SELF LEARNING MODULE 2

COMPUTER EDUCATION – 6

VARIOUS ONLINE ACTIVITIES

VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES

SAFETY AND SECURITY OF USING ICT TOOLS

1
INTRODUCTION:

Welcome REHMCian’s

This Grade 5 ICT Self Learning Module is made for you to enhance your
computer skills, broaden your knowledge and allow you to discover and develop
concepts that you can use in your everyday activities and also create things that will
help the society and our changing world.

ICT Teachers of REH Montessori College ensures that this SLM is aligned with
the standard set by the Department of Education and will make each of you our dear
students to confidently adapt to societal needs and global challenges.

In using this Self Learning Module, always keep in mind the following:

Read and Review each part of the module with concentration and comprehension.

Engage in every activity. (online and off line)

Have fun and be productive while learning.

Master each lesson and skills.

Collaborate and express your beautiful ideas and communicate with us through email
and messenger if you have questions.

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you
learn the history and how the computers evolved.

2
Lesson 2A: VARIOUS ONLINE ACTIVITIES

Online activities have made learning, development, and progress possible in countless
ways. Communication and collaboration are completed with ease and convenience like
never before. Let us study various online activities that can be done online.

 USING EMAIL- Electronic mail or email is a fast, free, and convenient way of sending
and receiving mail or messages to and from colleagues, relatives, and friends through
the internet. It fosters communication and collaboration among people anytime and
anywhere around the world.

 SOCIAL NETWORKING- Social networks are free online services that provide users
with various forms of presentation and communication. Some of the popular social
networks are Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Social networking sites allow
people to communicate and interact with friends or relatives using a website as a
platform. There are pages that share educational and inspirational materials as well as
opportunities to collaborate with other people and develop skills in creativity,
communication, and critical thinking

 INSTANT MESSAGING- Instant Messaging or IM is the real-time transmission of

messages between individuals over the internet. It is having an actual conversation,
albeit virtually and not face-to-face. Instant messaging is important in situations where
quick decisions or responses are needed. Instant messengers have privacy features
which protect their users regarding the content of their messages to some extent. You

can use some of these on their websites or, for easy access , install these on your
computer or phone. Examples of instant messengers include Google Facebook
Messenger, Hangouts, and Skype.

 PARTICIPATING IN A CHAT ROOM- Unlike instant messaging, all chat applications do

not require installation, only an internet connection. Chats can only be accessed in a
particular website or a multiplayer game you have installed on your computer. In chats,
you can find or even create your own chat room. A chat room is a virtual room where

3
 you can communicate with everyone who has access to that room. It is a place on the
internet where individuals can communicate with each other in real time about a
common topic.

 USING THE WEB- The World Wide Web (www) or the web is a collection of pages,
images, and other files that are interrelated to each other through hyperlinks. You can
use a Uniform Resource Locator or URL, also known as website address, to access
websites using an application known as a web browser. The web is like a big library
without a librarian. You can find tons of information about any question you might have
with a click of your mouse.

 EXCHANGING IDEAS IN A FORUM- documents based on a subject or topic takes

place. It can be compared to bulletin boards on which participants leave heir questions
or messages, while others leave their answers or comments. Examples of forums are
Reddit, SkyscraperCity, and TED Conversations. In forums, commenters can answer
questions about a particular topic at any time. Topics cover a wide range of interests,
from how to solve a mathematical problem using Microsoft Excel to how to take care of
your new born puppy.

 WRITING A BLOG- The word blog is short for web log. It is a regularly updated
publication of thoughts, experi- ences, and opinions that the owner posts online for the
public to read. Blogs can have a variety of topics such as travel, food, and politics.

 USING WIKIS- Wikis (from the Hawaiian word meaning quick) are materials on the
internet that can be likened to a set of encyclopedia. An encyclopedia is a large
collection of information about many subjects, arranged alphabetically in articles in a
book or set of books. You may contribute to Wikis by adding information or editing its
content. Since information can be edited by anyone, some of the information presented
may not be credible. Hence, students are often discouraged to use Wikis as the source
of materials for their research work. One popular example of a Wiki is Wikipedia.

4
  CONDUCTING an AUDIO and VIDEO CONFERENCE - An audio and video conference
allows you to talk in real time to other parties in other parts of the world through live
videos. A video conference is useful in business meetings where parties reside in
different locations. This may be done using software such as Skype.

 DOING ONLINE SURVEY- Online surveys allow you to design a survey, publish it
online, and collect responses from netizens. A survey is a tool that is used to collect the
opinions of people about a specific product or service. An example of a website that you
may use to create free surveys is Google Forms.

