JSS3 COMPUTER STUDIES LESSON NOTE.

FIRST TERM SCHEME OF WORK

WEEKS TOPICS CONTENT
1 Revision

2 - Definition of Computer Professionals

Computer Career Opportunity
- Examples of Computer Professionals

3 - Qualities of a Good Computer Professional

Computer Career Opportunity
- Computer Professional Bodies (NIG, NCS etc)

4 - Definition
Digital Divide
- Features of Old and New Economy

5 - Limitations of Old Economy

Digital Divide - Benefits of New Economy

6 STINT TEST

7 -Definition
Computer virus -Types
-Sources

8 - virus warning signs

Computer Virus
- classification of virus effects

9 - Virus Detection (Anti-Virus)

Computer Virus - Examples of Anti-virus
- Prevention of viruses

10 - Definition of internet
- Meaning of search engine
- Examples of search engine
Internet III
- Uses of search engine
- Steps on how to use a search engine.
- Tips on conducting searches.

11 Revision

12 Examination
WEEK TWO: COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS

Definition of Computer Professionals

Computer professionals are individuals who have acquired knowledge, training, and skills in the field of
computing and information technology. They work with computers to develop, manage, maintain, or
support computer systems and software.

Examples of Computer Professionals

1. Computer Programmer – Writes code and develops software applications.

2. System Analyst – Evaluates and designs computer systems to meet specific needs.

3. Network Administrator – Manages computer networks to ensure smooth communication.

4. Database Administrator (DBA) – Manages data storage and retrieval systems.

5. Computer Engineer – Designs and repairs computer hardware.

6. Web Developer – Builds and maintains websites.

7. IT Consultant – Provides expert advice on computer-related issues.

Assignment

1. Define computer professionals in your own words.

2. Mention any four examples of computer professionals and their duties.

3. Identify one computer professional you would like to become and explain why.

WEEK3: QUALITIES AND PROFESSIONAL BODIES

1. Problem-solving ability – Must be able to find solutions to technical issues.

2. Attention to detail – Accuracy is key in programming and system design.

3. Good communication skills – Should explain technical information clearly.

4. Teamwork – Ability to work with others to achieve goals.

5. Ethical behavior – Must avoid activities like software piracy or hacking.

6. Continual learning – Keeps up with new technologies and updates.

Computer Professional Bodies in Nigeria

1. Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) – The umbrella organization for IT professionals.

Roles

- Promoting the education of computer scientists, engineers, and information technology

professionals in Nigeria.

- Encouraging and promoting research projects that advance information technology and its
applications.

2. Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) – Regulates the practice of computing in
Nigeria.

3. Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) – Focuses on software development in Nigeria.

- Promoting the growth of the software-driven IT industry in Nigeria.

- Supporting the development of software professionals through training and other capacity-building
activities.
 4. Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPRN)
Role 1: Determining the standards of knowledge and skills required for the computing profession and
registering professionals.

Role 2: Accrediting computer training institutions and overseeing the conduct of practicing computer
professionals.

5. Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN)

Role 1: Promoting computer literacy and penetration in Nigeria.

Role 2: Negotiating with the government on behalf of its members on matters concerning IT
development.

6. Nigeria Association of Computing Students (NACOS)

Role 1: Providing opportunities for students to coordinate and organize efforts to support important IT
concerns.
Role 2: Empowering youth to use IT to contribute to and effect change in Nigeria.

Assignment.

1. List and explain any four qualities of a good computer professional.

2. Mention two computer professional bodies in Nigeria and state one function of each.

3. Why is ethical behavior important for a computer professional?

WEEK 4: DIGITAL DIVIDE AND ECONOMIES

TOPIC: Digital Divide (Concept of digital divide)

CONTENT: (a) Concept of the digital divide

Sub-Topic 1: Concept of the digital divide

Digital divide refers to the gap between those people with effective access to digital and
information technology and those without. It includes the imbalance in the physical access to
technology as well as imbalance in resources and skills needed to participate effectively as a
digital citizen.

