store frequently used applications and data in it, to increase the speed of the computer. The size of RAM determines how fast the computer works

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|3. RAM (Random Access Memory): This is the temporary / dynamic storage space in the computer. It will store frequently used applications and data in it, to increase the processing speed of the computer. The size of RAM determines how fast the computer works

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|4. Expansion cards.

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|4. Expansion cards - can be used for adding hardware components later

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|5. Power supply unit, which supplies power to the computer.

|6. CD Drive – External storage device. This is now becoming obsolete as USB storage devices / 'pen drives' are becoming more popular

|-

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|7. Hard disk: Hard disk stores the user data as well as the software. This storage capacity of the computer is specified in terms of GB ([[wikipedia:Gigabyte|Gigabytes]]), 1 GB = 109 bytes or 1000,000,000 bytes

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|7. Hard disk: Hard disk stores the user data as well as the software. This storage capacity of the computer is specified in terms of GB [[wikipedia:Gigabyte|(Gigabytes]]), 1 GB = 109 bytes or 1000,000,000 bytes

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|8. Motherboard: This is where all ~~instructions~~ are wired together ~~and helps the computer work~~

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|8. Motherboard: This is where all components are wired together

|-

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|9. Speakers~~, these~~ amplify any audio played on the computer

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|9. Speakers - amplify any audio played on the computer

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|10. Monitor, for displaying our instructions to the computer and its responses. Monitor consumes ~~quite a bit of~~ electricity, so should be kept in the 'off' mode when the computer is not being ~~actively~~ used

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|10. Monitor, for displaying our instructions to the computer and its responses. Monitor consumes electricity, so should be kept in the 'off' mode when the computer is not being used

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|11. [[wikipedia:Operating_system|Operating System]]. An '''operating system''' ('''OS''') is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources and provides common services for computer programs. All computer programs (application software) require an operating system to function.

|12. [[wikipedia:Application_software|Application Software]] - An '''application program''' ('''app''' or '''application''' for short) is a computer program designed to perform a group of activities. Examples of an application include a text editor, a spreadsheet, a web browser, or a photo editor. The collective noun '''application software''' refers to all applications collectively

|-

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|13. [[wikipedia:Keyboard|Keyboard]], similar to a type writer keyboard~~. It~~ is an input device, used for typing instructions (text, numbers, special characters) to the computer.

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|13. [[wikipedia:Keyboard|Keyboard]], similar to a type writer keyboard, is an input device, used for typing instructions (text, numbers, special characters) for the computer.

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|14. [[wikipedia:Mouse_(computing)|Mouse]], another input device, that works on the [[wikipedia:Graphical_user_interface|Graphical User Interface]] of the computer

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|14. [[wikipedia:Mouse_(computing)|Mouse]], another input device, that works on the [[wikipedia:Graphical_user_interface|Graphical User Interface]] of the computer.

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|15. External Hard Disk, additional storage space.

|16. [[wikipedia:Printer_(computing)|Printer]], output device

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|}'''Hardware''': Parts 2-8, 10, 13 and 14 constitute basic hardware and are parts of all computing devices. These have now all been combined into one unit in a laptop or mobile. Largely, the hardware is divided into [[wikipedia:Input_device|input ~~devices~~]] and [[wikipedia:Output_device|output ~~devices~~]] and storage ~~functions~~.

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|}'''Hardware''': Parts 2-8, 10, 13 and 14 constitute basic hardware and are parts of all computing devices. These have now all been combined into one unit in a laptop or mobile. Largely, the hardware is divided into [[wikipedia:Input_device|input]] and [[wikipedia:Output_device|output]] and storage devices.

{| class="wikitable"

!Input Devices

!Output Devices

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!Storage devices

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|Mouse

|Monitor

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|Hard disk

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|Keyboard

|Projector

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|Pen drive

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|Microphone

|Printer

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|DVD / CD

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|Scanner

|Speakers

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|

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|Web cam

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|

|}

===== ICT environment - Software =====

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We saw earlier that each ICT device must have an [[wikipedia:Operating_system|operating system]] (also called system software) to run other applications or programmes. Operating system starts automatically when you turn on the computer, this process is termed [[wikipedia:Booting|booting]]. All the other software to paint, type, listen to music, learn maths etc., are called application software or 'Apps' which work with the system software. We will use the [[wikipedia:Ubuntu_(operating_system)|Ubuntu]] ‘[[wikipedia:Free_and_open-source_software|Free and Open Source Software]]’ (called FOSS in short) operating system ~~for~~ our ~~paper~~. Operating systems use ~~a program called~~ the Graphical User Interface (GUI, which is pronounced as goo-ee), to access the computer with a mouse. The popular operating systems are Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux and Mac OSx. You will learn about the functions of an operating system, using an example of '''Ubuntu''' GNU/Linux operating system. With this learning, you can also operate a computer with Windows of Mac operating systems. Since Ubuntu is a FOSS operating system, FOSS applications like Office suite, web browser, educational software can be bundled with Ubuntu GNU/Linux operating system. All these applications will be installed on the ~~computer~~ along with the operating system.

