1.1 Reading: Explain Society's Reliance on Technology

Digital literacy

Having a current knowledge and understanding of computers, mobile devices, the web, and related technologies

computer literacy

Having a current knowledge and understanding of computers, mobile devices, the web, and related technologies.

computer

An electronic device, operating under the control of instructions stored in its own memory, that can accept data, process the data to produce information, and store the information for future use.

Data

Raw facts, such as text or numbers

Hardware

The device itself and its components, such as wires, cases, switches, and electronic circuits.

Software

The programs and apps that instruct the computer to perform tasks. Software processes data into meaningful information.

information

Data that has been processed to become meaningful.

vacuum tubes

Cylindrical glass tubes that controlled the flow of electrons, used in the first generation of computers. [https://college.cengage.com/nextbook/shared/computer_education/cengage_9780357124826/images/9780357124826_m001_f002-t2.jpg?token=E2BB63D5F4B48FB3F87

transistors

Smaller, cheaper, and more reliable replacement for vacuum tubes in the second generation of computers.

integrated circuits

Developed in the 1960s, packed the equivalent of thousands of vacuum tubes or transistors into a silicon chip about the size of your thumb.

microprocessor

The "brains" of a computer; a chip that contains a central processing unit.

personal computer (PC)

Computers designed for personal use, as opposed to commercial or industrial use

Internet of Things (IoT)

An environment where processors are embedded in every product imaginable (things), and these things communicate with one another via the Internet or wireless networks.

smart devices

A device that can communicate, locate, and predict; part of the Internet of Things (IoT).

embedded computer

A computer that functions as one component in a larger product, and which has a specific purpose.

chip-and-pin technology

An improvement in card technology that stores data on an embedded chip instead of a magnetic stripe.

kiosk

A freestanding booth usually placed in a public area that can contain a display device used to show information to the public or event attendees.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

The technological use of logic and prior experience to simulate human intelligence.

Virtual reality (VR)

The use of computers to simulate a real or imagined environment that appears as a three-dimensional (3-D) space.

Augmented reality (AR)

A type of virtual reality that uses an image of an actual place or thing and adds digital information to it.

digital divide

The gap between those who have access to technology and its resources and information, especially on the Internet, and those who do not.