The Gap between Computer “haves and have nots” in African Societies: The case of Primary and Secondary school students.

Today in Africa, the computer revolution has affected almost everyone's life. Computers are utilized for business communications, shopping, postal service, banking and much more. Being computer literate is a useful skill in today's society. However, to become familiar with computers, one must first have access to them. Generally these skills can be learned at school, but a problem arises in the fact that there is not equal access to computers in most African schools. There continue to be a large gap between the computer "haves" and "have nots," especially among primary and secondary schools and worst off, schools in rural areas where there is lack of electricity.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, computer literacy may be defined as "whatever a person needs to know and do with computers in order to function competently in our information-based society" Competency is broken down into three categories: skills to use computers in learning and information management; knowledge of the capabilities, functions and social implications of computers; and understanding to learn and evaluate new applications and social issues of computers. These three areas encompass virtually every aspect of literacy in terms of computers.

Our information based society is fast becoming more dependent upon computers as resources. To function in many situations, familiarity with computer systems is necessary and therefore kids must acquire the required skills at an early age. In a minimal case, African governments should be investing in computer literacy for the future generation by equipping schools with the right hardware and software.

Computers in education can be the foundation for students to learn technology based skills which are desirable for and often demanded from today's job markets. Generally, being accustomed to utilizing systems or being computer literate at an early age can aid not only in developing motor skills but being competitive on the global stage. Will African governments therefore realize that young minds can often be wasted if the computer revolution in their countries does not become a national policy just in paper but in practice?

What does a Router do? By eHow Contributing Editor

A router is hardware device or software program that is designed to manage the paths along which information packets are forwarded within a network. Routers are necessary for communication between computers on your personal network and the Internet. This article will describe the manner in which a router manages this data transfer.

Considerations
1. Understanding how the Internet works is key to understanding what a router does? The Internet is a huge, global network of computers, by means of which we browse through the World Wide Web. Data is transferred on the Internet via the TCP/IP networking protocol--a set of protocols that are designed to communicate data across the Internet. The data that is transmitted over the TCP/IP network is first split into fragments that are called "packets." This is where routers come in.

Function
2. A router enables data communication between the computers on any given network and others that are on the Internet. The router is designed to direct or "route" data packets to their destination, which is where the term "router" is derived. Routers link the numerous computer networks that make up the Internet, and are responsible for determining the destination to which each data packet is forwarded to, as well as the best possible route it should take to get to that destination.

Size
3.

Routers range in size from the huge models that manage the massive flow of data traffic between the various computer networks on the Internet, to the small, more common models that are available at the local computer store or from Internet Service Providers. They also range in function from the basic router/switch to the more intricate, multi-function routing devices. These smaller models are typically installed in home networks to make it possible for users to share a single Internet connection among two or more computers on the network.

Types
4. There are two basic types of routers: static and dynamic. A static router needs to be manually configured by a network administrator, who programs all of the routes along which the router will forward data packets. A dynamic router comes programmed to automatically manage the routing of data traffic across the network, which is facilitated by a routing protocol.

Features
5. Routers can be used to integrate essential services and utilities into the network, to make it more secure and responsive. Routers may, for example, integrate a security utility such as a firewall. They may also help increase network functionality by integrating services. l