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We saw earlier that each ICT device must have an [[wikipedia:Operating_system|operating system]] (also called system software) to run other applications or programmes. Operating system starts automatically when you turn on the computer, this process is termed [[wikipedia:Booting|booting]]. All the other software to paint, type, listen to music, learn maths etc., are called application software or 'Apps' which work with the system software.

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We will use the [[wikipedia:Ubuntu_(operating_system)|Ubuntu]] ‘[[wikipedia:Free_and_open-source_software|Free and Open Source Software]]’ (called FOSS in short) operating system in our course. Operating systems use the Graphical User Interface (GUI, which is pronounced as goo-ee), to access the computer with a mouse. The popular desktop operating systems are Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux and Mac OSx (Android is a popular operating system for mobile phones and tablets). You will learn about the functions of an operating system, using an example of '''Ubuntu''' GNU/Linux operating system. With this learning, you can also operate a computer with Windows of Mac operating systems. Since Ubuntu is a FOSS operating system, FOSS applications like Office suite, web browser, educational software can be bundled with Ubuntu GNU/Linux operating system. All these applications will be installed on the computers in your lab along with the operating system.

==== Installing operating system on the computer ====

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# Minimum 2GB RAM (4GB and above preferred)

# DVD reader or USB port

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Electric power should be available during the installation process. You will need the Ubuntu software in a DVD or in a pen drive (as a boot-able USB device). If you are installing an operating system on a computer that is being used, please be sure to take a back up of the data on an external storage device.

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Electric power should be available during the installation process. You will need the Ubuntu software in a DVD or in a pen drive (as a boot-able USB device). If you are installing an operating system on a computer that is being used, please be sure to take a prior back up of the data on an external storage device. [[File:Edubuntu 1 Education Menu has many educational Applications.png|thumb|Image 3 - Educational applications menu in Ubuntu]]In the computers in your lab, a custom distribution of Ubuntu [[wikipedia:Linux|GNU/Linux]] operating system which contains all the educational software applications (see image 3) and utilities required to transact this paper, would have been installed. A copy of the Ubuntu custom distribution could be obtained from DSERT, if required. In case you need to install the system on the institution computers, or you would like to install in your own computer, you can do so. Being able to install the operating system itself on your computer is an empowering process. In many cases, if you face problems while using your computer, including serious issues such as hard disk crash, you can re-install the operating system to start using your computer again. The installation process for the custom Ubuntu GNU/Linux system is available in this [https://teacher-network.in/OER/images/8/8e/Ubuntu_16.04_installation_as_stand_alone_OS.pdf document] and you can become more familiar with your computer by [[Explore a computer|exploring it]]. Since Ubuntu GNU/Linux is FOSS, you can install the same copy of the software on multiple computers, this is usually forbidden by proprietary software vendors.

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In the computers in your lab, a custom distribution of Ubuntu [[wikipedia:Linux|GNU/Linux]] operating system which contains all the educational software applications and utilities required to transact this paper, would have been installed. A copy of the Ubuntu custom distribution could be obtained from DSERT, if required. In case you need to install the system on the institution computers, or you would like to install in your own computer, you can do so. Being able to install the operating system itself on your computer is an empowering process. In many cases, if you face problems while using your computer, including serious issues such as hard disk crash, you can re-install the operating system to start using your computer again. The installation process for the custom Ubuntu GNU/Linux system is available in this [https://teacher-network.in/OER/images/8/8e/Ubuntu_16.04_installation_as_stand_alone_OS.pdf document] and you can become more familiar with your computer by [[Explore a computer|exploring it]].

==== Interacting with the operating system ====

Ubuntu performs other basic functions expected of an operating system, including the following:

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# You can login and logout~~, and your user data will be secure within your own login~~

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# You can login to use the computer and logout when you are done

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## '''Logging in''': When you switch on your computer, you will see a login screen. Login with the user id (name) and password created by the system administrator. Ubuntu allows you to have a user interface in your own language, by specifying your language as the user language, during your user id creation. Once you have logged in, the home screen will appear.

