DCM'S

Email – formally known as Electronic Email. It’s electronic communication using a computer. You can compose your message on your computer “email” it to another recipient and they will receive your message on their device. To be able to send Emails you must have an Email, it can be anything you wish, for example Rebeccha1@hotmail.co.uk. You can email through service providers such as Hotmail, Yahoo and Gmail. You can also get your emails on smart phones.

IM – known as “Instant Messaging”. It is an Internet based form instant communication. It is quicker than email and you can talk to one person or a group of people and your message will be delivered instantly. Ways to use IM is by using Windows Live Messenger, or Facebook chat.

SMS – Short message (or messaging) service, also known as “texting”. This means sending a text as a way of communication through a mobile phone device to another. You can also send texts through computers to phones if you have the right protocols that allow the exchange of the text message.

Bulletin Boards – is computer software that allows users to log in and connect to the program. Once logged on to the software you can upload or download software and/or data, read latest news and bulletins, you can message people either through the email, on the public messaging boards or on the chat rooms. This software also offers online games that users can play on their own or against other users.

Discussion Forums – is an online discussion site where people can hold discussions on different posts that can be about anything. This is normally known as a “Thread”. It means the discussion being held and its subject.

Weblogs (blogs) – a blog is an online diary people can post their hobbies, interests and personal experiences onto. Some people chose to write about: fashion, art and online diary or music. This allows people to post their opinions, pictures or links on a regular basis.

Newsgroups – newsgroups are an online system to allow messages to be posted by many users in different locations. They are similar to discussion forums but they aren’t. The difference is a discussion group is the absence of a central server and dedicated administrator.

Internet Telephony – Another term for “VoIP” (Voice over Internet Protocol). Simply meaning another way to turn analog voice data into digital data for transmission over the Internet.

Conferencing (video & audio) – is a service that allows people to chat and see each other over the Internet. This could be for lectures, meetings and presentations. This can be done if you are in 2 different locations and it allows more than 2 people to talk. You can do this by using the program “Skype”. This program allows people to video chat or just call each other.