The following is a list of all the topics that are likely to appear in the exam.
Tick them off as you feel confident about each topic.
What can your phone do?
Mobile phone features
Picture resolution
Camera resolution
Storage capacity
Memory cards
Music and video players
File formats
Connectivity
Bluetooth
WiFi
Transferring data between phones
Network bands
Designing a mobile phone
Mobile phone features for specific needs
Working collaboratively
Mobile phone features for social life
Energy consumption and battery life
GPS
User interface
Mobile phone design
Fashion phones/business phones/multifunctional phones
Mobile phones for everyone?
Impact of age/gender/disability on choice of device
Advantages and disadvantages of mobile phones
Mobile phone safety
Mobile phone etiquette
Disposing of old mobile phones
Which kind of computer?
Desktop computers
Types of portable computers (laptop, notebook, netbook, PDA)
Choosing a suitable computer based on profession
Processor (CPU)
Memory (RAM)
Hard disk drive
Wireless enabled
USB connection
Sound/graphics cards
Optical drive
Choosing a computer based on user needs
Conserving energy
Peripherals (input, output, storage/media)
Future proofing
Socialising on the Internet
Ways of communicating
Advantages and disadvantages of Instant messaging (IM)
Advantages and disadvantages of Voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP)
Advantages and disadvantages of social networking
Blogs
Social bookmarking
Internet safety
Social networking safety
The Internet as a work tool
Advantages and disadvantages of email
Email protocols: IMAP and POP3
Advantages and disadvantages of Virtual Learning Environments
(VLEs)
Advantages and disadvantages of user-generated websites (wikis)
User forums
New websites and RSS feeds
Podcasting
Copyright and plagiarism laws
Legal, illegal and unethical use of content
Internet safety
Viruses
Spyware
Cookies
Spam
Phishing
Hackers
Identity theft
Protecting your computer from the dangers associated with being
connected to the Internet
The digital divide
Understand what is meant by the digital divide
Groups who are likely to have poor access to latest technology
Economic implications
Educational implications
Social implications
Cultural implications
Government initiatives to reduce the divide
Organisations working to reduce the divide
Searching for information
Effective keyword searches
Research and making bookings online
Solving a last-minute hitch
Searching using a search engine
Reliability and validity of websites
Biometrics
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chips
Microchips
Keeping in touch
Devices that can send text messages and share photos
Suitability of mobile phone for taking photos/videos
Features of digital cameras/camcorders
Features of netbooks
Transferring photos between devices
Bluetooth
USB cables
Flash memory cards
How can we connect?
Mobile phone ‘roaming’ facilities and charges
Connecting to the Internet: cable and wireless connections
Cyber cafés
Extra safety precautions needed when using shared computers
Wireless hotspots
Advantages of online photo albums
Advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing
Finding the way
What GPS is and what it does
How GPS technology works
Convergence (e.g. mobile phones with GPS)
Metadata
Geotagging
Advantages and disadvantages of GPS tracking
Geocaching
Privacy issues related to GPS technology
What digital devices should we take?
Choosing between digital devices
Features and functions of smart phones
Features and functions of netbooks
Setting up a multimedia system
Effective keyword searches
Criteria for choosing a laptop:
features
functions
hard disk drive (HDD) size
performance
connectivity
future proofing
upgradability
support
HDTV
HDMI
Portable music devices
Disposing of old equipment – environmental impact and privacy
Concerns
Which games console?
Comparing games consoles
Advantages and disadvantages of gaming using a console
Advantages and disadvantages of gaming using a laptop
Hands-free gaming
Connecting to the Internet
Types of modems – ADSL, cable and wireless broadband
Importance of bandwidth when downloading
Internet service providers (ISPs)
Choosing an ISP based on:
cost
speed
download limits
email and web space
storage
security
parental control
reliability and customer service
Firewalls and preventing spyware
Checking broadband connection speed
How to create a home network
Local area networks (LANs)
Advantages of networks
Types of network connections:
Ethernet cable
Wireless (WiFi)
Powerline
Router
IP address
Which type of network?
Latency
Unsecured networks (hot spots)
Encryption
Preventing unauthorised access to home network
Downloads and on-demand services
Possible consequences of illegal downloading
Downloading guidelines
Digital Rights Management (DRM)
Video streaming
On-demand streaming
Licences
Effects of illegal downloading on the industry
Viral marketing
What precautions should I take?
Protecting your IP address
Spyware
Cookies
Third-party cookies
Overt and covert data collection
Protecting your computer
What are the dangers?
Symptoms of computer game addiction
Health-related problems: eye strain, muscles and joint problems,
RSI, obesity
Benefits and drawbacks of computer games
Identity theft
Predators
Staying safe online
Is shopping online a good thing?
Differences and similarities between shopping online and on high
street
Advantages and disadvantages of shopping online
Deciding on the trustworthiness of a website
Online customer rights – ‘cooling off’ period
Advantages to businesses of selling online
Effects of online shopping on lifestyle and behaviour
Setting up an online account
Online accounts
Information you have to enter
Required fields
Combo boxes
Role of combo boxes in validation
Verification
Secret answer
Captcha tests
Password strength
Activating an account
Advantages and disadvantages of auto-complete features
Is it safe to pay online?
Credit and debit cards
Information you have to enter online
Credit card validation (CCV) code
Verified by Visa
How to recognise secure sites
Encryption – Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
Advantages and disadvantages of online banking
Third-party payment processors, e.g. PayPal
Gift vouchers
Environmental impact of shopping online
Avoiding online fraud
Credit card fraud
Chip and PIN
Skimming
‘Bin raiders’
Card not present fraud
How criminals get hold of your details:
trojans
spyware
phishing emails
How to spot a phishing email
Is my data safe?
Widespread storage of personal data
Data security risks:
theft
loss
companies selling data
Data Protection
Privacy policy
Creating a safe workspace
Computer-related health problems:
back pain
eye strain
repetitive strain injury (RSI)
stress
Ways of preventing computer-related health problems
Ergonomics
Other safety considerations
Working out the problem from the physical symptoms given
Any time, anywhere
Mobile broadband
Dongle
Dongle security
Advantages and disadvantages of mobile broadband
3G coverage
Privacy issues
Collaborative working
Technology that allows collaborative working
Advantages of collaborative working
Different ways of working collaboratively:
video conferencing
VoIP
online workspaces
wikis and online forums
Multitasking
Working remotely
Creating a secure password
Good password practice
Access rights
Teleworking
Software choices
Advantages and disadvantages of online software applications,
e.g. Google Docs
Understand how commercial software producers can respond to
the challenge of software as a service
Software licences
General purpose software versus specialist software
Buying and upgrading software:
locally installed software
leasing the software
software as a service (SaaS)
Advantages and disadvantages of each of the types of software
Copyright law regarding software
Open source software
Storing and backing up data
What is data?
Primary storage
Secondary storage:
USB pen/flash drives
CD
Flash memory card
DVD
Hard disk drive
Advantages and disadvantages of online data storage
Choosing suitable data storage media
Importance of backing up data
Disaster recovery
RAID
Data Protection Act 1998
Communicating with customers
Digital methods of communicating with customers
Why communicate with customers?
Advantages and disadvantages to the customer and the business
of using email to communicate with customers
Advantages and disadvantages to the customer and the business
of using instant messaging (IM) to communicate with customers
Blogs
Advantages and disadvantages of video conferencing
Advantages and disadvantages of VoIP
Running a business online
Benefits to businesses of selling and advertising online
Benefits of the Internet to industry and individual businesses
Importance of good website design
Advantages of Internet advertising
Advertising using a search engine
Keywords
Content networks
Viral marketing