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## '''Logging in''': When you switch on your computer, you will see a login screen. Login with the user id (name) and password created by the system administrator. Ubuntu allows you to have a user interface in your own language (including Kannada), by specifying your language as the user language, during your user id creation. Once you have logged in, the home screen will appear.

## '''Shutting down the computer-''' After you have finished your work, you have to turn off the computer. You must turn it off by clicking on the last button on the right hand top corner and select shut down. Never turn off the power button without shutting the computer properly, as it can cause files to corrupt.

# Users can browse (and search for) the folders and files on the computer using Nautilus file browser

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==== Adding FOSS applications to your computer ====

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While Ubuntu will come bundled with many applications, you can also add more FOSS applications to your computer. Go to Applications > System Tools -> Software. You will need to type the required application name in the search bar. It will show all ~~[[File:Edubuntu 1 Education Menu has many educational Applications.png|thumb|Educational applications menu in Ubuntu]]~~applications with the words you have entered and you will get an option for "Install". Click on "Install" if you want to install the application. If your search does not get the application(s) you want, try with fewer letters / words to search . It may ask your Ubuntu log in password for authentication, just type your Ubuntu password and press enter.

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While Ubuntu will come bundled with many applications, you can also add more FOSS applications to your computer. Go to Applications > System Tools -> Software. You will need to type the required application name in the search bar. It will show all applications with the words you have entered and you will get an option for "Install". Click on "Install" if you want to install the application. If your search does not get the application(s) you want, try with fewer letters / words to search. It may ask your Ubuntu log in password for authentication, just type your Ubuntu password and press enter.

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===== Learning to input with keyboard =====

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Most of the instructions / input is given to the computer through the keyboard, hence it is important that ~~teachers~~ should be able to type efficiently, using all ~~their~~ fingers. Typing using the correct finger for each key on the keyboard will help improve the speed of input enormously~~. It will enable the teacher to type without seeing the keyboard, and seeing the monitor during typing, will enable spotting of any mistakes immediately~~. Earlier, to learn typing, one had to go to a typing class, but now the computer has [[Learn Tux Typing|Tux Typing software]] that you can use to learn typing.

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Most of the instructions / input is given to the computer through the keyboard, hence it is important that you should be able to type efficiently, using all your fingers. Typing using the correct finger for each key on the keyboard will help improve the speed of input enormously. Earlier, to learn typing, one had to go to a typing class, but now the computer has [[Learn Tux Typing|Tux Typing software]] that you can use to learn typing.

The keys on the keyboard can be divided into several groups based on function:

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File:TuxTyping_4_Click_on_P_key_to_get_keyboard_Layout.png|Keyboard layout

</gallery>

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* When you open the Tux Typing application it will show the window as shown in the first image. Typing can be practised by selecting games and lessons.

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* When you open the Tux Typing application it will show the window as shown in the first image in the Tux Typing gallery. Typing can be practised by selecting games and lessons.

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* When you select the lesson option it will show the window as in the second image. There are 43 basic lessons. ~~Go through~~ each of the lessons ~~to practice typing~~.

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* When you select the lesson option it will show the window as in the second image in the gallery. There are 43 basic lessons. Practice each of the lessons.

* When you select a lesson, Tux Typing will show a window and ask you to press space bar and then the "p" key. If the 'Caps Lock' key is on (to type CAPITAL Letters) then Tux Typing won't work. Hence make sure this key is not on.

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* After you practise these lessons, you will find that you can use all your fingers for typing. This ~~speeds up~~ your typing ~~hugely~~. You need not look at the keyboard to type, so you can see the monitor as you type, which enables you to identify mistakes in typing. '''Start practice typing'''

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* After you practise these lessons sufficiently, you will find that you can use all your fingers for typing. This improves your typing speed. You need not look at the keyboard to type, so you can see the monitor as you type, which enables you to identify mistakes in typing. '''Start practice typing'''

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[[File:TuxTyping_5_Keyboard_screen_typing_instruction.png|400px|left|link=https://teacher-network.in/OER/index.php/File:TuxTyping_5_Keyboard_screen_typing_instruction.png]]After clicking 'space bar' and 'p' key it will show the window as ~~above~~. On the screen you can see items - Time, Chars (characters), CPM (characters per minute), WPM (words per minute), Errors and Accuracy; these basically tell you how well you are typing. You will find a blinking button on each finger to guide you as to which finger to be used for typing a given character. There will also be a blinking light around the character to be typed.

