TU170: Computing Essentials

Session 1

Netiquette & Plagiarism

Chapter 1: Information Technology, the Internet, and You

Prepared by
Amal Naji
Ahmad Khalaf

The contents of this presentation have been prepared from the study book of the TU170 course, Computer
Essentials 2017
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Netiquette & Plagiarism

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Netiquette
 The word netiquette (short for ‘net etiquette’)
refers to the rules of good online behaviour.
 Although the principles of online
communication are similar to those for face-to-
face conversation, there are important
differences too.
 Some of the principles of good netiquette are
outlined in the coming slide.

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Principles of good Netiquette
1. Thanking, acknowledging and supporting
people
 If the message sender get no acknowledgement, he
may feel ignored and be discouraged from contributing
further.
2. Acknowledging before differing
 Before you disagree with someone, try to summarise
the other person’s point in your own words, so he know
you are trying to understand him.

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3. Making your perspective clear
 Try to avoid speaking in a dogmatic and an impersonal
way.
 Avoid phrases like ‘It is a fact that …’ and use ‘I think …’
instead.
4. Clearly showing your emotions
 Emotions can be easily misunderstood when you cannot
see faces or body language. Smileys or emoticons such
as :) and :( can be used to express your feelings.

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5. Avoiding ‘flaming’
 Sometimes someone will take offense at someone
else's message, where no offense was intended, and
reply angrily. The first person may then respond angrily
again and so on.

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Other guidelines..
Guidelines when using online forum such as the one
in LMS:
 Take time to see what is being discussed and how
before you write a message.
 Keep your messages short, and keep to one topic per
message.
 Respect others, and be careful not to post any
messages that may cause hurt or offence.
 Don’t give out any personal information that you
would not usually share with people you do not know.
 Don’t write in capital letters – it looks like you’re
SHOUTING.

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Plagiarism
 Plagiarism is when you use someone else’s
ideas in your writing without acknowledging
your source.
 Plagiarism has many forms:
 Copying in part or full from anyone, including
friends, classmates, and internet sources.
 Copying word-for-word without using quotation
marks and not citing the source.
 Paraphrasing by replacing few words or
rearranging sentences and not citing the source.

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How to avoid plagiarism
1. When quoting word-for-word
 Quoting: Quoting means copying parts of the text
for the purpose of presenting the author’s actual
words.
 To avoid plagiarism use quotation marks “ ” to
frame the quoted text and cite the source in the
text after the quote, using standard format of
author’s surname, initial. (date of publication).
title of the work. name and location of publishers.
page numbers. of the material you are borrowing.
 Failure to provide citation will be interpreted as
plagiarism, even if the source is in your
bibliography.
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How to avoid plagiarism
2. When paraphrasing
 Paraphrasing should not include the words of the
original text nor follow the same sentence
structure.
 To avoid plagiarism: use your own words to
produce the ideas that you read and avoid using
statements in the original form without putting
them in quotes.
 Paraphrased information should be accompanied
by citation in the text after the paraphrased
section, otherwise it will be interpreted as
plagiarism even if the source is in your bibliography.
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How to avoid plagiarism
3. When summarizing:
 Summarizing procedures short version of an
original text and preserves its main ideas.
 To avoid plagiarism: summarized sections need to
be accompanied by citation of the source material.
Direct quotes in the summary should be used
whenever incorporating word-for-word material,
with citations at the end of the quoted section.
 Failure to provide citation will be interpreted as
plagiarism, even if the source is in your
bibliography.

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Citations for Websites
 When citing a website, use the following
structure:
Website name, (Year published). Page title. [online]
Available at: URL [Accessed Day Mo. Year].

 Example:
Mms.com, (2015). M&M'S Official Website. [online]
Available at: http://www.mms.com/ [Accessed 20
Apr. 2015].

Reference: Harvard referencing system

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Penalties of Plagiarism
 Plagiarism is an act of theft of intellectual
property and academic institutions are applying
severe penalties to students whose works are
plagiarized. These can range from discounting
the work to failing the course.
 Refer to Lab1 in your LMS to do the referencing
activity.