 MASSIVE MULTIPLAYER ONLINE GAMING- Massive Multiplayer Online Games

(MMOG) are online video games in which a large number of players participate
simultaneously. One of the subgenres of MMOG is the Massive Multiplayer Online Role-
Playing Game (MMORPG) and its most popular example is the World of Warcraft.

LESSON 2B: VIRTUAL COMMUNITUIES

The term virtual community encompasses a group of people who communicate via
social networks, forums, IM applications, blogs, and online games. It is called a community
since it consists of people who participate in online group activities related to their interests, thus
forming a virtual community. Their means of communication do not involve face-to-face
interactions or physical contact, but instead are virtually carried out by means of ICT tools.

LESSON 2C: SAFETY AND SECURITY IN USING ICT TOOLS

With the discussed potentials and possibilities also come activities that do not promote
what is good and beneficial to all. There are other users who take advantage of the broad base
of the internet, absence of controls, and the cloak of anonimity in which they hide. Users like
you need to be well-informed about practices, dangers, and other concerns so that you can be
watchful and wise in the ways you engage with different users and conduct your activities
online.

5
The lessons in this book will teach you and eventually require you to go online in a supervised
manner. However, it is still important that you know that while the internet is a useful source of
information, it also poses potential dangers if you are not watchful.

VIRUSES AND MALWARE

Malicious software or malware have been created to cause problems, with the intention
of destroying your computer, stealing information from it, or preventing you or others from
accessing your computer. A malware comes in different forms.

A computer virus is malware that spreads easily from one computer to another, hence its
name. Do not open unknown or suspicious links. These links could contain a computer virus
which will allow people with ill intentions to access your device, corrupt your files, and steal
information from your account.

HACKING

Hacking is the act of invading someone's computer or files without the knowledge of the
owner. The hacker uses the information they obtain from other people's computers for illegal
purposes, such as stealing information like passwords to access bank accounts or credit card
numbers. Hackers also get into others' computers to damage machines and systems for illegal
or malicious reasons.

 To keep malware and hackers away from your device, here are some useful tips
1. Use a strong password. A password is a secret word or phrase that is used to gain
access or admission to a file, group, or account. One way of protecting yourself from
hacking is to use a strong password, which could be very hard for others to guess but
easy for you to remember. Passwords should be between eight and ten characters long,
a combination of letters and numbers, small and capital letters, and if allowed,
punctuation marks. Do not use your name, name of your relatives, your address, date of
birth, words that can easily be found in a dictionary, or your own dialect.
2. Turn on your firewall. A firewall is software that protects your computer by guarding
your computer's doors called ports. If the port is not being used, a firewall ensures that
this is closed to protect your computer from intruders

6
 3. Make sure that you have an antivirus software to protect your computer from
malicious software such as viruses. An antivirus offers real time protection so that it can
delete, disinfect, or quarantine a virus before it damages your computer.
4. Keep your system updated. Operating systems and application software need to be
updated from time to time. Software updates are available for your operating system,
software programs, and applications. These updates perform tasks that will prompt
changes in your computer, such as removing old features and adding new ones,
updating drivers, and fixing security loopholes that hackers may exploit to steal
information or introduce malware into your operating system. Updates ensure that you
have the latest protection from the program developers.
5. Log out when you are done with your activities on a website , such as your email or
social media account before you close the browser. This is especially necessary if you
are using a public computer.
6. Do not click links, download files, or install software from unknown sources . By
doing so, you may unknowingly allow malware or cause a virus to infect your computer.

ONLINE SCAMS

The internet offers unlimited and convenient access to activities, resources, and
opportunities for learning, communication, collaboration, entertainment, commerce, and
personal development. Unfortunately, with unlimited access also come opportunities for
criminals to engage in illegal activities such as online scams and internet fraud, which have
become an increasing concern for computer users, business managers, government agencies,
and law enforcement authorities. These illegal activities come in different forms.

 PHISING- Phishing is the practice of sending emails that allegedly come from reputable
people or companies. The intention of this practice is to trick people to divulge personal
or sensitive information to the sender. For example, someone may send you an email
that appears like it came from a bank. The link will ask you to enter your account number
and PIN. Once you enter your password, thieves could easily have access to your
savings account.
 Charity fraud. In charity fraud, scammers pose as a legitimate charitable institution.
Usually operating after a major disaster, scammers will ask people to donate money to

7
 help victims of disasters. Once the scammers receive the donations, they quickly
disappear, taking with them the donations intended for legitimate victims.
 SPAM- A spam is an unsolicited email that could be an advertisement for a service to
which you did not subscribe or special offers to buy products. The advertisements or
offers may sound legitimate or too good to be true and may therefore entice people to
make purchases. Spam emails may lead to online scam.