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[[File:TuxTyping_5_Keyboard_screen_typing_instruction.png|400px|left|link=https://teacher-network.in/OER/index.php/File:TuxTyping_5_Keyboard_screen_typing_instruction.png|Image 6 - Typing with Tux Typing ]]After clicking 'space bar' and 'p' key it will show the window as per image 6. On the screen you can see items - Time, Chars (characters), CPM (characters per minute), WPM (words per minute), Errors and Accuracy; these basically tell you how well you are typing. You will find a blinking button on each finger to guide you as to which finger to be used for typing a given character. There will also be a blinking light around the character to be typed, on the virtual keyboard on the screen.

===== Learning to input with the mouse =====

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* Get familiar with the computer in the ICT lab. You can switch on and switch off the computer and see if you can identify the parts. You can also practice connecting different peripherals.

* Login to the computer in your ICT lab. Open a few applications and explore what you can do with them. Identify a topic on which you will create a resource, for this course.

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* Typing practice and practice ~~with~~ Tux Paint

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* Typing practice using Tux Paint and Mouse practice using Tux Paint

* Try searching for 'Mathematics' or 'Science' or 'Geography' applications, Ubuntu Software Centre. and install a software you think will be useful for your learning.

'''''Creating your cumulative resource folder (1 hour)'''''

* Over the two units, you will be accessing and creating learning resources. Hence, you should identify a topic (or two), in which you are interested to create resources. Your own work as a student teacher may require you to source / make materials for classroom use for teaching-learning processes, or you may want to share your ideas and thoughts, as a resource, with your classmates for mutual learning, or you may simply want to create a resource for your self-development.

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* The topic could be from the subject(s) you teach (a science topic like ~~‘Light’~~ or a mathematics topic such as ~~‘number system’~~ or a geography topic as ~~‘forests’~~), or a larger issue in education ('Challenges of teaching ~~in inner-city public schools~~'), or larger social issue ('~~global warming~~'). It will be much more meaningful learning, if as a part of this course, you could access, create and publish a learning resource on a topic which you want to learn/ know more about or need teaching resources. You could create this resource in English or in Kannada or your own language.

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* The topic could be from the subject(s) you teach (a science topic like ‘Heat’ or a mathematics topic such as ‘Fractions’ or a geography topic as ‘Rivers’), or a larger issue in education ('Challenges of teaching children with special needs'), or larger social issue ('Child marriage'). It will be much more meaningful learning, if as a part of this course, you could access, create and publish a learning resource on a topic which you want to learn/ know more about or need teaching resources. You could create this resource in English or in Kannada or your own language.

* Create a folder with this topic name, this could be a sub-folder within 'Documents' folder on your computer.

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=== ICT for connecting and learning - the global digital library ===

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One of the most powerful things about a computer is the ability to connect to another computer. The transfer of information through digital methods allows devices to be connected across time and space. It is not difficult to see the possibilities that this has for the way knowledge can be accessed and shared. The by-line of one IT company, Sun Micro-systems, was "The network is the computer". By connecting people to one another, ICT allow the sharing of knowledge with one another and allow collaborative work and creation.

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One of the most powerful things about a computer is the ability to connect to another computer. The transfer of information through digital methods allows devices to be connected across time and space. It is not difficult to see the possibilities that this has for the way knowledge can be accessed and shared. The by-line of one IT company, Sun Micro-systems, was "The network is the computer", suggesting that the power of ICT is from the possibilities of networking/ connecting. By connecting people to one another, ICT allow the sharing of knowledge with one another and allow collaborative work and creation.

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The internet is the demonstration of this possibility; the most important thing about ICT today is the internet. The internet has changed the way we think of communicating. ~~Talking to~~ a friend ~~through whatsapp~~ or ~~telegram chats~~, emailing or making a video call are just some of the ways in which the internet has changed the way we interact with each other in society. With the internet, you can connect to any computer in the world and access information. You can join other friends, form groups to learn about many things. Internet is also allowing new methods of learning through online courses and resource repositories.

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The internet is the demonstration of this possibility; the most important thing about ICT today is the internet. The internet has changed the way we think of communicating. Chatting with a friend using Whatsapp or Telegram, emailing or making a video call are just some of the ways in which the internet has changed the way we interact with each other in society. With the internet, you can connect to any computer in the world and access information. You can join other friends, form groups to learn about many things. Internet is also allowing new methods of learning through online courses and resource repositories.

