APPLIED GCSE ICT
Year 10 / YEAR 11
UNIT 3:
ICT AND SOCIETY
WORKBOOK 1
UNIT 3: ICT AND SOCIETY
About this Unit:
This unit will help you understand HOW ICT affects everyday life. The unit explores how individuals, such as yourself, families, clubs, societies, work teams and community groups use ICT in their lives.
Remember there are some people and groups who do not have access to ICT, but it still affects their lives.
ICT products and technologies change all the time. You will explore how ICT can have negative as well as positive affects.
You will consider how changes in technology have influenced and may continue to influence the following:
- Businesses and organisations
- Working styles and new employment opportunities
- Law and order
- Entertainment and leisure
- Personal communications
About this Booklet
The purpose of this booklet is to give you the knowledge and skills to carry out the assignment. The assignment is set by AND marked by your teacher.
(For more information see the ASSESSMENT section, next)
The booklet is divided into the following 7 sections:
1. What technologies there are available
2. How ICT is used in business
3. How has ICT affected work styles
4. Legislation
5. How ICT has affected personal communications
6. How ICT is used in community activities
7. ICT and people with special particular needs
Each section will provide you with the notes you require, as well as some tasks, exercises and assignments to reinforce your knowledge and understanding of this unit. There is also a section for further reading and references.
Assessment of this Unit
“What will I be expected to do?”
For Unit 3, you will complete a portfolio of evidence (in other words an ASSIGNMENT).
“What will I need to study?”
You will need to study the following areas (all covered in your booklet):
- Businesses and organisations
- Working styles and new employment opportunities
- Law and order
- Entertainment and leisure
- Personal communications
SECTION 1 – “TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE AVAILABLE”
In this section you will learn about the wide variety of technology available to help us to access and exchange information. Also we need it to carry out transactions as well as technology which we use to keep ourselves organised and entertained.
You will learn about:
- Internet technologies e.g. www, email, multimedia, encryption
- Internet connections e.g. modem, ISDN, ASDL, broadband
- Mobile digital technologies e.g. SMS, WAP
- Digital broadcasting
- Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and Organisers
- Storage media e.g. DVD, minidisk
- Touch screen technologies
The Internet
It is a large world wide network, that is made up of hundreds of thousands of smaller networks throughout the world. The main purpose of the Internet is to provide global communications.
These regional networks need to communicate with each other. They use a common set of rules or protocols called TCP/IP. All private and commercial computers that connect to the Internet use these rules. Companies known as ISPs (Internet Service Providers) act as a link to computers to the Internet. Examples of ISPs are AOL, Freeserve and BT Internet.
World Wide Web (WWW)
The Web refers to a huge world wide collection of information and knowledge. The Internet refers to the physical aspect of the global network. A browser allows the user to find and view information on the WWW.
Multimedia
Many web pages contain links not only to other pages and text, but also to sounds, images and movies. An image can be used to link to sounds or documents. Video clips make the web a more stimulating and exciting environment. Here are some examples of web applications where images and sounds are important:
- Music stores: When you visit HMV or Virgin, you may want to listen to a particular track before you buy it. Internet music stores provide the same service. Click on the link and the track is downloaded into a multimedia player on your PC such as Realplayer or Windows Media Player.
- Promotional and advertising websites: Some companies use websites to promote their products. Those who are in the business of tourism, leisure and entertainment are strongly placed to use sound and videoclips, as well as other interactive tools such as webcams. You can look at the Liverpool FC and Everton FC websites to download action pics, webcams and previews of new shirts for example.
There are some websites that make use of Flash to include animation and sound in web pages. Flash is a multimedia program produced by Macromedia.
Search Engines for the WWW
A Search Engine is an organised database of knowledge, which is web-based, and is used to search for information on topics of interest to the user. Some search engine sites are generic in the information they hold – others hold special information that may not be held by other search engine sites.
Below is a list of search engines and what they do:
SEARCH ENGINES / Google, All the Web, Northern Light, Altavista. Excite, Find What, Infoseek, Lycos, Galaxy.META SEARCH ENGINES / Meta Search Engines operate by showing a front-end to several common search engines. This allows the user to submit a query once and have it submitted to several engines.
C4 / Uses Snap, Altavista, Infoseek, Yahoo, Excite, Magellan, Webcrawler, HotBot, FindWhat and Google.
Dogpile / Uses Google, DirectHit, Infoseek, Lycos, Yahoo, About.com, Goto.com and LookSmart.
SUBJECT PORTALS / These are a collection of links about particular subject areas.
Adam / A collection of resources for Art, Design, Architecture and Media.
CAIN / Is the Conflict Archive on the Internet, by the University of Ulster. It contains a collection of informatio on the recent conflict in N. Ireland.
OTHER SEARCH FACILTIES / About.com / Provides searches of a number of online resources.
Ask Jeeves / Offers a question answering service.
Search Engine Colossus / Very comprehensive list of search engines, directories and subject portals.
Snap / Aims to provide the same services as Yahoo.
Open Directory Project / A classified directory of WWW sources operated entirely by volunteers.
Yahoo / A very well known search engine!
*** ACTIVITY ***
1. Using the Google search engine, type in the following key words:
a) CAIN
b) Adam
c) Dogpile
From the results of the searches, find the approach home page for each.
Describe what is on each of the homepages – use the following questions to help you:
a) What is the URL (website address)?
b) What is the aim of the website?
c) What hyperlinks are there?
d) Is there a hit counter?
e) What use of images is there?
f) Any use of any multimedia?
g) How user friendly is the site?
