ICT IN EVERYDAY LIFE Communication Applications

1. ICT IN EVERYDAY LIFECommunication Applications IGCSE ICT Mrs. Ghazaal

2. Communications • Newsletters • Flyers & Posters • Websites & EMAIL • Multimedia Presentations • Music • Cartoons

3. HOMEWORK Read Student Handbook pages 15 - 20

4. Newsletters • Organisations like schools and clubs have always produced newsletters for the parents or for their members. • Used to be made on typewriters; no pictures; quality was poor • DTP (Desktop Publisher) – example: Microsoft Publisher • Very similar to a word processor, but with added capabilities; particularly good at moving text and images around • DTP applications were designed to help with the production of documents like brochures, newsletters, business cards, flyers and posters. • Templates are utilized; many people may now contribute; information is better presented; anyone who can use a word processor can use DTP and create a publication; multiple pages are easier to do; and it can be produced more frequently because the process is quicker.

6. Do Now Activity (answer in copybooks): • A teacher wants to send the school newsletter to parents. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of sending it by email versus delivering it by hand.

7. Solution: • Email Advantages • Saves school cost of printing copies • Can include colour at no extra cost • Can include animated text effects Disadvantages • Need to have everyone’s email address/not every home has an email address/ • computer/internet access is required • Email might be treated as Spam • People might not welcome unsolicited emails • By hand Advantages • Can be sure everybody gets a copy • Easier to target and distribute to whomever the teacher wants to give it to Disadvantage • Cost of delivery or paying someone to deliver them

8. Flyers & Posters • Although flyers and posters look different from newsletters, the same features of the DTP application will be used. The difference is in the design of the finished product.

9. POSTERS • Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text • Needs to hold a minimum amount of information and must make that information accessible very quickly to people looking at it • The modern poster, as we know it, dates back to 1870 when the printing industry perfected colour lithography and made mass production possible. • Production of posters used to be exclusive business before computer systems became common • Typical for small businesses and individuals to make their own posters using DTP, larger companies still use larger print houses because they employ specialised printers and skilled staff with editorial, and layout skills.

11. FLYERS • A flyer can hold more information, but not as much as a newsletter • Flyer is something that is usually unsolicited and so if it does not make an immediate impact it will not be considered at all • In theory, anyone with an ordinary PC, printer and software is able to make fairly decent posters or flyers.

13. Websites & Email • A website is hosted on a web server on the Internet • The information in the website can be viewed by other Internet users using a web browser • In order to produce a website you either have to write code or use a web authoring application (such as Microsoft FrontPage)

14. A web designer will use the following hardware to create a website: • Digital Camera/Video Camera to input pictures or videos • Scanner to add pictures • Microphone to record sounds • Graphics Tablet to input drawings and designs • Normal PC hardware to input text and use the software • To output the website you simply need a monitor and speakers and maybe a printer to print out information

15. Websites are a fantastic way to communicate with people since websites can be accessed by literally millions of people.  • However in some ways websites are not as good as printed documents for reaching people. • Disadvantages to using websites: • You need a computer (expensive) • You need an Internet connection (not always available, and it can be expensive) • You need some training to know how to use a computer (you don't need training to use paper!) • Can’t read it anywhere/limited to where computer is

16. Do Now Activity (answer in copybooks): • The manager of a large company wants to allow all the users to access the internet and communicate with other companies: • List three disadvantages to the manager of allowing workers to access the internet. • When sending documents, the manager sometimes uses email and sometimes uses ordinary post. • Give 2 reasons why email might be used • Give 2 reasons why ordinary post might be used

17. Solutions: • Workers could get distracted from their own work by checking their personal email, surfing the web, visiting social networking sites, etc. • Viruses could be downloaded as workers might not be careful about opening attachments and downloading files • Spyware could be downloaded • Hackers could get into the system and steal valuable company information

18. Advantages of using email: • Unlikely to be lost (if addressed correctly) • Faster to arrive via email • Quicker and easier to send the same message to several people • You don’t have to leave the office to send a letter Advantages of using regular post • Very large documents can be sent (emails often have a limit to the size of attachments ) • Legal documents can be sent/email signatures are not legally binding • Special delivery ensures delivery/If undelivered can be tracked/if lost can claim compensation • Recipient might not have the software to open attachments • Recipient may not have an email address or might not have access to a computer or the internet

19. Multimedia Presentations • Use a mixture of different media to present information and maintain the interest of the viewer • Text and graphics are supplemented by animations, video and sound • Often hyperlinks are included when presentations are made for one person to use so they can navigate through as they wish (hyperlinks not useful when presenting to a large crowd) • Training courses placed on DVD, people can learn at their own pace, in their own time • Many large stores loop multimedia presentations on large screens

20. CAL (Computer Aided Learning) • Interactive learning that gives students the opportunity to manage their own learning by allowing them: • To learn at their own pace • Repeat sections that were difficult • Omit sections with which they are happy • Control over their own work encourages students and the different media assists in maintaining interest in the work and hence motivates the student • Page 56 Student Handbook

21. Cartoons Computers can be used to scan an image or the image can be created on screen with a graphic application. Then, if the user gives instructions as to how the image should move and where it should end up, the computer can calculate the intermediate stages and automatically produce copies of them. These copies can be displayed in sequence to produce the moving image. This is known as computer-generated imagery or CGI and is widely used in the film industry.

22. Music • Music composing software relies on the idea that if the instrument is connected up to a computer the software can read the notes as they are played. • MIDI is the standard way of connecting instruments to the computer • Remote collaboration possible (composers can work together with people all over the world on the same piece of music) • Once you have music data in a computer you can use the computer to play back the music (converting the digital data back into sound with an DAC). You can add effects to the music, simulate thousands of different instruments, add new 'tracks' of music over the top, etc.