The Digital divide is probably one of the first concepts considered when reflecting on the theme
of the social impact caused by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). From there
on, one perceives that these technologies are going to produce differences in the development
opportunities of people, and that a distance will be established between those with access to these
technologies and those without.

The term ‘digital divide’ describes the fact that the world can be divided into people who do and
people who don’t have access to, and the capability to use modern Information and
Communication Technology, such as the telephone, television, or the internet.

The digital divide is often seen to exist along the following lines:

1. Between the rich and poor countries;

2. Between those in cities and those in rural areas;
3. Between males and females
4. Between the rich and the poor individuals;
5. Between physically challenged and those without any disability
6. Between literates and illiterates, etc.

It has been suggested that one of the relevant ways of measuring the gap in access to ICTs is to
look at the differences between developed and developing countries in the level of penetration of
different ICT services (telephone, mobile phone, internet) and of personal computers. Over the
course of the past decade, the gap has narrowed markedly, with particularly rapid progress in the
field of mobile phones and internet use.
EVALUATION:

1. Define Digital divide

2. Identify 5 areas that show the existence of digital divide.

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT: Students are to carry out a research on how to tackle the concept
of digital divide in Nigeria.

TOPIC: Digital divide (Features of the old and new economy)

CONTENT: (a) Features of the old economy (b) Features of the new economy
(a) Comparison between the old and new economy
Sub-Topic 1: Features of the Old Economy

The old economy is the economy system mainly based on subsistence farming, large scale
economy based on commodity money. In the ancient times, for most people, the exchange of
goods occurred through social relationship.

The following are the features of the old economy;

 Poor economic earnings
 Mechanical ways of production
 Poor technology which resulted in time wastage
 Intense labour based production
 Time constraint
 Scarcity of labour and low manpower development.

EVALUATION:
1. State five features of the new economy

Sub-Topic 2: Features of the new economy

New Economy: The new economy is also known as the Digital Economy. It is a term used to
describe the result of the transition from an industrial/manufacture-based economy (old
economy) to high-growth industries that are on the cutting edge of technology and are the
driving force of economic growth. The new economy was an evolution of developed countries
from an industrialized /manufacturing based wealth creation economy to the service sector based
economy.

Features of the new economy

 Knowledge-driven: Intellectual capital as a strategic factor; a set of understanding used
by the people to make decisions or take actions that are important to the economy.
 Change-driven: continuous, rapid and complex; generates uncertainty and reduces
predictability.
 Technology-driven: The use of technology in different spheres of life. This has led to
globalization in Research and Development, production, trade, finance, communication
and information, which has resulted in the opening of economies, global hyper-
competition and interdependency of business.
 Time, space and distance is irrelevant to activities due to the advert of Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs)
 Digitalisation of Technologies.

EVALUATION:
1. Define new economy
2. State five features of the new economy

sub-Topic 3 Comparison between the Old and New economy

S/No ISSUES OLD ECONOMY NEW ECONOMY

1 Economic Development Steady and linear, quite Volatile-extremely fast
predictable change and chaotic, not
easily predictable
2 Market changes the name of Slow and linear Fast and unpredictable
the game
3 Pace of business Slow Appreciably faster with
ever rising customer
expectations
4 Organisation of production Mass production Flexible and lean
production
5 Key drivers to growth Capital People, Knowledge,
Capabilities
6 Key technolology drivers Automation and Information and
mechanisation Communication
Technology, e-business,
computer design and
manufacturing
7 Main sources of Access to raw materials, Distinctive capabilities:
 Competitive advantage cheap labour, and capital institutional excellence,
for conversion; cost moving with speed;
reduction through human resources,
economies of scales customer partnership;
differentiation strategies;
competitive strategies

EVALUATION:
1. Differentiate between the old and new economy
2. Explain the following;
 Knowledge-driven
 Technology-driven
 Change-driven
WEKEND ASSIGNMENT:
Students are to Research on the ‘benefits of the new economy’

WEEK 5

TOPIC: Digital Divide Cont.