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Chapter 1: Information Technology, the
Internet, and You

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Why should I read this chapter?
 The future of computers and digital technology promises
exciting challenges and opportunities. Powerful software and
hardware systems are changing the way people and
organizations interact in their daily life and on the Internet.
 This chapter introduces you to the skills and concepts you
need to be prepared for this ever-changing digital world,
including:
 Information systems—how the critical parts of technology
interact.
 Efficiency and effectiveness—how to maximize the use of
technology.
 Privacy, ethics, and environment—how to integrate technology
with people.
 Connectivity and cloud computing—how the Internet, web, and
the wireless revolution are changing how we communicate and
interact.

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Learning Objectives
After you have read this chapter, you should be able to:
1. Explain the parts of an information system: people, procedures,
software, hardware, data, and the Internet.
2. Distinguish between system software and application software.
3. Differentiate between the three kinds of system software
programs.
4. Define and compare general-purpose, specialized, and mobile
applications.
5. Identify the four types of computers and the five types of personal
computers.
6. Describe the different types of computer hardware, including the
system unit, input, output, storage, and communication devices.
7. Define data and describe document, worksheet, database, and
presentation files.
8. Explain computer connectivity, the wireless revolution, the
Internet, cloud computing, and loT.

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 Introduction
 The purpose of this book is to help you become a highly
efficient and effective computer user. This includes how
to use:
 apps and application software
 all types of computer hardware including mobile devices like
smartphones, tablets, and laptops
 the Internet
 Becoming a highly efficient and effective computer user
also requires a full understanding of the potential impact
of technology on privacy and the environment as well as
the role of personal and organizational ethics.

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Information Systems
 An information system
parts: people, procedures,
software, hardware,
data and Internet.

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People
 People are the most important part of an
information system.
 Our lives are touched everyday by computers
direct and indirect.
◦ Direct: such as creating documents using a word
processing program or when connecting to the
internet.
◦ Indirect: such as using computers in medicine,
entertainment, education and business

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Procedures
 The rules or guidelines for people to follow when
using software, hardware and data are
procedures.
 These procedures are typically documented in
manuals written by computer specialists.
 Manuals are provided in either printed or
electronic form.

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Software
 Software is another name for programs.
 Programs consists of the step-by-step
instructions that tell the computer how to do its
work
 The purpose of software is to convert data
(unprocessed facts) into information (processed
facts)
 Two major kinds of software:
◦ system Software
◦ application Software
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Software: System Software
 System software is a “background” software
that helps the computer manage its own
internal resources.
 It enables applications to interact with the
computer hardware.
 System software is not a single program. It is
a collection of programs including:
◦ operating System
◦ utilities

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 Software: System Software
 Operating Systems:
◦ Programs that coordinate computer resources, provide
an interface between users and the computer, and run
applications.
◦ Examples: Windows and Mac OS.
 Utilities:
◦ Performs tasks related to managing computer
resources.
◦ Example: antivirus program. These programs protect
your computer system from viruses or malicious
programs that are all too often deposited onto your
computer from the Internet.

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 Software: Application Software
 Application software might be described as end-user software.
 Application software types:
 General-purpose applications
o Programs you have to know to be considered an efficient
and effective end user.
o Examples: browsers, Word processor, spreadsheet,..etc.
 Specialized applications
o Programs focused on specific disciplines and
occupations.
o Examples: graphics and Web authoring programs.
 Mobile apps, known as mobile applications or apps

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Hardware
 The equipment that processes the data to create
information is called hardware.
 It includes smartphones, tablets, keyboards,
mice, displays, system units, and other devices.
 Hardware is controlled by software.

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Hardware: Types of Computers
 Computers are electronic devices that can
follow instructions to accept input, process that
input and produce information.