2. Create a mind map of the Search Engines for the WWW table on the previous 2 pages. At the centre should be “SEARCH ENGINES”. Then use the contents in the table to create your mind map.
Electronic mail or e-mail is the most commonly used application of the Internet. It is used mainly to send and receive text-based messages. Information can be sent as:
- text message only
- an attachment to the message. An attachment can be almost any type of file, including text, multimedia documents, pictures and sound.
To use e-mail you need access to the internet and an email address.
E-mail can now be sent and received in a number of different ways:
1. PC and email software
2. PC, browser and webmail
3. Internet kiosk
4. Digital TV
5. WAP or SMS mobile phone
1. PC and email software: The PC is connected via a modem to a standard phone line, where users have access to a number of different email services. Here, messages can be prepared offline and sent later. Also messages can be downloaded to the users PC. The user must have access to email software such as Microsoft Outlook, or Pegasus Mail.
2. PC, browser and webmail: Email software is not required, but the user must be connected to the Internet to prepare, send and read emails. A big advantage is that the user can send or receive emails from any internet connection. Talk21, Hotmail and Yahoo are examples of web-based email provision.
3. Internet kiosk: Special kiosks in areas such as airports and rail stations provide access for browsing and using a web mail service.
4. Digital TV: These TVs now provide many of the features of computers with keypads and remote devices to allow users to enter text and sent it via email to another PC or digital TV.
5. WAP or SMS phone: Certain WAP based websites can be browsed. The slow connection speed and limited power of the handset means that these WAP sites are generally text based. Those people who have non-WAP phones can use mobile email services. These can use SMS (short message service) normally used for text messaging to obtain access to email.
Encryption
This is a word for scrambling information so that it cannot be read by anyone other than the person to whom it is addressed. Decryption is where the message is unscrambled.
*** ACTIVITY ***
1. Think of 3 reasons for the following to use email:
Write these in the spaces below OR word process your answers:
Reason 1 / Reason 2 / Reason 3Businesses
Local sports / social clubs / leisure centers / charities
Private individuals
People with special needs
2. For each of the above, say which email access may be the most appropriate (e.g. webmail, software based, SMS to email, etc). Also explain why in the table below:
Email access method / Reason whyBusinesses
Local sports / social clubs / leisure centers / charities
Private individuals
People with special needs
3. Send an email to someone in your ICT class, with an image attachment. Why do you think it takes some time for the file to attach?
Merging of Digital Technologies
The aim of the present Labour Government is for everyone to have access to digital services, such as e-mail. As we have mentioned already, there are a number of tools that allow us the pleasure of accessing the web, or using email.
***ACTIVITY***
1. Write about 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages for each of the following digital technologies:
Advantages / DisadvantagesPersonal Computer
Digital TV
Internet Kiosk
WAP mobile phone
PDA
2. Research the development of the following ICT technology:
a) Mobile phone
b) PDA
c) Digital television
Suggest how the technology may develop over the next 5 years.
3. Many science fiction shows and films include technologies that do not exist yet. Suggest 3 ways that could be developed in the next 10 – 20 years. How will they change the way we live?
Internet connections
To connect to the Internet, you need to link up to an ISP (Internet Service Provider). To connect to their computer, your computer needs equipment to allow it to use the telephone system. These can include modems and ISDN adaptors. The ISP is directly connected to the Internet by means of a router. This is a computer that provides the necessary link to special data transmission lines required to access the Internet.
ISP types
There are different types of ISPs, examples of which are shown below:
1. Free access: e.g. TescoNET, do not charge for providing you with an Internet connection. However they usually ask you to provide them with information for marketing purposes. You have to pay local telephone call charges when you go online.
2. Unmetered: You can stay on as long as you want with this access. However you are usually charged a fixed monthly amount, e.g. BT Internet and AOL.
3. Subscription: Similar to unmetered, but usually provide extra services such as email addresses and storage space for your own web site.
Modem
A modem allows connection to the internet via a standard telephone connection. Modems are available as external devices that are connected to one of your PC ports, or are fitted internally. With the internal modem, a cable links directly from the PC to the telephone socket.
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)
A modem is not required. This is faster than dial up. Here you can make and receive telephone calls at the same time as using the Internet.
ADSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line)
It is a new service, similar to ISDN. It provides Internet access at several times the speed of a modem. Simultaneous voice communication is also provided. An ADSL adapter is needed and a device that separates the digital signal of the Internet connection and the ordinary telephone voice line signal. ADSL can be accessed via satellite links. This allows areas too far away from telephone exchanges to use normal ADSL can also have rapid Internet connection.
Broadband connections
The digital bandwidth is measured in bits per second, and indicates the amount of data, which can be transmitted over a communications link in a set time. High speed data transfers is known as broadband. Slow connections are termed narrowband.
Broadband can be used in 2 ways:
- Single user connection
- Shared connection
Single user connection is not using the bandwidth to capacity. Hence whatever information is being accessed or downloaded, it can be done quickly. With a shared connection, such as in a company, you can have many people accessing the Internet as the capacity is so great. This will not slow down the speed of the connection, so it doesn’t matter if there is 1 user or 10 users.
Why broadband communications are important
High bandwidth is not crucial for the single person who sends the occasional text mail. However it is vital for businesses who have more complex and frequent communication needs. An organisation with several sites may need to use the Internet for sending high quality images, voice communications and video conferencing, and other sound and video clips. Hence a high quality and high speed connection is required.
Broadband services are generally more expensive than conventional dial-up internet access links.
***ACTIVITY***