CONTENT:

(d) Limitations of the old economy

(e) Benefits of the new economy:

SUB-TOPIC 1
Limitations of the Old Economy
1. Time Constraint and Time Consuming: Nobody would carry out business when market
was closed. Also, long hours were used in carrying out activities, because these were done
manually.
2. Limited Space: The old economy depended on physical space such as market places and
offices before business transaction could take place. Commodities, services and ideas cold
not travel far. It covers small area.
3. Distance: The old economy depended on physical contract as a result business transaction
would not take place if there was a distance barrier.
4. Labour-based: There was minimal use of technology in the old economy, human efforts
were invested, and it was hard to operate. Jobs that will require the pressing of some few
buttons by an operator on a computer always take lots of people to be done in the old
economy.
5. Tedious and Boring: The old economy is not interesting to use, in most cases it is only one-
way, unlike the new economy that you can use various methods and various electronic
gadgets to achieve your aim.
6. Papers and Files: The old economy needs keeping a large volume of data on the shelf unlike
the new economy which has created a paperless environment in which information can be
stored or retrieved through digital media instead of paper.

Evaluation:
Mention and explain five limitations of the Old Economy.

Sub-Topic 2: BENEFITS OF THE NEW ECONOMY

(1) Globalization: New Economy has turned the whole world into a global village. Space
and distance is no barrier.
(2) Job Creation: It creates a lot of job opportunities for those who have the required
education and training and for those with less education and training. The phone call
centre operators, Cyber cafes, industries, computer firms, telecommunication companies
etc provided employment opportunities to thousands of people.
(3) Low capital to start business: It requires very little capital to start, e.g. starting a phone
call centre.
(4) It widens knowledge: It broadens the knowledge of its operators through education,
training and experience. It gives room for effective sharing of information making the
society knowledge-based.
(5) Digital Economy: New economy has changed the economy of many countries of the
world into a digital one. Today we now have digital camera, digital tape, digital video,
digital watch etc.
(6) High Output: There is high output in the new economy unlike the old economy where
the output is low.
(7) Electronic Commerce: Through the new economy, buying and selling is now carried out
electronically.
(8) Technology Driven: The new economy is controlled by the kind of technology
employed.
(9) Easy Transfer of Data: Business Transactions are made easy because of availability of
information and transfer of data.

Evaluation:
1. Mention and explain five benefits of the New Economy.
Reading Assignment:
A handbook on Computer Studies (practical guide) for Schools and Colleges by Niyi
Adekolegan, book 3. Pages 24 - 26
Weekend Assignment:
1. In a tabular form, state two (2) differences between the features of the old and new
economy.
2. ____ refers to the gap between people with effective access to digital and information
technology and those with little or no information at all.
a. Old economy b. New economy c. Digital Divide d. Developing economy
 3. Features of old economy include all the following except
a. It is time consuming b. It is labour based c. it is mechanical d. technology driven
4. All the following are features of new economy except
a. It is Digital b. Time, space and distance is irrelevant c. It is technology driven
d. it is labour based

WEEK 7: COMPUTER VIRUS

Definition of Computer Virus

A computer virus is a harmful software program that can copy itself and infect a computer system
without the user's knowledge. It can corrupt files, damage programs, or slow down the computer.

Types of Computer Virus

1. Boot Sector Virus – Affects the boot sector of hard drives, making it difficult for the computer to start
properly.

2. File Infector Virus – Attaches to program files and spreads when the programs are opened.

3. Macro Virus – Infects documents like Word or Excel files by exploiting macros.

4. Worm – Spreads automatically across networks and can slow down the system.

5. Trojan Horse – Pretends to be a useful program but causes damage once installed.

Sources of Computer Virus

1. Downloading files from untrusted websites.

2. Infected USB drives or CDs.

3. Opening email attachments from unknown senders.

4. Sharing files over unsecured networks.

5. Installing pirated or cracked software.

Assignment

1. Define computer virus in your own words.

2. List and explain three types of computer viruses.

3. Mention four common sources of computer viruses.

WEEK 8&9: VIRUS WARNING SIGNS AND ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE

Virus warning signs.

