LSC S2: Information Access and Sharing

Information Access and Sharing, The content of this chapter and the activities will enable you to:
1 Use online (Internet) and offline platforms
to search for information.

2. Use various ICT tools to access and share information.
3. Understand safety practices while using the Internet (netiquette)

Key words
Internet
Netiquette
Search Engine
Online
Offline

Introduction

Have you ever had information that you would like to share with your friends or have you ever searched for information to use urgently? If yes, ICT can simplify your work. Information access and sharing are very important in society today.
Information can be shared between individuals, organizations and devices. While dealing with information access and sharing, we cannot avoid talking about the Internet and its services such as e-mail, social networks and cloud computing.
Before the introduction of technology and specifically the Internet, information was accessed and shared through books, newspapers, reports, hand written letters, magazines and other prints. With the advent of the Internet, there are many ways and means of accessing and sharing information easily and conveniently. For instance, one can sit in the comfort of his/her home and watch news on a TV, worker study, read and reply emails. This is done using the Internet.
In this chapter, you will learn how to use ICTs in general and a computer in particular together with the Internet to access and share information.

Information Access
Information access is the ability to identify, obtain and use information effectively. Imagine you would like to know more about your favourite soccer team or about the former presidents of Uganda or next week’s weather forecast
or which teachers have been transferred!
All this Information has to be accessed from a source where it is stored. Information access can be possible with or without ICTs as shown in Figure 3.1
and Figure 3.2.

Whereas access to information without ICTs is possible, using ICT makes the process easier, faster and cheaper.
Activity 3.1 Information Access
Do this activity in a group.

1. In which ways do you access information at school?
2. Giving examples, how does the information you receive at school help you?
3. What are the advantages of accessing information using the methods shown in Figure 3.1 and Figure 3.2?
4. Whereas some people say that it is cheap to use ICTs to access information, others think that it is expensive. What is your view and
   why?

Information Sharing
Information sharing is the act of exchanging information between organizations, people and devices. Sharing information, like accessing it can
be done with or without ICTs.
Activity 3.2 Information sharing
Do this activity in a pair.
The President of Uganda is going to visit your school. Your head teacher has informed the area Member of Parliament (MP), the parents and the neighbouring schools. In this case the headteacher has shared information about the president’s visit.

1. In the above scenario, which means do you think the head teacher used to share information about the president’s visit with the MP, the parents and the neighbouring schools.
2. Give reasons for your answers above.efore information is shared, it has to be accessed.
   NOTE

Using ICTs for Information Access and Sharina
There are various ICT tools that can be used in information access and sharing. They include; computers, laptops, tablets and the Internet. Internet is one of the most important enablers of information sharing and access. Some of the services found on the Internet include e-mail, video conferencing and chat rooms. Internet services used in information access and sharing are sometimes referred to as online services.
It is also possible to access and share information without the use of the Internet. This is referred to as offline access and sharing.
Activity 3.3: Using ICTs for information access and sharing

1. In pairs, identify any three ICT tools and explain how they can be used to access and share information.
   The Internet
   The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks which enables various ICT users in different parts of the world to access and share information as shown in Figure 3.3.

Because the Internet is a global network of computers, each computer connected to the Internet must have a unique address for unique identification. This address is called an Internet Protocol (IP). The IP address is determined by the Internet Service Provider (ISP).
Internet works a bit like the postal service where letters are simply moved from one place to another, no matter who they are from or what messages they contain. The job of the postal service is to move letters from place to place, guided by the destination postal address. The IP address iS like a postal address.
For the Internet, the sender and the receiver IP addresses play an important role to have the message delivered. This enables the Internet to handle different types of information.

Activity 3.4: Understanding the internet
Do this activity in a pair.
1.Identify any three the Internet service providers in Uganda.
2 What factors should one consider while choosing an Internet Service
Provider?
3 Use the Internet to research about IP addresses.
4 With the help of your teacher, find out the IP address of the computer
you are using.
5 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using the Internet.

Most people refer to the Internet as the World wide web,
NOTE
however the Internet and the web are different.
How the Internet Works
Information on the internet is found on a collection of websites referred to as a world wide web (www) or the web. A website is a collection of related web pages each with a unique address called a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). For instance https://www.uneb.ac.ug is the URL for the UNEB website shown
in Figure 3.4.

Most URLs begin with http(s):// NOTE
To interact with or access the web, one needs a software or an application called a web browser. In a web browser, you type in a web address or URL of the information to be accessed. If a webpage address is wrong, the browser can search for similar addresses to try to find a match. Common web browsers
include Internet explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. See Figure 3.5.

Activity 3.5: Operation of internet
Do this activity in a pair.
1.Discuss the requirements for connecting a computer to the internet?
2 Identify and research about two other web browsers.
3 Open a web browser installed on your computer, type in the web address
www.uneb.ac.ug and press Enter.
4 What is on the Home page of the website in 3) above?
5 Navigate some other pages on the website and identify the information
they contain.
6 Research about domain names and their meanings.

You do not have to enter http:// before the web address
because most browsers will add that information when you
press Enter.
Accessing Information Using Search Engines
With so many websites online today, there is a lot of information on the Internet. Search engines make this information easier to find. Search engines are at times referred to as answer machines where we input questions and answers are given. To use a search engine, you type its address or its name in a web browser. It is in this page where you type a question or a key search term of the information you are searching for.

