STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

TECHNOLOGY CURRICULUM GLOSSARY

  
  Term

Definition

Grade Levels
 

 

 

 
  Active cell The thick-bordered cell where you can enter numbers or formulas in a spreadsheet. 3-8
  Alignment

How your text conforms to the left and right margins of a page. The text can be right-aligned, centered, left-aligned, or fully-aligned/justified.

3-8
  AND A way to search for information using the words AND, OR and NOT. Boolean logic was created by English mathematician George Boole 150 years ago. 4-8
  Animated clip art A moving clip art graphic. 5-8
  Anti-Virus An application designed to search for viruses and repair files on a computer. 5-8
  Application

Program or software.

 3-8
  Application/Software Programs that allow to you accomplish certain tasks such as write letters, analyze numbers, sort files, manage finances, draw pictures, and play games.

K-8
  Arrow keys The keys on computer keyboard used to move the cursor up, down, left, or right on your screen.

K-8
  Ascending Order Organizing or sorting information in order from smallest to largest, or A-Z or 1-9 4-8
  AUP
Acceptable Use Policy		 A set of rules and guidelines that are set up to regulate Internet use and to protect the user.

K-8
  Axis A feature of a chart, on which you can plot numbers. The horizontal line is called the X-axis, and the vertical line is called the Y-axis.

3-8
  Bar graph

One type of graph developed from spreadsheet data that uses parallel bars to compare data and changes in data over time.

 2-8
  Bold A style of text that makes a letter or word darker and thicker to stand out in a document. 3-8
  Button bar A little box on your screen that you click on with your mouse to accomplish a task. Most buttons contain small pictures (icons) that display what they do, such as a small printer that can be clicked on to print a document.

3-8
  Button bar

A horizontal strip of buttons near the top of a window. It provides shortcuts for commonly used commands. Some programs let you choose to hide or display the button bar, and mix and match buttons to customize a button bar. Also known as a toolbar.

 2-8
  Buttons A hot spot used in multimedia applications to navigate from one place to another or to activate elements (e.g., sound, movies, animation). 2-8
  Calculate The working of mathematical equations. Formulas that are usually used in spreadsheets allow the computer to automatically perform calculations. 4-8
  Cell The space at the intersection of a row and column in a spreadsheet. 3-8
  Chart

A way to present information from a spreadsheet in the form of graphs or tables.

2-8
  Circle graph

A picture showing the relationship of two or more sets of data using a circler.

 3-8
  Clip art

Drawings you can add to your documents or presentations. Clip art includes items such as cartoons, maps, symbols, and flags. Some software packages include clip art. Clip art can be purchased separately.

 2-8
  Column The vertical divisions in a spreadsheet that are named with an alphabetical letter 3-8
  Copy

To make an exact copy of information in your document, so you can place in order to duplicate it in a new location.

 3-8
  CPU

(Central Processing Unit)

The main chip that allows computers to do millions of calculations per second and makes it possible for users to write letters and balance your checkbook.

 K-8
  Credits To give reference to the creator and source of the information used in a presentation. 3-8
  Cursor

This is where the action is located on your screen, represented by a flashing line. When you type on your keyboard, the information appears at the cursor.

K-8
  Database Software application that helps manage large collections of information. A simple database might be a single file containing many records, with the same set of fields. Data can be sorted and searched by one or more criteria. 2-8
  Delete A key used to erase characters. K-8
  Descending Order Organizing or sorting information in order from largest to smallest, Z-A or 9-1 4-8
  Desktop The background on the windows, menus, and dialog boxes on a PC. It is supposed to represent a desk. 2-8
  Desktop publishing Using features of word processing/DTP software to format and produce documents, letters, reports, flyers, and newsletters with graphics. 2-8
  Domain

The part of an Internet address that identifies where a person?s account is located. For example, in the address jdoe@dpi.state.nc.us the domain is everything after the @.

 4-8
  E-mail Sending and receiving messages through a computer network. This process requires a computer, modem or network connection, and an e-mail address. It is convenient because all messages are sent and received immediately over short or long distances. 4-8
  Edit To make changes in a document or presentation. 3-8
  Enter/Return The key used to begin a new line in a word processor, or to enter information into a spreadsheet. It is the same as clicking OK in a dialog box. K-8
  Entry bar The field where information is entered in a spreadsheet. 3-8
  Field A place in a database record where a category of information can be entered or located. 4-8
  File A set of related records in a database 4-8
  Firewall Technology that prevents users from visiting inappropriate web sites, and protects the network from unauthorized users. 5-8
  Font The shape and style of text. 3-8
  Format To set the margins, tabs, font or line spacing in layout of a document. 4-8
  Freeware

Software written and then donated to the public, so anyone is free to copy it and share it with their friends. This is not the same as shareware or commercial software, which is supposed to be paid for.

