Words of the WeekWords of the Week

binaryA word meaning “two” or

“base two.” A way of counting by using two

numbers, 0 and 1.

bitAn electronic signal which is either on (1) or off (0). The smallest unit of information a computer uses.

blogA contraction of the

words “web” and “log”. A website usually

maintained by an individual with regular

entries.

browserA software program that allows you to explore the

World Wide Web.

byteA group of 8 bits strung together.

Conversions

• 1024 bytes = 1 kilobyte• 1024 kilobytes – 1 megabyte• 1024 megabytes = 1 gigabyte

Comparisons• The first floppy held 80 kilobytes(53, 687 floppies = my 4G flash drive) New floppies held 1.44 megabytes(4831 = my 4G flash drive)CD holds 700 megabytes(5.8 CDs = my 4G flash drive)

CD RomA round, shiny portable disc

that holds large amounts of software information.

cellA box where a column and

row intersect in a spreadsheet.

CPUCentral Processing Unit

also known as the processor.

cursorA blinking line or shape on the screen that tells you

where the next character goes.

disk driveA part of the computer that operates the disks that store information.

downloadReceiving information

from someone else’s computer over a network and saving to your own

computer or disk.

e-mailA way of sending messages from one

computer to another.

fieldAn element in a database

that holds exactly one type of information

about an item or subject.

gigabyteA unit of measure that

equals 1,073,741,824 bytes.

HTMLHyperText Markup Language – the set of

codes that makes up web pages.

iconA tiny picture on the

screen that represents a program, file, or folder.

InternetMillions of computers around the world that are connected to each

other.

modemA device that links a

computer to other computers using phone

lines.

monitorTV like part of the

computer that you look at to see information.

networkA number of computers connected together to share information and

hardware.

operating systemSoftware component of a

computer system responsible for the

management and coordination of computer

activities.

processorThe chip which is the brains of the computer

also known as the Central Processing Unit.

RAMRandom Access Memory – temporary storage space

on chips in your computer.

RSSA family of web feed

formats used to publish frequently updated

content such as a blog.

scannerA device that “takes a picture” of something

and turns it in to a computerized image.

URLUniform Resource Locator-The address on a website

located on the World Wide Web.

virusA computer program written to purposely

damage computer systems.

Web 2.0A perceived second generation of web

development and design, that aims to facilitate communication, secure

information sharing, interoperability, and collaboration on the World Wide Web.

Web 2.0 concepts have led to the development and evolution of web-based

communities, hosted services, and applications; such as social-networking

sites, video-sharing sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies.

wikiA collection of web pages designed to allow anyone

who accesses it to contribute or modify

content.

21st Century Teachers and Learners

Successful learning environments break through the barriers that separate schools from the real world, educators from each other and policymakers from the communities they serve. Yet, many schools continue to reflect their Industrial Age origins with rigid schedules, inflexible facilities and fixed boundaries between grades, disciplines and classrooms, according to a new paper released by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and sponsored by Cisco Systems.

www.21stcenturyskills.org

Thank you for learning!