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TEXT 3. THE DIGITAL AGE

We are now living in what some people call the digital age, meaning that computers have become an essential part of our lives. 

Young people who grow up with PCs and mobile phones are called the digital generation. Computers help students to perform mathematical operations and improve their maths skills. They are used to access the Internet, to do research and to communicate with other students around the world. Teachers use projectors and interactive whiteboards. To give presentations and teach sciences, history or language courses. PCs are also used for administrative purposes – schools use word processors to write letters, and databases to keep records of students and teachers. A school website allows teachers to publish exercises for students to complete online. Students can also enroll for courses via the website and parents can download official reports. 

Mobiles let you make voice calls, and send texts, email people and download logos, ringtones or games. With a built-in camera you can send pictures and make video calls in face-to-face mode. New smartphones combine a telephone with web access, videos, a games console, and MP3 player, a personal digital assistant (PDA) and a GPS navigation system, all in one. 

In banks, computers store information about the money held by each customer and enable staff to access large databases and carry out financial transactions at high speed. They also control the cash points, or ATMs (automatic teller machines), which dispense money to customers by the use of a PIN-protected card. People use a Chip and PIN card to pay for goods and services. Instead of using a signature to verify payments, customers are asked to enter a four-digit personal identification number (PIN), the same number used at cash points; this system makes transactions more secure. With online banking, clients can easily pay bills and transfer money from the comfort of their homes. 

Airline pilots use computers to help them control the plane. For example, monitors display data about fuel consumption and weather conditions. In airport control towers, computers are used to manage radar systems and regulate air traffic. On the ground, airlines are connected to travel agencies by computers. Travel agents use computers to find out about the availability of flights, prices, times, stopovers and many other details. 


Answer the following questions:

1. What is a digital age? 
2. What is a digital generation? 
3. How do computers help teachers? 
4. How do computers help schools? 
5. What does a typical school website consist of? 
6. What do we do with mobile phones? 
7. What is the meaning of built-in? (a) outside (b) at a side (c) upside down (d) integrated (e) all of these ?
8. Write down the long forms of PDA, ATM and PIN. 
9. What are the extra features given in smartphones? 
10. How do you think a smart phone is better than a normal mobile phone? 
11. In banks, what do we use instead of signatures? 
12. Write some features of online banking. 
13. How do pilots use computers? 
14. How do airport control towers use computers? 
15. How to airlines connect to travel agencies? 
16. How do travel agents use computers?



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TEXT 2. THE WONDERS OF COMPUTERS 

The computer is one of the wonders of Science. Science has made our lives more enjoyable and has broadened our knowledge. The computer influences our way of living for a variety of reasons. They have enabled us to do things faster, as well as communicate with people across the globe. The Internet affects us in every way, most importantly with our social lives, our jobs, and our entertainment. Our social lives are not just communicating with telephones and mail anymore. Going "on-line" is the new way we like to communicate with people. Chat rooms on the Internet are available for people to talk and explore with other people who may live on the other side of the world or on the other side of the street. People can get in touch with relatives or old friends who happen to live overseas more conveniently with computers by simply writing an email. Two seconds to send e-mail to someone on the other side of the world is much quicker than a week or two through the ordinary mail. That also eliminates having to purchase stamps that are a necessity for mailing out letter through the post office. For all those times you could not seem to get a hold of someone over the phone, you can use your computer for another way to contact someone. Instead of people talking to their neighbors in person or even over the phone, they now can talk to them through instant messaging. Instant messaging has become more and more popular with people today because it is just like being on the phone yet the conversation can be more personal. People enjoy instant messaging because they feel that whatever they cannot say over the phone they can say through emails. Computers allow people to talk to friends and family that are far away without having to pay the long distance phone bill. 

The computer and the internet can also affect our jobs in many different ways. Since the invention of computers, people can now earn a living from home. What person wouldn’t give from having the option and the ability to work from home? It saves money on gas because it eliminates traveling to and from work, not having the stress of other coworkers is a relief to many, and not having to see your boss every five minutes gives you peace of mind. Computers can also calculate and figure out things much quicker and more accurately than the average person. This process cannot only save time, but money too as well as minimal errors to occur. Computers and the Internet are definitely affecting the way we entertain ourselves. The most basic example is card games. If the computer can deal out cards on a screen with the click of a button, why would anyone want to deal out a deck of cards manually and have to clean them up afterwards? On the Internet, people can gamble with on-line casinos, they can have exciting tournaments with any game they want, or even watch movies without having to leave the comfort of his or her own home. No gas money is wasted or time spent driving around to find something to do for the night. Checking news, weather, and sports via the Internet is a convenient tool that many are taking advantage of. People can book flights for business trips or family vacations. People can watch episodes of their favorite TV show that they missed the night before or they can even watch an entire movie with a simple click of a button. Computers are also great learning tools for young children. Computers help children to be in control of their experience, to set their own pace, and to select the level of challenge with which they feel comfortable to them. By using a computer, children develop self-confidence and self-esteem as they gain knowledge of computer skills and use the computer to make things happen. This also gives them a reason to smile and feel good about themselves on being able to accomplish something that they can be proud of. As they master computers, children build positive attitudes toward technology that will pay dividends for the rest of their lives.