==== What is the internet ====

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If you want information about your bank balance, you can connect to your bank's computer from home and get the information that you want. There are many such computers in different organisations giving us different types of information. These computers are connected to one another, their network is called the internet. The internet is thus a physical network of millions of computers across the world, each of which has a unique identifier. Some of these computers act as 'servers', they store data which can be accessed by other computers. The millions of computers which are part of the Internet, constitute a huge library with information on almost any issue. Apart from information, many of these computers also have applications or web tools, such as search engine, maps, translation, which have different purposes.

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If you want information about your bank balance, you can connect to your bank's computer from home and get the information that you want. There are many such computers in different organisations giving us different types of information. These computers are connected to one another, their network is called the internet. The internet is thus a physical network of millions of computers across the world, each of which has a unique identifier. Some of these computers act as 'servers', they store data which can be accessed by other computers and/or perform other functions to enable the movement of information across the network. The millions of computers which are part of the Internet, constitute a huge library with information on almost any issue. Apart from information, many of these computers also have applications or web tools, such as search engine, maps, translation, which have different purposes.

These computers communicate or share data with one another using the protocol called the [[wikipedia:Internet_protocol_suite|TCP-IP]], (transmission control protocol / internet protocol). As the name suggests, TCP/IP is the combination of TCP and IP protocols working together. Under TCP/IP each file being transported across the Internet is broken into smaller parts called "packets" by the server. Each packet is assigned an IP (Internet protocol) address of the computer it has to travel to. As the packet moves through the global network it is "switched" by a number of servers toward its destination, the requesting computer or "client" computer. These packets do not usually travel together on the internet. Packets from the same file may travel via different paths through different servers, but toward the same destination. This “splitting into packets” technology allows us to use the internet most efficiently. It means parts of a file can be shared across a number of phone lines instead of having to find one phone line to put a large file into. It is also hard to break the network, as the data will be routed around the trouble spot. In this respect TCP/IP can be likened to a group of cars which need to go to the same destination, but instead of all of them going on one road (which may be busy), each car can select a different road out of thousands of roads available. By picking the roads with least traffic, all cars can reach the destination in overall least time. The power of the internet to rapidly move information from any computer to any computer is because of the TCP/IP protocol. The TCP/IP protocol was invented by [[wikipedia:Vint_Cerf|Vincent Van Cerf]], [[wikipedia:Bob_Kahn|Robert Kahn]] and [[wikipedia:Louis_Pouzin|Louis Pouzin]].

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==== Using a browser to navigate the world wide web ====

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To access the web sites or web pages on the worldwide web, we need to connect to the internet (through a connectivity device) and use an application called the browser. In this unit we will be using a free and open source web browser such as [[Learn Firefox|Mozilla Firefox]]. It is an application that allows you to browse the world wide web and search for information. Web browsers allow a user to quickly and easily get information provided on many web pages at many websites. We already saw that each website is a page on the internet and has an address. We can either copy and paste the link directly in the address bar of a web browser. The browser opens one web page, which has links to other web sites / web pages which we can visit by clicking on the links. Each of the subsequent pages will also have many links which we can click on. Thus we can visualise the world wide web as a huge mansion with many rooms, each room having many doors. When we enter a room (open a web page), we can access the resources in that room. We can also go from that room to other rooms through the several doors that this room has (go from one web page to another web page by clicking on any of the links on the page we are in). The new room also would have many doors. Thus we can go through the mansion from room to room (web page to web page) through the door (web link) in each room. Though the entire web is very huge, we only access it one page at a time.

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To access the web sites or web pages on the worldwide web, we need to connect to the internet (through a connectivity device) and use an application called the web browser. In this unit we will be using a free and open source web browser such as [[Learn Firefox|Mozilla Firefox]]. It is an application that allows you to browse the world wide web and search for information. Web browsers allow a user to quickly and easily get information provided on many web pages at many websites. We already saw that each website is a page on the internet and has an address. We can either copy and paste the link directly in the address bar of a web browser. The browser opens one web page, which has links to other web sites / web pages which we can visit by clicking on the links. Each of the subsequent pages will also have many links which we can click on. Thus we can visualise the world wide web as a huge mansion with many rooms, each room having many doors. When we enter a room (open a web page), we can access the resources in that room. We can also go from that room to other rooms through the several doors that this room has (go from one web page to another web page by clicking on any of the links on the page we are in). The new room also would have many doors. Thus we can go through the mansion from room to room (web page to web page) through the door (web link) in each room. Though the entire web is very huge, we only access it one page at a time.

Browsing the web is taking the tour of the global virtual world, hence it will have rewards as well as expose you to risks and dangers. Refer to the last section in this chapter for internet safety suggestions.

