CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ ICT: TEACHER’S RESOURCE

10  Communication
Please note that sometimes multiple sections in the coursebook are combined together in one sub-chapter of this
teacher’s resource. Please check the ‘resources’ column of this teaching plan to see which coursebook sections
are covered in each teacher’s resource sub-chapter.

Teaching plan
Sub-chapter Approximate Learning content Resources
number of
learning hours
10.1 3 Describe the uses and constraints of Coursebook:
Communication: email communication. Sections 10.1 and 10.2
using email and
the internet Describe the characteristics of spam Activities 10.1 and 10.2
email and how to prevent it.
Practical tasks 10.1 and 10.2
Describe the characteristics, uses,
advantages and disadvantages of Questions 1–5
using the internet. Worksheets: 10.1–10.3
Explain how search engines function.
List and describe the functions
of protocols used for
internet communication.
Know how to evaluate information
found on the internet.
Discuss the risks of using the internet
and how to restrict them.

BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE
• Learners will have sent and received email • Learners will have used URLs to navigate
communications but will probably not have to website pages but will probably not
considered them as presentations in the be familiar with IP addresses and the use
same way as letters and leaflets and that they of DNS. They should be encouraged to
should therefore be suited to their audience. discover the IP address of a URL.
Learners should have opportunities to design
emails for different audiences, observing the
rules of ‘netiquette’.

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LANGUAGE SUPPORT
For definitions of key words, please see
the glossary.
Learners will have used the word email but may
not realise that it is a compound of electronic
and mail.
Similarly, netiquette is a compound of net
and etiquette and consists of the rules of
polite behaviour when using the internet and
sending emails.
The word spam refers to a brand of tinned,
cooked meat as well as unwanted email.
The coursebook explains why it was applied to
the latter.
The word domain usually refers to an area or
territory controlled by a particular ruler, but in
this context, it is used to signify words used to
represent IP addresses to make their entry more
convenient for users.

Links to digital resources
• What is netiquette? A Guide to online ethics and etiquette.
• How-To Geek website: An article explaining how email works.
BBC website: How can I stop getting spam?
Cloud Academy: How DNS works.
• WhatIs website: An article explaining about HTTP and HTTPS.

10.1 Communication: using email and the internet

This section covers coursebook sections 10.1 and 10.2.

LEARNING PLAN

Syllabus sub-topics Learning intentions Success criteria

10.1 Communication with
other ICT users using email
10.2 Effective use of the
internet
• Describe the uses
and constraints of
email communication.
• Describe the characteristics
of spam email and how to
prevent it.
• Describe the characteristics,
uses, advantages and
disadvantages of using
the internet.
• Explain how search
engines function.
• List and describe the functions
of protocols used for
internet communication.
• Know how to evaluate
information found on
the internet.
• Discuss the risks of using
the internet and how to
restrict them.
Learners will be able to describe
the uses and constraints of
email communication.
Learners will be able to
discuss spam.
Learners will be able to
describe the use of the internet
and explain its advantages
and disadvantages.
Learners will be able to explain
how search engines function.
Learners will be able to
describe the protocols used for
internet communication.
Learners will be able to
describe methods to evaluate
information on the internet.
Learners will be able to discuss
the risks of using the internet
and how to minimise them.

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Common misconceptions
Misconception
Learners often think that the
internet and the world wide web
are the same.
How to identify
Ask the learners why they need
a browser. Some will say that
it is to connect to and search
the internet.
How to overcome
Explain that the internet is a
network of networks and that it
provides several services for users
such as email and file transfer
as well as the world wide web,
which is a series of interlinked
pages of information viewed
using the HTTP protocol.

Starter ideas
1 Internet communication terms? (10 minutes)
Resources: Getting started activity in Chapter 10 of the coursebook
Description and purpose: Learners have to link the ten internet terms with their definitions.
The purpose is to assess the learners’ prior learning.
What to do next: Discuss some of the more difficult terms with the learners.

2 Similar words (6 minutes)

Description and purpose: Give the class a word associated with the lesson (e.g. email). In groups of 2–3, they
should come up with as many similar words or phrases as possible (e.g. email – electronic mail; netiquette –
rules of online polite behaviour; spam – unwanted email; forwarding – re-sending an email message that you
have received to another person’s email address.)
The purpose is for the learners to develop an understanding of the meaning of a new word.
What to do next: If many learners cannot think of synonyms, ask them to use the key terms for Chapter 10
and the glossary.