1. Slow Computer Performance – The system takes longer to load files or applications.

2. Frequent System Crashes – The computer shuts down or restarts suddenly.

3. Pop-Up Ads – Unusual pop-ups appear frequently while browsing.

4. Missing or Corrupt Files – Files suddenly disappear or cannot open.

5. Unusual Error Messages – You receive strange warnings or messages.

6. Programs Opening Automatically – Apps start running without your action.

Classification of virus effects

Viruses have two classes of effects;

a. Destructive effects

- Massive destruction: attacks the format of system data on disk whereby no data on the disk
can thereafter be accessed.

- Partial destruction: erasure and modification of specific portions of a disk, thus affecting the
files stored there.

- Selective destruction: erasure and modification of files or specific group of files.

- Random havoc: randomly changing data on the disk or in memory during normal program
execution or changing key strokes values (e.g. you strike the C key and P key echoes) or data
from other input/output devices.

b. Non-destructive Effect

- Annoyance: displaying foolish messages, changing display colors, changing key strokes
effects, deleting characters displayed on the screen or making displayed characters fall off
the screen at random and pile up at the bottom of the screen.

Meaning of Antivirus

Antivirus is a type of software designed to detect, prevent and remove computer viruses and other
harmful programs.

Examples of Antivirus Software

1. Avast
2. AVG

3. Norton

4. Kaspersky

5. McAfee

6. Bitdefender

7. Avira

8. Quick Heal

9. Sophos

10. ESET NOD32

Prevention of Viruses

1. Ensure a disk is free from virus before using it.

2. Check a new software for virus.

3. Warn against virus attack.

4. Install an anti-virus software on your system to guard your system against attack.

5. Take backups of all files at regular interval after recovery, you will have healthy files to work
with.

6. Update installed anti-virus software on your system regularly, especially as demanded by the
anti-virus manufacturer.

Assignment.

1. State four warning signs of computer virus

2. List five anti-virus software that you know

3. Outline five preventive measures against virus infection.

WEEK 10. INTERNET III

Search Engine
A search engine is a software system designed to carry out web searches. It helps users find information
on the internet by entering keywords or phrases. The search engine searches its database and displays a
list of results (called search results) that match the query.

Examples of Search Engines

Some popular search engines include:

1. Google – [Link]

2. Bing – [Link]

3. Yahoo! Search – [Link]

4. DuckDuckGo – [Link]

5. [Link] – [Link]

6. Yandex – [Link]

7. Baidu – [Link] (mostly used in China)

Steps on How to Use a Search Engine

1. Connect to the Internet: Make sure your device is connected.

2. Open a Web Browser: Launch any browser like Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.
3. Enter the Search Engine Address: For example, type [Link].

4. Type Your Query: Click on the search bar and type what you are looking for.

5. Press "Enter": The search engine processes your request.

6. View the Results: A list of related websites and information appears.

7. Click on a Result: Select the most relevant link to open the web page.

Tips on Conducting Searches.

1. Use Specific Keywords: For better results, be clear and direct. E.g., instead of “animals,” type “habitat
of lions in Africa.”

2. Use Quotation Marks (“ ”): To search for an exact phrase. E.g., "causes of global warming"

3. Use the Minus (-) Sign: To exclude unwanted results. E.g., jaguar -car (if you're looking for the animal,
not the car)

4. Use the Plus (+) Sign: To include certain keywords. E.g., Nigeria + economy + 2025

5. Use Question Form: You can search using complete questions. E.g., What are the uses of a computer?

6. Check the Website Source: Prefer websites ending in .org, .edu, or .gov for reliable information.

Assignment.

1. Define a search engine in your own words.

2. List any 5 examples of search engines.

3. Write 4 steps to follow when using a search engine.

4. Mention 3 tips that can help you get better search results.