Some examples ofweb based search engines and their web addresses include:
Google: www.google.com
Bing: www.bing.com
e Yahoo: www.yahoo.com_
Activity 3.6: Using a search engine
Do this exercise in a group.
Identify any two search engines other than those mentioned above.
1.

2. Open a web browser. Type the address: google.com and press Enter. The search page will be is played as shown below.

3.Different browsers may display the search page differently but they all have the search box.
Type a key word or a search term such as tree in the search box and then click or Google Sear.ch or Press Enter. The screen similar to the one below will appear. Please take note of the information in tabs marked T, number of searches and the time taken for the search.

4. From the search results select a link that looks relevant and
open it. (Hint: If the site doesn’t have what you need, you can
simply return to the results page and look for more options.
5 Search for students in Uganda by typing student+Uganda in the
search box. Note the differences in the number of search results
and the time taken.
6 Practice searching any other information of your interest.
Share your observations with other groups.
Online Services for Ergformation Access and Sharing
The Internet has a number of services which enable users to access and share information. Some of these services include, electronic email (e-mail), Online storage such as Google Drive, social networking, video conferencing and instant messaging.
The practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer is referred to as Cloud Computing. It is illustrated in Figure 3.6

Activity 3.7: Services on the Internet
Do this exercise in a group.

1. Other than the services mentioned above, identify any other five online services.
2. Explain briefly how any of the services identified above work.
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using online services?
4. Giving examples, explain how online services can be of benefit to a:
   School
   Hospital
   Factory
   Bank
   Football club
   Share your responses with other groups.
   Electronic Mail (email)
   It is defined as the transmission of electronic messages (mail) using electronic
   devices. Both the sender and the receiver should have an email address.
   Structure of an Email address
   The structure of the email address is username@domain name. An example
   of email address is kasirye@gmail.com
   An email address consists of two parts separated by the@symbol. The first part
   kasirye is the user name that identifies the user address and the second part
   gmail.com is the domain name of the email server. Examples of email services
   include Google mail (Gmail) and Yahoo mail.

Activity 3.8: Structure of an e-mail address Do this activity in a pair.

1. Other than Gmail and Yahoo mail, identify other email service providers.
2. Mention what you would prefer as your email address and why Share your responses with another pair.

Activity 3.9: Creating an e-mail address
In this activity, you will use Gmail to create an email address or account.

1. Open the web browser and typegmail.com in the address space. The window below shall open.

2. Click Create account. Follow the prompts until the account is created.
3. Fill the form presented until it is accepted
4. Once the account is created, you can log in.
   Activity 3.10: Using an e-mail to share and access information
   In this activity, you will learn how to use your email to send and receive messages.
5. Login to your email account. An interface similar to the one below will appear.

The New message window has the following parts: 3.
i). To: the email address of the person that the email is being addressed to.
ii). Cc: the email address of a person you want to receive a copy of the sent email. Everyone will know that they received a copy.
iii). Bcc: (Blind Carbon Copy): Put the email address here if you are sending them a copy and you do not want the other recipients to see that you sent it to this contact.
iv). Subject: The title of the mail/message. It should be a summary of the mail contents.
v). Message body: This is where you type the message.
Compose an email with a meaningful subject and attach a file. Send it to your teacher or friend. Send a Cc to yourself and a Bcc to your other friend.

Netiquette: Safety Practices while using the Internet
It is very crucial for users to follow Internet safety rules and measures. You have to be very conscious of theft, cyber harassment and bullying, physical and emotional harm, scams and so on. It is important to keep personal information exposure

limited so that it is not accessed by strangers. Netiquette is a shot form for Network Etiquette. It is the required code of behavior for cornmunicating online.

Activity 3.11: Safety practices on the Internet
Do this activity in a pair.

1. Research about the code of conduct for communicating online.
2. Basingon the code of conduct you have researched, come up With ten guidelines that can help learners while using enall services.
3. Discuss your findings with the class.
   When a file is available offline, it can be accessed even when there is no Internet connectiom Offline services gwe the ability to collect and locally store web data for later access. Some offltne educational servaces include encyclopedias like Encarta, Dictionary, Thesaurus and online educational libraries like Kolibrn Activity 3.12: Using offline Services for Information access
   Do this activity in a group.
4. Download and install Encarta or any other offline application on your computer and use It to search for any Information of your choice Demonstrate to the class how the offline services are used.

DIGITAL DIVIDE

The gap between those who have technological access, and those who do not,
is known as the “digital divide.” Figure 3.7 shows some examples of digital
divide.

Digital divide is caused by several factors such as socioeconomic status, gende and age. Whereas it may be difficult to eliminate digital divide, it can be minimized.
Activity 3.13: Digital divide
Do this activity individually.

1. In your own words, explain the term “Digital Divide”
2. Give any examples where you have experienced digital divide.
3. How can digital divide be minimized in your school or community?
   Share your work with your friends

PUZZLE: INFORMATION ACCESS AND SHARING

Copy and complete the puzzle below to quick check your understanding.