Basic Computing Terminology.
The following is a list of basic computing terms that K201 students are expected to know and understand. If you are unfamiliar with any of these, research them on your own to be sure you have sufficient background knowledge of computing basics. These terms fall under the category of hardware, software, or networking.
- Local Area Network (LAN)
- Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
- Wide Area Network (WAN)
- Router
- Client
- Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
- Memory
- Primary Storage
- Secondary Storage
- Random Access (RAM)
- Read-Only (ROM)
- Input device
- CPU
- Software
- System
- Application
What is Blogging?
A blog is a Web site where the owner of the blog posts a series of updates via text, pictures, videos, or other files.Blogs can be used for many purposes from personal online diaries, news commentaries, or for business purposes. The term blog can be used as a noun (the Web site itself) or a verb (to post to the Web site).
What is Micro-Blogging?
Micro-blogging is posting really short posts to the online blog. Usually, posts are under 140 characters. Many people use their cell phones to text the updates to their blog pages. Micro-Blogging via cell phone can be done using traditional sites like Blogger or other sites like Twitter.
What is Web 2.0?
The term Web 2.0 refers to Web sites whose content is driven by the Web user (Internet surfer). Any site that allows you to create your own page or contribute to an existing page is a part of Web 2.0. This includes popular sites like Wikipedia, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Blogger, and many others. Many of the Web 2.0 sites that students have used before are social networking sites (sites that allow students to interact in an online social community).
What is a Mash-up?
If you have 3 or 4 different Web 2.0 accounts on different Web sites, maintaining all of them is very time consuming. Mash-ups allow different Web 2.0 systems to talk to one another via xml. Mash-ups, for example, can allow your Twitter posts to show on your Blogger page. Mash-ups are called different things at different sites. For example, they are called applications on Facebook and widgets on Blogger.
What is a Social Network?
Social networking refers to Web 2.0 sites that allow you to participate with an online community and to connect with other people. Social networking tends to be more personal networking. Professional networking sites, such as LinkedIn, also exist. However, the line between the two is fuzzy, and many social networking sites (like Facebook and MySpace) are used by employers.
What is a Wiki?
A Wiki is a Web 2.0 site that allows users to easily collaborate and create interlinked Web sites. Wikipedia.com is one of the most popular wikis. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia written by anyone who wishes to create or edit an entry. The Wiki tracks revision history and tracks who has made what changes.
What am I required to use for K201 Consulting?
K201 Consultingis a hybrid case between service learning (a real case for a real client where your work will be used) and a role-playing case (made-up situations or situations from the past that are not currently happening). As events and activities related to the case occur, you will not know if they are part of the real service learning, from past events, or made-up events. We will reveal which is which before the end of the semester.
In K201, we believe that an important part of working for a real client is to see the events unfold. So, you will not be given a single case summary. You are required to somehow follow the case throughout the semester. Sometimes extra credit opportunities will unfold for those who follow the case in real time (for example, following it via Twitter). However, you are only required to check the blog at least once every 2 days on a standard computer. In Oncourse, go to your K201 lecture section. It will automatically bring up the K201 Consulting blog.Or, if you wish, you can go directly to the blog at
You are required to participate in the Lecture Exercises as defined by the syllabus. Signing up for Facebook, Twitter, or Blogger is optional. Note that if you use your cell phone for any reason to followK201 Consulting, you may incur text messaging or other fees that are your responsibility. Please check with your service provider before making the decision to sign up for text alerts or anything else that incorporates your cell phone. You will be personally responsible for any fees incurred. For the team assignments, you will be required to get a free Google Docs account on the @indiana.edu domain.
What is Facebook, and how do I sign up for an account?
Facebook is a social networking site that allows you to join groups, add friends, post status updates (a form of micro-blogging), have a wall (a form of a blog), and many other things. If you do not already have an account and want one, you can sign up for free at Please be aware of privacy issues when creating your account. Even if you set your account to be completely private, you must assume that anything you post can be found and is NOT private. If you would not want your mother or employer to see it, you should not be posting it.
What is Twitter, and how do I sign up for an account?
Twitter is a Micro-blogging site that allows you to use the Web or your cell phone to post updates. The site is free, though you can incur charges for using your cell phone (which you are personally responsible for). You can sign up for an account at When you post a micro-blog on twitter, it is called “tweeting.”
How do Twitter and Facebook interact?
There are many mash-ups between Twitter and Facebook. If you search the Facebook applications for Twitter, you will get many different variations. Joanna (your “project manager”) is using an application that simply changes the status update on Facebook with the Twitter tweet text message. You can find the same application at
How can I use a smart phone to connect to Facebook without using text messaging?
