Chapter 7 — Checklist: E-ECDL ethics

The author planned to cover, over time, all the topics needed for the E-ECDL, the ethical European driving licence for computer use. The European Computer Driving Licence certifies a person’s computer skills, but its exams require exclusive use of proprietary software. Since almost every proprietary program has a free counterpart, the author set out to build a parallel, free information structure that anyone could use, at no cost, to prepare for the computing tools of the future.

The checklist below lists the topics. Each entry in the original document also gives detailed learning objectives, which are summarised here.

7.1 Basic concepts of information technology

• Hardware, software and information technology.
• Types of computers: mainframe, minicomputer, network computer, personal computer, laptop. Intelligent and dumb terminals.
• Main components of a personal computer: CPU, hard disk, input and output devices, memory types, removable media, peripherals.
• What affects performance: CPU speed (MHz/GHz), RAM, disk speed and capacity.
• System software and application software; operating systems and graphical user interfaces (GUIs).
• Memory units: bit, byte, KB, MB, GB.
• Software development: analysis, programming, implementation, testing.
• Networks: LAN, WAN, telephone networks, modems, bps.
• Email, the Internet and the World Wide Web, and the difference between the Internet and the Web. Search engines.

7.2 Computers in everyday life

• Uses at home: hobbies, household accounts, remote work, email and the Internet.
• Uses at work and in education: office applications in commerce, industry, public administration and schools.
• Everyday uses: shops, libraries, medical offices, smart cards.
• The information society and its implications.

7.3 Ergonomics, health and safety

• Correct position of screen, keyboard and chair; ambient lighting; regular breaks.
• Electrical safety: secure cable connections, no overloaded sockets.
• Problems caused by poor posture and by screen glare.

7.4 Data security and legal aspects

• Backups on removable media. What happens to data when power fails.
• Passwords and privacy. Privacy law in Italy and the implications of using personal data.
• Viruses: how they enter a system, the risks of downloading files, main defences.
• Copyright and copyleft; the legal implications of copying, sharing and lending disks; shareware, freeware and licences.

7.5 File management

• Starting and shutting down the computer; checking the system (operating system, processor, RAM); desktop settings; formatting a disk; using help.
• Icons, windows, folders and subfolders: creating, renaming, viewing properties.
• Copying, moving, deleting files; searching for files; using a text editor; printing and managing the print queue.

7.6 Word processing (OpenOffice.org Writer)

• Opening, editing, saving and closing documents; saving in other formats (TXT, RTF, web-ready formats).
• Entering and selecting text; copy, cut and paste; find and replace; undo.
• Formatting: fonts, emphasis, alignment, indents, line spacing, bulleted and numbered lists, tabs, borders.
• Styles, page numbers, headers and footers, spell and grammar checks.
• Page setup, print preview and printing; tables; images and other objects.

7.7 Spreadsheets (OpenOffice.org Calc)

• Entering numbers, text and simple formulas; undo; saving in other formats.
• Selecting cells, rows and columns; copy, move, delete; find and replace.
• Arithmetic and logical functions; relative and absolute references; autofill; standard error messages.
• Sum and average functions; sorting data in numerical or alphabetical order.
• Cell formatting: numbers, dates, currencies, percentages, text and cell ranges.
• Charts: pie, bar and other types; adding titles and labels; moving and deleting charts.