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|An important philosophical justification of using FOSS in education, is that the teaching learning processes should not be constrained by the access to learning resources. While proprietary software is prohibited from being shared or modified, FOSS has been developed to support free sharing and customisation as per needs of the user. Hence in this course, we will only learn to use FOSS tools. However the learning will focus on the processes that the tools support, so that the student-teacher can also easily figure out how to use a proprietary equivalent if required.

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While we learn to use the Firefox FOSS browser here, with this learning, a student teacher can ~~easily~~ use a proprietary browser such as Edge from Microsoft.

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While we learn to use the Firefox FOSS browser here, with this learning, a student teacher can use a proprietary browser such as Edge from Microsoft.

|}

===== Opening and accessing the web browser Firefox =====

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# Mozilla Firefox will appear under Applications > Internet >Firefox Web Browser, as shown in the first image

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# Mozilla Firefox will appear under Applications > Internet >Firefox Web Browser, as shown in the first image in the web browser gallery

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# If you know the web address you can type it in the address bar. Ex; www.upsc.gov.in. See the second image

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# If you know the web address you can type it in the address bar. Ex; www.upsc.gov.in. See the second image in the gallery

# In the third image, you will see how to access a website if you don’t know the particular web address. You can type the key word of searching object Ex;UPSC. You can search not only for text, but also for images, videos using search engine. Some examples of search engines are [http://google.com Google search engine] or [https://duckduckgo.com DuckDuckGo] search engine. You can search not only for text, but also for images and videos You can download the file (video, text file, image file) to your computer.

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#The fourth image shows the Google search engine, the search results has options for searching the web, or images or videos. You can download the file (video, text file, image file) in to computer~~. Check if the copyright of the file allows to copy and use~~.

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#The fourth image in the gallery shows the Google search engine, the search results has options for searching the web, or images or videos. You can download the file (video, text file, image file) in to computer.

File:Firefox_1_Option_Menu_To_Open.png|400x450px|left|thumb|Opening Firefox

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</gallery>

==== World wide web - A global digital library for connecting and learning ====

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For making teaching more effective, a resource rich learning environment is necessary though ~~in many cases,~~ teachers only have the text book for their subject. The text book is intended primarily for the student and the teacher needs to access resources that are a super set of the topic as dealt in the text book, so that the teacher is well placed to teach using different approaches ~~and with multiple resources~~, based on the ~~learning~~ contexts and needs of the students. Teachers must also be resourceful to address any doubts or questions that may arise in class or elsewhere on the topic. However, learning resources other than text books are not easily available to teachers. Also significant part of materials available is copyrighted, meaning teachers cannot make copies of the same for their use and it may be expensive to purchase all the required resource materials. The world wide web with its millions of web pages can ~~thus~~ be a "'''Global Digital Library'''", which has resources on many topics. To harness this library, we need to know how to search for information on the web. After accessing the resources, making meaning depends on our skills to evaluate and organize these resources. The resources available in the Global Digital Library can be organized into a meaningful personal digital library on our own computer, ~~enabling~~ self learning.

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For making teaching more effective, a resource rich learning environment is necessary, though teachers may sometimes only have the text book for their subject. The text book is intended primarily for the student, and the teacher needs to access resources that are a super set of the topic as dealt in the text book, so that the teacher is well placed to teach using different approaches, based on the contexts and needs of the students. Teachers must also be resourceful to address any doubts or questions that may arise in class or elsewhere on the topic. The world wide web with its millions of web pages can be seen as a "'''Global Digital Library'''", which has resources on many topics. To harness this library, we need to know how to search for information on the web. After accessing the resources, making meaning depends on our skills to evaluate and organize these resources. The resources available in the Global Digital Library can be organized into a meaningful personal digital library on our own computer, to support self learning.

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Resources are available on ~~almost~~ all topics that may be of interest to a teacher. Resources are available in different formats on the internet- text, images, videos, audio files etc. The text resources, however, are available predominantly in English. The same ~~amount~~ of information is not available in other languages, Teachers need and can contribute to on-line resources in Kannada, to increase the local language resources on the web. ~~Sources of information, even if freely available on the Internet, needs to be acknowledged.We must be aware of Internet safety while accessing images, videos and other information on the Internet.~~

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Resources are likely to be available on all topics that may be of interest to a teacher. Resources are available in different formats on the internet- text, images, videos, audio files etc. The text resources, however, are available predominantly in English. The same volume of information may not be available in other languages, Teachers need and can contribute to on-line resources in Kannada and other local languages, to increase the local language resources on the web.