Our lives have been permanently altered due to technology, especially with computers. Take a minute to realize that most everything we do revolve around computers. When it comes to school, assignments are required to be typed whereas in the past they were hand written. Students can use the computer for using the dictionary or encyclopedia programs. They can use the computer for looking up research for homework assignments and not have to waste their time and travel to go to the local library. Also take a grocery store for example, cashiers had to memorize all of the prices for the products in their store in the past. Today, the register is computerized and programmed to know the price by reading a simple bar code. It would be nearly impossible for anyone to know the price of every item in today's stores because there are thousands of items in the everyday stores. 

Computers also allow people to do their banking and shopping without leaving their home. People can access their accounts through the computer and pay any bills they may have. You can check out status of things you have purchased without having to be on hold for several minutes on the phone while they look up your item. Almost anything can be bought off of the internet, whether it is a new outfit for an exciting weekend planned or a new kitchen table for your home. The use of technology has grown so popular that now schools across the world are offering online classes so that people do not have to travel to school to attend the class. Having a computer makes things more convenient and less time consuming. Another advantage of computers is how they have changed many disabled people's lives, especially those who are unable to leave their homes because of boundaries such as being in a wheelchair. They can go to particular websites to keep up with what is going on in the world today and have the ability to still talk to their love ones. For people who are confined to wheelchairs, computers give them a chance to experience many things that would not be possible for them otherwise. People today across the world have found that the computer is immensely valuable in relation to their work and the resources would be far more limited without it. There’s not one area of our lives that computers and the Internet have not affected or will not affect. While there are things to watch out for such as viruses and theft, overall most people would agree that the huge advantages that come from computers and the Internet, far outweigh any disadvantages computers may have. The making of the computer has made our world a global village. There are things we can do now that could have never of been done without a computer.

In conclusion, the knowledge available to us at a spur's notice, creativity is limitless, science is evolving rapidly and more accurately, and more small business owners are successful because of computers. Computers are very useful to make everyday life a lot easier. With the choice of having a computer and being on-line, there is almost nothing you can't do. It would be hard to survive in today's technological jungle without knowing how a computer operates and what the capabilities it has. Having knowledge in computers will make people excel in anything they put their minds to and will give people the necessary experience they need in order to succeed in most jobs. Computers today are being used in many ways that people had never expected to do. We wouldn't be where we are today without the amazing technology that was created. This remarkable idea of creating the computer and the Internet is going to revolutionize the way we live from decades to come.

TEXT 1. SOCIAL NETWORKING

There are many different social networking websites. Social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Research Gate and Myspace have created new ways of socializing. Users of these websites can easily add a lot of information to many pages, to pursue common interests, and to connect with other people who have similar interests. They can find existing and new friends and start communicating with them. Sites like LinkedIn develop business and professional connections. YouTube and Flickr specialize in various users' videos and photographs.

While social networking sites were initially developed for different individuals only, today they are widely used by many businesses, societies, companies and organizations to promote their brands, to market products and services to their customers and to boost posts to "go viral". "Black hat" social media techniques are also employed by some businesses, such as spam accounts.

A risk for both individuals and organizations writing posts, especially public posts, on social networking websites, is that especially foolish or controversial posts occasionally lead to an unexpected and possibly large-scale backlash on social media from other Internet users. This is also a risk in relation to controversial offline behavior, if it is widely made known. The nature of this hostile response can range widely from counter-arguments and public mockery, through insults and hate speech, to, in extreme cases, rape and death threats. The online disinhibition effect describes the tendency of many individuals to behave more offensively online than they would in person. A significant number of feminist women have been the target of various forms of harassment in response to posts they have made on social media, and Twitter in particular has been criticized in the past for not doing enough to aid victims of online abuse.

For organizations, such a backlash can cause overall brand damage, especially if reported by the media. However, this is not always the case, as any brand damage in the eyes of people with an opposing opinion to that presented by the organization could sometimes be outweighed by strengthening the brand in the eyes of others. Furthermore, if an organization or individual gives in to demands that others perceive as wrong-headed, that can then provoke a counter-backlash.