 There are four types of computers:

◦ supercomputers
◦ mainframe computers
◦ midrange computers
◦ personal computers

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Hardware: Types of Computers
 Supercomputers: the most powerful; special high-
capacity computers used in very large corporations.
 Mainframe computers: not nearly as powerful as
supercomputers, they are capable of great
processing speed and data storage; occupy specially
wired, air-conditioned rooms.
 Midrange computers, also referred to as servers, are
computers with processing capabilities less powerful
than a mainframe computer yet more powerful than
a personal computer.
 Personal computers (PCs): least powerful but most
widely used and fastest-growing type of computers.
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Hardware: Types of Computers
 Types of personal computers: desktops, laptops
(notebook), tablets, smartphones, and
wearables.

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 Hardware: Personal Computer Hardware
 Hardware for a personal computers consists of
four basic parts:
◦ system unit
◦ input/output
◦ secondary Storage
◦ communications

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Hardware: Personal Computer Hardware
System unit
 The system unit is a container that houses most of
the electronic components that make up a
computer system.

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Hardware: Personal Computer Hardware
 Two important components of the system unit:
1. Microprocessor: Controls and manipulates
data to produce information.
2. Memory: is a holding area for data,
instructions and information.
 One type of memory is Random Access Memory (RAM)
which holds program and data that is currently being
processed.
 RAM is called temporary memory since its content is
lost when electrical power is disrupted.

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Hardware: Personal Computer Hardware
Input/output devices
 Input devices translate data and programs that
humans can understand into a form that a
computer can process.
 Common input devices are the keyboard and
the mouse.
 Output devices translate the processed
information from the computer into a form that
humans can understand.
 Common output device is the display, also
known as a monitor.
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Hardware: Personal Computer Hardware
Secondary storage
 Unlike memory, secondary storage holds data and
programs even if electrical power is not available.
 The most important types of secondary media are:
◦ Hard disks: store programs and very large data files
magnetically.
◦ Solid-state storage: does not have any moving parts, is
more reliable, and requires less power. It saves data and
information electronically similar to RAM except that it is
not volatile
◦ Optical discs: use laser technology to store data and
programs. Types of optical discs are compact discs (CDs),
digital versatile (or video) discs (DVDs), and Blu-ray discs
(BD)
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Hardware: Personal Computer Hardware
Communications
 Communication devices, such as modems,
provide personal computers with the ability to
communicate with other computer systems
across the globe.
 A modem is a widely used communication
device that modifies audio, video, and other
types of data into a form that can be
transmitted across the Internet.

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Data
 Data is raw, unprocessed facts including text,
numbers, images and sounds.
 Processed data becomes information.
 Digital data is stored electronically in files.
 Four common types of files are:
◦ document files
◦ worksheet files
◦ database files
◦ presentation files

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Data
 Document files: created by word processors to
save documents such as letters and memos.
 Worksheet files: created by spreadsheets to
analyze things such as budgets and sales.
 Database files: created by database management
programs to contain highly structures and
organized data such as the information stored
about students of a university.
 Presentation files: created by presentation
graphics programs to save presentation
materials.
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Connectivity and the Mobile Internet
 Almost all information systems provide a way to
connect to other people and computers, typically
using the Internet.
 Connectivity is the capability of your personal
computer to share information with other
computers.
 Central to the concept of connectivity is the
network.
 A network is a communications system connecting
two or more computers.
 The largest network in the world is the Internet.
 The web provides a multimedia interface to the
numerous resources available on the Internet.

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Connectivity and the Mobile Internet
 Along with the Internet, three things that are
driving the impact of technology on our lives:
 Cloud computing uses the Internet and the web
to shift many computer activities from a user’s
computer to computers on the Internet.
 Wireless communication has changed the way
we communicate with one another.
 The Internet of Things (IoT): is the continuing
development of the Internet that allows everyday
objects embedded with electronic devices to
send and receive data over the Internet.

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 concept check
 What are the parts of an information system?
 What is a program?
 What is the difference between data and information?
 Which part of an information system is the most important?
 Describe the two major kinds of software.
 Describe two types of system software programs.
 Define and compare general-purpose applications, specialized
applications, and mobile apps.
 What are the four types of computers?
 Describe the five types of personal computers.
 Describe the four basic categories of personal computer hardware.
 Define data. List four common types of files.
 Define connectivity and networks.
 What is cloud computing? Wireless revolution? IoT?

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