it describes the role of information technology in the broader context of information
systems. it distinguish between different roles and responsibilities in IT in the workplace it determines the role of IT in small and large organizations it breaks down IT systems into their constituent elements it describes the processes through which IT solutions are designed and developed it distinguishes between different network and internet technologies it identifies security related issues in IT it recognizes the social and ethical issues raised by societys growing dependence on IT it demonstrates a range of academic skills at foundation level it demonstrates competence in personal development planning Information System Fundamentals Information Systems Overview Identify the components and roles of information systems. Describe system components that enable information use. Information Flow and Security Identify how information flows through an organization. Describe system components that enable information use. Identify the effect of information security concerns on systems. Evaluate ethical situations in IT. Web and Mobile Computing Identify how the Internet and mobile devices impact information systems and organizations. Explain how information systems utilize new technologies. Information System Usage in Organizations Identify types of systems used in organizations. Explain how business requirements drive system use. Managing Information Technology Identify factors affecting system acquisition. Explain how current IT systems are managed. Explain the role of strategic planning in IT.
Hardware - Physical components that make up a computer system Software - Computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling computer hardware what to do and how to do it What are the differences between hardware and software? Computer hardware is any physical device, something that you are able to touch and software is a collection of instructions and code installed into the computer and cannot be touched. For example, the computer monitor you are using to read this text on and the mouse you are using to navigate this web page is computer hardware. The Internet browser that allowed you to visit this page and the operating system that the browser is running on is considered software. Input and Output Devices Before a computer can process your data, you need some method to input the data into the machine. The device you use will depend on what form this data takes (be it text, sound, artwork, etc.).Similarly, after the computer has processed your data, you often need to produce output of the results. This output could be a display on the computer screen, hardcopy on printed pages, or even the audio playback of music you composed on the computer. The terms input and output are used both as verbs to describe the process of entering or displaying the data, and as nouns referring to the data itself entered into or displayed by the computer. Input Devices The computer keyboard is used to enter text information into the computer, as when you type the contents of a report. The keyboard can also be used to type commands directing the computer to perform certain actions. Commands are typically chosen from an on-screen menu using a mouse, but there are often keyboard shortcuts for giving these same commands. The mouse pointing device sits on your work surface and is moved with your hand. In older mice, a ball in the bottom of the mouse rolls on the surface as you move the mouse, and internal rollers sense the ball movement and transmit the information to the computer via the cord of the mouse. Some computers, especially small hand-held PDAs, have touch sensitive display screens. The user can make choices and press button images on the screen. You often use a stylus, which you hold like a pen, to write on the surface of a small touch screen. A scanner is a device that images a printed page or graphic by digitizing it, producing an image made of tiny pixels of different brightness and color values which are represented numerically and sent to the computer. Scanners scan graphics, but they can also scan pages of text which are then run through OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software that identifies the individual letter shapes and creates a text file of the page's contents. A microphone can be attached to a computer to record sound (usually through a sound card input or circuitry built into the motherboard). The sound is digitizedturned into numbers that represent the original analog sound wavesand stored in the computer to later processing and playback. Output Devices The traditional output device of a personal computer has been the CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitor. Just like a television set (an older one, anyway) the CRT monitor contains a large cathode ray tube that uses an electron beam of varying strength to paint a picture onto the color phosphorescent dots on the inside of the screen. CRT monitors are heavy and use more electrical power than flat panel displays, but they are preferred by some graphic artists for their accurate color rendition, and preferred by some gamers for faster response to rapidly changing graphics. For hardcopy (printed) output, you need some kind of printer attached to your computer (or available over a network). The most common type of printer for home systems is the color ink jet printer. These printers form the image on the page by spraying tiny droplets of ink from the print head. The printer needs several colors of ink (cyan, yellow, magenta, and black) to make color images. Some photo-quality ink jet printers have more colors of ink.