| Computers are all around us: in cars, kitchen scales, digital cameras, etc. But how do they store the data they hold? This unit will help you to understand how the data in a computer represents something in the outside world. You will also explore how ASCII code and Unicode are used to control data. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) systems now dominate our everyday lives. This unit will explain what constitutes such a system and how ICT systems work. You will also look at how ICT systems convey, store and manipulate data, and how they process data. Finally you will learn how these systems are used. Models are mechanisms for communication. This unit looks at what a model is and what the process of modelling is about. The techniques discussed here are applicable to a wide range of systems and have one thing in common: they are all commonly used diagramming techniques. The five techniques are: data flow diagrams, use case modelling, activity diagrams, entity–relationship diagrams and state machines. Ever wondered how a computer processes data into information? This unit will help you to understand the distinction between the two and examines how a computer-based society impacts on daily life. You will learn what computers can do with data to produce information and how computers can be used to work with data and search for it, control machines, and support commercial operations. How does the computer's peculiar binary world of digital entities differ from our analogue world of colour, sound, taste and touch? This unit explores the way in which information, in the form of text, still and moving images, and sound can cross the boundary from the analogue universe into a digital world. Technology is opening doors for those with disabilities. Being blind or deaf is now far less of a barrier than it was fifty years ago. This unit assesses various disabilities and describes how they might affect a person’s use of interactive devices. You will then look at some of the most common assistive technologies and discuss the requirements that each disability group might have for computers, and for other interactive products In this unit we will look at the development of the Macintosh computer and the influence this had on the industry, focusing upon the environment in which it was created. At the time of the Apple II, all microcomputers (including the Apple II) used command-line interfaces. While the commands needed to operate the computer were quite easy to learn, command-line interfaces meant that the machines were still ‘unfriendly’ and were unlikely to reach a mass market. The idea at Apple was to build a machine that would be as easy to operate as any household appliance, one which would be ‘user friendly’. Computers and processors are ubiquitous in everyday life, and they're not only found in your PC. This unit introduces the different parts of computer systems and their use of binary code. Using the examples of kitchen scales, a digital camera and a computer artwork the unit, with the help of flowcharts, discusses how computers process data and instructions . The materials we are providing correspond to the first module of T171 You, your computer and the net. T171 was the first Open University course to be developed and presented over the Web. This unit will help you to understand the forms of data that are handled by software and look at the various processes that can be applied to the data. These ideas are demonstrated through the use of a supermarket till and illustrate how simple data sets can be manipulated. Are you a technophobe? Bluetooth, Ethernet WiFi – are they terms that mean nothing to you? This unit will gently guide you to an understanding of how devices 'talk' to each other and what technologies and processes are involved. You will also look at wired and wireless communication technologies, introducing you to some of the key methods involved. www……..gov.uk You can now access government directly through the web. E-government in action. While studying this unit you look at the scope of e-government, the databases that are necessary, the use of biometrics in identification and verification of identity and assess the usability and accessibility of websites. We now live in a global village where distance in no longer a barrier to commercial or social contact. This unit will enable you to gain an understanding of the information and communication technologies that drive our networked world and how they now permeate our everyday lives. BBC News 24, Sky News, CNN – we live in an era where news has become almost instantaneous. This unit will look at how news is gathered and the technology used for its dissemination. You will also be encouraged to examine how information might be manipulated by questioning its reliability. To develop as an independent, confident learner you will need to learn the study skills involved in reading articles, taking notes and summarising the information that you have obtained from an article. The unit explores the use of the Web as a resource for keeping up to date, looking in particular at how to assess material available online. This is a blank course container for your user defined course content. Encryption of files and firewalls are just some of the security measures that can be used in security. This unit, which assumes you have a substantial knowledge of computing, helps to explain the intricacies of the continually changing area of network security by studying the main issues involved in achieving a reasonable degree of resilience against attacks. Headline news scares about stolen or missing data are becoming a frequent occurrence as organisations rely more and more heavily on computers to store sensitive corporate and customer information. This unit discusses the importance of protecting information and gives an overview of information security management systems. The internet, like the telephone system which preceded it, depends for its existence on communications networks. This unit examines these networks as the means of interconnecting devices so that two-way communication is possible. Examining protocols like HTTP, TCP/IP and ATM as well as the OSI reference model, it provides and overview of the topic for learners who have significant prior knowledge of the subject.
 The following course provides preparation for the
ADVDESIGN beta exam of the Cisco Certified Design Expert Program.
Welcome to Microsoft Exchange Server 2010! We know you're eager to get started. Why is the way something looks important? Text, colour, images, moving images and sound all interact to produce a user friendly environment within a user interface. This unit will help you understand the effect each software component has on the user and explain how a consistent and thoughtful application of these components can have a significant impact on the ‘look’ of final product. This unit looks at some of the architectural and programming paradigms used in distributed system development. You will learn about synchronous and asynchronous message passing, distributed objects technology and event-based bus architecture, before finally moving on to tuple architecture. Many of the OpenLearn units include flash components to aid interactivity. The flash components from the units within the IT and Computing area of OpenLearn have been collated into this one unit to make it easier to identify, download and reuse these flash objects. Enterprise systems are software applications that automate and integrate all many of the key business processes of an organisation. With some understanding of software development, you will learn about current development practices for this type of system and develop relevant skills to apply them to real-world problems. You will develop core skills in object-oriented analysis and design, allowing you to develop software that is fit for purpose, reusable and amenable to change. This is a blank course container for your user defined course content. The internet provides a world of information, but how do you find what you are looking for? This unit will help you discover the meaning of information quality and teach you how to evaluate the material you come across. You will learn how to plan your searches effectively and be able to experiment with some of the key resources in this area. What is ‘e-commerce’? This unit will look at typical application areas including the internet, supply chain management and online auctions. It will also help you to understand the underlying technologies used to implement e-commerce applications before looking at some of the problems that can be encountered when developing distributed e-commerce systems. The World Wide Web is a vast information resource. This unit will provide you with the foundation skills to use search engines confidently to locate both information and images on the Web. You will also learn how to critically assess and reference the information you have found for study purposes. Computer crashes are often the result of viruses, worms or Trojans as unfortunately some internet users want to cause havoc or vandalise your computer. This unit provides a guide to the downsides of living with the Net. Advice on how to deal with these dangers is provided and security issues like spyware and adware are explained. The unit also deals with protecting children online, and provides links to various helpful websites which deal with the problems raised. Online shopping – think of it as a shopping centre in cyberspace, with online auctions as the car-boot sale in the car park. This unit will help you understand how to use online shopping sites, how to ensure that you are using the best sites and the best ways to protect your security. No idea how relational database systems are constructed? Did you know that they underpin the majority of the managed data storage in computer systems? This unit has been designed to give you an overview of the developmental lifecycle for a database system, explaining the importance of data analysis and highlighting how database development differs from traditional software development.
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Welcome to Free Open University Department of Computer Science
Dr Paul A Ruffin,
Professor of Computer Science
Company http://www.ecinetworks.com
Mr Ruffin brings to the organization 32yrs as an IT professional with a background in business management, computer and information sciences specializing in database, application development, telecommunications and system security. Dr Ruffin was the first system administrator for Free A&M University now Free Open University. |