Main teaching ideas
1 Sending emails (60 minutes)
Learning intention: To explain how to send and forward emails and how to prevent spam.
Resources: Coursebook section 10.1
Description and purpose: The learners should create a user guide for younger learners using annotated screen
prints and text to explain how to:
• create and send an email
• create an email group
• create cc recipients
• create bcc recipients
• forward an email to a new recipient.
They should also include information about spam emails and how to prevent them.
The purpose is to describe how to communicate using email.
Differentiation ideas:
Support – provide an incomplete version of the document to less confident learners, containing some
explanations requiring images and vice versa.
Challenge – more confident learners could also explain how to attach images and documents to
an email.
Assessment ideas: Learners should swap guides and follow the instructions to check that they provide
correct, clear instructions. Learners should provide feedback saying what didn’t work and why.

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2 Creating a blog (60 minutes)

Learning intention: To communicate online using a blog.
Resources: Coursebook section 10.2. Access to a blogging site, for example, Edublogs which allows teachers and
learners to set up blogs on their website or Bloggerdotcom, provided by Google, is a safe, free blogging site.
Description and purpose:  Discuss the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of using the internet for
communicating with the learners. They should produce a blog introducing themselves and the school, and
explain the advantages and disadvantages of using the internet for communicating. Encourage learners to
use images in their blogs. They could have ongoing assignments to keep their blog up to date.
The purpose is to understand how the internet can be used for communication.
Differentiation ideas:
Support – encourage more confident learners to give assistance to the less confident by showing them
how to enter and edit text, change layouts, etc.
Challenge – more confident learners should experiment with the different themes and settings.
Assessment ideas: Learners can assess the blogs of their neighbours by viewing them online and providing
feedback about the design of the blogs, the content added, use of images, accuracy and spelling.

3 Evaluating websites (60 minutes)

Learning intention: Evaluating the reliability of websites.
Resources: Coursebook section 10.2
Description and purpose: The learners should assess the reliability of three different websites using criteria
suggested in section 10.2 of the coursebook. They should create a document using text and screen prints to
provide evidence of their findings.
The purpose is to learn to assess the reliability of websites.
Differentiation ideas:
Support – provide a handout for less confident learners with some of the criteria explained and
illustrated with screen prints.
Challenge – more confident learners should ensure that they have evidence for at least one trusted
website and one that shouldn’t be trusted.
Assessment ideas: Learner should self-assess the document, ensuring that they have evidence for each of
the criteria.

Plenary ideas
1 What’s the word? (10 minutes)
Resources: Board, learners in teams
Description and purpose: Learners work in a team with one member having their back to the whiteboard.
The teacher writes a word on the board associated with the lesson and the other members of the team
take it in turns to describe the word without mentioning the word itself. It could be used as a competition
between friends.
The purpose is for learners to talk about and generalise the work covered in the lesson.
Assessment ideas: Check which groups can successfully describe the word so that the learners can guess it.
Reflection ideas: Were the learners able to talk about the words? Could the learners with their backs to the
board successfully guess the word?

2 Class challenge? (10 minutes)

Resources: Computer and projector, access to the website Class Challenge
Description and purpose: Before the lesson, access the Class Challenge website in the resources.
The teacher should follow the instructions to create six questions with sample answers for the two teams to
answer. At the end of the lesson, the questions can be projected onto the whiteboard and each team in turn can
try to answer their question. There are bonus points if a team can answer a question the other team got wrong.
The purpose is to assess the learners’ learning in a fun and competitive way.

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Assessment ideas: Check if there are any questions that the learners find difficult. If so, these topics can be
revisited in the next lesson.
Reflection ideas: Were the learners able to answer the questions? Were there areas that they found difficult?

Homework ideas
1 Key terms and flashcards
In order to consolidate their learning, the learners can produce flashcards with key terms about
communication on the internet on one side and the learners’ descriptions and explanations on the reverse.
These can be assessed by checking the accuracy of the definitions.

2 Protocols
If learners are having difficulty with internet protocols, they should do Question 2 of the
Exam-style questions.

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