Some websites, such as Reddit, have rules forbidding the posting of personal information of individuals due to concerns about such postings leading to mobs of large numbers of Internet users directing harassment at the specific individuals thereby identified. In particular, the Reddit rule forbidding the posting of personal information is widely understood to imply that all identifying photos and names must be censored in Facebook screenshots posted to Reddit. However, the interpretation of this rule in relation to public Twitter posts is less clear, and in any case like-minded people online have many other ways they can use to direct each other's attention to public social media posts they disagree with.

Children also face dangers online such as cyberbullying and approaches by dangerous killers, who sometimes pose as children themselves. Children may also encounter material which they may find upsetting, or material which their parents consider to be not age-appropriate. Due to naivety, they may also post personal information about themselves online, which could put them or their families at risk, unless warned not to do so. Many parents choose to enable Internet filtering, and/or supervise their children's online activities, in an attempt to protect their children from inappropriate material on the Internet. The most popular social networking websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, commonly forbid users under the age of thirteen. However, these policies are typically trivial to circumvent by registering an account with a false birth date, and a significant number of children aged under thirteen join such sites anyway. Social networking sites for younger children, which claim to provide better levels of protection for children, also exist. 

The Internet has been a major outlet for leisure activity since its inception, with entertaining social experiments such as MUDs and MOOs being conducted on university servers, and humor-related Usenet groups receiving much traffic. Today, many Internet forums have sections devoted to games and funny videos. Over six million people use blogs or message boards as a means of communication and for the sharing of ideas. Online gambling industries have taken advantage of the World Wide Web, and often provide a significant source of advertising revenue for other websites. Although many governments have attempted to restrict illegal industries' use on the Internet, in general this has failed to stop their widespread popularity.

Internet usage has been correlated to users' loneliness. Lonely people tend to use the Internet as an outlet for their feelings and to share their stories with others, such as in the "I am lonely will anyone speak to me" thread.

Cyberslacking can become a drain on corporate resources; the average UK employee spent about an hour a day surfing the Web while at work, according to a 2003 study by Peninsula Business Services. Goldbricking, also known in computer-related tasks as cyberslacking or cyberloafing, generally refers to an employee doing less work than they theoretically could. A modern example is staff who use their work internet access for personal reasons while maintaining the appearance of working, which can lead to inefficiency. The term originates from the confidence trick of applying a gold coating to a brick of worthless metal - while the worker may appear industrious on the surface, in reality they are less valuable.

Some estimate goldbricking costs employers $1 billion a year in computer resources.

Instances of goldbricking have increased markedly since broadband Internet connections became commonplace in workplaces. Before that the slow speed of dial-up connections meant that the practice was rarely worthwhile. Many firms employ surveillance software to track employees' Internet activity in an effort to limit liability and improve productivity. Other methods used to reduce goldbricking include installation of proxy servers to prevent programs from accessing resources like Internet Relay Chat (IRC), AOL Instant Messenger, or some online gambling services, strict disciplinary measures for employees found goldbricking, and carrot and stick measures like providing free or subsidized Internet access for employees outside of working hours.

Goldbricking became a mainstream topic when Yahoo! announced in late February of 2013 that it was banning the practice of telecommuting because it discovered its remote employees were not logging into the corporate VPN often enough.

However, there are alternate views. Research has indicated that permitting employees to utilize computer resources for personal use actually increases productivity. A study by the National University of Singapore entitled Impact of Cyberloafing on Psychological Engagement concluded that using the internet for personal use served the same purpose as a coffee break and helped workers concentrate and stay engaged.

Internet addiction disorder is excessive computer use that interferes with daily life. Psychologist Nicolas Carr believes that Internet use has other effects on individuals, for instance improving skills of scan-reading and interfering with the deep thinking that leads to true creativity.

Abridged and adapted from Wikipedia – the Free Encyclopaedia

Answer the following questions:

1. What is the role of socializing in our life?
2. What is the difference between LinkedIn  and Research Gate?
3. What are the advantages and the disadvantages of social networking?
4. What does it mean to boost posts to "go viral"?
5. What are the "Black hat" social media techniques?
6. What is ''white hat''? 
7. What are feminist women? What do they do?
8. What is ''censor''? What does a censor do?
9. How did the term ''goldbricking'' originate?
10. What is ''proxy server''?
11. What is ''IRC'' about?
12. What is "VPN"? What does it mean?
13. What is "telecommuting"?
14. How do you utilize internet resources for personal use?