Facebook also has a program you can download to smart phones to allow you to post and change your status without tweeting. This program does use data plan minutes and is not advised unless you have a smart phone with unlimited data. The Facebook program is available at:
- For Windows Mobile:
- For Blackberry:
- For iPhone:
What is Tinyurl, and why would I use it?
When you can only post 140 characters for micro-blogging, long URLs become a real problem! Twitter will take a long URL and automatically create a small URL that will take someone to the same location as the long URL. If you ever want to convert a long URL to a short one, Tinyurl.com is a free service that will allow you to do so.
What is Blogger, and how do I get to the K201 Consulting blog?
Blogger is one of the most popular free blogging sites. It is the site that K201 Consulting will be using. If you ever want to comment on a post to the blog, you will have to sign up for a free account. Commenting is optional, not required. You are only required to check the blog at least once every 3 days on a standard computer. In Oncourse, go to your K201 lecture section. It will automatically bring up the K201 Consulting blog. Or, if you wish, you can go directly to the blog at
What is an RSS Feed, and how could it help me follow what is happening in the case?
RSS feeds are used in sites that are frequently updated, like blogs. RSS (Really Simply Syndication) uses XML to provide either full or summarized text and any metadata like author or date. You can use a feed reader to monitor what is happen on any feed you wish to follow. Thus, RSS Feeds are another way you can follow the blog. On the K201 Consulting blog, you will see a section on the right side to subscribe to the K201 Consulting blog.This will allow you to add the blog’s RSS feed to any of the listed readers (like Google and Yahoo) or any other reader that you use.
What is Google Docs, and how do I sign up for an account?
You are required to use Google Docs for K201 Consulting team Lecture Exercises. Google Docs is an online collaboration tool that allows small or really large teams to write a single document. It keeps a revision history like a Wiki (like Wikipedia). Many people can edit the document at the same time. You can sign up for your free account at After you sign up for an account (you have to use your IU username and create a new password), go back to that same URL and log in. Periodically throughout the semester, you will be given other direct links to access documents for just YOUR team.
What is the difference between Google Apps, Google Docs, and Gmail?
All of these are Google products, which can be quite confusing. Gmail is Google e-mail. IU has an official relationship with Google that allows you to check your IU e-mail on Gmail ( If everyone in K201 were on Gmail, we could actually access Google Docs through your Gmail accounts. Since we are all on different e-mail systems (Gmail, umail, imail, exchange, imap, etc…), we cannot access personal Google Docs this way.
Instead, we must access Google Docs by going to directly to this link Google Docs is the Microsoft Office suite equivalent in Google Apps. Google Docs includes a Word document equivalent, a spreadsheet equivalent, and a quasi-database equivalent (forms).
What is a Domain, and what domain will we be using?
All Indiana University Bloomington students are on the @indiana.edu domain. A domain is a common name given to tie many network devices together. So, if someone sends an e-mail to , it will route the e-mail to your preferred e-mail at IU (imail, umail, exchange, imap, etc…). The only way you are not on the @indiana.edu domain is if you started at another IU campus (IUSB, IUPUI, etc…) and have transferred to IU Bloomington.
What if I am a transfer student at a domain other than @indiana.edu?
If you transferred to IU Bloomington from another IU campus (IUSB, IUPUI, etc…), your e-mail may not be going to @indiana.edu. Your e-mail may be, for example, . If you are not sure, send yourself an e-mail but type the e-mail address in as . If you get the e-mail, you are already on the @indiana.edu domain. If the e-mail gets returned to you by the Web server, then you are not on the @indiana.edu.
If you are not on @indiana.edu, you need to get on @indiana.edu. All transfer students qualify to move domains. You simply need to go to the Information Commons with your ID to do so. It is in your best interest to move to the @indiana.edu domain. If you do not, there is a good chance you will miss e-mails from some of your professors!
What are Google forms, and how will we use them?
Google forms are a part of Google Apps. They allow you to create a Web form that asks questions. Then, it records the answers in a Google spreadsheet for you. This tool will be used in two ways in K201:
First, for every team assignment, you must do two things to get any credit. You must meaningfully contribute to the collective paper / work. Second, you must fill out a Google form linked on the assignment. This will be a valuable tool for us in getting feedback on the K201 Consulting project. If you fail to do either of these two, you get zero points on the assignment.
Next, your team may choose to use Google forms to survey yourselves about preferences. Setting up a form takes only a few minutes. Your team may find it useful to survey your own team members.
What are Junk filters, and why do I care?
Most e-mail systems now have junk filters. Junk filters are programs running on the e-mail computer that take any e-mail message that looks like junk or spam and puts it in a Junk folder. E-mails in that folder are usually deleted after only a few days. When you sign up for online accounts (like Google Docs), you will usually get a confirmation e-mail that you need. Sometimes Junk filters put these e-mails in Junk folders. So, if you cannot figure out why you haven’t received the sign-up e-mail, please check your Junk folder.