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The internet and the web, a product of digital ICT, have thus changed the way we think of accessing information or communicating. The emergence of the internet and the web has changed the way we are accessing information. Getting data about something is not so difficult any more and this can be a great advantage for the teacher for her professional development. With information being more readily available, ~~learning needs~~ to ~~move in terms of building skills of~~ accessing, organizing and evaluating information.

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The internet and the web, a product of digital ICT, have thus changed the way we think of accessing information or communicating. The emergence of the internet and the web has changed the way we are accessing information. Getting data about something is not so difficult any more and this can be a great advantage for the teacher for her professional development. With information being more readily available, skills need to be developed for accessing, organizing and evaluating information. The internet is also allowing new methods of learning through on-line courses and blended learning methods, thus making us rethink what we learn and how (where) we learn.

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The internet is also allowing new methods of learning through on-line courses and blended learning methods, thus making us rethink what we learn and how (where) we learn. ~~This unit will help you learn how you can use ICT to ''connect and learn''.~~

===== Accessing information on the internet - Search engine =====

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A popular way of finding information on the internet is through the use of a search engine. Search engine is a ~~website~~ that can ~~retrieve~~ a large amount of relevant information in very a short time.

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A popular way of finding information on the internet is through the use of a search engine. Search engine is a web tool that can help access a large amount of relevant information in very a short time.

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The search engine has enormous implications for our processes of teaching-learning. In the past, rote learning (remembering information) has been seen as important, since such committing information to memory would allow us to access it when needed. Traditional Indian schools also had memorising scripts as an important learning method. However, with ICT, that has changed. Due to information explosion, it is now impossible to commit to memory the amount of information surrounding us. Secondly, thanks to methods of storage and retrieval, including use of search engines, the need to memorise has also reduced. Twenty years back, we used to remember telephone (land-line) numbers, which were not too many. Now with large number of contacts we have, we do not need to memorise ~~their~~ phone (cell phone) numbers, since we can store it in the phone itself and can retrieve by name. In the same way, any factual information can be retrieved in a fraction of a second ~~and hence not worth memorising~~.

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The search engine has enormous implications for our processes of teaching-learning. In the past, rote learning (remembering information) has been seen as important, since such committing information to memory would allow us to access it when needed. Traditional Indian schools also had memorising scripts as an important learning method. However, with ICT, that has changed. Due to information explosion, it is now impossible to commit to memory the amount of information surrounding us. Secondly, thanks to methods of storage and retrieval, including use of search engines, the need to memorise has also reduced. Twenty years back, we used to remember telephone (land-line) numbers, which were not too many. Now with large number of contacts we have, we cannot do such memorisation, and we do not need to memorise phone (cell phone) numbers, since we can store it in the phone itself and can retrieve by name. In the same way, any factual information can be retrieved in a fraction of a second, reducing need to memorise.

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Thus while in the past, ~~significant amount of~~ teaching was ~~actually~~ the dissemination of information, now that ~~would~~ neither be required, nor would students readily accept it. Teaching has to hence necessarily move to the next order of interpreting, critically reflecting on facts to assess and make meaning. Thus in a way, search engines have done the processes of learning a good turn, by making information transmission a largely redundant part of learning~~, while encouraging the development of skills of reflection and evaluation~~.

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Thus while in the past, teaching was often the mere dissemination of information, now that is neither required, nor would students readily accept it. Teaching has to hence necessarily move to the next order of interpreting, critically reflecting on facts to assess and make meaning. Thus in a way, search engines have done the processes of learning a good turn, by making information transmission a largely redundant part of learning.

===== Searching text and image resources =====

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# You could look for text information by simply typing the key word of the content you want to search. In the first image you can see text information accessed Digital Story Telling" in the search bar of the search engine. You can copy the search results information and can paste into your own text document.

+

# You could look for text information by simply typing the key word of the content you want to search. In the first image in the search engine gallery you can see text information accessed Digital Story Telling" in the search bar of the search engine. You can copy the search results information and can paste into your own text document.

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# You can also search for images using a search engine. For example: If you want to search images about Digital Story Telling, simply type "Digital Story Telling" in the search bar of the search engine and select ‘Images’ link. Here you can select images that are licensed for reuse by specifying the search settings. If you want to download or save images to your computer, right click on the image and click on "Save image as". In the second image, you will see how to rename the image file and select appropriate folder to save.

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# You can also search for images using a search engine. For example: If you want to search images about Digital Story Telling, simply type "Digital Story Telling" in the search bar of the search engine and select ‘Images’ link. Here you can select images that are licensed for reuse by specifying the search settings. If you want to download or save images to your computer, right click on the image and click on "Save image as". In the second image in the gallery, you will see how to rename the image file and select appropriate folder to save.