 3-8
  Gif (Graphic Interchange Format)

(Pronounced "jiff.") A file format for pictures, photographs, and drawings that are compressed so that they can be sent across telephone lines quickly. Format widely used on electronic bulletin boards and the Internet and are limited to 256 colors, so they cannot be used for high-end desktop publishing.

 3-8
  Graph

A picture shows the relationship of one or more sets of numbers to each other. Some graph types are line, bar, area, and pie graphs.

 2-8
  Graphic

Images/pictures created, edited, and/or published using a computer.

3-8
  Hacker An unauthorized person who secretly gains access to computer files. 5-8
  Hardware Part of the computer system such as a keyboard, screen, mouse, joystick, printer, speakers, etc. K-8
  Highlight or Select To choose part of a document by clicking and dragging over it with the mouse to highlight the text. 1-8
  Home page

An introductory screen on a web page on the World Wide Web, used to welcome visitors. A home page can include special text or graphics on which you click to jump to related information on other pages on the Web.

3-8
  Home row Keys on the keyboard with fingers of the left hand are on A-S-D-F and fingers on the right hand on J-K-L-; 2-8
  Host

The name given to a computer directly connected to the Internet. Host computers are associated with computer networks, online services, or bulletin board systems.

 2-8
  Hyperlink or Hypertext

Special text when clicked jumps the user from one related topic to another.

 3-8
  Illustration

Clip art, graphics or drawings on a computer.

 3-8
  Indent

To set the first line of a paragraph in from the margin in a word processing document.

 3-8
  Internet Term given to the network of computers that provide information world-wide. 1-8
  Jpeg (Joint Photographic Experts Group A standard for shrinking graphics so they can be sent faster between modems and take up less space on your hard drive. These graphics can be reduced to 5 percent of their original size, but the image quality deteriorates. However, compressing graphics to 30 or 40 percent of their original size results in minimal loss of quality. 3-8
  Keyboard

The hardware device used to enter letters into the computer.

K-8
 

Keyword

 A word or reference point used to describe content on a web page that search engines use to properly index the page. 4-8
  Label The term given to the words entered on a spreadsheet usually naming a column. 3-8
  Landscape The page setup that permits a document to be printed in a horizontal position. 3-8
  Line graph A graph used to display trends and compare data. 3-8
  Line spacing

The span between lines of text

 3-8
  Linear Moving in a straight line or path; a multimedia presentation that moves in a straight line from image to image. 3-8
  Links Connections that bridge one image, page, or word to another by clicking on a highlighted word or phrase. 3-8
  Math Symbols to Use When Searching

Symbols used in a search.
> Greater than symbol
< Less than symbol used in a search
≥ Greater than or equal to
≤ Less than or equal to
≠ Not equal
= Equal to

4-8
  Monitor

The device with a screen used to show computer images.

K-8
  Mouse

A tool used to move the cursor and pointer around the screen.

K-8
  Multimedia

To use a combination of text, pictures, sounds, movies, and/ or animation in a presentation.

K-8
  Network A system of connected computers that allows the sharing of files and equipment. There are two types of networks: local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN). 5-8
  Non-linear Not moving in a straight line or path; a multimedia presentation that transitions from one image to another in an order that is preset, but not necessarily in a straight path - Example: a non-linear presentation can transition from image 1 to image 3 and back to image 1. using menus/branching. 3-8
  Numeric Keypad The portion of a keyboard, set up like an adding machine or calculator used to enter numbers and equations quickly into the computer.

K-8
  Online Resources Internet information available to a computer user. 3-8
  Online Safety Precautions taken to protect personal information and images from being misused by others.

