Topic 1.4.5 Information Technology
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
1.Warm up
Discuss the following questions in pairs or small groups.
- What is the difference between hardware and software?
- Can you give an example of a piece of hardware in a computer?
- Can you give an example of a software program commonly used for word processing?
- How do hardware and software work together in a computer?
- Why is it important to keep both hardware and software up to date?
2.Hardware and software
Discuss the following questions in pairs.
- What hardware do you have in your office?
- Which hardware does your computer have?
- Which software is installed on your computer?
- Which software do you use on a regular basis?
3.Vocabulary: webhosting
Read the following sentences and look at the underlined words.
- Our website is becoming very popular. I think we need to move it to a dedicated server.
- We have a small website. I think a shared server is good enough for our purposes.
- Our plan has no bandwidth You can download and upload as much data as you like.
- The hosting company offers 99% uptime.
- The hosting plan offers free daily backups.
- I think we need to change the host of our company. There’s been too much downtime
What type of hosting plan does your company use? What’s the service like?
4.Listening
You are going to listen to a dialogue about different types of hosting options for businesses. Which things do they talk about?
- downtime
- backups
- shared server
- bandwidth
- uptime
- dedicated server
5.Listen again and choose the correct answer.
6.John is a website designer. His boss wants him to make a few changes to the company website.
Answer any of the questions below.
- What kind of website would you consider to be user-friendly?
- What website features do you find annoying?
- What are some of your favourite websites? Why?
- Have you ever designed a website? Was it easy?
- How has web design changed in recent years?
7.Vocabulary: describing technology
8.Listening
You are going to listen to a podcast about choosing the best software for a business. While listening choose the correct answer to the following question.
Which of the following is NOT a key factor to consider when choosing software for a business?
Efficiency
Versatility
Sophistication
Security
None of the above
Listen again and decide if the following sentences are true or false.
9.Troubleshooting
What typical IT problems do you encounter in your work?
10.Talking point: roleplay
You are going to roleplay as an IT worker solving five different technical issues. You have to explain solutions in as much detail as possible.
