1. Communications and Networks Standard Grade Computing Studies

2. Electronic Communication èElectronic Communication is the process of sending and receiving electronic messages. èElectronic messages include electronic mail, text messaging and file transfer.

3. Text Messaging èThe technical name for Text Messaging is SMS (Short Message Service) èText messages are short messages up to 160 characters long which can be sent from one mobile phone to another through a messaging centre èAs well as mobile phones, Text messages can also be received on devices such as pagers and some palmtop computers.

4. Sending a Text Message èTo send a text message you need: è Mobile Phone è An account with a service provider è To be in an area of sufficient signal strength to communicate with the service provider. èOne key on a mobile phone has many functions. èA typical text message might include abbreviations which require fewer key presses.

5. Sending a Text Message èSome examples of abbreviations could be: è 2To/too è bcnuBe seeing you è plsPlease èPredictive Text tries to anticipate what the user will type. èOnce the message has been composed, sending the message is just a matter of selecting the recipient mobile telephone number from the stored list on the mobile phone and selecting send.

6. E-Mail èElectronic-Mail is a way of sending and receiving text-based messages over a network. Both the sender and the recipient have an email address which identify them on the network. èElectronic mail is used mostly for sending letters, but anything which can be saved to disk can be sent by email, such as graphics.

7. What is required for E-Mail èA computer system èSoftware - an email client program or an Internet browser èAn electronic mail address or mailbox èAccess to the Internet if the email is going outwith the local area network.

8. What is required for E-Mail èSoftware - an email client program or an Internet browser. è Email client programs can be used to send and receive email. These allow you to: èsee a list of all messages in your mailbox by displaying the subject, time and date èselect a message and read the email ècreate new messages and send them èset up folders to manage your email èkeep an email address book èadd attachments to messages you send

9. What is required for E-Mail èWebmail è It is much more convenient to access email from any computer that has an Internet connection. è Webmail allows you to access email using an Internet browser program like Internet Explorer. è Hotmail is an example of Webmail

10. Advantages of E-Mail èEmail is much faster than sending a letter by post (snail mail) èEmail is very accessible, since you can check electronic mail from anywhere in the world èThere is no need to worry whether the person you are mailing is there to read the message because it will be stored by the system. èEmail is cheaper than sending a letter by post. èYou can send the same email to lots of different people at once. èLess paper is involved, not all emails need to be printed.

11. Disadvantages of E-Mail èYou must check your mailbox regularly for the system to work èEmail can be impersonal because there is much less interaction between the callers. èEmail is not as secure as the postal system. èJunk email is a huge problem. Junk email or spam is email from strangers or companies whom you have not asked to send you anything.

12. Netiquette èNetiquette is short for network etiquette. èEtiquette is used to describe a certain way to behave. èNetiquette is concerned with the way email messages are written and how others might interpret them.

13. Netiquette èA number of rules have been set up. è Keep your messages short and to the point. è Be careful about the language you use in a message. è Use smilies (emoticons) to your messages to show your emotions. è:-):-( è Avoid using capital letters as this is classed as SHOUTING.

14. Attachments è If you want to send somebody a file, you can ‘attach’ it to an email è This means that the file is sent along with your email è When your email is received, the attachment can be saved by the recipient è Beware of opening attachments from people you don’t know. They may contain viruses. It is always a good idea to use a virus scanner on any attachments.