K-8
  OR Formal name given to advanced search strategies using AND, OR and NOT connectors. Boolean logic was created by English mathematician George Boole 150 years ago. 4-8
  Page Set Up The term in reference to the way a document is formatted to print. 4-8
  Password A code for the security protection to allow access to a computer or the computer programs. K-8
  Paste To insert the last information that was cut or copied into a document. Cut and paste can be used to move information within or between documents. 3-8
  Pictogram

Pictures used to create a bar graph chart

 2-8
  Pie graph

Circle graph divided into pieces that look like portions of a pie.

 3-8
  Portrait The default page setup that prints the document vertically. 3-8
  Print To put what is on the computer screen on paper. It creates a paper copy of the document created on the computer. 2-8
  Printer

A hardware device used to make a paper copy of what is created on the computer.

K-8
  Probeware Computer assisted data collection tools 6-8
  Public Domain Software written and then donated to the public. Anyone can use and copy public domain software free of charge, but it is not always the same quality as commercial software. 3-8
  Record A collection of related field and entries. 4-8
  Retrieve

Open a saved document.

 2-8
  Row The horizontal divisions in a spreadsheet named with a number. 3-8
  Save To storing information on a floppy disk, hard drive or CD for later use. Work should be saved often, every 5 or 10 minutes, to make sure your latest changes are safely recorded. 3-8
  Save As

To save a document with a new name.

 3-8
  Search To look for specific information on the internet or computer. 4-8
  Search Engines Software that searches, gathers and identifies information from a database based on keywords, indices, titles and text. 4-8
  Search Strategies There are 3 basic ways to begin a search.

1.       Try to guess at the URL.

2.       Use Subject directories provided by some search engines. The selected resources are grouped by subject, categories, and subcategories that can be used for keyword search or to browse the categories.

3.       Use a search engine for large searches using unique keywords or combinations of keywords to narrow the search.

4-8
 

Security

Protection of computer, computer files or a computer network from use without permission of the owner or owners.

4-8
 

Select or Highlight

To choose part of a document by clicking and dragging over it with the mouse to highlight the text.

1-8
 

Server

A special computer used to store programs and files, and then sends it out to other computers one or all at a time.

3-8
 

Shareware

Software that can be tried before you purchase.

3-8
 

Software/Application

Programs that allow you to accomplish certain tasks such as write letters, analyze numbers, sort files, manage finances, draw pictures, and play games.

K-8
 

Sort

Arranging information in a specific order (usually ascending and descending).

2-8
 

Spreadsheet

An application that can be used to do calculations, analyze and present data. It includes tools for organizing, managing, sorting and retrieving data and testing "what if " statements. It has a chart feature that displays numerical data as a graph.

3-8
 

Stand Alone Computer

A computer that does not rely upon any other computer or server to work.

K-8
 

Storyboard

A graphic organizer used for planning and developing a multimedia report/presentation. The contents, layout, and formatting of each card/slide and the linking together of the cards/slides.

2-8
 

Table

Columns and rows of cells that can be filled with text that are used to organize information

3-8
 

Telecommunication

The act of sending and receiving information, such as data, text, pictures, voice, and video. The exchange of information can be within a building or around the globe.

2-8
 

Text

Words on a page.

K-8
 

Thesaurus

A feature in most word processors used to replace a word in a document with one that is more suitable and adds variety to your writing.

3-8
 

URL Address -Uniform Resource Locator

Website address. Example: http://www.carteretcountyschools.org

3-8
 

User name

First part of an e-mail address. Example: jmwinton is the user name of the following e-mail address. jmwinton@carteret.k12.nc.us

4-8
 

Value

The term for a number in a spreadsheet that can be added, subtracted, multiplied or divided.

3-8
 

Vandalism

The intentional act of destroying computer files or computer networks.

K-8
 

Virus

A computer program designed to damage computer files.

5-8
 

Web address

Universal Resource Locator (URL). Example: http://www.carteretcountyschools.org

3-8
 

Word processing

Using keyboarding skills to produce documents such as letters, reports, manuals, and newsletters.

1-8
 

Word wrap

This occurs when you get to the end of a line and continue typing the text will then go to the next line.

2-8
 

Worm

A computer file designed to do damage that goes through a computer and possibly a network

5-8
 

WWW (World Wide Web)

The section of the Internet that allows access to text, graphics, sound, and even video. A lot of free information can be found on the WWW.

3-8
 

WYSIWYG

WYSIWYG is an acronym for "What You See Is What You Get" and is pronounced "wizzy wig." WYSIWYG simply means that the text and graphics shown on your screen exactly match your printouts.

3-8