Lesson 26 Communications and Collaboration

1. Lesson 26Communications and Collaboration Computer Literacy BASICS: A Comprehensive Guide to IC3, 3rd Edition Morrison / Wells

2. Objectives • Identify appropriate uses for different communication methods. • Identify the advantages of electronic communications. • Identify common problems associated with electronic communications. • Identify the elements of professional and effective electronic communications. 2 2

3. Objectives (continued) • Identify appropriate use of e-mail attachments and other supplementary information. • Identify issues regarding unsolicited e-mail. • Describe how to minimize or control unsolicited e-mail. • Identify effective procedures for ensuring the safe and effective use of electronic communications. 3 3

4. Vocabulary • biometric security measures • filtering • fraud • hoax • logic bomb • netiquette • phishing • pyramid schemes • RDF Summary • spam • tagging • teleconferencing • time bomb • Trojan horse • urban legend • virus • worm 4 4

5. Communication Methods • E-mail is best when the correspondence requires a paper trail, covers multiple points, and needs to be accessed frequently. • Instant messaging is best when the correspondence needs to be in real time. • Teleconferencing permits the live exchange and sharing of information between two or more people. • RDF Summary is a format used to share the content of blogs. 5 5

6. Advantages of Electronic Communications • Not restricted to time and space • Uses text and graphics rather than voice • Speed is almost instantaneous • Cost is minimal or even free • Access is available from various devices • Forwarding and routing can be accomplished • Collaborative communication allows interaction • Community building connects group members • Online document sharing possible 6 6

7. Solving Communication Problems • Troubleshooting tools help identify problems. • Lost Internet Connection: • The Network Connection Repair tool can help. Windows Network Diagnostics dialog box 7 7

8. Solving Communication Problems (continued) Troubleshoot problems with Windows Mail window • E-Mail Software Problems: • Windows Help and Support provides answers. 8 8

9. Solving Communication Problems (continued) • Downloading and Viewing E-Mail Attachment Problems: • Could be due to attachment size, a virus, or the sender may be blocked. • Delivery Failure: • E-mail can “bounce” because the address was mistyped; it may have a virus; it was identified as spam; the sender is blocked; or the mailbox is full. 9 9

10. Solving Communication Problems (continued) • Garbled Messages/No Guaranteed Delivery: • Occasionally e-mail and other transmissions over the Internet are lost or spliced together. • Lost Formatting: • If the recipient’s e-mail program does not support HTML, the message will display as plain text. 10 10

11. Solving Communication Problems (continued) • Lack of a Paper Trail: • Paper trails have been used in legal cases for evidence proof and in other situations. • Some types of electronic communications do not produce a paper trail. • Hasty Responses: • Avoid sending messages you may later regret. 11 11

12. Professional Versus Informal Communication • Volume of E-mail Replies: • Communication netiquette refers to good manners and proper behaviors when communicating through electronic media. • Use guidelines when replying to messages. • Junk Mail (Spam): • Prevent by using caution giving out your e-mail address; checking Web site privacy statements; not replying to junk e-mail; and using a filter. 12 12

13. Fraud, Hoaxes, and Other False Information • This type of computer crime involves the manipulation of a computer or computer data in order to dishonestly obtain money, property, information, or other things of value, or to cause loss. • E-Mail Fraud: • Phishing involves sending messages that appear to come from legitimate sources asking to update or verify personal information, are in fact used to commit identity theft. • Pyramid schemes are an illicit business model. 13 13

14. Fraud, Hoaxes, and Other False Information (continued) • Hoaxes: • A hoax is an attempt to deceive an audience into believing that something false is real. • Urban legends are stories that at one time could have been partially true, but have grown from constant retelling into mythical yarn. 14 14

15. Viruses and Security • Viruses: • A virus is a program that has been written, usually by a hacker, to cause corruption of data on a computer. Types include: • Worm • Time bomb • Logic bomb • Trojan horse 15 15

16. Viruses and Security (continued) • Viruses (cont): • How a virus can spread 16 16

17. General Security Risks • The best way to protect data is to effectively control access using passwords, electronic identification cards, firewalls, and antivirus software. • Use precautions by instituting a selective hiring process, regularly backing up data, and employing biometric security measures. 17 17

18. Professional and Effective Communications • Rules of etiquette and formality apply to business communications. • Consider whether the type of communication is business, social, or professional. • The purpose and the recipients of the message will determine the level of formality. 18 18

19. Other E-Mail Options • Attachments and hyperlinks can be added to e-mail messages. • Controlling Unsolicited E-Mail: • Filtering allows you to define rules to manage incoming e-mail by sorting, tagging, forwarding, and deleting messages. • Filtering Mail by Mail Servers: • Software filtering can cut down or eliminate most junk mail. 19 19

20. Guidelines for Electronic Communications • A checklist of guidelines for electronic communications: • Attachments should be checked for viruses. • Review communication prior to sending • Understand and apply rules of netiquette • Encrypt messages • Filter messages • Back up and archive regularly • Be aware of leaving an “electronic trail” • Follow school and company guidelines 20

21. Summary In this lesson, you learned: • Teleconferencing uses a telecommunications system to serve groups, permitting the live exchange and sharing of information between two or more people. • Syndication (Really Simple Syndication or RSS), also known as Rich Site Summary and RDF Summary, are formats originally developed to facilitate the syndication of news articles. 21 21

22. Summary (continued) • Electronic communication offers many advantages. The communication is not restricted to a specific place and time. Secondly, in most instances, it uses text and graphics rather than voice. These tools also provide for different types of correspondence such as one to one, one to many, or many to many. • Typical communication problems include failing to connect to the Internet or to your e-mail server. Being unable to download or view an e-mail attachment could be due to the size of the attachment, a virus in the message, or the sender and the type of e-mail. 22 22

23. Summary (continued) • Communications netiquette, a combination of the words net and etiquette, refers to good manners and proper behaviors when communicating through electronic media. • Fraud and false information are computer crimes that involve the manipulation of a computer or computer data in order to dishonestly obtain money, property, or other value or to cause loss. 23 23

24. Summary (continued) • A virus is a program that has been written, usually by a hacker, to cause corruption of data on a computer. The virus is attached to a file and then spreads from one file to another once the program is executed. • Computer security is necessary in order to keep hardware, software, and data safe from harm or destruction. The best way to protect data is to effectively control access. 24 24