Ten apps in one day
Think about yesterday. You wrote a message, watched a video, opened a photo and joined a call.
Each job used a different kind of software. In this lesson you sort software by purpose, so you can pick the right tool for a user.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can choose the right kind of software for a task and name its common file type.
Key words
| Word | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Application | a program made to do a job for a user | a word processor |
| Utility | a program that looks after the computer | |
| Browser | a program for viewing web pages | |
| Malware | software made to cause harm | |
| Compression | making a file smaller to store or send it | |
| File type | the format of a file, shown by the end of its name | |
| Open source | the code is public and may be changed |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Starter
Have a go
Starter
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Productivity software
Productivity software helps people do office work.
A word processor writes documents. A spreadsheet works with numbers in rows and columns. A presentation program makes slides. Email sends messages. A PDF program reads and makes PDF files, which look the same on every device.
Browsers and collaboration tools
A browser shows web pages. Firefox, Chrome, Edge and Safari are browsers.
Collaborative software lets people work together. Shared document storage lets many people edit one file. Video conferencing lets people see and hear each other. Messaging apps send quick chat messages.
Kinds of software and examples
| Kind | Purpose | Example job |
|---|---|---|
| Productivity | Office work | Write a letter in a word processor |
| Browser | View web pages | Look up bus times |
| Collaborative | Work with others | Edit one shared document together |
| Messaging | Chat quickly | Ask a classmate a question |
| Utility | Look after the computer | Scan for malware |
| Specialised | One field of work | Edit photos, or keep accounts |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Check
Have a go
Check
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.