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# Firefox has in-built search button for Google, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, Bing and few other popular search engines. The [https://duckduckgo.com DuckDuckGo] search engine does not store your searches, which allows you privacy, whereas [http://google.com Google search engine] and most other search engines store your searches.

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# Firefox has in-built search button for Google, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, Bing and few other popular search engines. The [https://duckduckgo.com DuckDuckGo] search engine does not store your searches, which allows you privacy, whereas [http://google.com Google search engine] and most other search engines store your searches, which compromises your privacy.

File:COL - Google Search - Adavance Search for OER 1.png|400x450px|thumb|Accessing text information

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# What is the copyright of the content on the site? Is it providing information on free or paid or subscription basis?

# Features of a website: How useful a website is depends on how many different ways we can access the information and use it and view it. Can it be used by teachers, students, general public? The understanding of this will also help us determine how much we can use the content.

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# Relevance: Often when we search, we may immediately share the first page we find, with others. However, it is important to read (at least quickly) the contents of the page, to help you get a sense of the relevance of the page for your purpose. Information use is very contextual and depends on its vintage as well. If the information is very old, we need to test for accuracy. For teaching-learning resources see if the information is for teachers or for ~~children~~

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# Relevance: Often when we search, we may immediately share the first page we find, with others. However, it is important to read (at least quickly) the contents of the page, to help you get a sense of the relevance of the page for your purpose. Information use is very contextual and depends on its vintage as well. If the information is very old, we need to test for accuracy. For teaching-learning resources see if the information is for teachers or for the general public

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# Use of multiple websites: ~~Only~~ one website ~~will~~ give us only one kind of information. Using more than one website will give multiple perspectives. We can also cross check and identify errors if any. For the same purpose, more the internal and external web links on a page, more useful it can be, since it can lead us to more resources. ~~For teaching-learning resources, particularly check if the information is reliable by checking more than one website.~~

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# Use of multiple websites: Accessing only one website may give us only one kind of information. Using more than one website will give multiple perspectives. We can also cross check and identify errors if any. For teaching-learning resources, particularly check if the information is reliable by checking more than one website.

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# For the same purpose, more the internal and external web links on a page, more useful it can be, since it can lead us to more resources.

{| class="wikitable"

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|Did you notice any difference in the number of resources available in English for anything you searched in comparison to Kannada or other languages? Can you think of why this might be?

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|'''Student activity time'''

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Did you notice any difference in the number of resources available in English for anything you searched in comparison to Kannada or other languages? Can you think of why this might be?

|}

=====Bookmarks=====

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[[File:bookmark.png|200px|right]]Web browsers allow you to mark bookmarks, which are simply short-cuts to sites ~~in the browser~~. You can book mark sites you visit often.

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[[File:bookmark.png|200px|right]]Web browsers allow you to mark bookmarks, which are simply short-cuts to web sites. You can book mark sites you visit often.

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To add a bookmark: Go to Menu Bar and click the bookmarks and click on "add this to bookmarks" to save the current page as a bookmark. By default, new bookmarks are saved to the Unsorted bookmarks folder. ... If you want separate folder, you can also create as per your requirements.

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To add a bookmark: Go to Menu Bar and click the bookmarks and click on "add this to bookmarks" to save the current page as a bookmark. By default, new bookmarks are saved to the Unsorted bookmarks folder. ... If you want separate folder for a set of bookmarks, you can also create as per your requirements.

===== Save web page to use offline =====

[[File:Screenshot from 2017-01-05 10-53-22.png|250px|left|thumb|Save web page to use offline]]

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|

==== Student activity time (2 hours)====

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Your faculty would have demonstrated different kinds of websites ~~above~~. In groups, look for websites in the different categories. In each group, use a search engine to access different websites on the internet. search and make a list of 3-5 websites. Enter these addresses in your note book and download information, consisting of web pages, image, videos, etc relevant to your topic.

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Your faculty would have demonstrated different kinds of websites. In groups, look for websites in the different categories. In each group, use a search engine to access different websites on the internet. search and make a list of 3-5 websites. Enter these addresses in your note book and download information, consisting of web pages, image, videos, etc relevant to your topic.

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Search for resources connected to the topic you have identified.

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Open [https://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia] and search within Wikipedia for topics of your interest and the topic you have identified.

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Search for resources connected to the topic you have identified. Open [https://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia] and search within Wikipedia for topics of your interest and the topic you have identified.

References: [[Learn Firefox]]

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