National Teaching and Learning Change ProgrammeInformation and Communication Technology:
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• instruction
  A programming statement specifying an action to be performed by the computer.
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• instruction cycle
  The control unit is the part of the central processor which manages the execution of instructions. The control unit fetches each instruction in sequence, decodes and synchronises it before executing it by sending control signals to other parts of the computer. This is known as the fetch-execute cycle, also called the instruction cycle.
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• integer
  A positive or negative number which does not have any decimal places or fractions.
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• integer type
  Integer type data are whole numbers, either positive or negative. Integer type data is sometimes called int type.
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• integrate
  When a program is being developed, different modules may be created by different programmers. At some point during software development, these modules have to be integrated so that they function together as one program.
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• integrated circuit
  A solid state micro-circuit in which all the components (such as transistors and capacitors) are formed within a very thin slice of silicon. The popular name for an integrated circuit is a silicon chip.
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• integrated services digital network (ISDN)
  A communications standard for faster digital transmission over telephone wires. An ISDN adapter can be used to allow your computer access to services such as the internet.
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• interactive computing
  This refers to programs or applications that respond directly to the user, taking instructions and giving feedback. In practice, most personal computer applications are interactive.
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• interactive media
  Media where the user can interact, in some way, with the program.
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• interactive processing
  Interactive processing provides the user with direct, immediate responses from the system. There is often some kind of dialogue with the system. Examples include the booking of airline tickets and requesting information about a bank account through a cash-dispensing machine.
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• interactive whiteboard
  An interactive whiteboard (also known as an electronic whiteboard) connects to a computer and not only displays the contents of the computer monitor, but also has the facility for users to edit and save the content on the whiteboard, using either a special pen or by touching the screen with a finger or hand.
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• interface
  Where a computer and an external entity (a person, a peripheral device, etc.) meet. This may be software, as in human-computer interface, or hardware, for example, where a printer plugs into the computer.
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• internet
  The internet, also referred to as the net, interconnects a very large number of individual and diverse computer networks. Its name is short for
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• internet message access protocol (IMAP)
  This provides management of email messages whilst they are still stored on a remote server (e.g. that of your internet service provider).
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• internet protocol (IP)
  A standard set of rules used to ensure the proper transfer of data between computers on the internet. Internet protocols define how data is to be structured, what control signals are to be used and their meaning.
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• internet relay chat (IRC)
  A program which allows internet users to chat interactively with other users in real-time.
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• internet service provider (ISP)
  A company or organisation that provides a host computer that provides users with access to the internet.
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• internet telephony
  Using the internet protocol to carry voice signals. Also called voice over IP (VOIP).
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• interoperability
  The ability of products and systems to work with different products and systems, usually from different suppliers, including the sharing of data.
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• interpreter
  An interpreter translates and executes a high-level program one statement at a time. It is used as an easy, if slightly inefficient, way of executing programs not in the machine code of the computer. For example, when an interpreted program contains a loop, the speed of execution will be slow because the analysis of each statement has to be repeated for each time round the loop.